SAMs II
SAM 2. READ YOUR SPEED
What is SAM2?
SAM2 is an electronic, flashing sign activated by passing vehicles. It flashes the speed that the vehicle is travelling as a reminder to the driver. On busy roads, it will only light up for speeding vehicles, but on quieter roads it can be set to show speeds just below the speed limit. A top limit is set as well, so that the unit does not encourage the less responsible drivers to try and set high scores.
The units are used in pairs, one for each direction. They are mounted on street furniture, and left in position for about four weeks. They are then moved to another site.
Can SAM2 be requested?
There are four sets of SAM2, and they are put out for four weeks at a time. This means that only 52 sites can be covered in a year. If an individual, or a parish council, or a representative requests SAM2 they will normally be offered SAM, and, in most cases, a speed survey will be conducted.
SAM2 is deployed at the locations where the need is judged to be the greatest. Many of these locations are sites where SAM has visited and the results from the SAMs visits and the speed survey support the SAM2 deployment. Sites of concern to council engineers, the police, or the safety camera partnership will also be considered.
SAM2 is not suitable for use in national speed limit or 50mph speed limits.
SAM2 sometimes does not seem to be working. Why?
Some vehicles will be travelling at below the minimum speed and will not set the sign off. At busy times this could be most of the traffic. At quiet times, especially at night, occasional vehicles will be exceeding the maximum speed - they are deliberately exceeding the limit by a considerable margin and are the drivers least likely to take notice of the signs. The units are battery powered and will stop working when the batteries are flat. The units are regularly checked, but battery life varies and the unit may stop working between visits. Please do not report this; any faults will be rectified on the routine visit.
Does SAM2 collect information about vehicles and drivers?
The units contain data collection equipment but are unable to identify individual vehicles. Our SAM2 units have not been used for data collection but this could change in the future.
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