Tank Slap - Motorcycle Forum

If people stick to the changed speeds it works. The idea is to increase clearance rates, that is the number of vehicles passing through a given area.

When the motorways getting busy decreasing speed limits makes it easier for traffic to join and leave the motorway, junctions are always a bottleneck on the motorway.

Drivers are the problem. People drive too close to the car in front. If someone brakes, everyone else brakes and that causes the traffic to slow or even stop. I see it all the time on the roads. They can't work out that if everyone kept their distance you would get to your destination a lot sooner.

Rossgo wrote:T.C. ahh right ok thanks for the info. That's a question I've never known the answer to and I was even asked it by a couple of others as we've never really known! I hate these cameras, it's so tirering keeping at such a slow speed along a long length of what was fast motorway!

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I can appreciate your frustration, but maybe a quick explanation may help.

When roadworks are planned and a speed restriction put in place, a traffic order has to be be granted and approved and then advertised in the London Gazette before the restriction can be put into force.

On a Motorway, (for example the M4 conversion to a smart motorway) the traffic order applies to the whole length of the carriageway between junctions 10 and 8/9.

This means that for 8 miles a 50 limit is in force even though they are moving quite slowly from 10 towards 8/9.

To apply seperate traffic orders in blocks would be both impractical and costly and so it is easier to apply for 1 order covering the whole length of the motorway being worked on whether it be a couple of miles or many miles.

Sometimes work is going on out of sight that a passing motorist might not see but still requires caution.

What also has to be taken into account is that sometimes the workforce are working in different areas, and there is also the risk of a break down in the restriction and so hitting a stationary vehicle at 50 is possibly going to be less devastating than hitting it at 70+ on top of which other drivers are able to react, stop or take avoiding action more easily.

I have been stood on the hard shoulder and seen people sucked into the carriageway by the vortex created by a vehicle passing at 70. It does not happen often but when you work the Motorway regularly you see some horrendous sights and so the authorities have to do what they can to reduce the risk.

It is frustrating I appreciate and it is easy to slag off the speed limits, but rest assured they are there for a reason, not least for the protection of those on the Motorway (and I am not employed by Highways or being paid a commision to say all this either )

When is a speed camera an average or a static?

I know the big temporary ones in yellow with signs saying average are average, but the smart motorway networks? My thought is that they are static cameras?

Cav wrote:When is a speed camera an average or a static?

I know the big temporary ones in yellow with signs saying average are average, but the smart motorway networks? My thought is that they are static cameras?

A static camera is usually along the lines of a Gatso and are defined by the callibration marks on the road.

Static cameras on the Motorway are also defined by callibration lines in each lane

In these cases they will record your speed at a precise moment in time over a set distance confirned by the callibration lines.

Anerage speed cameras measure time over distance over a much longer distance (such as roadworks or a contraflow)

And the dual laser cameras on a cantilever usually positioned off the side of a gantry? The ones that don't use the lines on the road.

So is it fair to say that the smart motorways aren't average speed?

Cav wrote:And the dual laser cameras on a cantilever usually positioned off the side of a gantry? The ones that don't use the lines on the road.

So is it fair to say that the smart motorways aren't average speed?

Some are, some aren't.

It will vary from area to area

Depends on what Motorway, which Police force area and what was intended for that smart Motorway at inception and therefpre what traffic order was put in place.

Easy way round it is just stick to the limits

the Cynic in me says that once electric vehicles are the norm they won’t need speed cameras. They will have to replace fuel duty somehow and the easy way will be a pay per mile. Which means they will want to track vehicles all the time.......... which means they will know everything about your driving.

In the meantime the Police need as much cash as they can get, so cameras are a nice little earner for them.

Thanks for all your involvement in this thread guys. It's clear it's not just me who has questions!



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duke63 wrote:the Cynic in me says that once electric vehicles are the norm they won’t need speed cameras. They will have to replace fuel duty somehow and the easy way will be a pay per mile. Which means they will want to track vehicles all the time.......... which means they will know everything about your driving.

Possibly, but maybe we’ll end up with separately metered charging stations at home, the grid infrastructure is likely to be on its knees with a few million cars charging up at night so they’ll need to claw the cost of the upgrades back as well, I’d guess we’ll be paying a purchase tax, a modified/renamed road fund license and a high tariff “fuel” tax, just a guess, but that taxation hole left by fossil fuels will have to be filled somehow.

Deegee wrote:

duke63 wrote:the Cynic in me says that once electric vehicles are the norm they won’t need speed cameras. They will have to replace fuel duty somehow and the easy way will be a pay per mile. Which means they will want to track vehicles all the time.......... which means they will know everything about your driving.

Possibly, but maybe we’ll end up with separately metered charging stations at home, the grid infrastructure is likely to be on its knees with a few million cars charging up at night so they’ll need to claw the cost of the upgrades back as well, I’d guess we’ll be paying a purchase tax, a modified/renamed road fund license and a high tariff “fuel” tax, just a guess, but that taxation hole left by fossil fuels will have to be filled somehow.

The electric companies have already said the infrastructure won't be able to cope with the amount of electric vehicles. It can barely cope with the kettles during a world cup half time.

So what's their solution? Pump some of their profit into the infrastructure to make it work? Of course not, they're going to introduce higher rate tariffs for peak time charging, which will obviously give the government more tax on the form of vat.

T.C. wrote:

Cav wrote: Easy way round it is just stick to the limits

I do for the vast majority of my driving.. I just like to know what all the cameras are actually for.

Also.. it really frustrates me when 'smart' networks post a 60 zone when there is zero traffic or work-people. It's because they're set to a timer of usual traffic but just bloody react to the traffic that's there for crying out loud