M25's 12-week 50mph speed limit is making 'everyone’s life hell'

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Transcript

00:00If you've driven on the M25 recently, you've probably seen these signs.

00:06They've even been questioned on social media.

00:09No road works, no broken down cars, just a blanket 50 mile per hour limit.

00:16And because of the restrictions in a red circle, if you go any faster than 50, you could get

00:21a speeding ticket.

00:22I haven't got stuck, but I have to tell you I avoid it and I actually live just off the

00:28A25, so it backs everything up for us.

00:31So anything that happens on the M25 isn't so good for us.

00:34I think they're pointless, causing absolute havoc and everyone I speak to says how disruptive

00:44it is and it's making everyone's life hell and very stressful and we don't even know

00:49what they're doing.

00:50Yes, I have.

00:51It's not very good, is it?

00:52What do you think about it?

00:53It's a bit slow, isn't it?

00:54It's going to last a long time.

00:55Well, I think it's a bit excessive.

00:57I think it's a little bit dangerous and very frustrating for drivers.

01:03So what's going on between Junction 5 and 7?

01:06The signs went up towards the end of April.

01:10National highways who manage the motorways say they're testing new stopped vehicle detection

01:15systems.

01:17And traffic is needed to be flowing in all lanes to fine tune the technology.

01:22That means keeping the lowest speed limit for now.

01:26They haven't set a firm end date, but state testing should last around 12 weeks.

01:32It's a waste of money, isn't it, really?

01:34So it's not really worth it, is it?

01:36Waste of money.

01:37So I'm actually sorry to hear they're going to continue because it does really slow things

01:41down.

01:42I'd rather be going at 50 miles an hour than standard still.

01:46But if it's not there for that, if it's there mainly for testing the cameras, it can't take

01:53this long, surely.

01:55If everybody goes 50 miles an hour, then it would flow nicely.

01:59But people are going faster, slowing down for cameras.

02:04And during this testing period, there are no visible roadworks taking place.

02:09But if you're a regular driver on this stretch of the M25, you might remember up until a

02:14few weeks ago, there were lane closures.

02:17That was to install further emergency lay-bys.

02:21National highways say they're working hard to restore the national speed limit as soon

02:26as possible, but until then, drivers are going to have to keep going slow at 50.

02:31Gabriel Morris for KMTV in Sevenoaks.