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'Smart' Motorways.

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This , no hard shoulder, thing doesn't go well with me either. If I broke down I would be off over the barrier and in to the nearest field, or whatever,sharpish,but not much fun if you're disabled, or it's a winter day and belting down with rain. I also don't like the turn offs where you have to move right, in to the next lane to keep on the same road.

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And now stop with the digs about German cars. I'd say people with cheap, crap old cars are more dangerous as they don't care about damage to their own cars. We can both make wildly inaccurate assumptions can't we? Now back to the M1 smart motorway.

 

It`s not all German car drivers, many are fine. It`s just a higher proportion than for non German cars, sorry for any breakdown in communication.

 

---------- Post added 04-01-2016 at 10:22 ----------

 

This , no hard shoulder, thing doesn't go well with me either. If I broke down I would be off over the barrier and in to the nearest field, or whatever,sharpish,but not much fun if you're disabled, or it's a winter day and belting down with rain. I also don't like the turn offs where you have to move right, in to the next lane to keep on the same road.

 

I agree with you on both points, though it`s even worse when you technically have to turn off just to stay on the same road, the M42 / M6 toll junction (north bound) being a well known example example.

Edited by Justin Smith

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Christmas Day night the M62 was reduced to 50 mph because of heavy rain.

 

But it wasn't constant, and I was a bit angry I was forced to do 50 from Leeds to Huddersfield because the powers that be think I cannot adjust my speed according to the weather conditions.

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I'm a bit confused by some of the earlier posts. Can someone clarify...

 

If someone breaks down and stops in the left lane, is that lane then closed to other traffic, reverting to being a hard shoulder, like it is on the earlier smart motorways?

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I'm a bit confused by some of the earlier posts. Can someone clarify...

 

If someone breaks down and stops in the left lane, is that lane then closed to other traffic, reverting to being a hard shoulder, like it is on the earlier smart motorways?

 

Yes, I think that's the idea. The issues are that:

a) an operator needs to see the car has broken down. That could take some time

b) unlike most other smart motorways, the hard shoulder is a normal lane at all times and not only at times with congestion

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I'm a bit confused by some of the earlier posts. Can someone clarify...

 

If someone breaks down and stops in the left lane, is that lane then closed to other traffic, reverting to being a hard shoulder, like it is on the earlier smart motorways?

 

It's not actually clear from the info I have seen. The reason for the permanent lane rather than peak usage of the hard shoulder is supposedly reduced cost vs the other schemes. So the question is how is cost reduced?

 

One answer is that they do not use automatic congestion detection to open/close the lane. The highways agency said this in the consultation response.

Although the level of technology on a smart motorways –all lane running scheme is lower than on smart motorways –dynamic hard shoulder schemes....

 

It appears that there will be CCTV coverage of the whole area

At the time of the consultations, it was planned to provide 95-98% CCTV coverage with low light CCTV cameras, but that specification has since been enhanced to full coverage with infrared capability in response to concerns raised by the emergency services.
Edited by biotechpete

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It's not actually clear from the info I have seen. The reason for the permanent lane rather than peak usage of the hard shoulder is supposedly reduced cost vs the other schemes. So the question is how is cost reduced?

 

One answer is that they do not use automatic congestion detection to open/close the lane. The highways agency said this in the consultation response.

 

Is it not also because they don`t have to put full width signs over all the lanes with an individual (and much easier to understand) sign over each lane ? That`s what they`ve got on the M42.

 

---------- Post added 04-01-2016 at 13:32 ----------

 

Christmas Day night the M62 was reduced to 50 mph because of heavy rain.

 

But it wasn't constant, and I was a bit angry I was forced to do 50 from Leeds to Huddersfield because the powers that be think I cannot adjust my speed according to the weather conditions.

 

Unfortunately the motoring law has to cover the lowest common denominator. People who argue there shouldn`t be speed limits are forgetting that many drivers can`t even obey a simple totally objective command : a red light..... The idea that those kind of people should be given the freedom to decide how fast they think it`s safe for them to drive would be like some kind of nightmare.

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Is it not also because they don`t have to put full width signs over all the lanes with an individual (and much easier to understand) sign over each lane ? That`s what they`ve got on the M42.

 

---------- Post added 04-01-2016 at 13:32 ----------

 

 

Unfortunately the motoring law has to cover the lowest common denominator. People who argue there shouldn`t be speed limits are forgetting that many drivers can`t even obey a simple totally objective command : a red light..... The idea that those kind of people should be given the freedom to decide how fast they think it`s safe for them to drive would be like some kind of nightmare.

 

It says in the consultation that they are using a mix of gantry and cantilever signs.

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It says in the consultation that they are using a mix of gantry and cantilever signs.

 

There are both types, but far more of the (cheaper) cantilever type. I`m interested to know what display they`ll have on them when the 4th lane * is out of use, I`m certain it won`t be as easily understood as a individual sign over each lane.

 

 

* because it isn`t a hard shoulder. That is unlike the M42 scheme, where there is a hard shoulder which just becomes a 4th lane when circumstances demand it (and a 50mph speed limit is invoked).

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Using the hardshoulder as as extra lane is far too dangerous. :o If a vehicle in front of me suddenly breaksdown, it has now where to go to get out of the way & i may have to swerve to avoid it.

For that reason, i will not use the hardshoulder as an extra lane, & even if plod pulls me up for not using the hardshoulder & nicks me for it, i will go to court & defend my actions !

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LEts be honest. IT's not a motorway. They have refuges and hard shoulders.

 

This is just a fenced in dual carriageway, with the disadvantage that if you break down on it you will possibly die from being rear ended, and if not you will get charged a mindblowing amount for being towed off the road.

 

I use the A1 now going north/south.

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Using the hardshoulder as as extra lane is far too dangerous. :o If a vehicle in front of me suddenly breaksdown, it has now where to go to get out of the way & i may have to swerve to avoid it.

For that reason, i will not use the hardshoulder as an extra lane, & even if plod pulls me up for not using the hardshoulder & nicks me for it, i will go to court & defend my actions !

 

They won`t, so don`t worry about it. I agree with you anyway, I don`t think I`ll be using the 4th lane (and certainly not at night) as a general rule. I may be tempted if the motorway was completely empty, but if it were completely empty it wouldn`t actually matter which lane I was in !

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