Dave Liquorice wrote:
On 17 Jan 2007 15:46:49 GMT, Bob Eager wrote:

in a place designed to trap the unwary.

There is a very easy way not to get caught by a speed camera, don't break
the speed limit. There are signs and the type, location and lighting
should tell you what the speed limit is without signs. If the limit
differs from what it should be for the type, location and lighting then
there must be small repeator boards telling you the speed limit.

I am currently waiting to see if I will be issued with a notice for
getting flashed on a road I use infrequently. The previous road
markings had been burned off and the terminal(big)/repeater(small)
signage replaced with about 15 identical signs featuring a speed limit
roundel above a camera indicator sign. All perfectly legal, and I
imagine the authority concerned has been sensible enough to ensure that
the roundels are within the legal specs, but to my eye they are
probably the smallest allowable size for a terminal (change of limit)
sign. Those that function as repeaters are the same size and much
larger than normal repeaters.

Of the 15 signs over about 4 miles, 6 indicate a change in the limit.
You can discount the first as it grabs your attention, and the last as
it indicates NSL anyway, but that leaves 4 changes of speed limit in 13
signs, which, numerals apart, look absolutely identical. (The road
goes NSL-50-40-50-40-50-NSL where it used to be
NSL-something-NSL-something-NSL.) I *knew* there were speed
restrictions and I *knew* there were cameras, and I wouldn't argue with
either. But the confusing and unnecessary signage fooled me. I hit
the second camera thinking it and I were still in a 50 limit. I'd
mentally stopped taking as much notice of the signs as the authority
(and the self-righteous) would like. Thing is, I've never run a camera
elsewhere where they'd stuck to the big signs and repeaters. Not once.

Someone has no idea of human factors. If airline pilots had to listen
to monotonic voices constantly telling them to fly at a certain height
and then the same monotonic voice told them to fly at a different
height, they'd be falling out of the sky after mid-air collisions
caused by someone not noticing the change. But I can't decide if the
signage design on this stretch of road is malicious or incompetent.
Either explanation seems equally likely.

Anyway, you say "don't break the limit" and in general I'd agree.
However, it's possible for the authorities to make it far more
difficult than necessary for drivers to follow what that limit is at
any given time.

Rant over ;-)

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