M3 Smart Motorway

[TheSplash]

I was driving back from Southampton towards the M25 at Junction 2 on the M3 the other day. Somewhere around Junction 3 (I think) there is an overhead gantry/electric board type thing that only extends over the first one or two lanes on the left-hand side. It had a reduced speed limit in a red circle of 50mph. As I was in lane 2 or 3 at that time (I can't remember which one) I was confused about whether that 50mph applied to all the lanes or just the lane/s that the gantry was above.

Is anyone familiar with that motorway and do you know the answer?

Thanks.

All I think.

I've only ever seen signs that apply to all lanes, I'd be very surprised it it was only 1 of them.

All.

It's all lanes and they're legally enforceable limits - not just advisory.

I'm not sure either, I travel that route quite regularly for work. I'll check with a couple of colleagues tomorrow.

So far none of us have had any speeding tickets between junctions 1 and 3 of the M3. (Touch wood!)

All this money (millions and millions), all the months they took, all the mess they created, all the disturbance and....all the fuck they managed to do is put a couple of cameras and used the hard shoulder as a lane. Fucking-whoop-whoop!!

I think it's all of them but it's bloody confusing round there.

It's a little bit more complicated than a couple of speed cameras and the hard shoulder. OP, this tells you the answer to your question: www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-drive-on-a-smart-motorway

I travelled on the M3 a lot during the time it was being 'made'. I have complained long and loud on fb about it. I know, because fb kindly reminds me of what I was doing on this day every day for the last 10 years and there are way more M3 related messages than their should be. I could deal with the average speed cameras, its the shutting down the road on a regular basis, that got me really annoyed.
But
I'm really pleased with how it has turned out. The new stretch travels fast and clear and smooth. Their is an extra lane, without the faff of moving other bridges etc. And the cameras mean that everyone travels at reasonable speeds. True, I can't zoom along at 95 mph, but that is probably a good thing. :D. Its a motorway built for the way we are in the 21st century, not the 1960's. We all have smart phones. The police have camera surveillance. An entire lane doesn't need to be dedicated to a hard shoulder. And traffic stays on the move.

Thanks for your answers. What threw me at the time was I initially slowed down but numerous cars carried on at the original speed!