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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2011 13:01 
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Bradford Telegraph and Argus here
Bradford Telegraph and Argus - Hannah Baker wrote:
Lives at risk warning' over rogue signs at Wyke
By Hannah Baker 8:30am Thursday 19th May 2011

Hundreds of perplexed motorists have been flashed by a speed camera after “irresponsible and stupid” practical jokers erected a rogue 40mph speed limit sign in a 30mph zone.

Highway chiefs have condemned as “crassly irresponsible” the pranksters who put up the sign close to a speed camera on Woodside Road, in Wyke, Bradford.
A nearby resident said the camera had flashed like a “strobe disco light” after motorists unwittingly sped up before passing it.
Bradford Council yesterday removed the sign, which it believes was installed by a member of the public several days ago near the junction with Carr House Lane.

Dave Clarke, a HGV driver, of Carr House Mount, said: “People were coming at 30mph but this sign brought them back up to 40mph so people were picking their speed up and setting the flash off.
“Some evenings it’s been like a strobe disco light. There have obviously been a lot of people who have been caught by it.
“Whoever has placed the sign there, it’s a stupid thing to do. It costs time and effort for all those involved in the fines process."

Darren Badrock, Bradford Council’s principal engineer for Bradford South, said: “The 40mph sign was not put up by the Council and appears to have been placed there by a member of the public. We have now removed it.
“Whoever put it up may think it was just a practical joke but it is actually crassly irresponsible.
“We lowered the limit to 30mph on Woodside Road because there had been 157 casualties on the A641 over three years. Encouraging people to drive faster than the speed limit may put lives at risk."
“Anyone who receives a fixed penalty notice related to the camera monitoring traffic travelling north on Woodside Road, between High Fernley Road and Carr House Lane, who believes the unauthorised sign was a factor should contact the partnership.”

A West Yorkshire Police Spokesman said: “Concern was raised about the road sign marked 40mph in Wyke, which was incorrect.
“However, when officers attended to have a look, it had been removed.”
The reporting is confusing, either the Police/Council removed the sign or they didn't ?
No one knows who placed up the sign it could have been anyone who had access to official signs - further analysis of the sign can tell us it if is a standard legal sign or not. Have signs from elsewhere been stolen ? Is this a way to make all speed camera NIPs illegal without destroying the speed camera equipment? Certainly an improper sign will make that area 'illegal'. Motorists cannot be expected to knwo all the finer points of when a sign is illegal - as the Southampton Councillor said (in essence) it is involved, not rocket science though but not what the average motorists will be able to recognise.

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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2011 13:04 
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Daily Mail

Quote:
Hundreds of motorists fined after pranksters put up 40mph sign in 30mph zone

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 11:46 AM on 19th May 2011

Hundreds of motorists were issued with speeding fines after 'crassly irresponsible' pranksters put up a fake 40mph sign in a 30mph zone.

Residents in the road described seeing the camera - calibrated to catch motorists travelling above 30 mph - flashing like a 'strobe disco light' as drivers put their foot on the pedal, mistakenly thinking the speed limit had changed.

Furious highway chiefs condemned the practical joke after the road sign was put up before a speed camera on the busy road in Bradford.

Bradford Council has now removed the rogue sign, which it believes was installed by a member of the public several days ago on Woodside Road in Wyke, near the junction with Carr House Lane.

Resident Dave Clarke, an HGV driver, said: 'People were coming at 30mph but this sign brought them back up to 40mph so people were picking their speed up and setting the flash off.

'Some evenings it's been like a strobe disco light. There have obviously been a lot of people who have been caught by it.

'Whoever has placed the sign there, it's a stupid thing to do. It costs time and effort for all those involved in the fines process.'

Darren Badrock, Bradford Council's principal engineer for Bradford South, said: 'The 40mph sign was not put up by the council and appears to have been placed there by a member of the public. We have now removed it.

'Whoever put it up may think it was just a practical joke but it is actually crassly irresponsible.

'We lowered the limit to 30mph on Woodside Road because there had been 157 casualties on the A641 over three years. Encouraging people to drive faster than the speed limit may put lives at risk.'

Anyone who receives a fixed penalty notice related to the camera monitoring traffic travelling north on Woodside Road, between High Fernley Road and Carr House Lane, who believes the unauthorised sign was a factor should contact the partnership.

A West Yorkshire Police Spokesman said: 'Concern was raised about the road sign marked 40mph in Wyke, which was incorrect.

'However, when officers attended to have a look, it had been removed.

As the article says, this used to be a :40: zone - indeed it was when I drove along there last summer.

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Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed


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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2011 13:18 
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I expect it will be a member if the local SCP trying to drum up a bit more business :wink: - Times are hard & all that!


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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2011 23:08 
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And were there any accidents?

Thought not.

Familiar with the area and 40 sounds like a sensible limit.


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