They can be great at times … … yesterday (Sat 25th Aug), at about 4am they suddenly started flashing as I approached them Southbound on the M6 near Knutsford, to warn of an obstruction.
As it was, the obstruction was an artic stopped dead smack in the middle lane on a big sweeping left hand bend (does anyone know what had happened? There was a large dead animal 100 yards behind him, possibly a badger), and although he had his hazards on, no emergency services had arrived at that point to warn other drivers or assist.
However … does anyone else find the same flashing boards can be a nuisance on busy mways, as one mention of an ‘incident’ … that can often be just a broken down vehicle … can cause the ripple red light effect and consequently no end of congestion?
It comes up 50mph then a mile down the road its back to national speed limit, with no obstructions etc.
[rant] On the M5 through Birmingham there are all those advertising boards that a clearly there to advertise to the motorway traffic. So much tax money spent on stopping people texting, phoning etc while driving because the drivers attention should be on the road. Yet apparently its ok to inform us we can get a new BMW for £399 pcm. [/rant]
I was pleasantly supprised on saturday. Coming down the M5 on that long decent to Tiverton the matrix signs were lit up “queuing trafic ahead”. Yeah yeah me thinks but i let it roll from 58 down to 40 just to give the signs the benefit of the doubt and sure enough, lane 1 was nearlly stopped as people were backing up to come off at Tiverton at the roundabout on the end of the off slip. They do work sometimes!
alte hase:
Who is actualy operating these overhead speed signs, where are they located?, why is it when they look ‘‘mandatory’’ speed limit every one seems to ignore them , what is the speed tolerance allowed if for example they demand ‘‘50mph’’, whats your take on them?
Most of the signs are set & cleared automatically off loops buried in the carriageway & H/S, google ‘MIDAS’, the other signals are set on information ‘recieved’ generally from the public unless it is seen on camera, so ■■■■ in = ■■■■ out .
There are 7 control rooms that operate the signals, & round B/ham & other places managed motorways on & off are all worked out using alogorithm stuff, which won’t be an issue on new managed motorways as they will be ALR (all lane running with no hard shoulders )
Just google Highwaysagency & look in the knowledge centre, you’ll see all sorts & a pretty picture of a ‘mountain’ of all the ratchet straps collected in a region over a month, just imagine how many punctures they caused and then congestion if a rolling road block was put on to collect each one
Yeah they do, the problem is though they don’t work all the time
People ignore them because they are usually wrong and that could cause big problems
This is too true.
I remember, I was working nights, trunking from Manchester to Heathrow, and every night for weeks on the M42 it went ‘50’, ‘40’, then ‘20’ on the inside and ‘40’ on the middle and outside - so I natrually move to the middle for no reason, then back to national speed limit.
But, it was in the managed motorway section with the cameras and they were the signs with the red ring round them, so I obeyed, every night, for no bloody reason
Waynedl, you’re not saying that these managed roads (with more on the way) can have different speed limits in different lanes in the same place are you? I’ve never seen that. (There aren’t many that I go on). Couldn’t one do that trick of changing to a faster lane then moving back? I don’t think you’re stating that in retrospect, or are you? Doh!
Snudger:
Waynedl, you’re not saying that these managed roads (with more on the way) can have different speed limits in different lanes in the same place are you? I’ve never seen that. (There aren’t many that I go on). Couldn’t one do that trick of changing to a faster lane then moving back? I don’t think you’re stating that in retrospect, or are you? Doh!
That’s exactly what was happening, I’m going back about 5yrs though tbh, I’ve no idea if things are the same, but it was driving me mad, dropping my speed down from 55 to 50 to 40 then moving to the middle lane, all for no reason
Ah Mr Wayne, I think you may be right after thinking about it today. I have been so used to going through the “improvements” around the Almondsbury interchange (where they have average speed cameras) that I was thinking it would be impossible to prove the average speed if the limit differed between lanes and a vehicle moved lanes. This is probably true. Of course on the gantries where they enforce the instantaneous speed limit, it would be the limit at that point and time, which means differing instantaneous limits could be imposed on the very same stretch of road at the same time AIUI. They have the technology!
monday morning on way to work was going upm1 just passed j6 a copper started a rolling road block, signs warning of obstrucktion and then stuff in road… the j7/8 section was under no limits the m1 down to 40… still behind old bill then bout half a mile past j8 slip they was someone changing a tyre on the hard shoulder!!! these signs are a waste of time and money its like traffic reporters on local radio, all they do is look at bloody traffic screens!! they love a good sensor!!!
dazaster:
monday morning on way to work was going upm1 just passed j6 a copper started a rolling road block, signs warning of obstrucktion and then stuff in road… the j7/8 section was under no limits the m1 down to 40… still behind old bill then bout half a mile past j8 slip they was someone changing a tyre on the hard shoulder!!! these signs are a waste of time and money its like traffic reporters on local radio, all they do is look at bloody traffic screens!! they love a good sensor!!!
So the car ahead you couldn’t see, cleared the tyre debris & continued on, you carried on with out stopping but only having to slow down & your still moaning ?
Or were you were listening into the airwave radios and assume you saw a vehicle changing a tyre that didn’t cause any debris ?
when on one of these managed motorways, say your on the cruise control at 566mph. your just about to pass under the gantry when the board lights up like a xmas tree saying “40 mph” etc and its one with speed cameras the other side .
how much of a “delay” is there between the speed limit being set and the speed cameras activating, is it instant and you have to jump on the brake pedal with both feet? to avoid 3points before you pass under the ganty
Cruise Control:
when on one of these managed motorways, say your on the cruise control at 566mph. your just about to pass under the gantry when the board lights up like a xmas tree saying “40 mph” etc and its one with speed cameras the other side .
how much of a “delay” is there between the speed limit being set and the speed cameras activating, is it instant and you have to jump on the brake pedal with both feet? to avoid 3points before you pass under the ganty
i’m just curious.
Don’t worry, at 566mph the camera will never get you.
Just as there is a delay between any incident and the speed limit sign lighting up on these managed motorways, you would hope that there would be a reasonable delay between the limit going up and its enforcement, to allow for traffic that’s gone through it just before it’s happened to get out of the system, so to speak.
I quote “Unsubstantiated reports are starting to break that the CPS are dropping hatfuls of cases involving the variable limits on this stretch of motorway” (M42), it would appear that the authorities’ legal knickers might be in a bit of a twist on this issue. For instance, if the sign isn’t quite working. e.g. the red circle bit has broken and not showing, then I presume it is not a prescribed sign and has no legal meaning - some signs are regularly in this state IME. As ever, if you are in the right regarding the speed limit at the time you pass, your own video evidence and satellite tracking info should cover you by proving exactly where you were and what happened.
I reckon that these warning signs are a white elephant and a huge waste of taxpayers hard earned.
I passed Knutsford s/b this morning and noticed the matrix flashing “40 queue caution”. Sure enough the traffic slowed to well under 40 and there was indeed a queue.
2 miles up the road we got the all clear, and again sure enough the traffic resumed normal speed and flow.
So, was the queue there and the matrix signs then activated, or was the queue caused by the matrix signs?
A very expensive self fulfilling prophecy I’m thinking. Another problem is that people rarely believe what is written on the signs (unless of course they happen to be driving directly in front of me!). I’ve often seen signs warning of animals/pedestrians in the carriageway, when we all know there is nothing of the sort. Perhaps one man and his dog stopped for a ■■■■ seven hours earlier!
Snudger:
Just as there is a delay between any incident and the speed limit sign lighting up on these managed motorways, you would hope that there would be a reasonable delay between the limit going up and its enforcement, to allow for traffic that’s gone through it just before it’s happened to get out of the system, so to speak.
I quote “Unsubstantiated reports are starting to break that the CPS are dropping hatfuls of cases involving the variable limits on this stretch of motorway” (M42), it would appear that the authorities’ legal knickers might be in a bit of a twist on this issue. For instance, if the sign isn’t quite working. e.g. the red circle bit has broken and not showing, then I presume it is not a prescribed sign and has no legal meaning - some signs are regularly in this state IME. As ever, if you are in the right regarding the speed limit at the time you pass, your own video evidence and satellite tracking info should cover you by proving exactly where you were and what happened.
Ive gone through the signs speeding plenty of times, ive only seen one go off on the other side of the road, personally i think there set to 60 or 70 and never change.
If you see any signs that are not correct, or if you see anything that could cause any road safety issues call the Highways Agency on 0300 123 5000, they are always grateful for any help we can give them, and it may help to stop the holdups and accidents we always complain about on here.
I was driving towards Portsmouth on the M27 the other day, it was raining and the traffic was braking because the overhead signs were illuminated, when i got closer to the sign it was warning of severe flooding in the north east■■?
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then bout half a mile past j8 slip they was someone changing a tyre on the hard shoulder!!! these signs are a waste of time and money its like traffic reporters on local radio, all they do is look at bloody traffic screens!! they love a good sensor!!!
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