On 16/12/2019 21:15, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Mon, 16 Dec 2019 13:28:00 -0000 (UTC), Jethro_uk wrote:

Most of the time it's bleeding obvious what the speed limit is - really
you shouldn't need any assistance at all beyond your knowledge of the
highway code.

Agreed. And if the speed limit isn't what the default should be for a
given section of road there should be small repeator signs to tell
you what the limit really is. Note the word "should", they are often
very far apart. For non-motorways if there are street lights it's 30.
But can you tell the difference between a "street light" that
triggers a 30 limit or a "footway light" that doesn't...

However, despite all the official "guidance"[1] there are still roads
and situations where you cannot discern the speed limit, and any
evidence you might need to prove that to defence a speeding charge
will be long gone.

Dashcam... but if one is doing more than about half a dozen hours
driving per week it'll either need a big card or you swapping cards
to stop the "evidence" being over written in the two weeks or longer
that ticket takes to arrive.

[1]I've been told a few times that no roads have a change of speed limit
of more than 10mph, but around me there are a few 60-30 and 50- roads.

60 30 happens at almost every rural road entering a village or
town.


Not in Warwickshire, where you are more likely to come across 504030
or 5030.

The A426/A423 Dunchurch to Banbury is 50mph through out, save for the
1.2 mile Southam Bypass (NSL), a smudge of 40 as you approach Southam
from the south, and the only 603060 interface is at the roundaboiut
where the A423 meets the A425 east. This is despite passing through no
major settlements.

There are two locations where a short stretch of 40mph might concentrate
the mind (a crossroads partially hidden by a humped bridge, and another
crossroads with relatively high crossing and turning traffic), but the
one size fits all "50 is the new NSL" policy has bugger all to do with
addressing real safety issues.