Stealth Speed Limit Reductions

[Andrew D]

Last Saturday I returned from a two-week holiday, only to find that there have been another round of surreptitious speed limit reductions around West Yorkshire.

My particular favourite was a dual carriageway connecting to the M1. Last time I was in the area the limit on the road in question was 50mph which, as a highways engineer, I found particularly surprising as it's one of the highest standard urban dual carriageways that I've seen! But apparently there's some hidden but finely quantifiable danger, because it's warranted a further 10mph reduction to 40mph limit. It's very strange that it should be safe at 40mph but not at 50mph, even though the alignment of the road seems to be suitable for national.

Does anyone know what the process is for implementing these reductions, and how they determine an appropriate speed? Or do they just wing it?

Edited by Andrew D on Friday 4th August 10:55

[Andrew D]

The sad thing is that I doubt it's even ex-coal-miner councillors that make the decisions. If it follows the Scamera Partnership model, it's curtain-twitching 70-year-old spinsters called Gurtrude, for whom pushing thier shopping cart is the closest they come to driving.