Speed limits - identifying them. All you need to know as a car driver in the UK (but not Wales!)

For the UK, except for Wales...
Signs? No signs? Types of road? Different for different vehicles?
How can you identify the speed limit on a road if there have been no signs for many minutes? What's the National Speed Limit, and what does it mean to me?
This guide covers all you need to know to drive a car on UK roads (except Wales) without ever wondering "What's the limit here?" and a little about other vehicles too.
Do the speed limit quiz first, then again afterwards to make sure you've sussed it!

[@claudiocosta8631]

Great Video pal, please keep making videos, it might not be apparent in your number of subscribers but you are genuinely helping many people out here. I have watched nearly all videos on Speed limits as I prepare for my second sit for my driving exam, and your videos are the clearest and by far the best on youtube. Thank you. I'll report back once I pass.

[@DrivingvideosUK]

Thanks very much - appreciated! 😊 And best of luck with the test!

[@miroo190]

Great video. I finally understand the difference between single and dual carriageway

[@DrivingvideosUK]

Thank you! Feel free to share the video.

[@FK-zy4lr]

Absolutely brilliantly and simply explained. Followed all the way through without getting lost and ofc found my way!

[@DrivingvideosUK]

Many thanks for some very much appreciated feedback 😊

[@Ahmad-co6bn]

You should have at least half million subscribers... Wish you all the best.

[@DrivingvideosUK]

That’s a really nice thing to say! Thanks!

[@destinyfaith6759]

Very helpful!!! Thank you!

[@DrivingvideosUK]

You’re welcome. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

[@alexcarratu5554]

Great video, thanks for explaining. Speed limits aren't always apparent to some drivers, so thanks again for the video

[@DrivingvideosUK]

You’re very welcome. Thanks for taking the time to comment. And you’re right! After 14 years teaching speed awareness courses I’m no longer amazed how little some drivers know!

[@alexcarratu5554]

@@DrivingvideosUK you're welcome. Thanks again. After nearly seven years of independent driving, I still watch driving videos. Always useful I find. Some drivers can get confused with advisory limits as they say max speed in them, e.g. max speed 40 when the maximum limit is say 50 or 60. Therefore, the driver would be confused what the maximum limit is; 40, 50 or 60? The way that I see it is that if the limit is in a red ring, that's the maximum, e.g. a 50 or 60 in a red ring, which means no more than 50 or 60 and advisory limits won't have a red ring around the number, e.g. max speed 40; the 40 won't have a red ring around an advisory limit of 40. It's still good to stick to advisory limits I find though and a good way of practicing driving safety. There's a road near me which has a maximum limit of 40 and has a sharp bend on it and an advisory limit of 30 on both directions of the bend. I always stick to the advisory 30 on that road, even if the maximum is 40.

[@DrivingvideosUK]

Spot on. Red ring is mandatory. Mandatory speed limits are a maximum, and at all times your speed needs to be appropriate. There are blind bends on national speed limit roads where 20mph would be way too fast.

[@alexcarratu5554]

@@DrivingvideosUK exactly. On the road I was referring to, you can get up to the maximum limit of 40 on some the straighter and flatter stretches of that road, but going down the hill at the full 40 would be foolhardy. I often drive down that hill in a low gear (a sign on that road even advises this), say third, even if it makes the revs increase and the limit is 40. On the up hill, I have to often go down to second as it is very steep coming up the hill and getting up to the full limit of 40 is nine times out of ten unachievable. On the bends slightly after and slightly before the hill, there is an advisory 30 limit, which I always stick to and sometimes have to go less than the advisory 30, even if the legal maximum is 40. Driving round those bends at 40 would be very risky. And indeed, many country lanes are national speed limit (60), but you can rarely get to 60 on those roads. Even 30 can be hard to get to at times. There's a road near me which is national speed limit (60) and on some parts of the road, even 30 isn't always achievable. That road should have a 30 limit, not a limit twice as much. Drivers just need to use their common sense and study the road and conditions of it and drive accordingly. That's why a speed limit is called a speed limit, not a speed target.

[@DrivingvideosUK]

As you say, it’s a maximum and we always need to drive WITHIN the limit, not AT the limit. Speed limits are set due to risk. Mostly the risk to others. They’re not going to set the limit lower where there are bends and brows of hills. That’s down to the driver. Imagine how often the limit would change on a road somewhere like the Lake District. National for the long straight bit, 20 for the tight bend, back to National for 1/2 a mile, 30 for the bend etc. If they did that then drivers would blame the limit when they spin off into the ditch. The limit is never a guide to the right speed, just the legal maximum. The right speed requires judgement and depends on changing conditions as well as static hazards.

[@mattc.1292]

Very helpful diagram! Just what I’ve been looking for, thanks :-)

[@DrivingvideosUK]

Thanks for the positive feedback 😊

[@urefeokoro2433]

Very clear explanation. Thank you.

[@DrivingvideosUK]

You are welcome!

[@UKDrivingTest]

Have shared on my channel, hopefully you will get 1,000 subs soon as your videos have some very nice diagrams and animations, great for visual learners.

[@DrivingvideosUK]

Brilliant - thank you!

[@fredkampinos122797]

What the great explanation. Thanks a lot.

[@DrivingvideosUK]

Thanks for excellent feedback! Cheers!

[@rajnikantlavingia8105]

Thans for all the information. I think I am better prepared for my course on Monday.

[@DrivingvideosUK]

Many thanks for the positive feedback. Glad you got some benefit from the video. Enjoy your course!

[@wescoulter4419]

great video mate

[@DrivingvideosUK]

Thank you! Much appreciated.

[@rsmith7]

Why is it that a lot of drivers in London ignore the 20 limit?

[@DrivingvideosUK]

There are many reasons. Probably the most common, especially drivers with years of experience, is that the 20 limits are relatively new. 30 limits have been around since the mid 1930s.

[@PedrSion]

You need to change this video to include Wales. There are not always 20 signs or 20 painted on the road. You have to estimate that the street signs are less than 180 metres apart. It’s all about the fine money.

[@DrivingvideosUK]

Thanks for the reminder. I’m not sure how I’m going to handle Wales. KZbin don’t allow editing a video so I think I’ll need a new one just covering Wales.

[@JavaAndroid]

Most 20 mph limits are not lawful. If the council has not registered each and every change with the Highways Agency: they are not lawful; they are advisory.

[@DrivingvideosUK]

What’s the source of this? The DVLA has nothing to do with speed limits.

[@JavaAndroid]

@@DrivingvideosUK Sorry: Highways Agency not DVLA. Councils cannot just invent speed limits. They try, but, they are not enforceable, they are advisory (unless EVERY attempt is registered, which costs money) and people need to know that so that they can have this cash cow attempt laughed out of courts. 🤣 Go read the traffic act, instead of being suckered by MSM (just like people were with COVID).

[@DrivingvideosUK]

The video is about understanding speed limits, not setting them, so forgive me if I spend no more time on this, unless you’re proposing that drivers should ignore speed limits because they haven’t been set properly, in which case I ask that you provide a reliable source for your information. Meanwhile please take a look at this: www.gov.uk/government/news/new-speed-limit-guidance-for-councils

[@JavaAndroid]

@@DrivingvideosUK I suggest that speed limits are now becoming yet another cash cow from motorists. 20 mph carte blanch is ridiculous, and for the those that say "If it saves one child": that proves there is no benefit except for cash, because they have no argument.

[@pmrose18]

order your red flag now for upcoming rules

[@DrivingvideosUK]

FlagSuperstore© Plain Red Large Hand Waving Flag With Wooden Pole 18" x 12" amzn.eu/d/eggRaXh