Speed limits

Ish

Ish

Ish

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Joined
11 Jan 2006
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West Midlands
Hi

If you are not sure of the speed of a road you are on what are the clues to tell you if it's a 30,40,60 or 70?
 
I generally go by the rule streetlights and buildings 30, no streetlights middle of nowhere 60 (although more are becoming 40's), and dual carriageway no lights middle of nowhere 70.
 
When you enter any speed zone there will be two large signs saying the limit on both sides of the road.

If its a 30 it'll likely be street lit and residential housing or areas where people may cross etc.

Anything else such as 40,50 there will always be small repeater signs through the zone informing you and in a less built up area.

60 only when none of the others apply and youve gone past a national speed limit sign.

70 only for motorways and dual carriageways.
 
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Not really sure, but from the top of my head this is what i use.

30. There has to be street lights I think? and it's usually pretty obvious due to houses and close quarter streets and many hazards. Town centres being an obvious one.
40. Not sure if there is a sure way to tell a 40 limit, but it's usually a residential area or an area that has many junctions and hazards and not to dissimilar from a 30.
50. Tends to be a more major road and usually in a non residential area but with houses maybe set further back, often having a several major junctions too.
60. The average A road... lots of green and wide open sweeping bends and little in the way of housing. Junctions tend to be more visible and have more space and roads are often wider.
70. Only dual carriage ways / motorways of course

Edit: Anyway, aren't they optional? :D
 
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30- lampposts set the standard distance apart- the 'national speed limit' for urban areas.
40- 40mph repeater signs, or 40mph painted circles on the road if you're in a rural area.
50- same as above. Max speed for traffic light junctions.
National speed limit- 60 on single or dual lane roads, with no physical separation between directions. 70 on a road with a physical central reservation. "Two lanes in each direction" and "dual carriageway" are different.
 
edd1e said:
60. The average A road... lots of green and wide open sweeping bends and little in the way of housing. Junctions tend to be more visible and have more space and roads are often wider.
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Tiny B roads and unclassified roads are 60's too, if not marked otherwise

It's pretty simple, though not the most obvious or consistent of systems:

60 mph is the national speed limit for single carriageway roads, 70mph is the national speed limit for dual carriageway roads. Unless signs indicate otherwise, or street lights spaced closer than 200 yards are present, then these are the limits in force.

A road with street lights that are less then 200 yards/182 meters apart will be a 30 limit, unless otherwise marked. There must be a 30 sign on entry to the restricted section, either on a pole or (less often) on the road. Repeater signs are not required.

A 40 or 50 limits will be marked on entry, and should have regular repeater signs. Some areas (e.g. Dartmoor and the New Forest) will have the repeaters painted on the road, more usually they will be on sign posts.

All above limits are for motorcycles, cars and car derived vans.
 
Not all built up areas are 30/40... I nearly failed my test last year due to assuming a built up area with lamposts was 30 when it was actually a national, even though it was only a normal road. Only reason I passed was due to me not holding any other traffic up.

My general rule of thumb is if I don't know where I am or am unsure then I'll do 25-30 Otherwise Ill follow what most have said above.
 
Woogie said:
Not all built up areas are 30/40... I nearly failed my test last year due to assuming a built up area with lamposts was 30 when it was actually a national, even though it was only a normal road.
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If street lights are closer than 200 yards apart but it's an NSL, then there should be NSL repeater signs (white circle with diagonal black line)

Fireskull said:
I thought the NSL sign was unlimited?? :confused:
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It's a matter of opinion. Lot's of people think it is, the police say it isn't :D
 
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Yeah, They are easy to miss though as they weren't very large. I was looking at side streets expecting to see a change of speed if it was anything higher than a 30 yet couldn't see any. I explained all this to the examiner and he said he may have let me pass if I had held traffic up based on my reasoning as I was riding safely.
 
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