White Circles Painted in Road

[evoivboy]

What are they for? like here http://goo.gl/maps/6BmPy and here http://goo.gl/maps/YOMKt
Really been annoying me, i cant find any factual proof any where

Edited by evoivboy on Tuesday 5th February 17:03

Edited by evoivboy on Tuesday 5th February 17:06

[trickywoo]

Speed calibration for plod?

[trashbat]

Point of reference for police speed checks.

[peralta]

They are for use by the police as marker points when doing speed checks.

[trashbat]

It's probably something to do with speed, and the police.

[TheEnd]

Yea, I thought it was for VASCAR recording stuff, they need to start and sync the timings with known locations, usually under a bridge or something, but if there isn't too much about, a few dots on the road would help.

[GC8]

Yes, VASCAR, the stopwatch and calculator represented as an infallible computer.

[markCSC]

http://www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk/speed03.htm

[tvrolet]

TheEnd said:

Yea, I thought it was for VASCAR recording stuff, they need to start and sync the timings with known locations, usually under a bridge or something, but if there isn't too much about, a few dots on the road would help.

especially on open country roads where thay can measure the distance and then park up some way down the road out of obvious site and then note the time of cars between the marks on the open road. I know this from bitter experience.

[mrmr96]

What distance are they normally set at? There's some on the M3 but they don't seem to relate to a specific distance that I can tell. (Would be handy to know so I could check calibration of my own speedo!)

[evoivboy]

it has been said for police but then
A) why are they not everywhere on all roads
B) you try following a car and seeing when it crosses the circle
C) the first pic is a "b" road so not a police speed check road

[trashbat]

evoivboy said:

C) the first pic is a "b" road so not a police speed check road

Whaaaaat?

[uncinquesei]

evoivboy said:

it has been said for police but then
A) why are they not everywhere on all roads
B) you try following a car and seeing when it crosses the circle
C) the first pic is a "b" road so not a police speed check road

[andym1603]

the first pic is a "b" road so not a police speed check road

Well thats me staying off the "A" roads if they don't police the "B"s

[tvrolet]

evoivboy said:

it has been said for police but then
A) why are they not everywhere on all roads
B) you try following a car and seeing when it crosses the circle
C) the first pic is a "b" road so not a police speed check road

As posted, I got nabbed on a quiet late afternoon in the Scottish borders 'making progress' with no other obvious traffic. All they need to know is the distance between 2 points and the time you take to cover that distance. The cop car doesn't have to be following or even moving - in my case it was parked up some way down the road.

Step 1, drive the section of road you want to nab drivers that day and press the distance timer on the start and end marks they want to use. Now we have an 'accurate' measured distance to play with.
Step 2, park up where you can see the marks (like up a farm track ). Press the timer button when a likely car passes the first mark and then the second mark. Now we have the average speed over that section.
Step 3, pull out in front (yes, they must have been half a mile further on, but with decent visibility) and get driver to stop with blue lights flashing.
Step 4, give driver lecture about perils of driving fast and issue summons.
Step 5, humble driver appears in court with lawyer and tries to get the thing thrown out and fails

This was quite a few years ago now and points long gone from the licence, but it's actually quite simple to judge when a car passes a mark on the road and press a button. And if the ditance between the marks is long enough a couple of yards either way isn't going to alter the calculated average much. So long as the police have the time between any two points measured and the distance, it doesn't matter in what order. If the car is following they can start 'your' timer before they get to the first distance mark, then click on the mark, then get your end time then their end distance to they can capture time before distance and still get you on an average speed. The distance is measured at the time of (or recently before) the driver is pulled so the marks don't beed to be a fixed distance apart.

[KiaOra]

evoivboy said:

White Circles Painted in Road. What are they for?

Before I looked at the pictures, I was going to say "Mini roundabout".

"No, these are ones in the middle of the road which you drive straight over".

Yup, Mini roundabout.....

[MattyB_]

tvrolet said:

Step 5, humble driver appears in court with lawyer and tries to get the thing thrown out and fails

Brave! What was your defence? And if it's not a rude question, what was the financial damage?

[evoivboy]

trashbat said:

haaaaat?

sorry A road

[trashbat]

andym1603 said:

the first pic is a "b" road so not a police speed check road

Well thats me staying off the "A" roads if they don't police the "B"s

The first road is an A road, but that's not what I was asking.

You think that B roads aren't policed?

[evoivboy]

The markings you are talking about are known as 'Nodes' used to denote points on the road network for survey and record purposes. White discs or diamonds painted in Thermoplastic, much smaller than VASCAR markings which are painted at mesure miles as per the previous posts

They are not intended for road users that is why you will not find them in the Highway Code. Dont believe they are in the TSRGD 2004 either as they are not a prescribed road marking (i might be wrong will check my TSRGD later)

Not used much in our game anymore (County Council) but a few years ago, TfL remarked all theirs throughout their network so they must still be used.

Ad,
Highways Engineer



pasted from RAC forum