Heard some highways agency dude on the radio talking about these matrix signs. Apparantly there is a reason you come to a 60/50/40 limit and there’s nothing there.
You’re probably encountering the site of an earlier jam that’s just been fixed. It’s called the wave affect or something like that. Someone jams on their brakes or has a blow out so people slow down. The people behind, traveling too close slow down even more abruptly, and the people behind even more. It just gets worse. It’s how you get pile ups. If you avoid a pile up you just get one of those motorway jams that lasts for hours. The kind that have no obvious cause when you get though them. What this dude was saying is they slow traffic down slowly approaching the site so as to stretch it out and fix the bunching up. Don’t think it works as people don’t obey the speed limits anyway let alone the matrix speeds.
They should use the [zb]s to display information about planned roadworks/closures. What is the issue preventing eg. “M6(N) CLOSED J13-14 2200-0600” being displayed on all signs south and east of Birmingham ie. M5, M6, M42 and M1 prior to J19. ? It is infinitely more useful than having no information whatsoever until the junction before the closure when suddenly at 2145 it pops up on the matrix “M6(N) CLOSED J13-14” as they start putting the cones out. Boils my ■■■■. I have complained about this and sent emails more times than I care to remember, each time being promised a reply within 2 weeks yet I’m still waiting. 
I happen to find it very useful to know that its 3 miles to my next exit and it will take me 4 minutes to get there. 
I find it especially pleasing to know that my taxes are paying for those portable signs that inform me of the distance to the next exit. So the portable sign is built, bought by highway company, towed to side of motorway and then activated to tell me that I’, almost at my next exit…WHY?
truckbling I take it you are being facetious.
left hand down do you not have an answer? I think I can guess why you have not had a reply.
Me, facetious, NEVER!
They spent god knows how many millions of pounds installing all these so called smart signs or whatever ■■■■■■■■ word it was to so called allegedly keep us informed and the best they can come up with are things like 3 miles to next exit, don’t drink and driver, take your litter home with you…others do. I mean really, what the ■■■■!
How about some of the following instead:
Turn off your front and rear fog lights, yes you!
Stop hogging the middle lane!
Its 70 mph on this road, try doing it.
Main beam is to warn others of your presence, dip them thick ■■■■■
Its foggy so it might be an idea to turn on your headlights and not rely on the auto function.
Think bike think ■■■■■■■■■
Sliproads are for YOU to adjust YOUR speed, not others to change lanes for you.
Try using cruise if using your mobile phone instead of slowing down.
Next exit is where it should be.
Police speed trap ahead, genuinely!
Hi thought i’d get involved, them signs are a joke. they should put jokes on them if they are that bored. Build up on one sign, punch line on next.
Bellini006:
Hi thought i’d get involved, them signs are a joke. they should put jokes on them if they are that bored. Build up on one sign, punch line on next.
Then a “Bdumtish!” On the one after that?
Litter is a problem now, there used to be regular “litter picking” by the Contractors, but because of the financial cuts it was stopped, things in certain areas are now so bad, these “litter picking” sessions have had to be restarted taking resources away from other work, so trying to persuade drivers not to drop it in the first instance will save money.
There is one of our motorways that I drove on a few weeks ago, and it was like driving through the local council refuge tip it was that bad.
Meanwhile, instead of coming on here moaning about the message signs, go to http://www.highways.gov.uk/about-us/contact-us/complaints-procedure/ and put your complaint in. PLEASE, PLEASE!
The real Biffo:
Meanwhile, instead of coming on here moaning about the message signs, go to http://www.highways.gov.uk/about-us/contact-us/complaints-procedure/ and put your complaint in. PLEASE, PLEASE!
As pointed out above, a colleague of mine regularly telephones them to complain about poor signage and is promised a response that is never forthcoming.
The real Biffo:
Litter is a problem now, there used to be regular “litter picking” by the Contractors, but because of the financial cuts it was stopped, things in certain areas are now so bad, these “litter picking” sessions have had to be restarted taking resources away from other work, so trying to persuade drivers not to drop it in the first instance will save money.
There is one of our motorways that I drove on a few weeks ago, and it was like driving through the local council refuge tip it was that bad.
Classic, litter picking was stopped but now theres so much litter it has to be restarted… Could the underlying reason be that litter picking was stopped 
Out the box thinking a bit but would it be possible that litter has fallen from vehicles without drivers being aware of it. EG litter picked up during a journey and then blown off at high speed. Or just maybe there is some supernatural force that moves light stuff about… for lack of a better name lets call it ‘wind’ FFS.
Thats not to say there aren’t no litter bugs out there but faced with such stupid signage if I was one I would drop more litter, immature maybe but a fact of life.
Meanwhile, instead of coming on here moaning about the message signs, go to http://www.highways.gov.uk/about-us/contact-us/complaints-procedure/ and put your complaint in. PLEASE, PLEASE!
Genius, lets all send complaints in so they can be ignored instead of having a good old chin wag about and just maybe coming up wth a some good ideas in a discussion.
How about when the roads totally clear the signs have a bit of fun with each other to cheer everyone one up:
i.e Signs that say.
‘THE NEXT SIGN CAN’T SPELL’
followed by
‘YES I CUN’
followed by
‘TOLD YOU HE COULDN’T SPELL’
followed by
‘DON’T CARE I’VE SLEPT WITH THE LAST SIGNS WIFE’
followed by
‘WTF’
followed by
‘BIN YOUR LITTER, OTHER PEOPLE DO’
followed by
‘SHOVE YOUR LITTER UP YOUR ARRIS’
speedyguy:
truckman20:
vysie:
The one that gets me every time is m25 between 23 and 27 A red X means lane clossed!!! At 3am i see about a handful of trucks and cars but no red X’s
saw that one today,annoying,i have been driving 30 years and i would not have known what it meant had i not seen the sign, LOL
It’s for the terminally and inanely stupid it only opened this week and thick f@cks need reminding
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-be … s-27019957
roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/3521.html
roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/3521.html
Love the thought of no hard shoulder… had a cam belt fail on a hire car 2 years ago on m6 near j39
Like that would make a refuge with a dead engine.
Whilst on the subject of motorway signs, why since completing the M62 in Yorkshire have signs appeared on the approach to all the laybys saying ERA 200 yards, ERA 150 yards, ERA 100 yards etc? Presumably ERA means emergency recovery area, but the laybys can be seen from miles away and already have fixed signage in blue, so why the need for additional temporary signage in yellow?
You do realise that the signs were not put up to put safety messages on? They were installed to warn others but while sat dormant, campaigns are out in them.
What really makes me chuckle is that you’re all noticing the signs and their “pointless messages” yet i hardly ever see drivers obeying then when a lane is closed or there is debris. The irony.
the ones that say "think bike " should be followed by "biker think " at the next one !
Big Jase:
You do realise that the signs were not put up to put safety messages on? They were installed to warn others but while sat dormant, campaigns are out in them.
What really makes me chuckle is that you’re all noticing the signs and their “pointless messages” yet i hardly ever see drivers obeying then when a lane is closed or there is debris. The irony.
Debris in road messages start on the matrix boards approximately 10 miles before the debris, by which point people have got bored and focused their attention on something else, ignoring the numerous repeater signs as yet more instances of ‘crying wolf’. Same goes for lane closures, especially on managed motorways. Why is it necessary to have 40s and 30s from 10 miles out then red x’s above the closed lanes 9 miles before there’s even any sign of cones? You can’t blame the drivers for ignoring them when they’re deliberately set to cause as much frustration and disruption as possible. 1 mile before the cones would be perfectly adequate, in line with the physical lane closure boards put out by the cone company.
Left hand down!:
Big Jase:
You do realise that the signs were not put up to put safety messages on? They were installed to warn others but while sat dormant, campaigns are out in them.
What really makes me chuckle is that you’re all noticing the signs and their “pointless messages” yet i hardly ever see drivers obeying then when a lane is closed or there is debris. The irony.
Debris in road messages start on the matrix boards approximately 10 miles before the debris, by which point people have got bored and focused their attention on something else, ignoring the numerous repeater signs as yet more instances of ‘crying wolf’. Same goes for lane closures, especially on managed motorways. Why is it necessary to have 40s and 30s from 10 miles out then red x’s above the closed lanes 9 miles before there’s even any sign of cones? You can’t blame the drivers for ignoring them when they’re deliberately set to cause as much frustration and disruption as possible. 1 mile before the cones would be perfectly adequate, in line with the physical lane closure boards put out by the cone company.
/\ Some are a bit overkill, at 3am the other morning we had 40mph lane 1 open only, 2&3 red x’s just after Hilton park M6 sth for a junction closure at J8 (M5 turn) 
, of course after we had travelled in single file for miles there were no cones, no junction closure and this is called managed motorways !
Trev_H:
/\ Some are a bit overkill, at 3am the other morning we had 40mph lane 1 open only, 2&3 red x’s just after Hilton park M6 sth for a junction closure at J8 (M5 turn) , of course after we had travelled in single file for miles there were no cones, no junction closure and this is called managed motorways !
That happens quite a lot up there in the small hours of the morning. I’m the sort of driver who religiously obeys speed limits, even the 40mph single carriageway one, and even I find myself willfully ignoring the M6 overheads, because they’ve been wrong so often in the past.
