I drove down the A3 from Kingston to the M25 at lunchtime. Did I miss something or is the first de-restriction sign not until the vicinity of the Pain's Hill junction, after miles of motorway-standard three-lane road restricted to 50 mph? Do the regulars take any notice?
And what about those 20 mph zones on the A308 approaching Kingston from the west -- Sunbury, Hampton, or was it the Portsmouth Road in Kingston? One of them seemed to last for less that a hundred yards or so -- distraction of change of speed limit, adjustment of speed, distraction of another change of speed limit, adjustment of speed, etc. I was looking out for schools, but am not sure that I saw any.
I have never used these routes before, so these are simply the comments/queries of the newcomer.
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As it happens, I drove in to London last night by a route never used before and commented to my passengers about the bewildering array of compliance requirements. Sure, many are sensible, but some are bloomin' daft, some are actually contradictory, and together they cause a huge workload that detracts from safe driving and observation where its really needed.
That I determined to drive like a saint turned me in to a mobile chicane that earned two vees, one carve up, and because I had the audacity to actually stop at a red traffic light that gave enough warning to bring a supertanker to a halt, very nearly a rear end wipe out; the cabbie behind put his boot down as the light went amber, obviously expecting me to do the same. He missed me only by jinking out and coming alongside. Whilst this was going on, car after car ran the light on red (by using a turning lane to go straight on), the last only just missing the first vehicle to have reacted to its green. Of course we then waited, and waited, and waited... and waited for our green whilst nothing went across the junction.
Everyone is human, and whilst some of what I saw was pure bad manners and arrogance (not one pedal pusher actually stopped at a red light for example and the usual moped muppets were in abundance), it's perhaps no wonder that patience evaporates for those who tolerate what I have described every day.
BTW - to resurrect what we have done here before; just what IS Ken playing at with those wretched bendy buses? Their huge footprint means (1) one of them easily blocks a junction, (2) several of them can easily gridlock a roundabout, (3) bus stops with several of them parked become very (very) long to safely pass - with the tail end charlie also sticking out in to the road, and (4) they can't squeeze through oblique gaps in traffic like a shorter (double decker) can so everyone else has to sit and wait.
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Err no. You missed the NSL sign just after the temporary speed limit due the fire damaged bridge just after the hook underpass. Its 50 mph from robin hood gate to just pass hoot underpass, then NSL all the way to 50mph at Guildford.
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And what about those 20 mph zones on the A308 approaching Kingston from the west -- Sunbury, Hampton,
>>One of them seemed to last for less that a hundred yards or so-- distraction of change of speed limit, adjustment of speed, distraction of another change of speed limit, adjustment of speed, etc. I was looking out for schools, but am not sure that I saw any.
Yes it was the A308 either side of where the A311 joins it.
As you are aware this is the main feeder road from Kingston and surrounding areas to the M3 especially if avoiding the M25.
It is a bit closer to 800 yards long.
The road is not that narrow. I have travelled it on thousands of occasions at all sorts of hours, it was my commute route. Since it became a 20mph zone I have yet to see any vehicles at 20mph outside rush hour.
There are no schools in that area but the BiB have a traffic station within 200 yds so cars are often transiting there.
I certainly cannot see any good reason for reducing the limit from 30 to 20mph.
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Echo SjB's message about buses, especially since they appear to be the only vehicles exempt from limits in Kingston. You need to be lashed down to survive on a bus coming out of the centre.
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