News
Speed limit and camera news for the West Midlands
18 December 2001
New limit about to come into force at Hunnington
A new 30mph limit is about to come into force on the B4551 at Hunnington. New signs have been erected which are currently covered up.
As there is no street lighting, the limit is now 60mph due to the lack of repeaters. This will be short lived as the new signs will be
uncovered soon. The limit was previously 40mph which was acceptable but was mostly exceeded by motorists due to the rural nature of the road.
The new 30mph limit will be unacceptable for this type of road but has been imposed for political reasons.
14 December 2001
New speed limit on A4189
A new 30mph limit has been imposed in the centre of Claverdon. The village was previously 40mph throughout. The new limit is totally
unrealistic as much of its length is a long straight with good visibility.
23 November 2001
Speed limit extension in Kidderminster
The 40mph limit on the A456 in Kidderminster has been extended by a few hundred yards. The affected stretch is the dual carriageway in east
Kidderminster. Such reductions serve no purpose other than to waste taxpayers money which would be better spent on genuine improvements.
16 November 2001
Gatsos in Staffordshire to be painted bright
All Gatsos in Staffordshire are to be painted fluorescent yellow in a bid to make them more visible. They will also be clear of vegetation
and other obstructions so drivers will notice them. This should have been done a long time ago but at least its a step in the right direction. Staffordshire
has one of the largest amounts of Gatsos in the UK, many of which are in places where the speed limit can be safely exceeded.
7 November 2001
Yet more draconian speed limits in Walsall
Walsall council are up to their usual trick again by cutting reasonable speed limits to a crawl. This time its the A452 Chester Road in
Streetly. This road was 40mph in Streetly and NSL (60mph) towards Brownhills. Now the limits are 30mph and 50mph respectively. The 13 Gatsos
which cover this road will have their trigger speeds altered accordingly.
29 October 2001
Speed limit cut in Stafford
The 50mph limit on the A34 on the northern outskirts of Stafford has been cut to 40mph. This is the latest in a series of lower speed
limits which have plagued the area. At least it wasn't cut to 30mph.
10 September 2001
Several speed limit cuts on one road
Three separate speed limits have been reduced on the A450 near Kidderminster. The 40mph limit at Hackmans Gate has been cut to 30mph. The 40mph limit at
Harvington has been extended south of the A448 roundabout and a new 40mph limit has been created at Shenstone which is nothing more than a
few scattered houses and a pub. I totally deplore such measures which are against road safety and which most drivers view with contempt. Its getting to
the stage where a single house will be classed as a village and will have its own speed limit.
31 August 2001
New 40mph limit on B5038
The speed limit on Whitmore Road near Stoke, a popular short cut between the M6 and the A34, has been reduced from 60mph to 40mph. This is yet another
example of draconian speed limit cuts which are plaguing the country at the moment. This road has some straight sections which can safely be taken at well
in excess of 40mph. Once again there are no safety benefits from this type of reduction.
3 August 2001
Bright Gatsos could arrive here shortly
Gatsos in the West Midlands could be painted bright as the police have been urged to follow examples in Plymouth where there has been a
sharp fall in the number of accidents. At present they have no plans to do so but mounting pressure will eventually force a change of mind and
the traditional grey box will gradually disappear. One of the reasons for not doing so was because 'our cameras are open and visible' said a
police spokesman. Well I know of several in the West Midlands force area which are hidden behind signs and bushes.
21 July 2001
SPECS cameras on M6 now live
SPECS cameras were installed on the M6 at junction 6 recently and could well be live now that the camera signs have appeared. As usual with SPECS,
don't speed in between the cameras as they measure the time taken to pass each camera.
17 July 2001
New 40mph limit on A461
The speed limit on the A461 at Muckley Corner has been slashed from 70mph to just 40mph in a bid to cut accidents.
There have been numerous accidents near the A5 roundabout, which the authorities say are caused by speed (like they do with all accidents nowadays).
This road is completely rural except for a group of houses near the A5. This is yet another example of a quick
fix solution at trying to prevent accidents. All it will do is criminalise safe drivers who have exceeded an unacceptably low limit.
I wouldn't be surprised if a Gatso appeared. This being Staffordshire, there's likely to be several.
23 June 2001
New 30mph limit on A34
A short 40mph limit on the A34 in north Walsall has been reduced to 30mph. This is part of Walsall Council's policy of reducing all 40mph limits
on urban single carriageways to 30mph. This road is dead straight and is extremely wide and the 40mph limit was well respected. All the traffic
I was following was doing 40mph and if any vehicle was to do 30mph then the driver behind would surely be angered. This is proved by seeing the
traffic on the nearby Broadway, which was reduced from 40mph to 30mph a few months ago. Any car travelling at 30mph causes traffic behind to bunch up
resulting in severe tailgating.
Below are pictures of before and after the speed limit was reduced.
18 June 2001
Roadworks on M6
Roadworks have started on the M6 today and will last for 18 months. The affected section is between junctions 6 and 7.
An option of a 40mph or 50mph limit was given for the duration of the roadworks.
In the end, 40mph was chosen. I wonder if revenue had anything to do with it? There will be excessive enforcement which will see the motorway plagued with digital speed
cameras and unmarked police cars.
At the moment there is a 40mph limit and a coned off hard shoulder. There are currently no fixed speed cameras in place. Expect this to change
as the works get under way.
The roadworks on the M5 have now finished and all the restrictions have been lifted.
25 May 2001
M5 roadworks nearly finished
The long term roadworks on the M5 between J1 and J3 are nearing completion. The temporary 40mph speed limit has been raised to 50mph (which
it should have been from the start) and all the Gatsos have been removed. There are no longer any fixed speedtraps in place, which goes to show
how unrealistic the 40mph limit was.
8 April 2001
New 40mph limit on A448
A pathetic 40mph limit has been imposed on Bromsgrove Road at Studley in Warwickshire. The limit used to be 50mph and was well respected.
The new limit is a crawl on what is a straight road with houses on one side. I wouldn't be surprised if Gatsos were installed here soon, especially
as there is currently a mass rollout of new cameras in Warwickshire.
21 March 2001
New speed limits on B4101
New 30mph and 40mph limits have been imposed on the B4101 at Beoley near Redditch. The 30mph limit covers the village of Holt End and there
are 40mph limits on either side. The 30mph limit is fine near the sharp bend where it is impossible to go any faster, but the 40mph limits are totally
uneccessary. The road was previously derestricted throughout.
18 March 2001
New Gatsos on A520
Seven new Gatsos have appeared on the A520 at Meir in Stoke. They are in a 30mph limit which everyone seems to ignore. Maybe a 40mph limit would stand more chance
of being respected, but then again, that won't generate any revenue will it.
17 March 2001
New Gatsos on A51
A total of 11 new Gatsos have gone up on the A51 between Rugeley and Stone. With the exception of the 40mph limit through Sandon, this road is
currently derestricted throughout. However, lower speed limits will be imposed here shortly, with the majority of the road being cut to just 40mph. The Gatsos
are there because the new speed limits will be so underposted, no one will stick to them.
17 March 2001
New Gatsos on A5
Two new Gatsos have sprung up on the A5 to the west of Hints. These are in the underposted 50mph section which was cut from 60mph last year.
17 March 2001
New 50mph limit near Lichfield
A 50mph limit has been imposed on the A5127 to the south of Lichfield. This is a straight section of road which is good for 70mph. This is an
example of a political speed limit which won't help road safety whatsoever.
3 March 2001
New Truvelo cameras on A45
Four new forward facing cameras have been installed on the A45 at Ryton. This is part of a so-called safety scheme to cut accidents on this
dangerous stretch of dual carriageway. The speed limit will be cut from an already underposted 60mph to just 50mph. This will go no way towards solving
the problem which lies with the road design rather than speed. The accidents are occuring at the A445 junction where right turning vehicles are having to cross
two lanes of fast moving traffic.
The solution is to build a roundabout or a bridge over the A45 which will avoid conflicting movements. Instead, they've gone for the revenue option.
Below is an image of one of the cameras. This is the best attempt I have seen at trying to obscure a camera. Notice how the base of the camera is exactly in line
with the leg of the sign, and also the camera lens only sticks out far enough to see past the side of the sign. This is enough to convince me
that revenue is the main priority. How on earth can a camera which is hidden act as a deterrent?
Update - a few years later a roundabout was built but the 50mph limit and cameras remain. In 2007 the Truvelo pictured lost its camera housing when vandals sawed it off.
19 February 2001
Yet more blanket limits imposed in Walsall
The speed limit on Broadway, part of the ring road, has been cut to 30mph. This is part of a strategy to cut road deaths. In fact, this
is all the strategy is, pathetic speed limit cuts. With the exception of only a handful, every road in Walsall will have a speed limit of
40mph or less. This will go no way to reducing deaths, all it will do is criminalise safe drivers who will have to break the limit in order
to travel at a decent pace.
6 February 2001
Blanket 40mph limits imposed near Walsall
Speed limits on 'B' roads at Barr Beacon, just outside Walsall, have been slashed to just 40mph. The roads affected are the B4151 Sutton Road,
Beacon Hill and the B4154 Beacon Road. These roads used to 60mph and 50mph respectively. New signs have been put up saying 'Speed Limits Life'. The
council is using road safety as an excuse for lowering the limits. If you look down the page to 15 Nov 1999, you will an article about speed limit reduction in Walsall.
Back then I predicted how some of the speed limit cuts were going to take place on major roads to make driving unpleasant. Well I was right. Most of the country lanes
already have a 30mph limit so the only roads left in which lower limits could be imposed were major roads.
5 February 2001
New 40mph limit on B4101
A 40mph limit has been imposed on the B4101 between Wood End and the A435. This road is built up but the houses are set back from the road
and the appearance is that of a rural road. The former 60mph limit was right for this road and 40mph seems like a crawl. There is no enforcement
so it's just another one of the growing number of speed limit cuts which will be ignored.
2 January 2001
New 30mph limit on A5013
The 40mph limit at Creswell, just off junction 14 of the M6, has been cut to 30mph. There are no safety benefits whatsoever in imposing
such unreasonable speed limits like this. Neither the council or the police support this 30mph limit. So it seems the council have given in to local residents.
This road already has an underposted 50mph limit towards Great Bridgeford, most of which is a long straight.
As there are no Gatsos, its safe to ignore both these limits.
4 December 2000
New 40mph limit on A3400
One of the most unrealistic speed limit reductions I have seen has taken place just north of Henley-in-Arden. A 1 mile stretch of good quality
rural road has been slashed from an already underposted 50mph limit to just 40mph. This road is well known for having a blanket 50mph limit for most
of its length and to cut part of it to 40mph is just plain ridiculous.
The only group of houses have their own access road so there is absolutely no justification whatsoever. Nobody seems to be taking any notice of this
stupid limit as I was being tailgated at 60mph. One of those illuminated signs saying 'slow' when you drive past has been installed, a lot of
difference that will make.
19 November 2000
New 50mph limit on A449
Another pathetic 50mph limit has just been imposed (that's 2 so far this week). This one is on the A449 to the north of Stewponey.
There has already been a speed limit reduction here this year. This one just adds insult to injury.
16 November 2000
New 50mph limit on A441
Yet another pathetic 50mph limit has been imposed. This time on the A441 between Astwood Bank and just south of where it joins the A422.
The existing 30mph limit in Astwood Bank has been extended well outside the village. And because in Worcestershire they don't use Gatsos, the only
possible enforcement could be the use of mobile cameras. So this is one of those unrealistic limits which is likely to be broken.
4 November 2000
SPECS cameras removed
The 2 SPECS cameras that were on the M5 southbound near junction 1 have been replaced with Gatsos. They are in the same places
as they were before the SPECS was installed.
1 November 2000
40mph limits under threat in Walsall
40mph limits on Birmingham Road, Sutton Road and Broadway (all major routes in the town) may be slashed to 30mph if the local police
have their way. They say it will reduce accidents (haven't we all heard this excuse before), but local councillers are opposed to the
proposals. A few years ago, a similar road had the limit reduced and everyone still drives at over the old limit, so how the hell do they
expect motorists to comply with the limits on these roads should they be reduced. The 40mph limit is right for these roads and thats why they
were set in the first place, these things are best left well alone.
1 November 2000
Speed limit extension on A456
The 40mph limit on Hagley Road in Hayley Green has been extended 200 yds westwards. The existing limit was low (especially westbound)
and was already being ignored, the new bit is just a joke. They've even painted red stripes on the road with 40's on them to make people
aware of the limit. This is just one of many speed limits which now start well outside built-up areas, even though government guidelines
recommend speed limits start at the first house.
22 October 2000
New Gatso on A5
A new Gatso has been installed on the A5 eastbound on the approach to Hints. This has replaced one of the existing cameras in the village.
The 40mph limit has been extended and now starts about 1/2 mile before you get to the village. The new camera is in this 'extended' section.
Only a few months ago the 60mph limits on either side of the village were slashed to 50mph. By moving Gatsos around, they hope to raise
more revenue by catching drivers unaware.
21 August 2000
SPECS cameras on M5
2 SPECS cameras have replaced the 2 Gatsos on the M5 southbound just before junction 1. These are to enforce the
ridiculously low 40mph limit which the Gatso's have failed to do. As with any other SPECS system, they measure the time
taken to pass each camera then calculate your average speed, so don't speed up after passing the first camera. The rest of the Gatsos southbound
and all the northbound Gatsos are still very much active.
9 July 2000
Speed limits in Lichfield 'falling like flies'
2 speed limits in Lichfield have been slashed. The western bypass has been reduced from 60mph to 40mph and
the A461 Walsall Road has been reduced from 40mph to 30mph. Both reductions are totally unnecessary and as there are no
cameras, are being ignored (and rightly so).
16 April 2000
New speed limit on A449
A totally unacceptable 40mph limit is to be imposed on the A449 at Stewponey. Once again the usual
reasons have been given for lowering the limit. All this will do is reduce respect for legitimate speed
limits. That's if there are any legitimate speed limits left.
5 March 2000
New cameras in Wolverhampton
2 new cameras have been installed on the Birmingham New Road. Radar detectors won't pick them up as
they use Truvelo strips. This road was already saturated with red light cameras, now they've put some
speed cameras up as well. Yet more money for the treasury.
13 February 2000
New 50mph limit on A41
A pathetic 50mph limit has been imposed on the A41 where it joins the A464 at Kingswood between
Wolverhampton and Albrighton. As there are no Gatsos, this, along with the other stupid speed limits
which local authorities seem fit to impose, will largely be ignored by drivers.
A few miles up the road to Tong, near M54 J3, a DS2 strip has been buried into the tarmac (see my map
for location). Speed camera signs have also been erected. Maybe the intention is to impose a blanket 50mph limit
throughout with speed traps.
22 January 2000
New Gatso's on A34
New Gatsos have sprung up on the A34 near M6 J7. A total of 4 have appeared, 2 of which are on the
central reservation. These may be reversible, but I can't be certain until the calibration markings have
appeared.This means there are now Gatsos along the entire length of the A34 between Birmingham and Walsall.
27 December 1999
Speeding between Gatso's
70 motorists have been done for speeding between Gatsos on Bristol Road in Birmingham.
The police have been targeting motorists who slow down when they get to a Gatso and then speed up
again. This amounts to nothing more than persecution. Haven't the police got anything better to do
than harass motorists. Once again they say it reduces accidents. However, they failed to mention if
any of them where involved in an accident. Yet another revenue earner.
8 December 1999
50mph rural limit scrapped
The government has scrapped plans to reduce the national speed limit to 50mph. The government has probably
done this u-turn because of a backlash from motorists. All they need to do now is to scrap the rest of their
stupid anti-car policy.
15 November 1999
Speed limits slashed in Walsall
Speed limits on 20 roads in Walsall, all with a speed limit of 60mph or 50mph, will have their limits
slashed to 40mph or 30mph. The council says that many of the roads are narrow country lanes and are
unsuitable for fast moving traffic. The word many has been highlighted because some of the roads will no doubt be high
quality 'A' roads with speed limits reduced for the sole reason of revenue raising and making driving as unpleasant as
possible. They then go on to say lower limits will ease congestion. How can it? Because you will be forced to drive slower
than before, making your journey even longer. The police will help enforce the new limits with the consequence that muggers,
rapists and murderers will get away with their crimes as police concentrate on catching so called 'speeders' instead of real
criminals.
15 November 1999
Lower speed limits in Staffordshire
A new 40mph limit has been introduced on the A513 at Elford. Once again local residents are celebrating
because they will no longer have traffic 'racing' through their village.
Well let's get things straight. The A513 doesn't go through Elford, it skirts the edge of the village
and there are only a handful of houses on one side of the road. This is not an acceptable excuse for
lower limits. Yet again the reasons given are to 'cut accidents'. I'm getting sick of hearing the same
old rubbish. Why don't the villagers admit that they don't want traffic in their village and then they
may get a by-pass.
On another note, the county council has said it will introduce 20mph limits on roads with a bad
accident record. Once again, they are sucking up to the anti-car lobby.
25 October 1999
Dudley Bypass opens
The road opened 5 months earlier than expected, so I took the opportunity to drive
along it. I spotted some problems straight away. The speed limit is only 40mph,
whereas 50mph would be more realistic. There are 2 roundabouts along the route which
will be bottlenecks during the rush hour, I was lead to believe that graded junctions would
be provided. At least there are no speed cameras.
24 October 1999
Speed limits reduced in Halesowen
Speed limits on Kent Road and Carters Lane in the Lapal area of Halesowen have
been reduced from 40mph to 30mph. I totally disagree with this policy of
slashing limits. This will not improve road safety whatsoever. It's yet another feeble attempt
at getting us out of our cars. Having driven down these roads since the limits were reduced, I
have seen no reduction in drivers speeds. It seems everyone is doing the sensible thing by ignoring these
ridiculous speed limits and driving at the old speed. I will keep on driving at 40mph.
20 September 1999
National speed limit to be reduced to 50mph
The government has made plans to reduce the speed limit on rural roads to 50mph.
They also plan to increase the number of 20mph limits in urban areas and to triple the
amount of speed cameras. But they say no final decision has yet been made.
I don't know whether this will apply to dual carriageways as well. But this explains why
they've imposed 50mph limits on several rural roads already. They've probably done this as a trial to
see how successful it is. Now they wan't to do this everywhere.
As the government is still 'thinking about it' now would be the time to view your opinions. Let's stop their policy of slashing
speed limits before it's too late.
As for tripling the amount of speed cameras, well it just goes to show you that raising revenue
is their main priority, especially as they plan to give local councils some of the money they raise
in fines.
Let me put it to you in 1 simple sum: low speed limits + speed cameras = more revenue for the treasury
Once again the reason they give is to reduce accidents. We all know that's a load of ****. Why don't they just admit that
they wan't us off the road instead of telling us crap like 'it saves lives'. As their figures show,
there are more accidents on urban roads with a speed limit of 30mph or lower, so why are they reducing speeds
on rural roads? Lowering speed limits and saturating the country with Gatso's won't make us give up our cars.
As a picture from my local paper shows, they will be putting
speed humps on motorways next.