On the way to/from work now they have fitted those silly little signs that when you go over the speed limit the sign lights up to tell you the speed limit

is there any point to these ?

if they actually issue fines from them im in trouble as they go off nearly every time i come up to them

everybody seems to set them off and dont care

i keep expecting to see a police van with the camera in the back when i come round the corner slowly but never have

these seem to be croping up all over the place round hee latley

They sprung up on the A34 at Oxford a few years ago and they do seem to get people to slow down from the 80/90 they were doing in the NSL bit to 60 in the 50 zone. The easiest solution would be to stick a camera further down the road to force people to slow down, but I guess it's not an accident blackspot so no real reason to

Chris

They are called Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) or variable message signs. The idea is to make you realise what speed you are doing, just incase your on autopilot (as i usually am) they are mainly for roads safety and probably erected by the Roads Authority and not solely the police. They do not issue tickets and are in no way connected to the issue of tickets.

I think part of the criteria for erecting these is that the site has to be an accident black spot.

The sign which displays your speed is uncommon now, because boy racers and spides use it to see how fast they cna go on a stretch of road. Usually they go for the signs which read 'SLOW DOWN' when you breach the threshold.

JD

They are called Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) or variable message signs. The idea is to make you realise what speed you are doing' date=' just incase your on autopilot (as i usually am) they are mainly for roads safety and probably erected by the Roads Authority and not solely the police. They do not issue tickets and are in no way connected to the issue of tickets.

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I think they're much better than speed cameras personally, as it's a warning which will be heeded by responsible drivers. Twin them up with a speed camera further on by all means, to catch those that ignore the warning, but if the real purpose is to slow people down, rather than milk motorists' wallets, then I think they're a very good idea...

Talking of speed cameras, does anyone have a road angel or such like?

If so is it worth the actual cash? :confused:

I have been pretty good in the past at keeping my eyes open for cameras but there are so many mobile ones around now that I feel |I am on borrowed time.

Not that I speed of course...

I remember there was one camera in a village that I saw whilst learning to drive. It came up with my speed and also my reg! I was shocked to say the least.

On the way to/from work now they have fitted those silly little signs that when you go over the speed limit the sign lights up to tell you the speed limit

is there any point to these ?

if they actually issue fines from them im in trouble as they go off nearly every time i come up to them

everybody seems to set them off and dont care

i keep expecting to see a police van with the camera in the back when i come round the corner slowly but never have

these seem to be croping up all over the place round hee latley

Yep , they have some by me now as well.

They do seem to be quite effective in slowing traffic down and they do log speeds of passing vehicles so the police can see if everyone is speeding and show up there with their hairdryer.

They do seem to be quite effective in slowing traffic down and they do log speeds of passing vehicles so the police can see if everyone is speeding and show up there with their hairdryer.

You mean they can determine actual speeds rather than the simple fact of recognising exceeding a threshhold? If so is the info.transmitted or stored for plod to collect? We have one at each end of our village and have been told by the parish council chairman they are not connected to any centralised info.gathering.

You mean they can determine actual speeds rather than the simple fact of recognising exceeding a threshhold? If so is the info.transmitted or stored for plod to collect? We have one at each end of our village and have been told by the parish council chairman they are not connected to any centralised info.gathering.

There are lots of types.

Some just illuminate when a vehicle passes by at more than the limit.

Others log the speeds for later analysis.

The ones we have are square , about 18 inches , and can be set to any speed so they can be moved around.

Interestingly in the first week they were put up on the local ring road 80% of drivers were over the limit (although that included 31mph!).

In that period there wasn't a single accident.

Some people saw the statistics as an indicator of hordes of dangerous drivers.

I see at as showing thats it's usually safe to drive above 30

There are lots of types.

Some just illuminate when a vehicle passes by at more than the limit.

Others log the speeds for later analysis.

The ones we have are square ' date=' about 18 inches , and can be set to any speed so they can be moved around.

Interestingly in the first week they were put up on the local ring road 80% of drivers were over the limit (although that included 31mph!).

In that period there wasn't a single accident.

Some people saw the statistics as an indicator of hordes of dangerous drivers.

I see at as showing thats it's usually safe to drive above 30[/quote']

Thanks Dr.Z. The ones we have round here are all permanent and just show "slow down". I think I've seen the other type, look like a small black trailer and show the applicable limit and some of those seem to use wind power to generate their leccy.

I agree with your view of the stats. The other view is just typical of the "slow'em down for any reason" brigades.

I've currently got a Viasis Mini on loan.

Mine says "YOUR SPEED" over the display.

I've popped it up on the road outside my house several times in the past fortnight - it's a 30mph limit.

It's programmed to show the speed over 25mph and flashes the speed if it's over 40mph.

Highest speed recorded is 57mph.

"Problem" vehicles have been a Milk Tanker registering 44mph and a National Express coach registering 42mph.

Worst example was the young woman driving a Ford Escort who pulled out of a turning up the road (within sight so not that far off), accelerated rapidly, and triggered 44mph on the sign - but the amazing thing was that when she went past me I saw she had both hands off the wheel and appeared to be rolling a cigarette!!!!!

In a typical half an hour I get about 30/40 cars registering over the potential speeding fine speed of 35mph. At

Interestingly in the first week they were put up on the local ring road 80% of drivers were over the limit (although that included 31mph!).

In that period there wasn't a single accident.

Some people saw the statistics as an indicator of hordes of dangerous drivers.

I see at as showing thats it's usually safe to drive above 30

We asked for a Speed Camera but weren't allowed one because we don't have enough accidents!

But the concern here is not the fact we don't have accidents but both the perception that accidents might occur and the consequences of an accident happening when vehicles are travelling so fast. Two articulated lorries going each at 40mph are going to do a lot more damage if they crash than two doing 30mph.

At times it's actually difficult to cross the road here owing to the speeds being encountered.

At least we're only in a 30mph limit to start with' date=' a situation I think all town and village roads with lots of driveways should be on, but often aren't.[/color']

What annoys me more is the increasingly prevalent application of blanket 50mph limits in open country roads which can't be justified.

I think they are a good idea. Much fairer way of controlling excess speed than Scameras milking the motorist. Normal law abiding motorists take note and do slow down.

Seems the new spec camera`s that measure the average speed is the new thing to rip us off.

I got hit by one of these. I turned off a 80 kph road on to a 50 kph without any indication of a change in the speed limit. Was doing just over 80 kph, thought grand it'll just show my speed, then it flashes "Your speed 82 kph, limit 50 kph, police informed"!!!!

This was 6 weeks ago and I haven't received the dreaded letter so I'm assuming it was a scare tactic to get people to slow for the rest of the journey which I have no problem with, but an aul 50 kph sign would have meant me not triggering this message in the first place. Typical Ireland no street names, no sign posts and now no speed limit signs!!