Speed limit sign error

[amancalledrob]

I went out for the May Day run yesterday (briefly, because it rained and I started getting wet) and on the way back I noticed the temporary speed limit signs outside a school (in Hurst Green, I think) didn't match - one was stuck on 20, the other correctly showing 30. There was a camera van parked up about 30 metres further on.

For clarity: I wasn't speeding - but out of curiosity what would be the deal if I was? Presumably one's safe following the higher limit displayed (30mph) but let's say you ride through at 40mph - is a ticket issued by the lonely-man-in-van valid or not?

[Red Devil]

Hurst Green
https://goo.gl/maps/DzS3Dzs27Wk
https://goo.gl/maps/2UNnSBjg5Zv

You should be fine at 30 outside of school hours. The scamera shouldn't be set to trap below that figure.
I reckon a ping at 40 would be valid but IANAL. HG is a known hot spot and I wouldn't even take the chance.

[amancalledrob]

Red Devil said:

Hurst Green
https://goo.gl/maps/DzS3Dzs27Wk
https://goo.gl/maps/2UNnSBjg5Zv

You should be fine at 30 outside of school hours. The scamera shouldn't be set to trap below that figure.
I reckon a ping at 40 would be valid but IANAL. HG is a known hot spot and I wouldn't even take the chance.

Agreed, I only get "creative" with NSL zones for just that reason. I know all speeding is bad but I do stick to any sign with a number on it. I'm really just curious as to what happens when the signs on either side of the road don't match

[vanordinaire]

I was caught by a policewoman with a hand held device a few years ago. She asserted that I was doing 40 in a 30 zone, I had been sure it was a 40 hence why I drove past her at exactly 40 in broad daylight. After leaving her ,I checked the signage and found that on one side of the road there was a 30 limit sign (which had been obscured by a lorry as I passed it) and on the other side was a 40 limit sign (on closer inspection, the sign had 30 on one side and 40 on the other and someone had turned it round so it was facing the wrong way). I went back to the policewoman and pointed out the discrepancy but she said something like 'the road has a 30 limit, you can argue in court if you want to ' and refused to back down.

I went back again and took pictures then swatted up on the various laws to prepare for my day in court.

I'd like to tell you that I won a glorious victory, showing off my eloquence and superior understanding of the law, but what actually happened was that the policewoman didn't turn up to court on two occasions (excuse of illness) and I asked the Sheriff if the the case could be dismissed as the PF had no evidence against me and he agreed.

I was pretty sure of my case at the time through all the research that I did, but unfortunately never had a chance to find out for certain. In the OP, you'd definitely have to have timed and dated photos to prove your point.

[Type R Tom]

The police and camera operators are meant to check the sites before they start enforcing to make sure everything is correct and therefore avoid any problems when they catch people.

[amancalledrob]

Type R Tom said:

The police and camera operators are meant to check the sites before they start enforcing to make sure everything is correct and therefore avoid any problems when they catch people.

I thought that, but when I challenged the guy in the van he just said the temporary sign was stuck and that there was nothing he could do about it. I don't understand why, at the very least, he didn't just pop a bag over the faulty signs. That area is still properly covered by accurate 30mph signs, so it would have solved more problems than it caused.

As it was, it was a very wet and miserable day and people were panic braking to comply with the 20mph limit erroneously being displayed. I guess the chances of braking from 30 to 20 causing a collision are minimal but it's still a risk that could have been avoided