Speed Signs

[pdq1]

Should their be a minimum distance when travelling legally at 60 or 50mph and a 30mph sign coming into view? Obviously slamming on your brakes can't do much for the feller behind!

[douglas9401]

Coming into a 30 from a fast road is often signed with 100 yard signs over 300 yards, similar to motorway exit markers.

[pdq1]

Not always though!

[Richard1966]

I agree that there should be countdown markers for significant changes in the speed. Or it should be a staged reduction 50mph - 40mph - 30mph.

I was travelling on a quite country road on sunday, legally at 55mph, came round a bend to a village at 30mph and had to brake sharply to stay in the limit.

[pdq1]

Quite Richard, thats seems the norm

[erin-x]

There's a road that goes from a 40 to a 20 just after a hidden dip around here. It's actually on a driving test route and catches so many people out!!

[maclarencat]

I once got a speeding ticket for a similar thing. Country road 50mph came around the bend and there was a 30 sign I breaked but there was one of those mobile speed vans about 20metres past the sign and I got a ticket 36 in a 30 mile area !!!

[Andyvon]

You should always drive within your limits of the road and your vision. The national speed limit of 60mph is not an order that you MUST drive at that speed - it's simply the maximum speed permitted on that section of road, but ONLY when safe to do so. If it's foggy or the traffic is heavy it's certainly not safe to hammer along at 60mph! Similarly, if you shouldn't drive at 60mph if you can't see enough of the road ahead to stop or slow down safely. Those like Richard who "came round a bend and had to brake sharply...." are driving far too fast for the road conditions.

Suppose there was an accident just around the bend or a tractor, a bus stop or other traffic stopped just out of sight? It would be reckless to be driving so fast you couldn't avoid it - regardless of the road having a 60mph maximum limit. It's the same when there's a change of speed limit just around the bend. It's up to the driver to drive safely if they can't stop or slow down safely within their line of sight.

[Hopkirk]

If you know the road, then you should know what is coming up.

If you don't know the road, what are you doing flying along at such a reckless speed?

[pdq1]

Your experience maclarancat echoes what happened to 2 family members. The sneaky traffic cops are not happy with Gatsos as they register on Satnavs and people slow down beforehand so they have to revert to covert methods to trap unwary motorists.

You get the impression that even good drivers with an impeccable record will be tarnished and nothing to do with road safety at all.