Just a quick one. Was any else on the M40 just past Cherwell valley services last night around 2am? Not more than a mile or so after I’d got back on the motorway from CV services a matrix board suddenly lit up with PEDESTRIANS IN ROAD SLOW DOWN and a 40mph sign, all flashing and orange.
I, and the other trucks did actually slow down but saw nothing, then about 4 miles later it said end and we all carried on elephant racing each other.
Just wondered if anyone else saw this and what it was? I see the workforce in road signs a lot, but for pedestrians in road to suddenly light up at 2am made me think maybe the village idiot was taking a walk down the shoulder or something?
Think this is more a case of the wrong message being entered, on Tuesday according to the signs in the M25 there were pedestrians in the road from the M23 junction round to Cobham services, didn’t realise that the London marathon was now held on the M25, although they all must have had their invisibilty cloaks on as never saw one of them. Then the authorities wonder why no one take any notice of the signs
Exactly my thoughts. It only further cemented my views on taking any notice of a matrix sign.
The worst one is when you get a reduced speed limit with QUEUE AHEAD at 3 in the morning, and you can quite clearly see that there isn’t one.
Hammy747:
Just a quick one. Was any else on the M40 just past Cherwell valley services last night around 2am? Not more than a mile or so after I’d got back on the motorway from CV services a matrix board suddenly lit up with PEDESTRIANS IN ROAD SLOW DOWN and a 40mph sign, all flashing and orange.
I, and the other trucks did actually slow down but saw nothing, then about 4 miles later it said end and we all carried on elephant racing each other.
Just wondered if anyone else saw this and what it was? I see the workforce in road signs a lot, but for pedestrians in road to suddenly light up at 2am made me think maybe the village idiot was taking a walk down the shoulder or something?
Probably some idiot taking a shortcut by walking across the motorway. Got seen by the CCTV cameras so they put up the message, but he/she may have cleared the motorway pretty quickly, possibly out of sight of the camera. ICBW, but I think that they’re supposed to send a HATO to the scene to check it out before clearing warning signs.
Alternatively, could have been phoned in by another motorist; again, the hazard may be long gone by the time the HATOs turn up to check it out.
And quite often, this message appears when the road ‘workers’ are ummmmm allegedly ‘working’ on the roads…probably as no one gives a ■■■■■ notice about queue ahead and all the other bollox they show, so maybe try a different tactic! And slightly, moving away from the messages, I read somewhere the other day that fog sensors are to be installed somewhere to warn of fog…■■■■ me sideways…do people really need a sign saying ‘fog’ on a foggy section of road…can’t they see its ■■■■■■■ foggy??
Whilst on the topic of signs bearing no relation to what’s actually going on on the motorway, every evening this week I’ve been heading south past Hilton Park services at approx 8:30pm, and every night they’ve had physical signs ( not the overhead gantry ones) up just after the services to say lanes 2 & 3 are closing after 800 yds, 600 yds, 400 yds etc etc. So everyone’s been slowing down and bunching up into lane 1 in anticipation of the closure but not a single time have any lanes actually been closed. Have they just put the signs up and forgotten to take them back down!? And they wonder why when there are actually lane closures Mr Audi driver bombs it down the outside lane and cuts in at the very last nanosecond at the closure.
Sprinter Si:
Whilst on the topic of signs bearing no relation to what’s actually going on on the motorway, every evening this week I’ve been heading south past Hilton Park services at approx 8:30pm, and every night they’ve had physical signs ( not the overhead gantry ones) up just after the services to say lanes 2 & 3 are closing after 800 yds, 600 yds, 400 yds etc etc. So everyone’s been slowing down and bunching up into lane 1 in anticipation of the closure but not a single time have any lanes actually been closed. Have they just put the signs up and forgotten to take them back down!? And they wonder why when there are actually lane closures Mr Audi driver bombs it down the outside lane and cuts in at the very last nanosecond at the closure.
Had this as well, people bunching up only to find at there’s no closure at all. cant remember the road but a couple of nights ago it said lanes 1 & 2 were closed so you had trucks and cars all bunching into lane 3 and then over the brow of the hill, nothing.
@SprinterSi…that’s nonsense…everybody knows knobbers just plow on up until 50yards, causing 5 mile jams! 
But I know what you mean, same thing on M4/b around 15-14. And while I’m on the M4, anybody else noticed the infa-red lights that seem to be springing up around Membury services? What they watching for now? E/B is by the exit slip…4 square lamps, 25’ish up…ill look Sunday to see where the W/B one is but think it’s similar…think there’s a single one further up (maybe 15-16 or 16-17).
Actrosman:
And quite often, this message appears when the road ‘workers’ are ummmmm allegedly ‘working’ on the roads…probably as no one gives a [zb] notice about queue ahead and all the other bollox they show, so maybe try a different tactic! And slightly, moving away from the messages, I read somewhere the other day that fog sensors are to be installed somewhere to warn of fog…[zb] me sideways…do people really need a sign saying ‘fog’ on a foggy section of road…can’t they see its [zb] foggy??
They couldn’t on the M11 this morning, visibility was way down, enough to justify fog lights, yet several ■■■■■ were driving on sidelights and at least 3 had no lights on at all
Hammy747:
Just wondered if anyone else saw this and what it was? I see the workforce in road signs a lot, but for pedestrians in road to suddenly light up at 2am made me think maybe the village idiot was taking a walk down the shoulder or something?
It means the control centre have had a report of someone walking where they shouldn’t be, either by someone calling from an emergency phone or on 999, or they have spotted them on CCTV.
That could be any number of reasons, in many cases it will be some idiot who has decided that crossing the motorway is the shortest route home from the pub, it could be kids playing chicken, it could be someone who has run out of fuel walking along the hard shoulder with a petrol can, or possibly someone who has stopped to retrieve something that has fallen from their vehicle.
So in many cases the pedestrian will have removed themselves from the motorway, but the warning will usually be left on the VMS until police or traffic officers have been sent to the location to check.
There are regular signs from Boroughbridge to Wetherby stating either; pedestrians in the road…or animals in the road; SLOW! In all the Years that I have seen this ‘informative notice’ I have NEVER! seen either 
Its like if the sign said please turn back you would
Hammy747:
Sprinter Si:
Whilst on the topic of signs bearing no relation to what’s actually going on on the motorway, every evening this week I’ve been heading south past Hilton Park services at approx 8:30pm, and every night they’ve had physical signs ( not the overhead gantry ones) up just after the services to say lanes 2 & 3 are closing after 800 yds, 600 yds, 400 yds etc etc. So everyone’s been slowing down and bunching up into lane 1 in anticipation of the closure but not a single time have any lanes actually been closed. Have they just put the signs up and forgotten to take them back down!? And they wonder why when there are actually lane closures Mr Audi driver bombs it down the outside lane and cuts in at the very last nanosecond at the closure.
Had this as well, people bunching up only to find at there’s no closure at all. cant remember the road but a couple of nights ago it said lanes 1 & 2 were closed so you had trucks and cars all bunching into lane 3 and then over the brow of the hill, nothing.
That shows a lack of how roadworks are set out, ie how the process works etc, i cba trying to explain it now but have a think about it is done and when you know think how it could be done differently 
Sprinter Si:
Whilst on the topic of signs bearing no relation to what’s actually going on on the motorway, every evening this week I’ve been heading south past Hilton Park services at approx 8:30pm, and every night they’ve had physical signs ( not the overhead gantry ones) up just after the services to say lanes 2 & 3 are closing after 800 yds, 600 yds, 400 yds etc etc. So everyone’s been slowing down and bunching up into lane 1 in anticipation of the closure but not a single time have any lanes actually been closed. Have they just put the signs up and forgotten to take them back down!? And they wonder why when there are actually lane closures Mr Audi driver bombs it down the outside lane and cuts in at the very last nanosecond at the closure.
I always assumed the signs were the first thing out and last thing away. It explains why you see signs but no works so often.
Came up the M40 last weekend and was advised by the signs that I should do 40 all the way from the A40 to Oxford Services, due to “Animals in the Carriageway”
Never even saw a bird overhead, or even a horsebox.
Good job we’ve got nothing better to do eh?
Last night on the M1 the signs flashed up “50 Incident - slow down” for about 5 or 6 miles… but there was nothing.