Motorists fined over fake speed limit sign, police REFUSE TO CANCEL TICKETS unless drivers "call police".  OUTRAGEOUS!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1388653/Hundreds-motorists-fined-pranksters-40mph-sign-30mph-zone.html

Hundreds of motorists fined after pranksters put up 40mph sign in 30mph zoneBy Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 11:46 AM on 19th May 2011
 
Hundreds of motorists were issued with speeding fines after 'crassly irresponsible' pranksters put up a fake 40mph sign in a 30mph zone.

Residents in the road described seeing the camera - calibrated to catch motorists travelling above 30 mph - flashing like a 'strobe disco light' as drivers put their foot on the pedal, mistakenly thinking the speed limit had changed.

Furious highway chiefs condemned the practical joke after the road sign was put up before a speed camera on the busy road in Bradford.

Bradford Council has now removed the rogue sign, which it believes was installed by a member of the public several days ago on Woodside Road in Wyke, near the junction with Carr House Lane.
Resident Dave Clarke, an HGV driver, said: 'People were coming at 30mph but this sign brought them back up to 40mph so people were picking their speed up and setting the flash off.

'Some evenings it's been like a strobe disco light. There have obviously been a lot of people who have been caught by it.

'Whoever has placed the sign there, it's a stupid thing to do. It costs time and effort for all those involved in the fines process.'

Darren Badrock, Bradford Council's principal engineer for Bradford South, said: 'The 40mph sign was not put up by the council and appears to have been placed there by a member of the public. We have now removed it.

'Whoever put it up may think it was just a practical joke but it is actually crassly irresponsible.

'We lowered the limit to 30mph on Woodside Road because there had been 157 casualties on the A641 over three years. Encouraging people to drive faster than the speed limit may put lives at risk.'  (Ban the Cams note:  notice no mention of how many of those crashes were every caused by going to fast for conditions.  Just a the claim!)

Anyone who receives a fixed penalty notice related to the camera monitoring traffic travelling north on Woodside Road, between High Fernley Road and Carr House Lane, who believes the unauthorised sign was a factor should contact the partnership.  (Ban the CAMS Note;  THEY NEED TO CANCEL ALL TICKETS, not force drivers to "prove" they are innocent.  It is OUTRAGEOUS the police will NOT cancel all tickets issued to the incorrect speed limit sign!)

A West Yorkshire Police Spokesman said: 'Concern was raised about the road sign marked 40mph in Wyke, which was incorrect.

'However, when officers attended to have a look, it had been removed.'

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