Dunno if these are used widely but up here hospitals use a grey instead of red circle for speed limit signs. I was told by my driving instructor that these have even greater legal force than a standard red speed limit sign, others (most people I know) dismiss them as advisory. Does anybody know the answer? I always observe them, as legal questions aside only idiots speed in hospitals unless they're ambulances with a legitimate need to get to the hospital at high speed and hate to see people driving too fast in areas like that, but it's actually pretty hard to get a definitive answer to this one.

I don't know, but bear in mind that you are on Private Land when in Hospital Grounds so that might explain the difference?

Good point, I may e-mail the local NHS Trust and get their opinion. I have a few friends who ignore these signs (as one is actually a through road people use as a rat run) and it bugs me.

There is a chap who specialises in getting convictions quashed when road markings and signs are incorrect. He has the 'Bible' that they must all follow and in the TV programme I saw, it was amazing how cavalier councils had been in their road marking. If it is not in this statutiory book it is not enforceable. As far as I remember from this programme, even speed limit signs on a yellow background could not be enforced when he challenged them. So grey is almost certainly not enforceable either.

quote:

Originally posted by jjb:
I was told by my driving instructor that these have even greater legal force than a standard red speed limit sign,

Is it only partly legal to obey signs with the red circle?

No, he meant that it'd be taken into consideration by a court in the event of an accident and would increase the severity of any punishment.