Roads and Pavements - Regulations and Limits
Speed Limits
Various streets, generally in built up areas, are covered by speed limits. The Traffic Regulation Orders necessary for the introduction of speed limits are made by the Council in consultation with the Police but they are enforced by the Police.
Speed limits are determined in accordance with national guidelines and are based on various factors including the level of development adjacent to the road, the accident record of the road and the current speed of vehicles on the road.
Speed limits show the maximum speed at which vehicles may travel but it is the responsibility of drivers to drive at a speed appropriate for the prevailing road circumstances and in many cases this will be lower than the legal maximum.
Signed speed limits are normally set at 30mph, 40mph or 50mph depending on the type of road.
Nationally, there has been widespread criticism and complaints of inconsistent application of speed limits with similar or identical roads with different speed limits leading to drivers disrespecting the systems, which translates into justification for speeding. Speed limits should therefore be appropriate to the road and surrounding environment and allow drivers, cyclists and pedestrians a consistent set of expectations as they use the road network. This problem is one of the reasons why the Department for Transport published new guidance on setting local speed limits in August 2006 (
Setting Local Speed Limits - Guidance for Local Authorities).
The Scottish Executive has now requested all Scottish Councils to formally review the speed limits on all Class 'A' and 'B' roads in their Council area by 2011. We are currently in the process of setting up a programme to review all 'A' and 'B' roads in the Perth & Kinross Council area.
The majority of schools in the Council area either have legally enforceable 20mph speed limits, some of which are part-time and are indicated by flashing signs or have Twenty's Plenty signing which indicates an advisory maximum speed of 20mph. In some residential areas 20mph zones have been introduced.
Weight Limits
Councils can introduce weight limits on roads for environmental reasons and to prevent damage to weak roads and bridges.
There is an area wide weight limit on parts of Craigie in Perth to stop heavy goods vehicles using these residential streets as a short cut between Edinburgh Road and Glasgow Road.
There are weight limits on a few narrow roads in rural areas where there are concerns that heavy goods vehicles could damage the structure of the road by over-running onto the verges.
Several bridges throughout the Council area have been structurally assessed as being unable to carry all classes of road vehicles. These bridges are identified by signing showing the Maximum Gross Weight (MGW) of vehicles permitted to cross them.
If you are planning to make deliveries of large or heavy loads please contact Roy Abel on 01738 477237.
