View Full Version : Flashing Speed Signs
The Artist
22-06-2004, 22:09
Quite a few of these around here, my uncle actually wires them in. Anyway they are trying them out as an alternative to speed cameras and speed humps etc.....and so far the results are promising....
Flashing signs and SWAT unit to tackle neighbourhood nuisance
Speeding drivers are to be electronically shamed into slowing down in neighbourhoods in County Durham.
Durham County Council is to boost the number of Active Speed Signs used to show drivers - and other road users - their actual speed at problem sites.
And the signs, which will be used in two-week bursts as a short, sharp, shock, will be backed up by police enforcement.
A new Speed Watch Action Team (SWAT), staffed by the County Council and the Police, is also to be set up to react specifically to speed related complaints.
The new two-pronged approach, which is to be considered by the County Council's Cabinet on April 19, aims to reduce the impact of inappropriate speed in neighbourhoods.
"Active Speed Signs have been on trial at several sites in the County and early indications show they are not only popular with the public but are reducing speed at certain locations," said Councillor Bob Pendlebury, Cabinet member for Environment.
"We believe more of these signs should be introduced as an alternative to traffic calming," he said.
It is envisaged that each of the County Council's Member Area Panels (MAPs) will initially buy one sign costing about £4,000.
Sites in each area will be identified and prioritised and the sign moved about every two weeks.
"Trials suggest this gives an optimum impact and deterrent value without it becoming commonplace and ignored," said Councillor Pendlebury.
The new SWAT unit will tackle actual or perceived speeding in neighbourhoods where people tend to ask for specific traffic calming measures.
Initially running for two years, the scheme will include the use of a vehicle in distinctive livery with monitoring and enforcement equipment funded from the County Council's Local Transport Plan.
It will be manned by the Police and both organisations will work together to investigate problem areas and attempt to solve issues by targeting offenders, using Active Speed Signs, and traffic calming at priority sites.
"SWAT will also work with local communities to investigate specific local traffic management issues enabling problems to be carefully and fully evaluated to identify the best solution," said Councillor Pendlebury.
"This will ensure that local communities have a better understanding of the cause of the problem and avoid the installation of inappropriate or unnecessary traffic calming," he said.
So make sure you slow down for them.......better than the cameras :nod:
I've seen a few of these about on motorway road works on the M1 and M25. There was one where the M1 joins the M25 West-bound where the speed limit is a wholly unrealistic 30mph (straight from a 70mph). Virtually everyone that went through it had the "slow down" message on them.
They are starting to deploy these in Essex too :)
These are great, they actually work unlike speed cameras :)
The ones we got here had a smilie face on them when you were doing the speed limit and an unhappy one when you broke it :D
Dave
saw some in spain that warned you and if you carried on speeding you triggered traffic lights(This was in a built up area) this certainly made people watch their speed
The Artist
22-06-2004, 23:13
These are great, they actually work unlike speed cameras :)
The ones we got here had a smilie face on them when you were doing the speed limit and an unhappy one when you broke it :D
Dave
I like it.......so if you were REALLY hammering it would you get an angry face :mad:
total and utter shite
they aren't cameras so i don't slow down for them.
Only dangerous thing is at night when you are going so fast that they don't flash till you are next to them then they blind you. Still, it'll cut your speed by wrapping you round a tree :thumbs:
Martin T
22-06-2004, 23:31
total and utter shite
they aren't cameras so i don't slow down for them.
Only dangerous thing is at night when you are going so fast that they don't flash till you are next to them then they blind you. Still, it'll cut your speed by wrapping you round a tree :thumbs:
Guess its not a new Labour initiative judging by Leon's response :rolleyes:
They have been shown to reduce instances of speeding by 40% in independant studies compared to 12% by gatsos.
So shove that in your new labour pipe and smoke it. ;)
Guess its not a new Labour initiative judging by Leon's response :rolleyes:
They have been shown to reduce instances of speeding by 40% in independant studies compared to 12% by gatsos.
So shove that in your new labour pipe and smoke it. ;)
i don't fcking care where it comes from. government or local councils. i don't see it working either for me or anyone else.
its not a camera. you aren't going to get points. and if it is on a safe road, floor it.
most around here are on X-roads etc so you do slow down unless you are a complete twat.
but the ones placed needlessly? fck them
They have been shown to reduce instances of speeding by 40% in independant studies compared to 12% by gatsos.
and what about speed humps?
ANd why are you going on about new labour anyway? unless you havent' noticed i'm old labour at least, only support new because they are better than the other main parties.
Just
Politics is full of shitemasters.
Violent yet bloodless revolution. that is what we need. give the people back what belongs to them. including buckingham palace which the people own but the rich (german may I add. not that i dislike the germans - uite the opposite in fact - but she can shut her cakehole about being good old british )bitch lives in with her Greek husband and armies of servants while people starve to death on the streets
voodoo_melon
22-06-2004, 23:47
I'd rather have cameras than speed humps, at least you can go past a camera at the speed limit and not bend bits of your car :indiff: Although saying that speed humps only slow you down if you drive a low/stiffer/cared about car. If you drive an old shitter you can go over them however fast you like and it doesn't matter.
Lets not turn this into a debate about politics please :indiff:
People only see speed cameras as a nuisance they have to slow down for, for 20 feet. These actually make people slow down for longer, I've witnessed it myself on many occasions.
Dave
had a few of the happy/sad face ones round here that tell you your speed
they seem to be good in residential areas where its more a case of creeping over the speed limit while your watching for suicidal children jumping out from behind cars or drunk people standing in the road
they do seem to have an effect, certainly more than speed camera's where people just throw the anchors on right before it and apply loud pedal after it
plus the missus thought they were really cool with the happy and sad face :thumbs:
I think they're a good idea - makes me slow down if I'm going faster than the speed limit. Around here they are only in potentially dangerous areas at the moment. :)
I think they are a good idea too. They slow the traffic down, rather than send out a fine in the post and not slow the traffic down. Which is what "safety" cameras are for, are they not? :rolleyes:
Also they're good for checking your speedo :D
total and utter shite
they aren't cameras so i don't slow down for them.
Only dangerous thing is at night when you are going so fast that they don't flash till you are next to them then they blind you. Still, it'll cut your speed by wrapping you round a tree :thumbs:
If people cant take a mature attitude to a more adult way of controlling speed then all they are going to do is to put up more speed cameras, then people would be bitching about that !!!
I would much prefer to have these flashing signs than more speed cameras so its well worth taking notice of them. If people want to behave like petulent kids and ignore them then all thats going to happen is the increase of Gatsos.
RADS_S13
23-06-2004, 08:50
Their using thows round my way good idea but it backs traffic up no end.
:( Face or 3 points and £60
Let me think about this one
:( = :thumbs:
Well I`m all for them, and I certainly slow down for them. Does that make me a tw*t Leon? I think the tw*t label can better be applied to idiots that speed in built up areas, and WILL one day injure or kill someone.
The council placed one for one day in a small village I drive through (that has problems with people always speeding). I could certainly see it working from all the drivers slowing down.
They have had three or four different types in cambs for a while - once you are used to them they dont slow you down *that* much, but they do make you think, which I guess is the point. :)
The :( ones almost make you feel guilty :wack:
Now, what I would propose is a pic of a nekked lady when you are doing <30, and something horrific when you are doing more than 30 ............
maybe this?? :wack:
http://bagpuss.swan.ac.uk/200sx/funnels-sml.jpg
They have had three or four different types in cambs for a while - once you are used to them they dont slow you down *that* much, but they do make you think, which I guess is the point. :)
The :( ones almost make you feel guilty :wack:
Now, what I would propose is a pic of a nekked lady when you are doing <30, and something horrific when you are doing more than 30 ............
maybe this?? :wack:
http://bagpuss.swan.ac.uk/200sx/funnels-sml.jpg
My eyes!!!!! :wack: ;)
The Artist
23-06-2004, 09:45
Lets not turn this into a debate about politics please :indiff:
People only see speed cameras as a nuisance they have to slow down for, for 20 feet. These actually make people slow down for longer, I've witnessed it myself on many occasions.
Dave
Yes I have noticed people really DO slow down for these as I do........maybe people feel a bit embarrased when their speed pops up in big red lights. Especially when mums are at the side of the road.... :o
If we ignore these = more speed cameras/humps etc
Take notice = nice easy to live with flashiing signs
Know which I prefer.....so SLOW DOWN FOR THE FLASHING SIGN..... :thumbs:
Sorry to drag this up again but i think you have missed the point in that thread! The flashing sign isnt instead of the cameras its as well as the vans so the two come as a package! I would rather have gatsos as i know where they are *due to gps rather than a sneaky copper in a van with a gun* :mad:
Well I`m all for them, and I certainly slow down for them. Does that make me a tw*t Leon? I think the tw*t label can better be applied to idiots that speed in built up areas, and WILL one day injure or kill someone.
.
You mis read my post (or I didn't type it clearly).
The tw*t reference was to people who do not slow for crossroads - ie fire across them at a million leptons.
Not for ppl who slow down for these smiley things.
Fair enough if you want to slow down, but I generally drive to the road conditions rather than smiley face boards. Only exception is when cameras are around, then i drive to the cameras to avoid the points...
Do the smiley boards really come with a sneaky van then? The ones i've seen have generally been on lovely straight bits of road with a speed limit lower than you'd expect (eg 40 on a backroad capapble of 60) and without a camera.
hence my previous comments.
The only other matrix boards i've seen have been near crossroads which are clearly marked with red/white signs and thus clearly defined hazards. Why they haven't spent the money on roadside mirrors on some of the blind turns instead of this stupid matrix board i'll never know...
superclarkey
29-06-2004, 22:58
I think they are a great idea, but there was one by me on a dual carigeway and it was three digits in big LED desplay that read you speed out, sorry but you know i had to have a go at cracking it :D
But they slow me down, and it makes you think, instead of pi$$ing you off with 6 points and a £60 fine and $hit insurace for the next few years.
:thumbs:
dexteruk
29-06-2004, 23:05
give the people back what belongs to them. including buckingham palace which the people own but the rich (german may I add. not that i dislike the germans - uite the opposite in fact - but she can shut her cakehole about being good old british )bitch lives in with her Greek husband and armies of servants while people starve to death on the streets
and of course you can prove your pure anglo-saxon ancestry?
cos of course you are not in any way descended from the Normans, Vikings, or any of the other races that variously make up the "good old british" :D
and as for people starving to death on the streets, do you think that is the fault of the Monarchy? or perhaps the failings of the govenrnment?
we have the smiley face/ sad face speed cameras on camp - and often the police sit where they can watch them, so if you get a sad face you also get ten minutes of your life wasted getting a bollocking - i think my record is going past at 3mph :nod:
cos of course you are not in any way descended from the Normans, Vikings, or any of the other races that variously make up the "good old british" :D
ohh i hadn't thought i could be descended from a viking, how cool :)
new2sx13
29-06-2004, 23:34
what every one seems to be missing here is the cameras only go up in area's where there have been 4 or more accidents deemed as serious so in effect no matter what the conditions are it is a accident black spot, i speak from experience having passed a sign saying i was going too fast i slowed down at the precise moment t**t in white van pulled out of side road infromt of an arctic and me was ten flattened 6 months of work but nobody dead .... good clear roads don't mean its safe for kids now does it can we have a lttle adult sence :wave:
voodoo_melon
29-06-2004, 23:44
From what I've heard they have to be within 1km of an accident blackspot. So they go up on dual carriageways with 40mph limits etc.
what every one seems to be missing here is the cameras only go up in area's where there have been 4 or more accidents deemed as serious so in effect no matter what the conditions are it is a accident black spot, i speak from experience having passed a sign saying i was going too fast i slowed down at the precise moment t**t in white van pulled out of side road infromt of an arctic and me was ten flattened 6 months of work but nobody dead .... good clear roads don't mean its safe for kids now does it can we have a lttle adult sence :wave:
whether you have cameras or not, whether you are going at 10mph or 100mph, every once in a while someone will pull out on you.
D1ckheads will always be there. If you read the road right, you'll have assessed the potential risk anyway without need for a sign.
manic_mechanic
30-06-2004, 17:28
I'd rather have cameras than speed humps, at least you can go past a camera at the speed limit and not bend bits of your car :indiff: Although saying that speed humps only slow you down if you drive a low/stiffer/cared about car. If you drive an old shitter you can go over them however fast you like and it doesn't matter.
My Citroen BX used to go over speed humps better at 70 than 30!
(bloody unreliable suspension tho - wonder why that was! :wack: )
manic_mechanic
30-06-2004, 17:37
Yes I have noticed people really DO slow down for these as I do........maybe people feel a bit embarrased when their speed pops up in big red lights. Especially when mums are at the side of the road.... :o
If we ignore these = more speed cameras/humps etc
Take notice = nice easy to live with flashiing signs
Know which I prefer.....so SLOW DOWN FOR THE FLASHING SIGN..... :thumbs:
Right with you there - make you feel a wrong 'un for speeding rather than "how can I stick 2 fingers up to the Gatso"
total and utter shite
they aren't cameras so i don't slow down for them. Is this really you talking? The whole point of a safety camera is... er... safety. Unfortunately, that's not what they do, which is why we all hate them.
So instead, an enterprising police force takes a different tack, that won't generate revenue for it, but might just save a life or two, and might make people drive more slowly (as it has been shown to :nod: ), and you just lambast it? I really can't see your logic.
Only dangerous thing is at night when you are going so fast that they don't flash till you are next to them then they blind you. Still, it'll cut your speed by wrapping you round a tree If you're going so fast at night that you're likely to lose control of your car when a sign tells you you're going a bit too fast, then so be it :indiff:
D1ckheads will always be there. If you read the road right, you'll have assessed the potential risk anyway without need for a sign.Absolute arrogant shite, Leon, really. :indiff: If you really think you can assess the danger of a road you've (potentially) not yet driven on, just by looking, and can therefore justify speeding to yourself, then good luck to the small children in your area.
:)
Sx Drifter
30-06-2004, 17:54
someone should nick one so all the boy racers can set it up where they want and to top speed runs soee who can get the highest :p
superclarkey
30-06-2004, 17:55
someone should nick one so all the boy racers can set it up where they want and to top speed runs soee who can get the highest :p
might of guessed you would have surgested something along those lines, lol
in my experience these 'blackspots' are not the location of a number of accidents and are usually a cynical way of generating revenue. I can name at least five 'enforcement cameras' which when i called the police to request information on accidents in the last 5 years i was told there had been either none or no serious ones. When i asked if it wasnt wrong to site cameras there the police woman replied we dont need an excuse to catch criminals!
The boards are a good idea. They do work but yet again they are being accompanied with the vans as in the original text and these will be tagetting people ofr their money rather than the good of the populous. :mad:
Leon, are you ok dude? You dont sound your normal self :confused: :)
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