Before reduction
This is on the approach to the A518. The speed limit is currently NSL (70). The roadworks are for new signs which are about to be erected.
Before reduction
The speed limit has now been reduced by a whopping 30mph to just 40mph. The number of lanes has also been reduced. In the distance is a
Gatso to enforce the new limit.
After reduction
This is about 1/4 mile further on from the previous picture. This is at the A518 junction and consists of gaps in the central reservation.
Before reduction
Instead of proper junction improvements, a 40mph limit has been imposed along with Gatsos.
After reduction
This is the dual carriageway at Sandon. The speed limit increases from 40mph to 70mph after leaving the village. A Gatso has been installed
in preparation for a speed limit cut.
Before reduction
The dual carriageway is now 60mph and the 40mph limit is extended to include the Gatso.
After reduction
A side road leading to the A51. A Gatso is just visible to the left but isn't switched on yet.
Before reduction
The limit has been changed (downwards as usual) but there is only one sign, could this mean the limit is void? The lampost has moved
sides, possibly as an economy measure so that the signs can use the same post. The Gatso is now active and is sure to be loaded with film ready
to fleece motorists who haven't adjusted to the new limit. If you look carefully, in the first picture it is facing straight ahead, in this
picture it is angled down towards the traffic.
After reduction
This is another view from Staffordshire. The speed limit rises from 40mph to 60mph as you leave the village of Shenstone.
Notice the fresh looking hump sign as the village is being invaded by humps, its been placed behind the NSL sign making it
hard to see.
Before reduction
The speed limit has now been cut to 50mph as part of a blanket reduction along this road. The hump sign is still obscured,
could it be possible to sue the council if you wreck your suspension?
After reduction
This is the A460 at Shareshill looking towards the M6 at junction 11. On leaving Shareshill the speed limit sensibly increases from 40mph to 60mph.
Before reduction
This is the same location a couple of years later when Staffordshire County Council extended the 40mph limit well outside the built up area and reduced the remainder
to 50mph which starts at the pair of signs in the distance.
After reduction
This is the A453 at Mile Oak near Tamworth. The speed limit is 50mph as the road is well aligned and the houses are on one side only.
Before reduction
The speed limit has been reduced to 40mph and garish red paint has been applied to the road surface. Other changes are the addition of keep left bollards on the right
turn lane and yellow lines at the bus stop.
After reduction
This is the A34 in Walsall. A 40mph limit applies to this wide urban road and is well respected.
Before reduction
Not any more as its now been cut to 30mph as part of a policy by Walsall MBC to reduce most of its urban 40mph limits to 30mph.
After reduction
This is a typical scene in Walsall as you exit the built-up area. The speed limit rises to NSL (60mph).
Before reduction
This is a scene repeated across Walsall as all NSL's have now disappeared in favour of political speed limits. Here the NSL signs have
been taken down and a 30mph repeater put up. Blanket speed limit reductions like this fail to take into account the conditions of each road.
It is now possible to travel for miles along unclassified rural roads with a 30mph limit. Most of these limits are routinely exceeded because
they do not represent a reasonable speed for that road. I've been along several roads with long straights and good visibility where
vehicles travel at up to 60mph, some even overtaking slower vehicles.
After reduction
This road in Lancashire is currently NSL but there is a covered up sign on the third lampost.
Before reduction
The limit has now been cut to 50mph and the covered up sign is a repeater. This sort of reduction is a nationwide problem
as speed limits are being cut in a desperate attempt to drive motorists out of their cars.
After reduction
This is a well respected 40mph limit in the village of Carkeel in Cornwall.
Before reduction
The speed limit has now been cut to 30mph which is typical of many similar reductions up and down the country. The speed limit roundel on the road has had the 4 erased.
After reduction
This is the A453 in Clifton heading towards Nottingham and the A52. The speed limit here is NSL (70mph).
Before reduction
In May 2006 the speed limit was cut to 40mph and 50mph. This section of A453 approaching the A52 Northbound is 40mph whereas in the opposite direction it was cut to 50mph.
After reduction
This is the A41 approaching Aylesbury. The speed limit drops from NSL to 40mph as we enter the outskirts of town.
Before reduction
In early 2007 Buckinghamshire County Council lowered the speed limit on vast swathes of roads in the county which included reducing all the urban 40mph limits within Aylesbury to 30mph
regardless of the quality of the road. Similar reductions across the UK have had disasterous effects on driver behaviour with respect for speed limits at an all time low. In addition to the urban limit in
this picture being cut, the NSL was also reduced to 40mph, lopping a huge 20mph off the limit.
After reduction
A mile or so up the road and we come to the village of Aston Clinton. This stretch of the A41 was bypassed a few years ago and now the road is much safer due to less traffic. Naturally the speed
limit rises to NSL (60mph) as we leave the village looking towards Aylesbury.
Before reduction
Once again the speed limit has been slashed, this time to 50mph. Not only are urban 40mph limits under attack but rural NSL is under threat as well. Another trick councils use to lower limits by
stealth is to extend the lower limit outwards by placing the signs further out. This is exactly what has happened here. In this picture you can see how much the 30mph limit has crept out by. Next time the signs are
replaced they'll move a bit more until the 30mph limit extends well outside the village.
After reduction
This is the London end of Aston Clinton. The speed limit rises from 40mph to NSL here as the last house in the village is on the left.
Before reduction
Yet again 10mph has been lopped off the limit as councils seek to make the NSL extinct. Not only that but the 40mph limit at this end of the village has also been cut to 30mph which you can
see by the roundel painted on the road near the lorry.
After reduction