Just before Christmas, after 40+ years trouble free motoring, I was caught speeding on the 80 mile journey home from a break in Donegal. I was doing 36mph in a 30 (Ironically, I thought I was 4mph under thinking the road was a 40mph limit!). I took their kind offer to take a Speed Awareness course.

Today, I just got another 'ticket' again on the journey home from Donegal last week. This time doing 37mph in a 30mph. Again, the stretch of road (different to last time) was a dual carriageway with a central marked reservation. I read it incorrectly as a 40mph.

I am obviously a menace on the road, and should be stripped of all privileges 🤣

I'm the bloke on the motorway in lane 1 doing 65mph LOL These days I'm in no hurry to go anywhere. Still, the government needs money to fill all those nasty potholes, I'm glad to contribute...

 

3 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Again, the stretch of road (different to last time) was a dual carriageway with a central marked reservation.

How anyone can justify a 30MPH limit on a dual carriageway is something I'll never understand. 🙄

Presumably it's in a built up area with pedestrian crossings?

8 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Presumably it's in a built up area with pedestrian crossings?

The road is several miles long (A5), and probably goes through several variances. If I'd seen a zebra crossing, I'm talented enough to know I'm in a 30mph zone. I know I could request an exact location via FOI, but to be honest, there is no right of appeal, so what would be the point. I'm just holding my hands up and confessing to being a bad driver...

In addition to the fine, and the 3 points, I'm sure my car insurance renewal will jump all over this as an excuse to hike premium even further.

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

Again, the stretch of road (different to last time) was a dual carriageway with a central marked reservation. I read it incorrectly as a 40mph.

What a bummer, Stephen! A considerable amount of my course was spent on how you can identify what type of road you are on and the applicable limit, but I don't think we left much wiser. There's just very little logic or consistency.

I have intelligent speed assist on my car but even that is of limited use. As I've posted elsewhere, it's by no means 100%, and once you're aware of that you still have that nagging doubt particularly on unfamiliar roads.

I guess it's even harder for you as the ROI use those kilometre things and you can't always tell which side of the border you are!

 

 

 

In my part of the world if a road in a built up area, even one with streetlights is either 40 or 20 then there are small speed limit signs on the Lampposts every so often. Otherwise it is 30mph and in these cases there are no reminders other than one when you enter the zone.

Well acording to my sat nav the a42heading north towards m1 has a 100mph limit. Thats handy to know🤣🤣

I was just wondering, does anyone here know if 'speed radar detectors' are legal in the UK, and if so, any recommendations?

(I know years back it was a 'grey' area but my knowledge is way out of date.)

Still legal in UK (unless you're subject to EU rules as part of your "special arrangements" in NI!)

 

3 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Still legal in UK (unless you're subject to EU rules as part of your "special arrangements" in NI!)

 

Good point LOL I often forget you guys accidentally left us in the EU 🤣

I'll just wait for the recommendations to roll in...

Download Waze to your modern telephone.  Attach it to your dashboard using the magic of magnets.

Use it to navigate your journeys.  There's a GPS speedometer displayed in the bottom left corner.  It goes Red when the speed limit at your location is exceeded.

For my sins, I'm doing a significant amount of driving at the moment.  (I don't mean commuting.)

Waze has been very accurate is showing actual speed limits vs my actual speed.  I recommend using it.

40 minutes ago, orangecurry said:

...There's a GPS speedometer displayed in the bottom left corner.  It goes Red when the speed limit at your location is exceeded.

My Garmin does exactly the same thing, but I really need a HUD as for safety, I keep my eyes on the road, not a gadget LOL

EDIT...

The very fact that I wrote this post stating I need to keep my eyes on the road, made me wonder if there was any audible alert available. Well, blow me down. Just looked at my Garmin SatNav and went into settings. There is such an option which was currently disabled, but not anymore! Will try it out tomorrow and see how I go. 👍

23 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I keep my eyes on the road, not a gadget LOL

...but not well enough to see the speed limit signs however 🤣 or lack of them - is it the same in Co-Antrim that if there are no speed limit repeaters, you must be in a 30 zone?

17 hours ago, StephenFord said:

...Will try it out tomorrow and see how I go. 👍

Well, I've done a 50 mile test today, the Garmin has a lovely soft chime when it senses speed limit +1mph. I also ran Waze which to the second, chimed the instant Garmin did. Though it did take alot of 'setting' fettling to stop all the numerous pop ups, and messages from other Waze users! (Why on earth would you want to contact other folk who have that app??)

Anyway, I'm glad I found a system that'll nudge me when I digress from the limit. I'm hoping I don't increase the 3 points the government have kindly awarded me...

Wazers are a bit like train-spotters - except they are pothole-spotters.

Very useful on occasion, but you wouldn't want to get stuck in a traffic-jam with one.

On 3/21/2024 at 1:36 PM, StephenFord said:

The road is several miles long (A5), and probably goes through several variances. If I'd seen a zebra crossing, I'm talented enough to know I'm in a 30mph zone. I know I could request an exact location via FOI, but to be honest, there is no right of appeal, so what would be the point. I'm just holding my hands up and confessing to being a bad driver...

In addition to the fine, and the 3 points, I'm sure my car insurance renewal will jump all over this as an excuse to hike premium even further.

Hi.

When you're due for renewal if you need any help with insurance then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

Just out of interest, this is the exact location I was caught speeding. The mobile speed trap van was parked off road in front of the bank, and as you can see, the road I was on is a dual carriageway which I mistook as a 40mph limit, not a 30mph one...

If only the light had changed as you approached..........!

Yes, tricky one that - just the sort of thing we spent ages inconclusively debating on my course. Back in the past, the street lamps might have been a clue but they have them on M-ways and other major roads these days. 

Looks like a pedestrian crossing with dropped kerbs at those traffic lights?

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Looks like a pedestrian crossing with dropped kerbs at those traffic lights?

It is a very ambiguous road layout, there seems to be a dropped kerb on the right hand side, but not a matching one on the left. Also, if it were a proper pedestrian crossing, it would sure help traffic if there were traditional 'zebra' lines painted on the road...

1 minute ago, StephenFord said:

It is a very ambiguous road layout, there seems to be a dropped kerb on the right hand side, but not a matching one on the left. Also, if it were a proper pedestrian crossing, it would sure help traffic if there were traditional 'zebra' lines painted on the road...

It's not a zebra crossing though.  Pedestrians always have right of way at those.  As it's traffic lighted it would have to be at least a pelican crossing.

Though I agree it's not a crossing at all if there aren't dropped kerbs on both sides.  Difficult to make that out on the picture.

5 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Just out of interest, this is the exact location I was caught speeding. The mobile speed trap van was parked off road in front of the bank, and as you can see, the road I was on is a dual carriageway which I mistook as a 40mph limit, not a 30mph one...

I thought a dual carriageway had a barrier . 

Is that glenshane road on the A6?

10 minutes ago, iantt said:

I thought a dual carriageway had a barrier .

Apologies, yes, the legal definition is that it has a central reservation, that was my own clumsy definition in having 2 lanes either direction...

10 minutes ago, iantt said:

Is that glenshane road on the A6?

Yes... Heading home from Donegal via Derry.

Does seem a little confusing due to after the roundabout the carriageways are split for some distance before the lights. 

Going the other way there's no mistake as you pass 30mph signage

But going back to my earlier point, it has street lights and I can't see any signs indicating to the contrary, so, according to Gov.Uk it's a 30, I'm afraid:

National speed limits

The following speed limits apply to all single and dual carriageways with street lights, unless there are signs showing otherwise:

• 30 miles per hour (48km/h) in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland
• 20 miles per hour (32km/h) in Wales