Around Oxfordshire most villages have been plastered with multiple "Speedwatch" signs in fluorescent colours with stupid slogans such as "ARE YOU SPEEDING?", generally cluttering the roadside and detracting from useful signage.

They've also now started to put up permanent signs on NSL roads that seem to directly contradict the law. E.g. the A4074 near Berinsfield - this road is S2 with hatched centre that is used as a defacto S3, as one of the few places you can overtake on this road. They've now put up signage saying.

STAY IN LANE
Kill your speed

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=A4074,+ ... 2,,3,-1.03

despite overtaking using the centre being perfectly legal. I have no idea what "Kill your speed" is meant to mean on a rural NSL road - presumably they'd prefer it if you stopped dead and walked home instead? Seems ludicrous people can make any statement they want on road signs, detracting from essential ones like "STOP".

Does anyone know where they get funding for this sort of thing? The only website I could find seems only to be a showcase for non-compliant warning signs, and busybodies blocking repeaters with digital signs.

As I've posted elsewhere, I saw a car with a fairly large safety scheme sticker in the back. "BACK OFF! I'm following the speed limit" or similar.

I was behind them at some lights at a junction on a clear road; they were the first car, I was the second.
And I sat behind them through the red phase.
Then through the red+amber phase.
Then through the green phase.
Then through the amber phase.
Then through the red phase.
Then through the red+amber phase.
Then we finally went.

We did both roll forward about an inch halfway through that, but nothing like making progress.


This seemed symbolic of "ZOMG! SPEED!" campaigners: Focussed on a single issue which is not always the key issue, yet ignorant of other more immediate factors.

The signs were funded by the Road Safety Partnerships and are part of Roadsafety GB( former Local Authorites Road safety Officers Association) aim at teaching us all what to do. RoadsafetyGB are bascially a union for Road Safety Officers who believe they are whiter then white and all drivers are evil and need teaching what to do.

In my own professional view they are a complete waste of money in the current climate and the idiots that cause the accidents ignore them anyway and the signs then wind up the majority of safe drivers who think they are a waste of money. Also they distract the driver so are counter productive. We have stopped erecting them and funding them at my authority.

The best form of road safety education is a when a nutter hurts himeself and not some one else , that usually teaches them a lesson

And what's with the bollard in the middle of the road where there used to be a "pull over" warning arrow? Surely anyone making a legal overtake along this road, is going to come a cropper when this looms up at them out of the blue without any advance warning!

Ah my old favourite... "let's discourage overtaking by providing a huge strip down the middle that is ideal for overtaking". Then have to put up signs asking you to not overtake...

Isn't Oxfordshire one of the counties that ignored Police recommendations when reducing a lot of their NSL roads?

Indeed it was - numerous speed limits were reduced despite police objections. In my experience Oxfordshire has some of the most absurd rural 30s on the roads with just a scattering of properties in the country, plus the vast majority of the rural A and B roads are now 50s

mmm, motorbike lane!!!

I was in a queue behind a woman with a similar sticker in the back window, a few months ago and although she was driving "safely", by never exceeding 50MPH, she also never dropped more than two cars lengths back from the lorry she was following, no matter what speed we were doing. No doubt she smugly considers herself a "good driver" though.

They've obviously got some very bright sparks on their highways team then...

If I ever see people with similar stickers over here I'll be watching out for a reason to call Trafficwatch on them...

What some people need is a "BACK OFF! I'm a bad driver." Sticker.

Now there's an idea - can we get a photo of the "back off... keeping to limit" one, and then recreate is exactly, except changing "keeping to limit" to "bad driver", do a small production run, then SABRE members can get them, and "award" them to people!

To be honest, I would sooner some people were to put a sticker in their window saying, "nervous driver please bear with me", than trying to hide the fact with self righteous, "speed kills", "watch my child" or other stupid stickers that mean absolutely nothing apart from the fact that they are unlikely to go above 40MPH anywhere and drift around the road like they are on drugs.

Didn't there used to be one that said..."back off give my child a chance!" or similar?
I used to wonder if the child was old enough to drive and have a license?....

If only, alas I fear that would get us a reward of a punch in the gub!

A policeman once told me that he could accuse people of murder and all they would do is look scared cry a little an say it was not them! But accuse someone of bad driving and all hell would break loose!

Ahhh i have seen something similar , but in chingford (London borough of waltham forest. With speed camera logos on them and the lot. They look ridiculous with the awful florescent green i bet they are illegal too. Examples bellow

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=chingfo ... 8,,2,-0.94

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=chingfo ... 68,,2,3.74

Do not blame the professionals , 90% of these speed limits nationwide are member, politically lead to please the locals. Trust me , they are blinkered. i had one road where they said there was a speeding problem and after a rader check (with me hidden in a tree, to make sure vehicles did not slow down) followed by a 7 day 24 hour ATC, we found the 85th %tile was 26mph. Still did not accept it , the machines were wrong, people showed down but are still going to put a 20mph in.

Yes, political interference with traffic schemes really has to stop. It's similar in all local authorities unfortunately.

It just depends how good the higher-ups in your highways/traffic department are at reigning the members with 'ideas' in.

Sometimes you appreciate the value of the obstructive Sir Humphrey mindset...

Not sure about that - I would say that policies such as Derbyshire's blanket 50 in the Peak District, and Suffolk's 30 mph wherever there are more than a couple of houses, are primarily the result of the interpretation of professional officers, not councillor pressure.

Yes, vocal councillors may get the odd daft 30 imposed, but I'm sure a department staffed by curmudgeonly old-school officers well-versed in Circular Roads 1/1980 would be able to stall most unreasonable suggestions in a mire of bureaucracy.

It remains the case that different authorities apply very different speed limit policies to similar roads - on recent experience, Cheshire, East Sussex and Herefordshire are far more reasonable than Oxfordshire, Derbyshire and Suffolk.