How do YOU deal with poor signage on smart motorways?
Discussion
In an ideal world, any reduced speed limit on a variable section of smart motorway has a gantry that marks the start of a lower limit (let’s say 50mph for example), followed any relevant “repeater” gantries showing 50, followed eventually by a gantry indicating NSL when the lower variable limit no longer applies.
This is how the Highways people tell us they work and we must obey the displayed speed limit.
However, how often have you been travelling along a section of smart motorway when you pass beneath a lower variable limit displayed, such as 50, followed then by a string of completely blank gantries. Waiting patiently for the NSL, it never comes. You can cover many, many miles, pass several junctions and never pass beneath an NSL sign.
How do you deal with this? Do you;
A) Slow to 50mph, and maintain that until either a different sign eventually comes along, or NSL or end of variable limit signs? (Officially what you’re legally supposed to do)
B) Slow to 50mph, but accelerate back to 70mph after a few blank gantries have passed, despite never passing an NSL?
C) Slow to 50mph, then immediately accelerate back to 70 after passing the gantry? Or even maintain 70 under the gantry if there’s no camera on it?
All assumes late night, quiet motorways, very light traffic, good weather conditions. In other words, there’s no issue doing 70mph if the gantries were left alone and switched firmly off by the Highways monkeys.
I’d be interested to hear peoples views.
This is how the Highways people tell us they work and we must obey the displayed speed limit.
However, how often have you been travelling along a section of smart motorway when you pass beneath a lower variable limit displayed, such as 50, followed then by a string of completely blank gantries. Waiting patiently for the NSL, it never comes. You can cover many, many miles, pass several junctions and never pass beneath an NSL sign.
How do you deal with this? Do you;
A) Slow to 50mph, and maintain that until either a different sign eventually comes along, or NSL or end of variable limit signs? (Officially what you’re legally supposed to do)
B) Slow to 50mph, but accelerate back to 70mph after a few blank gantries have passed, despite never passing an NSL?
C) Slow to 50mph, then immediately accelerate back to 70 after passing the gantry? Or even maintain 70 under the gantry if there’s no camera on it?
All assumes late night, quiet motorways, very light traffic, good weather conditions. In other words, there’s no issue doing 70mph if the gantries were left alone and switched firmly off by the Highways monkeys.
I’d be interested to hear peoples views.
Pica-Pica said:
We have had this time and again. There SHOULD be an NSL sign when the reduced limit is removed. However, Highways England have said (in a written response) that if, after a reduced limit, there is no NSL sign, then the gantry will only trigger a camera at the NSL limit. So the gantry camera will only trigger at the posted limit.
For me personally, if after a 50 limit, there were only blank gantries and no NSL sign showing, I would maintain the left lane at around 60mph, or enough to keep clear from HGVs, until I felt confident that the motorway was running back at NSL.
That's all well and good, but at what point does the NSL come back into force? Blank gantries are virtually useless. For me personally, if after a 50 limit, there were only blank gantries and no NSL sign showing, I would maintain the left lane at around 60mph, or enough to keep clear from HGVs, until I felt confident that the motorway was running back at NSL.
Every gantry should really be permanently lit with either NSL, or a lower limit, but never blank. Usually when a lower-than-NSL-limit is posted, you have repeater signs every so often to reiterate the lower limit. Why motorway gantries don't act as repeaters is beyond me; it just leads to confusion, especially when Highways can't be bothered to set an NSL afterwards.
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