stu675:
Electric overhead gantry markings prior to a red X when they advise you change lane ahead. At what point do you act on them as opposed to treating them as advisory?
My question is really prompted by [zb] miles of red X prior to the M25 closure Jct 25 to 27 last night.
They were being ignored by millions, so lane one was almost not moving, having to let in all the queue jumpers. Yet it was the only lane without a red X.
I act on them when the next gantry I’m coming to is a red X because passing that is an offence. I’m not going to sit in a mile long queue with open empty lanes ahead with an advisory arrow over it because of the British obsession with queuing for no reason whatsoever. And what I’m doing is actually what is in the guidelines in the Highway Code - use all open lanes then merge in turn. And I’m very good about the merging, I’ll just slow down, stick my indicator on and wait for a gap to open up which it pretty much always does when you’re not trying to force your way in.
Empty lanes with a red X above them though they’re closed no matter the fact there’s nothing there. I wonder how much revenue could be earned by having cameras on the gantries that photograph those infringing the red X? Maybe there are, I guess the drivers will find out in the next 14 days.
The problem with the M25 is they stick a load of red X’s up to protect the roadworkers whilst they’re coning out the closure. The problem is they then forget to lift them once the coning off has been done so you end up with what you had last night.