my current favourite for making a bit of ‘progress’ is on the M1 north just past junction 9, its about 6 lanes wide there, and the main traffic only uses the right hand 4, so you can wizz (as much as possible in a morrisons daf lol) up the hill, then pull over the 2 lanes for when it goes back to 3 lanes and not lose any time 
Part of the reason for this I think is that as the J9 traffic joins it has road markings as if that slip ends, but it doesn’t it becomes a lane, so traffic joins and just pulls over to the right straight away.
The real Biffo:
paul@midway:
Approaching the M6 jcn 7 exit and the matrix reads slip road closed roadworks.
Fine thats great I’m going to 9 anyway…Motorway overheads reading 40 , then lane 1 and 2 to 20 with lane 3 running twice the speed at 40
Why ? it was only the slip road closed for roadworks , the motorway doesn’t need slowing down.It would be a success if they could apply some sodding common sense.
I did try to explain before, but I’ll try again.
The system will not let you slow traffic down in greater steps than 20mph at a time, so if you have anything 2 lanes or more, ie a sliproad, then the next previous will be 20 in lane 1, then the one in front of that 40.
It’s because, if you have a closure of a sliproad, you’ll always get the muppets who slow right down, just to see, why it’s closed / can they get through anyway, this brings the whole c/way down to his speed. I’m sure you guys meet them every day.
As I said, the system sets them, on nights when the motorway is empty, we’d love to get rid of them, but we can’t.
Remember also that unless they have a red ring around the speeds, they are advisory not mandatory. (although if you had a bump, even a bump all on your lonesome and you were proved to be going in excess of the advisory speeds, then BiB would increase the charges against you)
So you have “tried to explain”
I think you explained very well that the system is flawed and should not be used in any circumstance. The HA and your employers go to great lengths to try to enforce laws about information signs, such as limiting the information on a service area sign or refusing direction signs to a truckstop, in case it confuses motorists.
The M42 is a dangerous cheap experiment forcing vehicles to change lanes unnecessarily to improve peak traffic flow, an idea soon to be joined by the M1
It might improve traffic at peak times, I don’t know, I manage to avoid that, but I do know most other times it seems to makes things worse, especially at night. 
i will say that since the hard shoulder running and gantries have been used the M42 has changed, and i think a lot of people will agree with me on that
I used to have to go down the M42 from the M6 on friday early evenings sometimes and it was a knightmare , never could i get from Junction 7 to junction 4 without stopping at least 3 or 4 times, Usually the volumes of traffic joining the motorways,
since the improvement, I can say hand on heart i have never stopped moving on the M42, except once where there had been a serious accident, all other times it flows, OK sometimes its slow but its better than stop start stop start all the time.
It seems that the system needs some IT nerds to tweak it to give the controllers better control over the system maybe?
On the whole apart from pointless speeds in the middle of the night , I like it, (puts tin hat on and runs for cover 
The real Biffo:
The system will not let you slow traffic down in greater steps than 20mph at a time
well that’s damned ridiculous. 50 for instance would often be a good running speed. Who ever designed that in should be made to drive from John O’groats to Lands End at 20mph in a Ferrari.
so if you have anything 2 lanes or more, ie a sliproad, then the next previous will be 20 in lane 1, then the one in front of that 40.
absolutely ridiculous not being able to use 30.
It’s because, if you have a closure of a sliproad, you’ll always get the muppets who slow right down, just to see, why it’s closed / can they get through anyway, this brings the whole c/way down to his speed. I’m sure you guys meet them every day.
As I said, the system sets them, on nights when the motorway is empty, we’d love to get rid of them, but we can’t.
Then “the system” requires immediate change so that you can, before it causes a rear end accident. 20, on a m/way, unless ALL traffic is doing it, is bloody dangerous.
Remember also that unless they have a red ring around the speeds, they are advisory not mandatory. (although if you had a bump, even a bump all on your lonesome and you were proved to be going in excess of the advisory speeds, then BiB would increase the charges against you)
Which numpties do they actually pay obscene sums of money to, to come up with these things? An 8 year old could do better!
Bit like having architects design delivery yards/bays i suppose, having never even been in a truck, let alone driven one.
Love to find the tightest bay (you know, there’s always one) & throw the keys to the designing architect “Here, back that on there mate”!
Not understanding the speed increment bit here … Seen those overheads flashing 30 and 50 mph before… Or do you mean it has to be 20 mph between gantrys…
Whatever anyway , it’s ridiculous and the minimum speed required would be 40 mph. Anything less than that is just stupid and dangerous , not to mention infruiating at 4 in the morning when the works have been collapsed.
If people want to slow down and look a t a line of cones on a slip road then give them the choice to do so. Bringing lane 1 and 2 to 20 mph and forcing them to look at cones is ■■■■■■■ ridiculous. No point defending the system.
I’ll take my chances with the speed thing , speed has to be proven first and digi has no speed trace.
I won’t be doing 20 mph on the 42 anytime soon.
Try and explain one here then from a while back …
Lane 1 40 mph . Lane 2 20 mph Lane 3 40 mph…
Every man and his dog braked to 20 in lane 2 and lane 1 decided to follow suit. I ended up in lane 3 to avoid an accident with the vehicles in lane 2 with no idea what to do…
Talk about causing confusion.
Not saying that I’m defending it, but you can’t make a system that’s one way in daylight and another way at night-time, even nightimes in certain area’s are busy, so you then need to get down to individual signs, …sorry, not practical.
As I said, you can’t make bigger steps than 20 mph at a time., or it’ll put another signal prior to the one you set.
I’m sure no-one wants to come down from 70 mph, to a lane closure without some warning.
Lane 1 40 mph . Lane 2 20 mph Lane 3 40 mph…
Every man and his dog braked to 20 in lane 2 and lane 1 decided to follow suit. I ended up in lane 3 to avoid an accident with the vehicles in lane 2 with no idea what to do…
Talk about causing confusion.
what was showing on the VMS part of the gantry? I’ll bet it was either “debris” or “obstruction” and it would have been in lane 2, seen from the camera.
The real Biffo:
As I said, you can’t make bigger steps than 20 mph at a time., or it’ll put another signal prior to the one you set.
Biffo, my apologies, i had misread that (and think i’m not the only one that did).
Thought you meant you can only show speed in increments of 20, but what you mean i think, as that you cannot step down. i.e from 60 to 30 from one gantry to the next. But you could step it say 40 to 30 from 1 gantry to the next yes?
Correct!
If we put a 30, then the system will put a 50 before that.
If we put a 20 (and it’s very rare we do!) the system will put a 40, then a 60 prior to the 20.
Putting lane closures on, varies according to the location, but the same rule applies.
Under normal circumstances, anything less than 50, then you can garrentee that there’s something there (or just has been, and we’re waiting authorisation to clear the signals, we can’t clear the signals without the patrol on scene radioing it in, for obvious reasons, there might be something else farther up that they still need to deal with.)
I have on the very odd occasion put a slower speed on one lane than the others, we don’t like closing lanes for a piece of debris, however large it is, but by putting a lower speed over the offending lane, we hope that it bring to the attention of the drivers that this is the lane the item is in. There will always be an explanation on the VMS part of the gantry.
Have you had any 3 seater sofas yet?
I jest not. Once saw one on the 4 lane M6 section at Preston, sat neatly along the white lane line & cars passing on either side of it!
NO warning. May have been before the days of electronic signs.
The real Biffo:
Not saying that I’m defending it, but you can’t make a system that’s one way in daylight and another way at night-time, even nightimes in certain area’s are busy, so you then need to get down to individual signs, …sorry, not practical.As I said, you can’t make bigger steps than 20 mph at a time., or it’ll put another signal prior to the one you set.
I’m sure no-one wants to come down from 70 mph, to a lane closure without some warning.
Lane 1 40 mph . Lane 2 20 mph Lane 3 40 mph…
Every man and his dog braked to 20 in lane 2 and lane 1 decided to follow suit. I ended up in lane 3 to avoid an accident with the vehicles in lane 2 with no idea what to do…
Talk about causing confusion.what was showing on the VMS part of the gantry? I’ll bet it was either “debris” or “obstruction” and it would have been in lane 2, seen from the camera.
No it was ■■■■■■■ roadworks , not obstruction…
The system is crap mate , lane 1 40 lane 2 20 lane 3 40 should never be allowed…
It should be shut down until someone with common sense can operate it .
The real Biffo:
Correct!If we put a 20 (and it’s very rare we do!)
Rare Rare ! frigging rare …
Every night of the frigging week that ■■■■ system has a 20 up …
It’s a joke !
Driveroneuk:
Have you had any 3 seater sofas yet?I jest not. Once saw one on the 4 lane M6 section at Preston, sat neatly along the white lane line & cars passing on either side of it!
NO warning. May have been before the days of electronic signs.
Oh we’ve had the lot!
sofa’s, armchairs, bed (I kid you not!) garden pond (the large plastic bit that you sink into the earth) Ikea furniture (not assembled), Bales of hay, garden shed (again, I kid you not!) Ladders approx 3 times a week, Summer special is the rear bike rack complete with a number of bikes, top boxes, roof racks complete with all the lugage. then you’ve got all the usual mundane stuff, curb stones, concrete flags, pieces of timber, or even a whole pallet full of plasterboard, HGV tyres & wheels are bread and butter stuff, along with wayward wheels that have come off (both HFGV & cars) and carried on down the c/way until they stop.
The thing is, you’ll not see signs and signals until someone calls it in.
Now-a-days most people will use their mobile phone, and 90 % don’t know where they are, they know which junction number they got on at, they know which junction number they get off at, but inbetween is a complete guess.
The HA have now started putting up larger markerpost boards (about 2ft square) every ½km, and we’re trying to educate people to use them to tell us where incidents are, ie. I’ve just gone past a board that said “M6, 300.5, A” we then know exactly where it is, and can signals just in the appropriate area, not between junctions, or even in the wrong location because they’ve told us wrong. (then drivers don’t see any problems, but the signs are up, so they think we’ve forgotten and left them on)
We can’t clear any signals set until either a HATO or Police patrol has checked the area and confirmed that it’s clear.