Digital speed signs

[homer]

oww where's the fun in that?

yes ive seen one there really wicked
you can go as fast as you want and watch it change
i actually saw it on 53km and flashing so i sped up as i wasnt sitting on about 59 km as i normally do ,this was very helpful as i didnt realise i had slowed that much

[Meekey_Mouse]

Good way to calibrate speedos. The VFR is reading a bit high supposedly.

Though in my typical conspiracy theorist mind, I'm thinking they purposely read a bit high so people will go just slightly over 60 on their speedos and get done for speeding cause their speedo is actually accurate. But that's just a silly thought...

We had one here on Spa Rd not so long ago... I wondered the same thing! For the machine to say I'm going 50kph I need to be on 57kph... Quite close to 60. It's probably just that my speedo is out... but that is quite a way outta whack

[Coyote]

We had one here on Spa Rd not so long ago... I wondered the same thing! For the machine to say I'm going 50kph I need to be on 57kph... Quite close to 60. It's probably just that my speedo is out... but that is quite a way outta whack

Was that on your RG150? Cause that's normal. 120kph on the speedo = 100kph real speed. It's one of the many things that gives the almighty RG it's character. I want one again.

[offrd]

WARNING

There is no calibration on those speed signs, Take a stab in the dark readings.

When i was linehaul driving the two i passed in Welly (one going in and one going out) gave different readings... While the speedo read the same past both.

One of our drivers thought his speedo was inaccurate by trusting the reading. 60k on his speedo was a sign speed of 50k .. The officer that pulled him up later for driving 10k over the limit still booked him for it after being told..

ENTRAPMENT!

I know my speedo was dead accurate... Speedo read 103km when on the govenor... So did the hawk....


Only thing those signs are good for



TARGET PRACTICE

[MaxCannon]

I've seen one of these somewhere local (Mt Eden ?) but I forget where exactly.
Anyhow- I've been past on the bike and in the car.
The car was picked up fine and the speedo and sign seemed pretty close.

The bike failed to register at all - I did a u turn and tried again and still got nothing.

This was months back so perhaps the calibration has been fixed now.

[bikemike]

Haven't been involved with the Princess Marg. pole mount unit yet, but the Centaurus Rd site has been used to trial the new speed camera units that will be entering service soon.

Its long term use is as a warning device for that corner, people hit it too fast and end up coming off 2nd best.

The cities first plate recognition speed camera's will be fitted into the Lytellton tunnel this year, along with a additional 26 surveillance camera's

What's too fast there...? I wonder how inappropriate this particular device might be at that corner.

I see most drivers cutting that corner and drifting wildly out of it at a speed comfortably under the 50kph limit. They are putting themselves into a conflict position regardless of their speed. I have regularly seen drivers slowing firmly for the sign (it's clearly visible well before the natural slowing point) and then cut the white line by one to three feet. This problem is exacerbated by the bus stops immediately prior to the corner in both directions (not usually at the same time) which moves all traffic towards the centre line, as well as the right-turners into Hillsborough. Then there is the extremely poor surface on the outer lane of that corner, which provides noticeably reduced grip (seat of the pants) even at sub-limit speeds.

There was a time during the trialling when a camera van and a mobile speed sign were placed at that location along with the new static speed display. This was immediately in advance of the westbound bus-stop and that in itself caused near misses that I saw, with the bus unable to fully parallel park and traffic still passing - potentially into the path of oncoming eastbound traffic.

Now, when this wonderful new sign shows you are travelling at a speed in excess of the legal limit it also shows 'LIMIT EXCEEDED'.
When you travel at a legal speed, it reads 'THANK YOU, SAFE'

In light of what I see at that junction every day, REGARDLESS of speed, that there sign is actually educating people to drive and ride badly. Seventy percent of the time or more, you would not actually pull drivers over after negotiating that corner under 50kph and tell them face to face 'Thank you, that was a safe bit of driving' and they should therefore not be getting that endorsement from a machine.

I'm sure that there would be better results with a centre-line rumble, a much bigger corner chevron sign, and, if they aren't going to improve the surface there, a loose surface sign. Though none of that would wash with Hans Monderman rip - what would he have done?

I can be unjustly opinionated just like the next guy; so if someone can convince me this is a good idea, please do :-)

See the line the drivers are taking on this Google Earth image

[vifferman]

Haven't been involved with the Princess Marg. pole mount unit yet, but the Centaurus Rd site has been used to trial the new speed camera units that will be entering service soon.

Its long term use is as a warning device for that corner, people hit it too fast and end up coming off 2nd best.

That reminds me: when we were in the Hunter Valley last August (visiting Casey Stoner), there were roadworks with speed detection and display thingos on them. As we approached, they said summat like: "Speed limit: 30km/h. Your speed: 235km/h. SLOW DOWN!"
I thought in this instance it was a very good use of the technology. Having them sitting on the side of some random piece of road and saying "SLOW" is just dumb.

[Monsterbishi]

WARNING

There is no calibration on those speed signs, Take a stab in the dark readings.

They are calibrated at least bi-annually, using, of all things, a tuning fork! It resonates at a set frequency that they then use as a baseline. Police speed radars are calibrated in the same way.

[offrd]

They are calibrated at least bi-annually, using, of all things, a tuning fork! It resonates at a set frequency that they then use as a baseline. Police speed radars are calibrated in the same way.

Well someone has to stop using the tuning fork for eating their smoko prior to calibrating the sign then. Obviously one sign was set before smoko and the other was after... The food stuck to the fork obviously changed its resonant frequency.. .



If they are calibrated twice a year i then they may have been corrected as its been a good few months now.... and someone may have put the tuning fork in the dish washer....