Free Traffic Legal Advice
General discussion => The Flame Pit => Topic started by: aardvaark on October 28, 2025, 09:41:18 pm
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I have also seen spurious limits on the same gantry and restriction on only 2 of 4 lanes
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Have you ever seen such a display?
I have, yes, every now an then. It does happen. I always assume the limit applies to all lanes.
Leaving aside where motorways diverge (and I think even then all lanes would be kept the same until the divergence was complete)
They do show different limits even before the physical divergence, though the lane markings clearly show that some lanes (with a different limit) are about to do so.
Back in the '90s when VSL were first introduced, it was suggested that different limits could apply on each lane, but I don't think this was ever actually implemented.
Any limit displayed previously remains in force until the driver encounters a sign displaying something else (a different limit or the NSL sign).
Unfortunately it also happens that there is not always an NSL at the end of a variable speed restriction. Could be because the restriction you last passed has been lifted and so all the signs are now blank, or some other random reason. One simply has to assume after a couple of gantries that NSL now applies (whether rightly or not).
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The situation you describe would be ludicrous if done deliberately. If a lower limit is required in lanes 1,2 and 4, why on earth would it be deemed OK to travel faster in lane 3?
I have experienced such a "ludicrous" situation on the M42 Northbound just before the M6 (a year and a half ago).
The overhead gantries said, from the left, 60mph, 50mph and 40mph!
This is whilst the roadworks (physical) signs below all said 50mph!!!
I immediately reported this to National Highways (or whatever they are called these days) and spoke to Mark who didn't know about the lower roadworks limit and couldn't understand why the limits were different across the three lanes.
This is worrying because you can literally lose your licence based on badly or incorrectly enforced speed limits!
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There is no requirement for the speed to be displayed over more than one lane. In a lot of area now there's just one speed limit sign.
I've seen what could best be described as multiple speeds indicated, especially on the end of the M2 where it joins the A2 towards London where there's more than 4 lanes.
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Have you ever seen such a display?
Leaving aside where motorways diverge (and I think even then all lanes would be kept the same until the divergence was complete) the only time I can imagine this happening is in the event of a faulty display.
The situation you describe would be ludicrous if done deliberately. If a lower limit is required in lanes 1,2 and 4, why on earth would it be deemed OK to travel faster in lane 3?
I don't know whether the police would take enforcement action in the event of a failure in the lane 3 display. I feel fairly sure that they would.
Of course there would only be a debate in any case if the gantry was the first to show such a display. Any limit displayed previously remains in force until the driver encounters a sign displaying something else (a different limit or the NSL sign).
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Hi
The Highways Agency are kind enough to indicate speed limits above each lane on a motorway. But what happens when there are (say) three signs illuminated above lanes 1, 2 and 4. Does lane 3 revert to NSL? If trying to enforce speeding offenses, doe the photo of the other lanes apply where that lane's signs are blank?
This is just my idle curiosity when on a lengthy motorway journey, so no practical relevance.
Many thanks