75ZT Community

This morning I took my Wife to work, so I could have the car and give it a quick clean and fit my new Number Plate light unti. After dropping my wife off at work, I started home and got myself a little lost. Im not a local, so its all unfamiliar to me

I came upon a road that I assumed was a 50Mph area, no speed signs, no houses etc just a long straight road. I drove past a Speed Camera at 45Mph and subsequently got flashed

Never, in my entire driving history have I ever been flashed by a Camera...... I am so very annoyed with myself All I can say now is "Bang" goes my clean license........

Well, you never know, might not have had any film in, unless it's a digital of course.

It happens to the best of us!

carlpenn wrote:This morning I took my Wife to work, so I could have the car and give it a quick clean and fit my new Number Plate light unti. After dropping my wife off at work, I started home and got myself a little lost. Im not a local, so its all unfamiliar to me

I came upon a road that I assumed was a 50Mph area, no speed signs, no houses etc just a long straight road. I drove past a Speed Camera at 45Mph and subsequently got flashed

Never, in my entire driving history have I ever been flashed by a Camera...... I am so very annoyed with myself All I can say now is "Bang" goes my clean license........

It is very easily done. Don't beat yourself up over it.

You never know, if you're lucky it might not have had any film in it.

I was taught, when taking my motorbike licence quite a few years ago, that if you are unsure of the speed limit look for speed signs on side streets, if there are none it is a 30. You can also go by the distance between lamp posts apparently, but am not sure how that works.

The good news is so many people have points via cameras these days that most insurance companies couldn't give a monkeys about 3 points.

Chris

MrB wrote:

carlpenn wrote:This morning I took my Wife to work, so I could have the car and give it a quick clean and fit my new Number Plate light unti. After dropping my wife off at work, I started home and got myself a little lost. Im not a local, so its all unfamiliar to me

I came upon a road that I assumed was a 50Mph area, no speed signs, no houses etc just a long straight road. I drove past a Speed Camera at 45Mph and subsequently got flashed

Never, in my entire driving history have I ever been flashed by a Camera...... I am so very annoyed with myself All I can say now is "Bang" goes my clean license........

It is very easily done. Don't beat yourself up over it.

You never know, if you're lucky it might not have had any film in it.

I was taught, when taking my motorbike licence quite a few years ago, that if you are unsure of the speed limit look for speed signs on side streets, if there are none it is a 30. You can also go by the distance between lamp posts apparently, but am not sure how that works.

The good news is so many people have points via cameras these days that most insurance companies couldn't give a monkeys about 3 points.

Chris

The Lampost thing is correct, My Instructor told me teh same. Basically built up areas or areas with speed restrictions ie 30 / 40 Mph are closer together than those on "Fast roads" 50 / 60 / 70 Mph. The ones on teh road I was on, where a distance apart hence my thinking it was a faster road, seeing as there was no Speed signs - Which is naughty really imo.

carlpenn wrote:The Lampost thing is correct, My Instructor told me teh same. Basically built up areas or areas with speed restrictions ie 30 / 40 Mph are closer together than those on "Fast roads" 50 / 60 / 70 Mph. The ones on teh road I was on, where a distance apart hence my thinking it was a faster road, seeing as there was no Speed signs - Which is naughty really imo.

So many roads have had their speed limits changed under the last government..

That stretch of road probably had a higher speed limit in the past, hence the wider stretch between lamp posts.

On the flip side, is road I go down most days that has a 40 limit and a fair few cameras on it. Drives me mad that people slow down to 30 to pass them. They don't notice that there's a speed sign about 10 yards before each camera.

Chris

I think it's a case of not if but when Carl

I'm waiting for the first fixed penalty to blot my presently clean licence. . It's almost bound to happen, even though I, like you, do my best to stick to speed limits.

The legacy of using the motorist as a cash cow is receding with the reduction in finance for the scameras but I can't see it reducing dramatically. We certainly won't see a proportional increase in the number of Police officers out and about, which is what we really need in my view.

As indicated if not out in open countryside or on a motorway etc the general rule is 30MPH if no speed signs shown.
A unknown Traffic amendment to many (I am sure Paul will have the relevant section/number amendment) now says that the lamp posts spaces are now a guide only, and are not for speed calibration or otherwise.

Am sure I remember reading last year that Highway Authorities are being encouraged/permitted to remove reminder speed limit signs "in the interests of uniformity" where the lamp posts ARE at the statutory distance. Whilst I am all for the removal of a lot of unnecessary road clutter, it is often very difficult to tell the prevailing speed limit - especially when there is an overhanging branch of parked lorry obscuring the initial warning sign - and this idea seems like a way of catching fines. Check out any local 40 mph or 50 mph limits for reminder signs. There are plenty where there are houses only on one side and open fields on the other.

I always check the urban side roads - no signs then you KNOW you are in a 30 mph limit.