speed limits on 'the bends'...

[joko]

we have a few sets of the bends round by me...and all of them have a national speed limit sign ...yet all over the place they have painted the word SLOW on the road ...

it is pretty impossible to go 70 on these roads except on the occasional lengthy straight bit....but most people dont
it seems most poeple go about 40 on these roads so why not just make the speed limit on these roads about 40/50 and save the bother of painting slow all over the place?

surely allowing people to try to traverse these extremely bendy and narrow roads, edged largely by ditches or sometimes walls right up against them, is asking for trouble as some young boyracer idiot will try it ...

is there any logic to this?
cheers

[bookbinder]

I don't think that "Slow", on the road, actually means that you have to drive slowly. I reckon it really means "Take it steady" or "Watch out, it's a bit dodgy here", but it wouldn't be practicable to paint something as wordy as that on the tarmac.

[joeluke]

Maybe 'Slow Down' would be better?

[bookbinder]

"Slow Down" would certainly be more to the point, joeluke, but the highways authority would say that that costs twice as much to paint as does "Slow". If they could find a three-letter word that would replace "Slow" they would use it.

[New Judge]

The speed limit applicable to a stretch of road is the maximum permitted. It is not the minimum that must be sustained whatever the circumstances and conditions.

You might as well say that if there is a roundabout on a road subject to the National Speed Limit then lower speed restrictions should apply to the approaches to the roundabout to prevent drivers taking the roundabout at too higher speed. Competent drivers are expected to adjust their speed to suit the prevailing traffic conditions and circumstances.

[Paul22118]

Slow written on the road surface does not mean drive slowly, it means that in relation to the speed limit i.e. single carriageway, national speed limit in a car - 60 mph, the driver should be aware that it is adviseable to go 'slower' than the maximum permitted. It is really for people who cannot see bends.

[bednobs]

if the road is as you say it is, the speed limit WONT be 70 though

[joko]

yes i am well aware what the word slow means here...it means slow down now as you are coming to a partcularly tight bend...i know it doesnt mean drive slowly in general...but as the bends are so frequent it appears rather a lot on these roads

i also realise the the speed limit means it is the highest maximum permissable - not the speed people must travel

the roads have the white circle with a black line through it at the start

only one has a section that has 40 signs before going back to NSL

the point was that some people will see that and try to drive as fast as they think they can manage - which will be too fast for many...i have seen many people speeding as fast as possible down these roads, having many near misses, getting irate that you are not going faster and appearing to be struggling to control the car...but carry on anyway...usually impatient men or boy racers
as i say most people travel at a normal adequate speed for the road - so why make it NSL?

why make other wide or straight roads full of speed limitations yet give some of the most bendy ones free reign

[douglas9401]

It's more likely a reminder for the hard of thinking much like the small speed limit reminders every few tens of yards so that when the inevitable happens the defences of "I forgot" or "I didn't know" can't be given in evidence.
In short, the nanny state trying to sideline Darwin.

[DTCwordfan]

take the corners out and straighten the road.

[joko]

well yes it is a reminder...especially at night - but the point is, its pretty impossible to go fast on these roads...so why, technically, give permission to?

[TWR]

It's a waste of time for some Joko, they would have been better off saying Enjoy your trip, half of the bloody idiots do not take heed in any case.

[vinrex7]

I have a question. Outside schools the speed limit is 20 mph, what about at night? there are no children there then?

[TWR]

In force during school hours.

[New Judge]

Off the question, I know, but the schools in my area have signs which change from 30 to 20 during school arrival and departure times.

Just out of interest, joko, what do you think the National Speed Limit is for cars on the (presumably) single carriageway roads you describe?

[joko]

to my knowledge its 60, way too fast for this road.. i think it should be 40...or even 30, as for most of it you have go about 20 anyway

any one who tried to do 60 on this road would end up in a ditch...

[Hopkirk]

Joko doesn't seem to understand speed limits.

They are not set as a safe speed for that particular bit of road, but rather an absolute limit for that type of road. There are huge numbers of examples possible where it would be madness to drive at the speed limit.

It is up to the individual driver to assess the conditions and hazards, and decide what speed is safe and appropriate at any place and time, while staying within the maximum allowed.

[R1Geezer]

the national limit is basically saying that they trust you not to be a prat, the "slow" bits indicate caution is advised. The last thing we need is the roads having a different limit every 10 yards according to what some local authority busy body has deemed is possible through a bend. There's a bend near me where the limit is 70 but it's pretty easy to do it at 120 and possible in the right equipment to do it much faster. There are also narrow lanes with a 60 limit which is never attainable, the limit id therefore imposed by conditions, as the judge says it's a limit not a target.

[joko]

and clearly hopkirk cannot read.

i know perfectly well what speed limits mean and if you read the rest of the post you would see the point i was making

the point, again, is that some people will try to drive the speed the limits stated...you and i may not, but i have seen them try...and even been harrassed by drivers behind wanting me to speed up when i am already going a decent speed.

on the roads i refer to sepcifically there are only a few bits where you can even begin to pick up speed never mind maintain it

these roads edge various farms and therefore are incredibly bendy.

why give idiots the option to speed and try to do these bends at top speed almost as a game? they think 'well if thats the speed limit, it must be possible to do it atthat speed or it wouldnt be the speed limit' - it would be naive to think all drivers were also sensible...

[R1Geezer]

"the point, again, is that some people will try to drive the speed the limits stated...you and i may not, but i have seen them try...and even been harrassed by drivers behind wanting me to speed up when i am already going a decent speed." - So you want to punish all of us for some idiots then? That's like saying drinking a bottle of Vodka will get ou drunk so the maximum amount of vodka you can drink is 4 shots, sorry there will always be idiots, Going down the road you suggest punishes us all.

[R1Geezer]

Anyway how do you propose to implements speed limits by some sort of arbitrary evaluation of what is safe/possible? They are variables based on equipment and ability. Under the Joko road rules every bit of road will have to be evaluated and a limit assigned, not practical. As is generally the case it is how it is because it has evolved that way as being the best way for all. We have to accept that in all areas there will be people who push it.