Advisory or Mandatory

[sigma]

A lot of councils are carrying out preventative maintenance by laying chippings on the road. Signs saying "loose chippings"/"skid risk" 20 mph are erected.
Is this speed restriction advisory or mandatory.

[TWR]

I cannot remeber if the sign in red on the outer rim, but if so mandatory.

[gadgetgeek]

We have had these signs locally for about 4 weeks and there are no loose chippings anymore. However the signs are still showing the 20 MPH speed limit am I obliged to drive at that speed until I come across a differing speed sign? Unable to tell where the roadworks finish and 'old' road starts especially in the wet or dark!

[TWR]

as cars now are fitted with laminated screens they do not shatter like the toughened, but it's not your speed but others, the chipping fly like bullets & can causr your screen to become cracked, the Councils put these signs in place for advisory purposes & I would think to stop motorists making claims against them, If I go through on a road that has been re-chipped I adhere to the speed limit. I'm sure it's Mandatory.

[sigma]

"the Councils put these signs in place for advisory purposes", "I'm sure it's Mandatory. "
So which is it.

[TWR]

It appears to be Advisory Sigma, the 20 mph signs outer boarders are in Red but they are Warning signs & are also Mobile so they can be placed in different areas of the re-surfaced road.

[Buenchico]

Where the relevant authority (the Highways Agency, the County Council or Unitary Authority) has made a notice, under Section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulations 1984, restricting the speed of vehicles through roadworks, it is an offence (under Section 16 of the Regulations) to fail to comply with the speed restriction.

Otherwise it would appear that simply exceeding the temporary speed limit is not, per se, an offence. However a police officer might still take the view that driving in a way which could lead to chips flying into the air (endangering pedestrians, cyclists and others) constituted 'driving without reasonable consideration for other persons', contrary to Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988:
http://www.cps.gov.uk...s_of_bad_driving/#a16

Chris

[R1Geezer]

if it has a red ring round it then it's an actual limit.

[ABerrant]

I presume you refer to the white rectangular sign, black border and black text 'Max Speed 20' which are purely advisory (subject to Chris's 2nd paragraph).

http://www.dft.gov.uk...magelist.php?CATID=21

[Twenty20]

Of course, if they didn't waste their (our) money by laying loose chippings on a road the question would be fairly irrelevant!

[saxy_jag]

Whichever, having been hit by a flying stone in the past because someone was zapping along a 'loose chippings' zone like it was Silverstone, it's not a bad idea to stick to the limit.