[Lesp]

Hi all,

I am new here and done a search of the forum on my issue, but no results came up. can anyone shed any light on this situation....

I drive up and down the M62 between the M6 at Croft and the M60 outer ring road at the Eccles interchange every weekday, most Saturday's, and occasionly on a Sunday at various times. There are 3 speed camera positions on each side of the road and overhead gantry's in front of some of them. For around 6-10 weeks starting around May of last year all the overhead gantry's were showing a 60 mile an hour speed limit, irrespective of time of the day, or how congested the traffic was. Also no incidents in progress. One midday on a Sunday there was hundreds of yards between vehicles, but 60 mph was still showing. I took it there must be some sort of fault in progress so had adapted my maximum speed to under 60 at all times.

One day, driving home at teatime after passing two gantry's showing 60 I got flashed on a camera and when I looked ahead the next gantry around 250 metres away showed 50mph, I got a charge notice stating I was doing 58mph, which I have no complaint with. I was doing under what the last gantry showed the limit to be, I hadn't even reached the 50mph gantry. I had become somewhat too accustomed to the 60 mph limit and not quite as alert to the change as I should have, but that was due to the unchanged reduced speed limit day in, day out.

So my query is.......at what point does the actual overhead gantry speed limit indication become active? Surely it is when you pass under it, not maybe 250 metres before where the camera is located? I pleaded guilty a got £100 and the 3 points, but I have thought about it ever since and think the charge is incorrect. The highway code doesn't require you to read signs from 250 metres away and act immediately on them as far as I am aware? What time or distance is allowed to adjust your speed to a new lower limit from a gantry on another point?

[Drivingforfun]

Speed limits apply from the sign itself, so the last speed limit applies right up until you reach the sign

Either the capture was an error, as you were allowed to do 60mph, or you misread the previous gantry (perhaps as you were so used to them always being 60) and were in a 50mph limit all along

[Beelzebub]

OP, the cameras aren't activated to enforce a new limit until several seconds after it changes. When a vehicle is then detected exceeding the limit they take a picture of it together with the gantry showing the speed limit. Wasn't that picture supplied or offered to you?

FWIW, I suspect that the last gantry you passed was indeed showing 50. Whatever, it's too late to do anything about it now.

[Nick]

On the details of your specific situation, you will see on the photos provided there is a data point stating the period of time since the last change of speed limit - that should give you a sense of where the relevant was. I fell foul of one of these that I missed the initial change and got flashed at the next one, right as I realised I needed to change. I guess the moral of the story is that we can always be more aware than we think we are.

[olduser]

I have a vision of the operators in their office, new speed limit pre loaded into the computer, watching their screens, waiting to hit enter at the wrong moment, a big cry of gotcha, and high fives all round.😈

[Rolebama]

When they were adding the extra lane to the M25 a few years ago, there was a huge matrix sign showing how many cars had been photographed exceeding the 50mph temporary speed limit. I was trogging along in the nearside lane at 50mph, whilst the overtaking lane was doing around 60+mph. As each car passed, I saw the matrix adding another to the counter. The matrix was clearly visible from around 500/600yds. Just confirmed to me how unattentive too many motorists are.

[olduser]

But you see Rolebama you don't understand modern life.
Sitting in the car is a good opportunity to listen to music (?), catch up on texts, and social media so I am not out of the loop, and my followers need to know where I am going, how far I have got, and of course what I did or didn't have for breakfast, what snacks I have, and what my favourite snack is, make and answer a few calls.
No, I barely have time to press the peddles, let alone looking outside, after all it's a motorway everyone is going the same way you see so you don't have to waste time looking.

This post comes with a public health warning.
It is an attempt at an ironical joke.

[Lesp]

Hi all Thanks for your advice's, views and joke comments. I am absolutely certain the previous two gantry speed limits were 60mph as I had passed two camera's and neither flashed me. It was the third one, just passed the M62 J11? Birchwood junction that got me at 58mph, although I hadn't yet reached the 50mph lowered limit showing on the next gantry? I had becomed lulled into a false sense of safety if I'm under 60, based on what had been showing for weeks on end. For the future I just want to be sure at what point any lowered speed limit is actually active? Surely there must be some distance allowed to adjust your speed to any new setting?