Safe Speed Forums

I'm just wondering what the minimum distance is a for a limit to be considered enforceable and legitmate. Looking at an old version of the limit setting information it says 600m and exceptionally 400m. Near me there are limits of under 300m in length! I'd also like to know if the limit is incorrect due to minimum length violations is it enforceable and if not what limit is in prevalence. Is it the last correct one or would it always default to the NSL for that type of road? This could be quite interesting as the road in question is a dual carriageway, set to 40. The roundabouts have 30 limits for a few hundred metres then it is back to 40 again for more short distances in some case. I think these limits might be invalid. If it does default to NSL then it could cause some red faces....

i was going to say, this seems to be a pretty common trend, a higher speed limit road or DC with a (pretty pointless) drop in limit for roundabouts or junctions.
I can almost see the point for the major road at a t-junction but for a roundabout _everyone_ approaching the junction should be slowing to negogiate it and give way if required.

I think you'll find the guidelines are just that, guidelines, and like the guidelines on speed camera signing and visiblity don't invalidate a prosecution if not adhered to.

I agree with ed_m that we are seeing more and more pointless lower limits around roundabouts and junctions, despite the fact that the official speed limit guidelines say that lower limits aren't appropriate for individual hazards. Very often these are unreasonably long, so instead of following a natural braking pattern, if you want to adhere to the limit you have to brake prematurely and then crawl up to the junction. And what on earth is the point in having lower limits heading away from a junction on a dual carriageway?

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

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

I dont know the answer but I know of another lucritive scam site which I shall measure

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

I've got a copy of the 2006 guidelines that I downloaded off the internet a couple of years ago but can't find the link now. ABD do a thorough version of it but don't trust the Brake's version , they skip the important bits and only tell you the bits that they like.

Basicly a speed limit should be 600m except in exceptional circumstances and the speed limit on a roundabout should be set at the limit on the lowest road off it, e.g. if you have three roads at 50MPH and one at 40MPH, the roundabout should be 40MPH.

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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.

These ones are between 200 & 300m as there are 30s off the roundabouts but the main route is a 40mph zone. The nearby A34 which has a mix of 30s and 40s off doesn't have these silly short 30s on all the roundabouts. I think you can have one as short as 400m under the guidelines (have found a copy) in exceptional circumstances but they don't seem to be law like the signing regs are.

No the villages one gets flouted a lot by us. A village as per guidelines has to have 20 properties fronting the main road and be 600 metres long. We have "villages" here that they try for 30MPH limits in, that have the odd couple of houses and a farm.

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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.

They're not even villages. There is one entrance to a housing estate with a poor view so inhabitants have a devil of a job pulling out safely. Highways have refused to remove a hedge claiming it 'slowed' down traffic. The 30 limit should theoretically do that but it obviously doesn't work. Think the agency have backed down and the locals have got their way.