Speed Indicator Sign (SID) March to May 2026 Update for Brook Road and Ford Street

We have two Speed Indicator Signs (SID) on Brook Road and Ford Street. We are recording traffic data constantly and the latest from both SID's are listed below for your information.

How are road speed limits set?

There are multiple reasons for setting speeds on our roads but one major standard utilised in setting the speed limit for a road uses the “85th percentile speed.” Speed data is collected utilising radar equipment and analysis methods to calculate this speed. The 85th percentile speed is defined as, “the speed at or below which 85 percent of all vehicles are observed to travel under free-flowing conditions past a monitored point.” Another way to consider this is the speed at which only 15% of traffic speeding on average. They then use the 85th percentile speed as a standard to set the speed limit at a safe speed, minimising crashes and promoting uniform traffic flow along the street/road/highway.

What is the 85th percentile speed of the 2 roads we monitor?

This has been calculated for each month we have had the speed signs in place. As you can see from the tables below the road speed is within 5 mph of the Speed Limit of the road. It would appear on this basis that the SID's are working and that it would be unlikely that Essex County Council Highways would support further measures at this time.

A detailed breakdown of speeds for Brook Road during March, April and May 2026 can be found here Brook_Speed_Data.pdf

A detailed breakdown of speeds for Ford Street during March, April and May 2026 can be found here Ford_Speed_Data.pdf