The local BIBs appear to have obtained a number mobile enforcement vans (or one they move around a lot). It seems I meet one a couple of times whenever I go out lately.
It got me thinking that I've never seen a 20MPH limit enforced.
Is the equipment used capable of accurate measurement at lower speeds? Perhaps some other method is used or maybe they just don't bother.
Any enlightenment?
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I read some where that in many authorties 20mph zones are not enforcable by law. I don't know if thats true though. I personaly treat 20mph zones as that 20mph regardless of the law. I agree with most the 20 zones, its some of the 30's I don't but I still stick within the speed limit.
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I read some where that in many authorties 20mph zones are not enforcable by law.
Where the circle around the '20' is green rather than red (known as a "20's Plenty" scheme) the 20 mph limit is purely advisory - or so I have been told by a reliable source.
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It got me thinking that I've never seen a 20MPH limit enforced.
Detection by measurement is not the only possible means of enforcement. Many of the 20mph limits which I encounter are enforced by passive measures such as humps, pinch points etc.
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passive measures such as humps, pinch points etc.
Don't you mean extra skill-testing features like jumps, chicanes etc.?
:o}
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I remember being given a lift a few years ago by a fellow who had just been made redundant. He had been allowed to keep his company car until the end of the month but was not required to come to work until the car was due back. It occured to me that he was at least not slowing for speed humps and I would swear he actually speeded up for some of them. When I queried this unusual technique he admitted that it made him feel better........
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In Northampton I have seen police trapping folk in the 20 mph zone along the Racecourse, St Georges Avenue and they were to say the least, busy.
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"humps, pinch points etc. "
"Traffic-calming" devices that, curiously, make everyone less calm.
Arising out of the tyre thread, from the TyreSafe site here's another indication of the contribution of humps (my bold): "Driving over pot-holes, kerbs, speed humps etc even at low speed can result in the weakening or fracture of the tyre?s structure." The official view: speed humps do no damage if crossed at low speed.
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Don't you mean extra skill-testing features like jumps chicanes etc.?
That would only apply to the sort of drivers who like using kids as slalom poles, and I wouldn't want to encourage them ;p
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>>It got me thinking that I've never seen a 20MPH limit enforced.
There was, until very recently, a 20 mph limit on the A308 Thames Street / Hampton Court Road.
This short section had a new style Gatso in both directions.
For some unknown reason the road has now been restored to 30mph so all the roadside signs have been changed and all the 20 inside a circles signs have been burnt of the road surface.
I have no idea if the Gatsos were ever functioning when the 20 limit was posted.
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Isn't there a 20mph limit on Tower Bridge, enforced by cameras?
I believe that most 20mph zones have to be self-limiting, with chicanes, speed bumps and other traffic calming measures.
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I'm sure the answer must be somewhere in here ............ tinyurl.com/65oypu
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I'm sure the answer must be somewhere in here ............ tinyurl.com/65oypu
There's a lot of detailed in there on how to implement 20mph limits, but at tinyurl.com/4yhxhz it says "Equally important is that the form of speed limit chosen does not require unreasonable levels of enforcement by the police. 20 mph speed limits by signs alone would be most appropriate where 85th percentile speeds are already low and further traffic calming measures are not needed. 20 mph zones should be used where excessive speeds occur, and where traffic calming measures would be needed to ensure speeds are at or below 20 mph."
In other words, if 20mph zones need enforcement, use traffic calming rather than police.
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My village/estate which is about 8 years old is 20 mph throughout. Of late and on a fairly regular basis we've had the bib with hairdriers at the exit catching the school run drivers (who do manage to hoof it most mornings despite speed cushions).
They also stopped a number of drivers going the wrong way round a mini-roundabout (it cuts a corner). No prosecutions though because although it's round it's a speed calming device and not a roundabout (in the legal sense)!
As an aside the speed limit the other side of the 20mph is 60mph - I don't recall coming across such a large differential before.
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My village/estate which is about 8 years old is 20 mph throughout. Of late and on a fairly regular basis we've had the bib with hairdriers at the exit catching the school run drivers (who do manage to hoof it most mornings despite speed cushions).
How sad that people carrying children are speeding around residential roads just at the very time when other children are most likely to be walking to school. Some people seem to be incapable of joined-up thinking :(
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>>How sad that people carrying children are speeding<<
Well I get a chance to think about this everytime I do the school run. I'm lucky enough to walk it because I live close enough. I think it is apparent that as a pedestrian cars often appear to be going a lot faster than they actually are but there are some obvious abusers. Other observations: it tends to be the same people day in day out; they tend to be school run drivers; they always seem to be the ones with steamed up cars; the 4x4 drivers seem to be the most careful and considerate ones!
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In Richmond (yorks) a 20 mph limit was introduced a little while ago. To my amusement it was clearly unenforceable because the Council forgot to erect any repeater signs. The repeater signs are up now but I haven't seen any enforcement despite some obvious violators.
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That's interesting - there are no repeaters or road markings here, just the round signs at the entrances and exits to the estate including some mention of a "20mph zone". Whether the police were prosecuting or just having a word with drivers though, I don't know.
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