The M42, West Midlands.

[Nigel]

Gentlemen.

I recieved this e-mail from another IAM member.

I cant guarantee its accuracy, but better to err on the side of caution and watch the news stories, rather than test it yourself.

I have received some intelligence from a reasonably dependable source
that the new digital automated tracking system between Junctions 3 and 7b on the M42 are scheduled to go live on 1 April.

There are 276 digital cameras set to a 2mph tolerance. You will see no flash - the first you will know will be when the £60 fine arrives!

http://www.highways.gov.uk/knowledge/1346.aspx

[martine]

This is like the variable speed limits on the M25 - enforced by cameras on the gantries. If I understand this correctly, this M42 scheme though is also inconjunction with use of the hard shoulder during congestion.

I wonder where he got the 2mph tolerance figure from...sounds rather harsh.

[martine]

Having read it a bit more the thing that worries me is the fact that if the hard shoulder is open for normal running it's only for use to the next junction. I guess the hard shoulder bears left as normal at the junction. Won't this cause some people to hastily decide to change lanes at the last minute as they want to carry on the motorway? It'll be interesting to see how they sign this to make it clear - otherwise it could a recipe for carnage as people dive across the junction to carry on, on the hard shouder...ouch.

I'm also worried about these 'safe havens' that you use if you've broken down - I bet some people will just stop on the hard shoulder thinking they are not supposed to use them. You get this now with people stopping in L1 when the hard shoulder is coned-off for road works even though there's spaces to get through to relative safety.

[CDAWG]

It sounds as if 2 mile per hour tolerance would promote some serious poky driving.

[Mick Annick]

I travel this section of the M42 every day and find the biggest problem to be actually reading every sign - some of which are only a couple of hundred yards apart, the difficulty being that the limit seems to change at ever sign. For instance, this morning (northbound) it went 50, 50, 50, 40, 60, 50,----40, 40 so you have to be particulary attentive and not just follow the rest of the trafic flow if you're to avoid breaking the limit.

At least the signs on the M25 having flashing lights which draw your attention to them.

Having said all that the motorway does seem to move more freely since the variable limit has become active.

Mick

[kevdyas]

Is this road still 70mph when the gantries are switched off? I travelled this piece of road last night and my TomTom was going nuts saying there was a speed camera - some set at 60 and some set at 70!

Kev.

[ROG]

Is this road still 70mph when the gantries are switched off? I travelled this piece of road last night and my TomTom was going nuts saying there was a speed camera - some set at 60 and some set at 70!

Kev.

YES 70 unless signs dictate other

[kevdyas]

Thanks! It confused me and then coming out of the 'zone' there is a NSL sign which confused me a little bit more as I thought I had missed a lower limit during entering the zone. The NSL clearly means that this resets any lower speed limits to NSL.

Kev.