Roadworks 10mph restriction is unenforceable
BBCA 10mph speed limit imposed on roadworks in a town centre is unenforceable, the body carrying out the work has admitted.
The Environment Agency (EA) is installing flood defences on Aynam Road in Kendal, Cumbria, with a one-lane closure and temporary speed limit signs in place.
Stuart Cudlip, from Shap, said he had been the victim of road rage when another driver showed annoyance that he was keeping to 10mph. He reported it to police and said he was "baffled" to discover the limit was only advisory and could not be enforced.
The EA said its traffic management was "constantly reviewed" to ensure the safety of workers and the public but there was no agreement to "actively enforce" the limit.
Cudlip said he had been passing through the roadworks with his car's speed limiter set to 10mph.
"The gentleman behind me was getting quite annoyed," he said, adding the man initially tried to undertake him on bus layby but could not get past.
"Then he tried to overtake me near the zebra crossing, which is a single lane - it was getting really dangerous," Cudlip said.
"He wound down his window and chucked something at the top of my car."
Cumbria Police confirmed it was investigating what had happened.
Cudlip said he tried to speak to Westmorland and Furness Council to raise his concerns.
"It's dangerous," he said.
"It's actually causing the opposite of what it was intended to do and that's what I was trying to put across, but no one even wanted to listen."
The council said responsibility for traffic management rested with the EA, which is carrying out the work.
The EA had been advised a 10mph limit could only be enforced if a convoy system - in which traffic follows a designated vehicle through the roadworks - was in place.
But it said such a system would not be suitable at the location and had not been requested.
"The 10mph speed limit on Aynam Road in Kendal has been agreed through the submission of the temporary traffic regulation order which Westmorland and Furness Council have given notice for," a spokesperson said.
"There is no agreement between the EA and Westmorland and Furness Council to actively enforce the speed limit."