Caught speeding in a walking-speed zone

I got caught speeding!

Well I saw the flash go off at the time so was just expecting the letter in the post, but surprised to find I was doing over double the legal limit. (hidden camera in a parked estate car)

My street opens into the same street as the school and playground so they have a blue sign and we all drive nice and slow. Normal speed in the village is 30kph but we go slower past the school.

In fact visibility is good in the road, no trees, widish road, and they have flowerbeds to slow things even more.

So I got nicked for doing they said 23kph (around 15mph). My fine was €15 and no points.

The MAXIMUM speed limit in fact it turns out is 10kph (not on the signs), which is around 7mph. So I guess to be on the safe side they really mean we should be doing 6-8kph.

I am a guilty wicked sinner. My own son goes to the school and I have been caught shooting around the roads like a boyracer at speeds of up to 15mph.

My point?

Dunno really but I do think if people are gonna stick to speed limits then they need to be realistic. I am not moaning - the fine is pennies and it will make me think even more than I already do. In fact it might be easier if I jumped out the car and pushed it.

Before you all moan at me for being a lunatic speeding driver...just try sticking below 10kph down a longish road...it is very very slow indeed. And even try driving at 23kph and I doubt you will feel the wind whipping through your hair.

As it happens I am just gonna take a longer route and avoid that road in future. Burn some of them fossil fuels etc.

6-8 kph?

I guess you're just supposed to take your foot off the brake then, and not touch the accelerator?

I tried it this morning. Even in 2nd gear at tickover my golf races along at waaaay over the limit so you need to get into 1st gear, apply the brakes, and try not to stall the car.

There was an article in one of the BIKE mags in the UK recently. They have proven that setting speed limits too low actually causes more crashes...it kills your ability to pay attention to what you are doing.

But I still think it is great for driving over here!

Spiel Strasse and yes the limit is "walking" speed which means 6-8kmh. I hate people who go up and down my street doing more than that. Lunatic racers.

man I cant even cycle that slow

I drove to Prague last weekend with 8 folks (sadly not all TT wimmin PG) in a Ford Transit MPV, all smashed off their faces and singin from the top of their lungs - came down from 170 only for the lights , most of the time I was gettin overtaken - fuckin joke.

Wow, I'm a bit surprised. I was expecting this to be full of "I'm a macho man and I drove my motorcycle at twice the speed limit. High fives all around!" But this isn't the case. Obviously around a school you should be going slow, but 10km is pretty slow. How long is the stretch at that speed?

Ye of little faith.

Takes most of the frigging morning...

Eurovol is right (no surprise there
If it's the large oblong blue sign with kids playing football etc on it then the limit is officially walking pace, which is a hell of a lot less than 23 km/h (okay so I speak for my own walking pace here...)
But as JE says, this is totally unrealistic. I used to have to drive though such an area to get home. I used to drive a diesel. To drive at walking pace I just took both feet off the pedals and let the torque do the work. And it was steeply uphill.
Conclusion: It is not possible to drive at walking pace. Tachometers generally don't even begin to register until 20 km/h.

There has been a lot of dicussion about this recently in the papers. There is no definition of "walking speed", and as some speedos don't even start registering until 10kph, how can you judge your speed in the first place? Further, most radar "guns" are MUCH less accurate under 20kph

The bottom line is the German courts have decided it's a case for common sense, and that prosecutions are unlikely to be made under 20kph (when the gun is accurate, your speedo is registering, and few (normal!) people can walk at that speed...

Sounds like a fair cop, JE... Not many people can boas they only got fined €15 for driving double the speed limit!

YL6

On the weekend I saw a radar on the street which told you how fast you were going. Funny thing is, it is now the focus of entertainment for the neighbourhood kids, who race down the hill on their bikes or roller-blades seeing how fast they got.

One kid was doing 35kph according to the radar.

I am installing one of these tomorrow!

Good move eurovol, that'll teach them not to speed down your street.

Brilliant. Now all I need is a similar contraption for when the wife comes round to visit. (Only joking, probably).

Sure, you're just joking . I thought 99 % of jest are true.

Of course I'm joking. She might have the kids with her.

Cars are Dreck!
Use a Fahrrad!

as someone rightly pointed out, below a certain speed, you don't actually concentrate on your driving but your bloody speed. great. here on the islands, they have 20mph zones appearing for resid. areas which i think is fine. makes you think and pay attention but not silly. i know an ex-colleague who had to seriously fight a potential ban for doing 26kph through the 20kph zone in the middle of freising. fecking riduculiousness.