Safe Speed Forums

Hi there,

I am driving down to Dorset from Essex shortly and would like some help/reassurance before I go.

The thing I fear most is missing temporary changed motorway speed limits, are they always easy to spot and do they ALWAYS have cameras set up on them?

I take the m25 south from junction 28, all the way til junction 10 with the a3, then I join the m3 near the end and then take the m27 west. Does anyone know of any roadworks or anything similar that will be going on there between the 22nd August and the 30th?

Temporary speed limits also confuse me as the other day there was one on a very short strech of dual carridgeway near where I live where the limit was set ridiculously low (20) and no-one was obeying it in the evening and I didnt know what to do as the cars in front were doing 40+ and I was getting a queue behind me.

do temporary cameras they set up for these things only activate during the daytime or something?

-Rob

They're usually easy to spot as there are invariably countdown markers before the limit drops. There are usually cameras where there are camera signs. Specs is also warned. You'll know if there is specs as everyone will be driving along in a bunch. If there are gatsos the traffic will move more freely but suddenly there will be a random stamping on brakes when someone spots the camera! What did the 20 sign look like? If it was one of those Max speed X with a loose chippings symbol then I don't think they're as easy to enforce as a proper 20 roundel with the red border and repeaters.

The BBC traffic site usually has things on roadworks. Also the AA and RAC route planners might mention them too.

SPECS cameras are easy to spot, big yellow posts like lampposts with two CCTV on each, pretty hard to miss, and always signed "Average Speed Check" or similar.

Where in Dorset are you going? Presumably South/East Dorset if using the M27? If going to West/North/Mid Dorset, the A30/A354 route through Salisbury is much more enjoyable if you like A-roads, PM me for more detail if interested.

However, if you don't like SPECS, a good idea heading along A3/A31, as there's currently three sets of them on the M3 between London and Basingstoke.

Temporary speed limits? You mean the numbers shown in orange on motorway indicator boards?

These are optional, they are suggested speeds only, used when there's been some bother on the motorway (and for about two hours after it's been cleared).

If one is showing 20 though and you fly through at 90 and crash into the back of a police road block (or somebody else doing 20) you can expect to be in an incredible amout of trouble.

If they were on a short stretch of dual carriageway, I would guess that these were signs put up by roadworkers after the road had been resurfaced. Were there fresh chiipings on the road? They put these 20MPH signs on the roads to stop people scattering loose chippings and damageing paintwork and windscreens. The only problem is they sometimes leave them there longer than neccessary and people ignore them or they fail to sweep up the excess chippings and the road is a nightmare for longer than it needs to be.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

20 is almost certainly a sign of recent resurfacing, I've never seen a matrix sign show 20.

Apply COAST> C in this case would be to CONCENTRATE on the road ahead.

O = Observe everything .. drink in LOLLIES and Anticipate and Plan via Space and Time


LOOK out for a speed limit on the gantry in a red lolly circle. These would be compulsory to you. If not in a red lolly - it would be "advisory" as weepej rightly points out - but you should be on constant COAST alert all the same



Sadly I do not. But check with AA and RAC and LOOK at the local news websites I am sure you noted the Mad Doc's "head up" alert to M60 many miles south of his home based on something he read on the local newspaper website.

Look at your 2007 onwards .. AA/RAC/Phillips/ Collins or oher maps. PLAN a route and a secondary route if you come across a snarl up. If you have a Pogo or Tom Tom or Garmin . update before set off. They will pick up on delays and suggest an alternative. Mist of these to alert to cams. . but "pogo/origin" per the Mad Cats has what they call "the certain sharp edge of excellence"




Forget the others - they can overtake if they want to. Drive to your own safety comfort zone and keep it legal. Those who wish to overtake you above the limit? Their decision and their licences on the line. Assist their overtakes and do not let yourself be intimidated here. If your are driving below limit and feel this to be right for you.. keep an eye in mirror and look ahead for a lay-by or clearing. Pull into this and let them pass you. It makes these drivers respect your skills and you also grow in confidence as a result too



LOOK for something in a red circle.. If you see anything which says CAMERA .. rule of thumb.. keep to lolly. Keep it constant.. keep it steady and smooth. You can. Concentrate! Look out at the road ahead. Keep steady withing the flow. Keep a steady distance between you and car ahead. KEEP CALM1

Never ignore a cam warning. APPLY COAST values.


I honestly hope I help you here. Trust yourself.. your instinct .. your COAST skill and drive in harmony with all others there. and you may find you and licence stay intact here.

Please re-read my hendon notes and the COAST post which even safepeed's harshest critic took to heart. (handy .. if you lurk .. I OWE you plenty )

I try to help here

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Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

To answer this specifically, there are no roadworks I know of from Guildford on (that's as far East as I normally go), and no temporary cameras.

The Bournemouth Air Show is on from 20-23 August so will be busier than usual around there.

If you're going as far as Bere Regis, watch out where the limit starts by the Worlds End pub, often a camera van on the verge. But then you should be grateful if you're doing as much as 40!

They put ten mph limits up in Derbyshire when they have gritted the road. Andy everyone obeys them meticulously (not).

Seriously we have 10mph speed limits around the grounds at work and it is almost impossible to drive at that speed.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

They're not speed limits, they're signs.

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Andrew.

Advisory signs. And, as some pointed out earlier, ignoring an advisory sign can be a contribution to a charge of careless or dangerous driving.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

Our garden centre has "5" roundels painted on the tarmac.

Some of our old dears actually do 5mph too.