nick2008:
Every night , M5 north on to M6 people still using the Hard shoulder as a live lane to exit jn 9 before the road markings turn to the dotted line from a solid line.
Maybe they should keep the RED X switched on when it’s not a live lane .
I know you can’t educate thick but anything helps
Same on the M62 getting off at J26 from J27. I have lost count of the numbers of vehicles that decide that the hard shoulder is their space, until it becomes obvious by the change of lines.
It would be nice if they put the cameras to good use and fine these idiots.
Smart motorways are fine and indeed safe for the minority of folk who know what they are doing on the roads. But the majority of drivers in the uk are thick as mince and that is what makes them dangerous. If i broke down on a smart motorway i would be ■■■■■■■■ myself and running out the way up the embankment faster than a fat lass eating a cream cake.
nick2008:
Every night , M5 north on to M6 people still using the Hard shoulder as a live lane to exit jn 9 before the road markings turn to the dotted line from a solid line.
Maybe they should keep the RED X switched on when it’s not a live lane .
I know you can’t educate thick but anything helps
Same on the M62 getting off at J26 from J27. I have lost count of the numbers of vehicles that decide that the hard shoulder is their space, until it becomes obvious by the change of lines.
It would be nice if they put the cameras to good use and fine these idiots.
Ken.
I avoid the M62 if I can, the last time I used it there were three lanes nose-to-tail westbound at 5 mph from J28 to J26 and the hard shoulder (which we endured years of delays to install) remained closed but absolutely clear all the way. As has been said, whoever monitors the cameras and acts accordingly could perhaps be a bit more reactive.
switchlogic:
What happens on any dual carriageway with no hard shoulder? All lane running with no hard shoulder is hardly a new phenomenon. Smart motorways are here to stay, get used to it.
Thing is with dual carriageways is most of them have some room to pull off to one side in the case of a breakdown even if it is on the grass verge. Motorways however seem more likely to have solid barriers running along side them. I personally am still in 2 minds regarding smart Motorways, good idea in principle but will always be dangerous as long as there are stupid drivers out there.
The main problem with the smart motorways is the same with motorways in general. No one is learned to drive on them. Should be compulsory to have lessons on the motorway before you can drive on them. This is why you get people hogging lanes etc not moving left when clear and undertaking.
I don’t think lane hogging etc has anything at all to do with not being taught and everything to do with being a selfish (or at least, inconsiderate) arse.
Dazza1980:
The main problem with the smart motorways is the same with motorways in general. No one is learned to drive on them. Should be compulsory to have lessons on the motorway before you can drive on them. This is why you get people hogging lanes etc not moving left when clear and undertaking.
No different to when I passed my test in the 80’s
The problem lies with instructors not telling pupils to move out then back over just sit behind or in that lane
What happens if you live in a county that has no motorways as there are plenty
They certainly help to ease congestion due to the extra lanes diluting traffic but when ever there is a problem in any of the live lanes then everything just grinds to a halt where as under the 3 lane hard shoulder motorway this just rarely happened.
merc0447:
Smart motorways are fine and indeed safe for the minority of folk who know what they are doing on the roads. But the majority of drivers in the uk are thick as mince and that is what makes them dangerous. If i broke down on a smart motorway i would be [zb] myself and running out the way up the embankment faster than a fat lass eating a cream cake.
Exactly. The scheme needs to be idiot proof and it isn’t.
In my opinion, they shouldn’t bother with the opening & closing of the hard shoulder, if they are going to have a smart motorway it should just be 24/7 all lane running like M6 J11-13 with regular laybys. That way, everybody knows where they stand & there is no confusion with road markings etc.
switchlogic:
What happens on any dual carriageway with no hard shoulder? All lane running with no hard shoulder is hardly a new phenomenon. Smart motorways are here to stay, get used to it.
I guess B Roads are the smartest of them all then, all lanes running at all times and we’ve had them forever.
I agree with OP, it’s a sticking plaster on a broken arm.
I do like when it keeps me moving though, and do start to second guess myself when I seem to have the M6 HS mostly to myself but perhaps I’m one of the few paid daily rather than hourly.
RobR must have been the other guy on the HS.
But I always find them Squeaky Bum Time and have to concentrate much harder so I have sympathy for drivers who are weak on motorways in the first place but as was said already there are too many incompetents out there to begin with.
Smart motorways aren’t the problem, it’s just a lot of the people that use them are clueless idiots who won’t see a sign until it smacks them in the face
Jack Cousens, a public affairs officer for the AA, said the small number of planned emergency refuge areas along the smart motorways was a “huge problem”.
We’ve had issues with areas of smart motorway where somebody’s broken down in a live lane, they make the call to us and we hear a crash, and it all goes silent.
Remove the revenue generation element ie speed cameras galore and there would’nt be the so called SMART motorways all they really are is revenue generators and little else wake up you so called pro drivers out there, i’m surprised (well maybe not) by the number who uk plc have hoodwinked into their way of compliance just like lemmings imo
tommy t:
Remove the revenue generation element ie speed cameras galore and there would’nt be the so called SMART motorways all they really are is revenue generators and little else wake up you so called pro drivers out there, i’m surprised (well maybe not) by the number who uk plc have hoodwinked into their way of compliance just like lemmings imo
So what do you do then bud in terms of compliance ?
Eternal roadworks on the M3 - hope it’s all going to be worth it.
Maybe a 60 limit would make them safer and flow well - personally I don’t like the idea of not having anywhere to go if there’s a problem but we’ll see what happens when the Big Day comes.
I think that these “smart” motorways have nothing to do with improving traffic flow.
Vehicle excise duty payments must have been significantly reduced in recent years - many small cars being free, some larger cars being ridiculously inexpensive (my 3 series BMW is £20 a year). Road pricing is what I think the long term strategy of the very expensive works is.
tommy t:
Remove the revenue generation element ie speed cameras galore and there would’nt be the so called SMART motorways all they really are is revenue generators and little else wake up you so called pro drivers out there, i’m surprised (well maybe not) by the number who uk plc have hoodwinked into their way of compliance just like lemmings imo
So what do you do then bud in terms of compliance ?
err, obviously avoid being nicked for speeding, but that doesn’t mean that i agree with the concept of this crap they have thrust upon us, or believe in the slightest that smart motorways are there for our benefit because they ain’t, that is what i meant as I’m sure you probably already knew
tommy t:
Remove the revenue generation element ie speed cameras galore and there would’nt be the so called SMART motorways all they really are is revenue generators and little else wake up you so called pro drivers out there, i’m surprised (well maybe not) by the number who uk plc have hoodwinked into their way of compliance just like lemmings imo
So what do you do then bud in terms of compliance ?
err, obviously avoid being nicked for speeding, but that doesn’t mean that i agree with the concept of this crap they have thrust upon us, or believe in the slightest that smart motorways are there for our benefit because they ain’t, that is what i meant as I’m sure you probably already knew
As you say mate…‘‘err obviously’’ of course you are going to avoid a speeding offence.
So how is complying being a hoodwinked lemming exactly, especially as you admit to complying yourself.
It does not matter a twopenny crap whether you or me agree with the concept or not, or even if there is, as you imply, a hidden agenda.
The law dictates you comply, and I still maintain that if a smart Mway is used as intended, it will, and does, ease traffic flow, but if counter acted by the inept and thick, by lack of lane discipline for whatever reason, the whole idea turns into a complete cluster ■■■■.
