Yep that happens every single night that I happen to be driving down the M42 after about 11pm, the signs are up at 40 and 20mph with not a thing in sight and no roadworks whatsoever, I just slow to 40 and go through at that, no way in hell am I gonna slow down to 20mph on the motorway because the sign says so, I don’t know why they do it.
When the signs are playing silly buggers in the early hours for no reason I only slow down for the gantrys with cameras on them . Any regular user will know which ones they are 
and know the road is quiet enough to safely do this.
Like you say , it’s a joke . Even had entry into single lane roadworks at 10mph , people actually go down to 10 mph , just plain stupid and dangerous .
It’s been like that since it opened and it does need sorting out .
To get rid of the rumours now from when the 42 active system opened , they are not average they are plain old gatso . Seen them flash a few times .
An accident has got to happen one day , it’s either the signs are still not working right or the operator is an imbecile .
I think its a good idea on urban motorways, where there is heavy congestion and traffic is moving slower. Like the m6/m5 through birmingham, (if they can build emergency areas on the elevated sections).
it would increase capacity on these routes and prob help congestion and they are close enough to busy areas to ensure fast response if someone does break down.
What i aint to sure about is whats maybe coming next there was talk of extending the M6 toll to Knutsford (which has been abandned because of the lack of success with the m6 toll) or making the existing M6 from jct 11 to Knutsford 4 lanes each side. Now supposedly they are thinking of just having hard shoulder running instead the 80miles.
I dont think thats a great idea and would lead to problems, on short stetches of motorway you can control it and have people watching the cameras and responding quickly. Long distance its a different matter, its dangerous enough breaking down on the hard shoulder of a motorway without the hard shoulder being a running lane.
As someone else said before buying the m6 Toll and making it free would help problems in the Birmingham area, the old M6 designed for 70,000 vehicles a day taking 150,000-170,000 vehicles day, the M6 toll again designed for 70,000 vehicles a day taking 20,000 if its lucky.
snafu:
Mike-C:
The government actually reckon the slower we all go the quicker we’ll get there. I went to work at 4.30 am the other morning and i done 20mph all the way for 10 miles. It took me longer, maybe i missed some bits out of the statement i heard !!!Not that I’m one to defend the government
(or any politician come to that
) but there is some truth in it.
It won’t work at 04.30 but it does at 08.30. The problem is that too many vehicles are trying to get through a point on the motorway that can’t handle the volume of traffic.
If you slow everyone down a bit ( and lets face it 50 is not much lower than most limiters these days) and it is enforced so Mondeoman, BMWman and white van man know they will get a bill in the post, then traffic flow is better.
Example.
When approaching a lane closure, why do many truck drivers block the lane that is closing. To stop the arrogant gits who think they have a divine right to zoom past everyone. Why, because if they merged into the open lanes early everyone would slow a bit, but you also flow better.
Example
If you send water down a pipe and that pipe narrows, then all the water molecules slow down to the same speed and flow together and come out faster the other side. That is because water molecules don’t drive BMW’s and white vans.
Ypu are of course spot on, we can still laugh at the irony of it though. The other great irony is that the hard shoulder which is so dangerous to stop on, is now becoming pay as you go !!
Mike-C:
Ypu are of course spot on, we can still laugh at the irony of it though. The other great irony is that the hard shoulder which is so dangerous to stop on, is now becoming pay as you go !!
Yeh your spot on there.
As I’m sure you will understand, live lane jobs are a priority for us. As all the “routine hard shoulder breakdowns” will be live lane I can see us needing harrier jump jets in places like the M6/M5/M42 triangle and the M60. 
some numptys must think the hard shoulder is a running lane cause going up the m6 yesterday the matrix signs were stating do not use the hard shoulder 
jon
I heard the news about hard shoulder running while I was in Belgium and listened to the debate about it. Just to say I totally disagree with it because of the need to change lanes at busy intersections like the M42 Solihull junction.
Having then seen 4 accidents involving HGV changing lanes on a conventional motorway system between the Channel Tunnel and the Dartford Tunnel, one of them being a fatality, I question the wisdom of a failed schools minister Ruth Kelly to sort out the road congestion
When brynle W wanted all the farmers and hgv drivers to go down the M6 at 30mph the government of the day [zb] there pants ( is this one of them government U turns or something )
if you have to alter it to get past the auto censor you know it’s not allowed …Denis F
Wheel Nut:
I question the wisdom of a failed schools minister Ruth Kelly to sort out “ANYTHING”
Sorted 
it isnt the safest idea when all the hard shoulder traffic has to pull back onto the main carrageway every junction ive lost count of the kamakazie drivers ive seen on the 42 there
To a degree this is widening on the cheap, as in the same announcement they cut some proper schemes. All we end up with is longer slip roads like the M42 and a lot of traffic changing lanes when they find they’re about to disappear off onto a junction - precisely the thing that causes hold-ups.
we have to think outside the box , motorways are not working as intended in many areas we are over crouded ,the only solution is to maximise road space
M5 & M6 “(if they can build emergency areas on the elevated sections)”
Thats very unlikely, as the cost would be immence.
regarding the M6 Birmingham section,
making it a more efficient route,
wouldnt please the owners/compeditors (ie M6 toll)
Mackem:
To a degree this is widening on the cheap, as in the same announcement they cut some proper schemes. All we end up with is longer slip roads like the M42 and a lot of traffic changing lanes when they find they’re about to disappear off onto a junction - precisely the thing that causes hold-ups.
Thats not really the fault of the management system though. It does state clearly when the HS is open and also that it is to be used for the next exit only.
The HA and the system can’t really be blamed for the numpties not reading things.
What is the point 
Could have 20 lanes & everyone would still be driving along in the outside two
We endured years of roadworks while they made the M25 wider & lanes 1 & 2 would have weeds growing if it weren’t for the lorries 
Wouldn’t it reduce congestion if drivers were taught how to use a motorway
steve_24v:
Wouldn’t it reduce congestion if drivers were taught how to use a motorway
Spot on, it would probably help to reduce congestion and help to make the motorways safer and less frustrating to drive on.
Simple answer is to close 50% of the exits so that less traffic uses the motorways for one stop hops and it is used for long distances which was the original remit.