Speed limit change 120/80km (was I caught?)

sirmixalot

On the N4 dublin bound the limit changes from 120 to 80km, there's a bridge that is nearly in the middle of the two signs (just as you bypass leixlip and into lucan) The guards were there in the car with the gun facing towards the west I.e I was heading towards them, I changed down from 120 to 100 but was probably going 90 when passing the 80 sign.
Just wondering is that a ticket. How can they sit in such a contentious area?

Darc19

If they didn't stop you, then no ticket.

They are not really interested in those doing a little over the limit, more interested in the manic speeders.

un5byh7sqpd2x0

Darc19 wrote: »

If they didn't stop you, then no ticket.

They are not really interested in those doing a little over the limit, more interested in the manic speeders.

Not with the new guns, they don’t need to stop you anymore

sirmixalot

Jane Swift Railing wrote: »

Not with the new guns, they don’t need to stop you anymore

I had heard that. But the grayish area is where they were positioned, midway between a 120 and an 80 sign. That's what pisses me off. Just wondering if you slow up 40k between the two could they say you were over 80 or is it only past the sign... if you know what I mean.

Allinall

sirmixalot wrote: »

I had heard that. But the grayish area is where they were positioned, midway between a 120 and an 80 sign. That's what pisses me off. Just wondering if you slow up 40k between the two could they say you were over 80 or is it only past the sign... if you know what I mean.

If they (and you) were in between the 120 and 80 signs, then the limit was still 120.

jimmyrustle

Similarly, when joining the M50 at Blanch, and when coming off it towards Blanch/ Meath, the speed limit drops first to 50 then to 30.

Anyone who has ever attempted to drop to 30km here will know it is nigh on impossible without some eejit nearly running up your hole and blasting you out of it with the horn/

Do they ever bother enforcing limits at places where to attempt to abide by the limit will put you in danger of someone going into the back of you?

Andrewf20

Im thinking the op is refering to here which looks like 120km/h still:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3584779,-6.4758509,3a,75y,89.42h,93.35t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sndVsLZCJU70sDoz6FjWqBQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Zatoichi

Haven't seen a speed van on the N4 in years. First day of the lockdown and there it is sitting at the Liffey Valley exit. Another traffic corps car sitting near the Spa Hotel tonight.

tuxy

Jane Swift Railing wrote: »

Not with the new guns, they don’t need to stop you anymore

Do you have more info about the new guns?
Does it take a photo and that's why they don't need to stop you.
I sometimes check the Garda traffic on twitter and haven't seen anything about it.

sirmixalot

Andrewf20 wrote: »

Im thinking the op is refering to here which looks like 120km/h still:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3584779,-6.4758509,3a,75y,89.42h,93.35t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sndVsLZCJU70sDoz6FjWqBQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Yep, that's the spot

sirmixalot

Zatoichi wrote: »

Haven't seen a speed van on the N4 in years. First day of the lockdown and there it is sitting at the Liffey Valley exit. Another traffic corps car sitting near the Spa Hotel tonight.

This was a car with a guard sitting in it pointing the gun out the passenger window.

sirmixalot

Allinall wrote: »

If they (and you) were in between the 120 and 80 signs, then the limit was still 120.

Cool, I have dashcam of it. Doesn't show my speed though. Anyway will keep an eye out for a fine if it comes and may contest it if so.

Ultimanemo

Care is needed nowadays, they are putting speed traps in very open 50 k zones

Irishphotodesk

sirmixalot wrote: »

On the N4 dublin bound the limit changes from 120 to 80km, there's a bridge that is nearly in the middle of the two signs (just as you bypass leixlip and into lucan) The guards were there in the car with the gun facing towards the west I.e I was heading towards them, I changed down from 120 to 100 but was probably going 90 when passing the 80 sign.
Just wondering is that a ticket. How can they sit in such a contentious area?

They can sit there because people will often not see the signage (driving without due care and attention) or people will ignore the signage as the road itself doesn't change .... So they continue at whatever speed they were doing.

Areas where there is a change of speed limit are often used to enforce speed restrictions, areas where road deaths occur are supposed to be monitored by gosafe vans, but I think it's essentially fair game by both sides to get numbers up.

As someone who has regularly driven this path of road, it was noticeable that enforcement was lacking, but there was a recent announcement that new zones were to be used for speed limit enforcement, the m/n4 has a number of new spots added to it.
The gardai were also catching people driving in the hard shoulder during rush hour at the start of march, before the m/n4 turn into a ghost road lol.

In recent days it's more important to monitor your speed, less traffic on the roads can lead to accidentally going over the limit, there were 2 speed checks on the n4 yesterday that I witnessed.
On the M4 one guy in a 05 with a learner plate was pulled over westbound at location linked in Google map ...Garda car with blue flashy lights behind him.

Seth Brundle

sirmixalot wrote: »

How can they sit in such a contentious area?

How is it a contentious area?
Traffic emerging from Leixlip & Celbridge on your left. Bus lane with cyclists on your left. Pedestrians on your left.
The road gets quite busy from there heading inbound and with many drivers unaware how to use multi-lane roads properly it is even more important that drivers keep to the speed limit along there.

sirmixalot

Seth Brundle wrote: »

How is it a contentious area?
Traffic emerging from Leixlip & Celbridge on your left. Bus lane with cyclists on your left. Pedestrians on your left.
The road gets quite busy from there heading inbound and with many drivers unaware how to use multi-lane roads properly it is even more important that drivers keep to the speed limit along there.

They are sitting in between the 2 zones. Why not before the 120 or after the 80? So there's no gray area...

Seth Brundle

sirmixalot wrote: »

They are sitting in between the 2 zones. Why not before the 120 or after the 80? So there's no gray area...

There is no grey area. They can police the 120.zone or the 80 zone. There is no inbetween area for them to sit.

sirmixalot

Seth Brundle wrote: »

There is no grey area. They can police the 120.zone or the 80 zone. There is no inbetween area for them to sit.

Well there is, the bridge that they are sitting on is in between the two zones.
So what's the limit in between the two zones then? To me that's somewhere between black and white...

Vic_08

What do you not understand about there being only a 120 and an 80 section? There is no such thing as an "in between zone"

Limit is 120 up to the 80 signs and is 80 from there.

kirving

Seth Brundle wrote: »

How is it a contentious area?

No issue with it being an 80km/h zone whatsoever, it's very much needed.

I travel this road all the time, usually inbound to Dublin on a Friday evening when it's relatively quiet.

Most people know the road and ease off gradually in the 120km/h zone, braking gently to get down to 80km/h before the sign. All too often though, they're tailgated by people who are determined to do 120km all the way to the sign.

Then you have idiots who drive to the letter of the law, as in they do 120km/h right up to 20m before the sign and absolutely stand on the brakes.

Finally, those who blast into the 80km/h zone still doing 140km/h need to be caught, but that's easily done by a Gard on the opposite side of the bridge.

It's already an area where there's an accordion effect with traffic, and a Gard on the bridge doesn't help that IMO. Opposite side of the bridge, or 200m up the road would be a better place to position.

Further up the road, the limit drops to 60km/h where the Liffey Valley traffic joins. This used to be another favourite for GoSafe vans, but this location was removed as it actually led to much worse driving. There was enough going on with people trying to get across three lanes quickly and safely, and doing 66 in a 60 to slot into a gap is far preferable than hitting the brakes when they see the van.

Seth Brundle

sirmixalot wrote: »

They are sitting in between the 2 zones. Why not before the 120 or after the 80? So there's no gray area...

There is no area between the two zones. There is a line (a virtual line) that exists where on one side the speed limit is 120km/h and on the other side it is 80km/h.
What is difficult to understand about this?

Ultimanemo

sirmixalot wrote: »

How can they sit in such a contentious area?

After the sign the speed is 80 km/hr so it is not contention or grey area, but it is a trap, I could be paranoid but I think after the lockdown revenue went down and they got desperate so they started putting speed cameras not in places where it is more likely to save lives but in places where it is more likely to generate revenue.

Seth Brundle

Ultimanemo wrote: »

After the sign the speed is 80 km/hr so it is not contention or grey area, but it is a trap, I could be paranoid but I think after the lockdown revenue went down and they got desperate so they started putting speed cameras not in places where it is more likely to save lives but in places where it is more likely to generate revenue.

How exactly is it a trap? It's not like the signs are hidden!
I cycle to work along the 80km stretch and it does need strong enforcement (which sadly is not frequent there!)

tuxy

Still if the speed limit is clearly marked either side drivers will have no problem adjusting their speed accordingly.

Now does anyone have info about the new speed gun that does not require them to stop you?

Seth Brundle

tuxy wrote: »

Still if the speed limit is clearly marked either side drivers will have no problem adjusting their speed accordingly.

It is clearly marked on both sides of the eastbound carriageway.
If people cannot see the signs then they should not be driving.
If drivers cannot adjust their speed accordingly then they should not be driving.
If people cannot maintain a safe speed then they should not be driving.

TheW1zard

Your speedo is 10% off. If it said 90 you were doing 81

tuxy

TheW1zard wrote: »

Your speedo is 10% off. If it said 90 you were doing 81

Not necessarily. It depends on the car you are driving and the size of wheel and many other factors. But generally it is set low enough that it never under reads even if you make a number of changes to your car.

I've measured mine using GPS and drive past Go Safe vans at 105 km/h on my speedometer but it will be different for everyone.
The kind of people who don't understand this kind of thing are not capable of paying enough attention to adhere to speed limits anyway.

tuxy

Seth Brundle wrote: »

It is clearly marked on both sides of the eastbound carriageway.
If people cannot see the signs then they should not be driving.
If drivers cannot adjust their speed accordingly then they should not be driving.
If people cannot maintain a safe speed then they should not be driving.

The "it's only a revenue making trap" people should just not speed and prevent them from making any money from it.
Some people are incapable of this and are not dangerous because they are doing 110 in a 100 zone but dangerous because they do not have the capability to focus enough to drive safely.

Ultimanemo

Seth Brundle wrote: »

How exactly is it a trap? It's not like the signs are hidden!
I cycle to work along the 80km stretch and it does need strong enforcement (which sadly is not frequent there!)

The speed camera shouldn't be straight after the speed reduction sign, it should be a mile after the sign to give people enough time to reduce their speed.

Darc19

sirmixalot wrote: »

They are sitting in between the 2 zones. Why not before the 120 or after the 80? So there's no gray area...

What's an "in between zone"

I'm driving 34 years and have never heard of one.

Seth Brundle

Ultimanemo wrote: »

The speed camera shouldn't be straight after the speed reduction sign, it should be a mile after the sign to give people enough time to reduce their speed.

Absolute nonsense.
If you are unable to drive, then don't! As I mentioned, I cycle (and drive) along there and would prefer if incompetent drivers were not sharing the same roadspace as me!