Question:
Please could you advise if it is legal to have one side of the same road 80km\ph[not double] and the opposite direction still 60 km\hr on an open stretch of road ?
The 60 km\hr also becomes 80 km\hr several hundred metres later. We have traffic officials in our area issuing speeding fines for going over 60 km\hr on the inward bound lane, but directly across the road you can do 80km\hr on the outward bound lane?
Should they be trapping on this particular stretch of road that DOES NOT HAVE CORRESPONDING SPEED ZONES ?
Answer:
Yes it is legal and allow me to explain why it is so.
Speed limits on roads are set according to a number of factors, not least of which is the area towards which a motorist may be proceeding.
A speed limit approaching an urban area may be dropped to 60km/h in order to ensure that vehicles traveling towards it are slowed sufficiently to match the speed limit in that urban area.
Similarly when proceeding away from an urban area, it is perfectly logical to allow motorists to increase their speed because they are heading away from an area with potential hazards.
One also has to bear in mind that speed limit signs are erected in a manner that drivers approaching them can see them. If a different speed limit is applicable to traffic flowing in the opposite direction, this is really quite irrelevant, given the fact that while operating a motor vehicle, people should be looking where they are going – not craning their necks in the opposite direction to which they are travelling.
All of this said, perhaps our traffic authorities should set corresponding speed limits in both directions – and annoy those heading away from urban areas. 😉
Best Regards,
Howard Dembovsky
National Chairman – Justice Project South Africa (NPC) Association Not For Gain