Safe Speed Forums

The road works at the above junctions now have SPECS cameras. They do not really do any good as there is always a traffic jam there. There are two cameras mounted on the camera posts. One is facing towards the traffic, and the other is facing away. Neither of them are pointing at the other carriageway. There are three sets of cameras. Does this mean that the cameras can catch people from the rear as well as the front now. Are motorcyclists now unsafe?

Motorcyclists will always be safe so long as they answer the NIP the right way

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

Not when we passed through that stretch in both directions over the weekend, there wasn't... Wish it had been all jammed up with traffic though, at least then there'd have been a bloody obvious reason for keeping your speed down, but when all you can see ahead of you is miles of free-flowing motorway and exactly NO members of the workforce that the reduced limit is there to protect, the temptation to up the speed a little is quite strong.

Having to stick to 40 all the way through was mind-numbing - at least with Gatso-enforced roadworks you're free to let your speed drift up and down a bit, with specs it's one long plod along, cruise control keeping the speed stable, watching all the foreign HGVs, and more than just a handful of UK registered ones as well, thunder past without any apparent care for the cameras...

Try it without cruise control, having to apply just the tiniest bit of pressure to the accelerator to keep at a steady-ish 40. And if your eyes aren't glued to the speedo then it's easy to sneak up to 45, especially with HGVs on your tail. Having said that, I don't really have a problem with reduced speeds in roadworks, certainly when there are works in the road anyway.

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-mike[F]
Caught in the rush of the crowd, lost in a wall of sound..

Could be worse - at least it's only a relatively short set of roadworks - and looks like they're doing 1 stretch and moving onto the next rather than the dreadful M6 J16-17 where 6 or 7 miles is coned off with 40 limit and specs protecting an often invisible workforce.

Traffic permitting you can avoid 90% of this (and avoid passing through 2 SPECS cameras) using A5/M69 - which are both nice stretches though take a few minutes longer than driving through the works.

Only seen cameras facing one direction. I get on at j21 to go North every morning. Only one SPECS camera to go through so I can go as fast as I want to...

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Speed camera policy Kills

Girlfriend tried that on the way back, and found it just as frustratingly tedious as I had on the way out. I've also tried this through other stretches of roadworks (M25 past Heathrow is a fairly regular drive for me) and it honestly makes no difference whether the speed is controlled by my right foot or by the CC, having to drive at a speed well below that which you would choose if no speed enforcement was in place just feels wrong. It might be a better way to avoid tedium if the roadworks happen to be on a stretch of road where it's difficult to maintain a steady speed without constant throttle adjustment, but this stretch of the M1 doesn't fit that description.




I don't have a problem with reduced speeds when members of the workforce are actually at work and potentially at risk from passing vehicles, or if the revised road layout justifies reducing the limit that much even when no work is taking place. But too often the limit is reduced to 40, and the enforcement remains active, despite the total absence of workforce from the works area, and despite the revised road layout still being of better standard than many of the NSL single/dual carriageways elsewhere in the region. As was the case with the M1 last weekend...

There is another solution if you have the bottle.

Th SPECS need a clean shot of the number plate. High sided trucks and coaches make an ideal line-of-sight blocker. You just need to know where to position your car. If you are in doubt about your average speed look for the nearest truck to tuck in next to.....

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Speed camera policy Kills

What annoyed me is that yesterday morning when travelling south, the speed limit continued for at least a mile after the end of the roadworks.
I suspect sombody must have complained, since today the end of the speed limit had been moved back.
Mind you, those blue posts that the SPECS are mounted on look horribly permanent.....

Don't think so. But the road works are there for a long time though.

I agree about the conjestion though. Hardly break 30 let alone 40. Probably harvest a good few fines late at night though.

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Speed camera policy Kills

I drove through the Leicester stretch both ways on Saturday en route to and from a wedding.

I slowed down to and drove at 30mph.

Of course, no one was working there at either time BUT safety, as you know, is paramount (sarcasm mode on).