Possible variable speed limit ticket M25

[Badger_grr]

Hey guys. We were just coming round M25 with a variable speed limit of 40mph on an overhead gantry. No congestion, actually very little traffic. Travelling at around 50-55 slowing down. 10 or so flashes for us and all cars around and the next gantry back to 70.

Do you think this was a mistake? Am I likely to see a notice through the door? Do we have any argument? Seems to me it was a mistake or malicious intent to squeeze some money out of drivers. No history of traffic violations. Cheers

 

[Hades]

Speed limit of 40? Travelling 50 or 55? And its somehow malicious? If it got you then no I can't see any get out clause.

There are many reasons for limiting the speed. It is often to regulate traffic but also set for other events such as a broken down car on the hard shoulder, object in one lane, etc, etc.

 

[PiKe]

You have to obey the limit set on the gantry you cannot argue your case, sometimes they lower speed limits to help with congestion further up.

 

[Rroff]

Yup M25 now operates a highly managed system - there might be a statistical reason for the limit even though at the time there didn't seem to be any reason for it - you won't likely get off arguing that it was a mistake.

 

[Badger_grr]

Im not arguing against the use of variable limits. Never seen anything like it. Not normal to be at 70, come round a bend have 40 onthe gantry with no congestion and then the next gantry 200m away to be back at 70. No congestion for remainder of journey no stopped vehicles, no reason for it. In fact it was the clearest I've ever seen the M25! Hopefully they will realise something was not right. There must have been 20 tickets issued in that 10 second lightshow.

 

[VincentHanna]

200metres away? And the rest.

 

[Maccapacca]

You're doomed.

 

[andy_mk3]

Reason for it or not, the limit was there. I don't really get it?

 

[Rroff]

Not normal to be at 70, come round a bend have 40 onthe gantry with no congestion and then the next gantry 200m away to be back at 70. No congestion for remainder of journey no stopped vehicles, no reason for it.

Its not abnormal on the M25 these day as I mentioned a lot is driven by statistics now not just incidents or weather conditions, etc. it might be statistics show that reduction for a few 100m somehow reduces the number of accidents at a certain time of day, etc. and that is why it was like that and so on.

 

[kindai]

You just paid someones Christmas bonus

 

[Tee Hee Johnson]

Sorry, you were doing 50-55 in a 40 and are wondering if you can get out of it due to a mistake of some kind?

If it was a 40, then it was a 40.

 

[Nasher]

If they are for "traffic management" reasons, it doesn't work. If anything it's got worse and I don't actually think there are less accidents than before

 

[Uther]

If it say's 40, then do 40, you can't ignore these things any more.

 

[Trappi$t]

I'd be very interested to see the HARD evidence on "smart" motorways and whether it actually makes any difference at all in the grand scheme.

Something tells me that they will end up being a waste of money as per usual, instead of just doing the proper thing and widening the damn road.

 

[Rids]

This was me yesterday, was broad daylight so I didn't see any flashes but its been a long time since I've driven any stretch of the M25 and I didn't realise you couldn't completely ignore the variable limit anymore, I'm expecting at least one ticket, possibly several.

My own fault, I have no case to argue if it all comes through.

 

[ahar]

Speed limits are in theory set by an algorithm taking in readings from induction loops measuring the speed of the traffic.

What you describe sounds like an abberation and I have seen it before but I suspect it would be hard to prove when challenging the ticket

 

[tom_e]

Mistake or not the sign said 40 and you've got plenty of warning so there's no reason for them to waive the ticket.

 

[Uther]

If they do issue tickets they must be raking it in, judging by the amount of tools that fly past me when I'm sticking to the shown limits on a smart motorway.

 

[Scania]

A very common occurrence at 3am, empty road, all of a sudden 40mph, lots of camera flashes and the next gantry back to national limit....

Yes OP, there was a mistake here, you weren’t doing 40mph.

 

[geekman]

If they do issue tickets they must be raking it in, judging by the amount of tools that fly past me when I'm sticking to the shown limits on a smart motorway.

Anyone who travels regularly on a stretch of motorway will know which gantries have cameras and which don’t. I commuted for a couple of years on the M25 and ignored the VSL unless I could see heavy traffic / potential danger and never got a ticket as I’d always slow down for the gantries I knew to be live.