speed limit M5 J16 - 17 SOUTHBOUND 08/10/2016 11:59

The request was partially successful.

Dear Highways England Company Limited,

Please could you provide me with the exact speed limit on the M5 J16 - 17 southbound at 11:59 on Sat 08/10/2016.

Yours faithfully,

Barry Williamson

Highways England,

This is an automated response:

 

Thank you for your email to Highways England.

 

If you are reporting a real time issue which requires immediate attention
please call the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000. 

 

A map of the roads for which we are responsible can be found here
[1]http://www.highways.gov.uk/publications/... If
the road you’re interested in isn’t on this map it will fall under the
jurisdiction of the local authority.  You can find details of local
authorities using the search facility on the gov.uk website
at: [2]https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council

 

If your email does relate to an issue on Highways England's network it
will be passed to the relevant team within Highways England and they will
respond to you within a maximum of 15 working days.

 

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request we will respond to you within a maximum of 20 working days. Your
request will be dealt with in line with government guidelines:
[3]https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-inf...

 

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Highways England Customer Contact Centre.

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Highways England Company Limited | General enquiries: 0300 123 5000
|National Traffic Operations Centre, 3 Ridgeway, Quinton Business Park,
Birmingham B32 1AF |
[4]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati... |
[5][Highways England request email]

 

Registered in England and Wales no 9346363 | Registered Office: Bridge
House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey GU1 4LZ 

 

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5. mailto:[Highways England request email]

Price, Gareth,

Dear Mr Williamson

 

Thank you for your enquiry of 18/10/16 concerning variable speed limits on
the M5. The information you have requested is information we make
available to the public on a regular basis.

 

Your request has been handled under normal business practices and not in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.

 

Highways England records some signal data for operational purposes;
however our database is not certified or calibrated to enforcement
standards, and it is not connected to the variable speed cameras. It may
contain errors, particularly in the times at which particular speed limits
were recorded, since (unlike the enforcement cameras) it was not designed
to provide 100% accuracy. This means that the records we hold do not
constitute legal proof of what speed limit was displayed, and could not be
relied on in court for the purpose of challenging a speeding ticket.

 

In order to answer your query, I consulted the information available to me
in this database; this indicates that on 08/10/16 at 1159hrs, a reduced
speed limit of 60 mph  was in effect on the M5 J16-J17, due to congestion.

 

The electronic signals on the M5 have been installed as part of the
J16-J17 M5 smart motorway scheme. The aim of this scheme is to actively
control traffic flow and reduce congestion, using variable speed limits
set in response to conditions on the road, as well as by opening up the
hard shoulder as a running lane at busy periods. Existing smart motorways
have successfully reduced congestion without compromising safety, at a
significantly lower construction cost to the taxpayer than traditional
road widening.

 

Enforcement is one of a number of measures which are used to encourage
compliance with speed limits, so that the benefits of the scheme can be
delivered to road users. Camera warning signs are used to ensure drivers
are aware that enforcement is in operation on these sections. Variable
speed enforcement cameras are operated by the Police, and the information
generated by them is not held by Highways England; this means that I do
not have access to any details of offences recorded.

 

However, I can tell you that the cameras are certified by the Home Office,
to ensure that they operate fairly and provide legal proof of what speed
limit was displayed. This involves strict design requirements which mean
that they can only enforce a reduced speed limit if it is correctly
displayed and the system is working properly; they are not capable of
enforcing a different limit to the one which is displayed. Because of
this, confirmation of the speed limit can only come from the information
held by the Police, which is used to generate the enforcement notices.

 

I hope that the information I have provided helps to explain why this
system is needed, and that there are safeguards in place to ensure it
operates fairly.

 

If you feel the information supplied is not sufficient or has not been
answered within the 15-day period, you may wish to complain. The
complaints procedure is available via our website at:
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

 

If you require a print copy, please phone the Information Line on 0300 123
5000; or e-mail [2][Highways England request email].

 

You should contact me if you wish to complain.

 

 

Yours Faithfully,

 

 

Gareth Price, Regional Enforcement Co-ordinator
Highways England | South West RCC | c/o Temple Quay House | The Square,
Temple Quay | Bristol | BS1 6HA

Web: [3]http://www.highways.gov.uk

 

 

This email may contain information which is confidential and is intended
only for use of the recipient/s named above. If you are not an intended
recipient, you are hereby notified that any copying, distribution,
disclosure, reliance upon or other use of the contents of this email is
strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and destroy it.

 

Highways England Company Limited | General enquiries: 0300 123 5000
|National Traffic Operations Centre, 3 Ridgeway, Quinton Business Park,
Birmingham B32 1AF |
[4]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati... |
[5][Highways England request email]

 

Registered in England and Wales no 9346363 | Registered Office: Bridge
House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey GU1 4LZ 

 

Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really
need to.

References

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2. mailto:[Highways England request email]
3. http://www.highways.gov.uk/
4. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
5. mailto:[Highways England request email]