Speed limit changes - or is it just me?

[MSTRS:Me]

Won't someone think of the colourblind???
(good idea, otherwise)

[Ender EnZed]

There are many reasons why someone may miss seeing a speed sign, and clutter is just one of them.

I'd say "Failed to look" would account for >99% of instances of people not seeing speed signs.

[haydes55]

Won't someone think of the colourblind???
(good idea, otherwise)

Seems everything that anyone does is offensive to one minority or another haha can't even say the truth without being called racist.

[Berries]

I'm badly colour blind and would fail with the cats eyes thing. Even traffic signals are top, middle and bottom to my eyes.

There is a requirement for speed limit signs to be visible. I know of a few where I think you would be able to defend yourself if you didn't see them and got ticketed. And then with the prevalence of new 80's there is a requirement for repeat signs which is often overlooked. Again, this could be a defence if they aren't erected in accordance with the speed limits and traffic control devices rules. Not had to test my theory yet, but I keep trying.

In the UK a good rule of thumb used to be it was 30mph if there were streetlights. If it was 40 and there were streetlights they put a smaller, 300mm ish speed limit sign on each light. Here the repeater signs are supposed to be about 2 minutes of travel apart which is way too much if you really want people to comply. The better idea would be to have it as either 100km/h if an open road, 50km/h if built up and any other speed limits require small repeater signs ever 200m or so. It would cost, but at least we would all know what the speed limit is. Nothing worse than having to turn around and look at a sign as you go passed to see what the speed limit was and seeing that you were wrong.

[Brian d marge]

Interesting question.

A couple of decades ago a piece of Pakuranga Road used to be 50, 70, 50. The 85th percentile was about 65. I was a Popo at the Glen Innes station in those days. TPTB smoothed the speed limits to 60 km/h, and the 85th percentile came down to 62. Significant improvement in crash stats. All good. Mind you, that was when the tolerance was starting to trend now too.

I used to be a Popo on the North Shore too. East Coast Road had a 50 km/h stretch with long driveways leading to the roadside from every house. It was a prime candidate for the limit to go up to 60, but the NSCC wouldn't do it. They liked to have a fairly rigid speed limit set, so people could get their head around it. Basically, if you were out in the country the limit was 100, if you were in built up areas, it was 50.

I moved to Chur Chur about 8 years ago, and found a council with a liberal speed setting regime. Some roads go 50, 60, 70, 50. Largely they are appropriate to the roading environment. We find lots of people (like, heaps) driving in 50 km/h areas thinking they are in 60 km/h areas. They are applying what they know to be a 10 km/h tolerance and can't understand the ticket they got being for 69 in a 50 km/h area. Harper Ave is a classic, as is Fendalton Road.

The signage is there, but people are known to consciously see about 20% of signs. They drive past signs, but because there are so many bloody signs (and various other visual clutter) on our roads, the speed ones just drift past the consciousness. People tend to drive subconsciously. Then feel aggrieved when they get snapped.

Thing is, you get speeding tickets for the speed you are actually doing, not what you think you are doing.

Just some observations.

Attachment 255000

and a very nice observation it was to..
as has been discovered by big European think tanks concerned with driving and posted by me many times,
the 80 / 20 rule applies, most people will drives at the speed at which the surroundings make them feel comfortable
20 % won't
try driving in London at 60km/h....its possible just
simple idea here, and Canada and some others have done this
measure the average speed
you could do it, put down the donut, ping a few cars, the average is the speed for that road,
subtract 5 km/h or a fuk up factor, and that's the limit
ping the 20 % that speed or are plain stupid
but no I doubt this will happen, as the cash is a flowin

stephen

[breakaway]

It's very simple. The powers that be are lazy as shit, and putting up a reduced speed sign is significantly easier than providing proper training to drivers.

This way, they can look good to the public.

[Brian d marge]

This driver goes to ONE OH FIVE....donuts will be given freely

Roll on march ......

stephen

[Tigadee]

donuts will be given freely

So you're saying you keep a box of donuts with you just in case?

[jafar]

Yes 80 km from the Thames turnoff to the bottom of the Bombay hill.

Err , no it isn't, it's 90km from the bottom of the bombay's (pokeno) to the new bit they built a couple of years ago. Then it's 100 km on the new bit, then back down to 90km from the Golf course until you get to the 70km area @ the petrol station, then it goes back up to 90km just past the Red Fox. Then it's 90km to the turnoff. Simple really

To their credit, the Waikato council roading people DID advertise this & ask for submissions BEFORE they changed the speed limits. They even produced a map highlighting where all the fatal crashes had been on that stretch of road over a several year period. After reading the map & what they had to say I agree with them that something had to be done. Fixing the road would have been my 1st choice, but at the end of the day it is cheaper to post up new lower limits.
I drive this road often & the parts they have lowered the limit on are in poor condition & in desperate need of replacing. Will that happen??

[haydes55]

Why not post the speed limit on light poles power lines and those side of road reflectors. just whatever is closest to 100m apart?

[jafar]

Why not post the speed limit on light poles power lines and those side of road reflectors. just whatever is closest to 100m apart?

Because no one would see them , they would be too small for the blind idiots .

They used to paint the speed limits on the road, that didn't work either.

[haydes55]

Because no one would see them , they would be too small for the blind idiots .

They used to paint the speed limits on the road, that didn't work either.

Can't colour code shit, can't post shitloads of signs, can't please everyone. Can see why the government takes soooo long to get anything done, have to go see how the albino Muslims feel about the brightness of a stop light before they can change a light bulb.

Maybe a solution for the majority will get the traffic flow at the right speed and the minorities can just follow. The road will effectively be as it is right now so it isn't disadvantaging those with poor eyesight or colour blindness. Merely excluding them from progression haha.

(Wont be too long til my eyesight finally craps itself aswell,)

[1billyboy]

Err , no it isn't, it's 90km from the bottom of the bombay's (pokeno) to the new bit they built a couple of years ago. Then it's 100 km on the new bit, then back down to 90km from the Golf course until you get to the 70km area @ the petrol station, then it goes back up to 90km just past the Red Fox. Then it's 90km to the turnoff. Simple really

To their credit, the Waikato council roading people DID advertise this & ask for submissions BEFORE they changed the speed limits. They even produced a map highlighting where all the fatal crashes had been on that stretch of road over a several year period. After reading the map & what they had to say I agree with them that something had to be done. Fixing the road would have been my 1st choice, but at the end of the day it is cheaper to post up new lower limits.
I drive this road often & the parts they have lowered the limit on are in poor condition & in desperate need of replacing. Will that happen??

The other day it was all 80 km

[The Singing Chef]

I was pinged on Peak road, coming from the 100km/h limit to that really long downhill stretch which turns into 80 just as you go over the hill.
I had passed a slow as fuck van whilst going over the top of the hill.

Wham bam thank you maam.

$$

Owell, I know remember that it is an 80km/h area down there.

[RDJ]

I believe that the authorities see the frequent changes of speed limits and the not-too-visible signs as a feature not a bug; it's primarily about revenue gathering, safety is used as the justification, and to make the revenue gatherers feel smugly satisfied with their control role.