I would hope not, because that would mean the law is being applied differently in different parts of the country, which would have some quite serious legal implications....
Regarding the tax per mile you mention...
If you think about it logically, all of these gantries for managed and smart motorways tend to have been built around the busiest points of the UK's motorway network.
So moving forward is will be extremely easy to add sensors to the gantries to read number plates, or smart chips attached to the windscreens (as in toll tags), in order to be able to charge per mile at busy periods.
As someone above said, it will need a brave government to introduce such a system, but it will come in the future
On this matter the next thing for motorists to do is campaign about the speed limit being set at 70 mph. That was introduced in the 60's and its long overdue a revision. Cars and roads are much more capable these days. We'd still have managed motorways controlling speeds at points but if the conditions allow it really should be 80-85 at least. If not stretches of autobahn
The expected saftey objections could quickly be countered.
I think people have less of a problem with speed cameras but more the speeds they are enforcing.
As I understand it, the law is the same all over the country, but different forces have different levels of "discretion" as to whether they caution, educate (SA course), ticket or prosecute.
Not really. The law is the law. They can choose to set a higher level for prosecution. They typically do that for the post cameras that need film as they need to manage their workload because they need manual processing and dispatch - tickets aren't enforceable of the letter doesn't get there within 2 weeks and so if they set a low limit they would be inundated with tickets and breach the time requirements. The real high speeders would be buried in lots of tickets only worth an educational course and either many will get off on technicalities of when they get the letter, or they'd need to recruit more people to connect the film and manage the issuing of tickets.
The Hadecs and the little yellow ones are fully electronic, and will have a letter dispatched to you automatically the next working day. Therefore they can afford to set a much much lower limit.
P.s. if anyone gets a definitive statement or evidence of tickets from either gantry specs or Hadecs when variable limit not active inI ask ears.I heard they did but upped the margin
It's the ACPO guidelines that suggest the 10% 2MPH. As you say, it's not the law, just powerful guidance.
The problem with setting the cameras at or near the speed limit is that many more drivers will challenge the accuracy of the cameras and it will also engender significant bad feeling - while having no effect on safety.
The variable speed limits are there to reduce congestion and the cameras to enforce this. It's not about safety, but improving traffic flows - which reduces harmful emissions and hopefully gets me to Heathrow on time for work...
The emissions argument is the same one that will prevent speed limits from rising. The increase at higher speeds is quite a leap, hence why some roads have lower speed limits just to get air quality to within the legal levels.
I would think personally that limits won't increase until all vehicles have become autonomous and with much lower emissions IE: electric or fuel cell etc. It will then be safer to run vehicles closer together and to mix cars and HGVs more safely.
The allowance is at the discretion of each individual police force.
Just like the police aren’t told how to enforce the limits. e.g. County Durham has ZERO speed cameras data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Because whatever the cost per mile, it’ll be a lot more than the VED anybody pays. Plus it’ll kill the aspect of driving for fun / pleasure once and for all.
No. It is important to remember that the driver relies on the accuracy of the speedometer so that ten percent is for that.