M42 Cameras

[Andy_Summ]

Have to get this off my chest as it bugs me every morning and evening.

Has anyone else noticed that the new active traffic jam creation system, sorry active traffic management system has lower speed limits on the gantries where cameras are fitted.

Is this just coincidence??? Seems too many time including a quiet Sunday morning I have travelled along the Junction 3a - Junction 7 stretch with the bloody signs on as you come to the gantries with the cameras on the spped limit will drop then suprise suprise after the last camera enabled gantry by junction 4 and junction 6, go back up to a standard speed.

The other thing that I can't get my head around is..... according to the BS the government give out, speed oops, safety cameras are only located in areas where there is excessive evidence of speeding. So I ask myself since the cameras were installed before the new speed limits were switched on, how did they know there'd be excessive evidence of speeding.

Good job they only had enough cash left over once they'd messed me around for 18 months of roadworks to buy 8 cameras - all the rest are empty boxes. Shame other people don't know this as it may stop them pulling in front of me then slamming their anchors on to slow to a ridiculously low speed leaving me to test my ABS everytime!

Still, I'm sure the safety cameras are doing their job (£60 and three points thank you very much)!

Got that off my chest anyway.

Andy.

[cn1701]

Had to travel from M42 J2 to J6 yesterday, first time since the new system went active.

Traveling along towards a camera outfitted gantry with 50 lit, all of a sudden changes to 40 and I drop anchors.

Sufficed to say I will be avoiding that section of the M42 next time.

It's worse than some sections of the M25 IMHO.

Safety my rear end...

[slewi]

Sounds like a normal day on the M25, camera gantries are regularly set to lower speed than the gantry before and after.

Also look out for them to be set low when the motorway is fairly clear and flowing

[PaulB2005]

Went up the M42 on Friday and came down on Sunday. Each time the same thing.

60, 60, 50, 40, 40, NSL.

It just causes bunching and you can see people looking for the cameras on the overhead gantry. Good idea but just wish they'd stop messing about. I'm sure they are just trying things out and messing with people. M25 is just as bad. 40 for no reason for a couple of miles then NSL.

[neil01]

I know it seems that the limits are often applied when they shouldn't be, and I am not saying that they are not. However, just because we can't see a reason, doesn't mean that there isn't one. For example, traffic will sometimes be slowed down far more than you would think appropriate for where it is slowed down, but the problem may be congestion some distance ahead, which the reduced traffic flow will allow to clear. The fact that you can't see a reason doesn't mean that there wasn't one.

I was sceptical about that reasoning myself until I actually experienced how it can work first hand. I used to travel south on the M6/M5 every friday afternoon (yes it was as bad as people say) and once a couple of cars a little in front of me collided. The traffic came to a standstill for only a couple of minutes while they moved to the hard shoulder and I was on my way again - I have never travelled on that stretch ofroad with so little congestion - there wastn't even a queue at the M5 intersection.

I think that the traffic lights stopping vehicles going onto the motorways are for the same purpose.

[pigsy1974]

Well guys, I travel M42 from J6 to M40 and back every day and since the active traffic management system has been turned on the queues are worse than ever. IMO the stretch of motorway is too short for the variable speed limit to really have a positive effect. For this saystem to be useful the traffic coming on at J3a needs to be slowed down before the motorways merge as thats where the real bottleneck occurs. And whilst im on the subject, when the hell are they actually going to finish the project, remove the cones and open up the second lane from the M6 south onto the M42 south? These roadworks must have taken nearly 2 years now!!!!!

[neil01]

Of course I was only talking about the theory - it has to be implemented correctly!

I can't help but remember a case of a traffic system totally failing some years back, and warnings being on the national TV and radio, only to be told a couple of hours later that the traffic was flowing better than ever!

This was followed a little later with an announcement that it would not be switched back on again until they had had a re-think.

Admittedly it was a few years ago - well it must have been, people aren't allowed to use common sense these days. are they?

[MrGrumpy]

Are the cameras active when no reduced limit is in effect?

I don't use the M42 that often, but when I do it's usually late in the evening and very quiet?
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[Andy_Summ]

They still set the radar detector off when they are set to National Speed Limit so I guess they will still work.

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