Motorway "Smart" Lanes

[Steve Hunt]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37888207

The introduction of smart motorways has seen a big rise in speeding fines, figures obtained by the BBC suggest.
Between 2010 and 2015, fixed penalties issued on smart sections increased from 2,000 to 52,000, according to data collated by the BBC's The One Show.
There are more than 236 miles of smart motorways in England, which use the hard shoulder and variable speed limits to control traffic flow.
The government says they are used to improve capacity, not generate revenue.

Yeah - of course they are

[AlcoholBrazil]

They will never be smart as lon as you have dickheads in the control towers who cannot read the road. Clueless cunts that will
reduce the speed on the gantries from 70 to 40 when there is still three miles of clear road ahead.
So you either slam on the anchors and hope the vehicle behind you doesn't ram you from the rear , or you pick up a fine
from the camera on the gantry that doesn't take into account of the time needed to reduce speed when you reach it.

[Steve Hunt]

They will never be smart as lon as you have dickheads in the control towers who cannot read the road. Clueless cunts that will
reduce the speed on the gantries from 70 to 40 when there is still three miles of clear road ahead.
So you either slam on the anchors and hope the vehicle behind you doesn't ram you from the rear , or you pick up a fine
from the camera on the gantry that doesn't take into account of the time needed to reduce speed when you reach it.

Indeed.

I have always considered them to be bloody dangerous.

To not have a hard shoulder when vehicles are travelling at high speed in four lanes strikes me a as a recipe for disaster.

Of course, it is all about trying to increase capacity as cheaply as possible, nothing to do with safety.

[Basualdo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37888207

The introduction of smart motorways has seen a big rise in speeding fines, figures obtained by the BBC suggest.
Between 2010 and 2015, fixed penalties issued on smart sections increased from 2,000 to 52,000, according to data collated by the BBC's The One Show.
There are more than 236 miles of smart motorways in England, which use the hard shoulder and variable speed limits to control traffic flow.
The government says they are used to improve capacity, not generate revenue.

Yeah - of course they are

As long as you accept the fact that the dedicated purpose of every government in the world is to strip whatever meagre revenue that the poor benighted bastards that have to suffer their misrule pathetically cling on to in the vain hope that they might actually try to better their lot, then you will not ever go far wrong in predicting what any of these parasitic cunts are liable to do.
In this the socialistic horrors are at least a little more honest than any that masquerade as "conservative" in that they have never really tried to hide the fact that they believe that the sheep that they lord over cannot be trusted to retain their own wool.

[theleader82]

We need to build lots more roads to cope with the increasing volume of traffic . Also children should walk or cycle to to school when possible to reduce morningn congestion .

[m4rkb]

We lose 900 miles of motorway simply because of drivers who can't use their lanes properly. I'd suggest the first thing any smart lane did was have one of those overhead warning signs telling the guilty fuckers to bloody well move over.

Something like: "EU50 DOF - You've been in the middle lane for the last 90 miles. Fucking move over you cunt or you'll get a hundred quid fine"

[finchman]

The M60 near the trafford centre will become a 'smart motorway' from March 2017. Three years of fucking about causing mayhem just to put up a few new overhead signs, how the fuck will that ease conjestion?

What they need to do is upgrade all motorways to seven lane super highways and scrap the foreign aid budget to fund it.

[Fug1]

I think it's more important to use a safe speed, rather than a prescribed speed.

If people use a speed that is inappropriate for the time, conditions or location; weather that be too fast, erratic or too slow then fair enough, but speeding when it is perfectly safe to do so in my opinion is fine.

[Zambo]

speeding when it is perfectly safe to do so in my opinion is fine.

The problem is that is very subjective. For example, a safe speed for an 18 year old irresponsible shithead is entirely different to that of a sensible and reasonable 60 year old.

[Fug1]

speeding when it is perfectly safe to do so in my opinion is fine.

The problem is that is very subjective. For example, a safe speed for an 18 year old irresponsible shithead is entirely different to that of a sensible and reasonable 60 year old.

Fair point Zambo.

Maybe bad driving should be scrutinised then, with speeding being one of many that should be highlighted.

[AlcoholBrazil]

That 60 year old would see the speed number above the gantry change from 60 to 40 and brake before he reaches it, and the
18 year old will either slam into the back of him ,or brake even harder creating a sudden concertina effect to all following traffic.
It must always be in multiples of 10, but sometimes they drop by 20 or 30 m.p.h .

[Hillman avenger]

Not surprised.
A lot of drivers take no notice of motorway advisory speed notices. It doesn't matter what danger may be ahead, or threat to workers on the road, they just carry on. i have seen a few really serious accidents averted when people have realised too late that they need to brake.
But the speed signs on "smart " motorwys are not advisory. They are displayed within a red circle.
I think a lot of people don't know the difference.
As ever a tax on the stupid.

[m4 colin]

Its easy....... you dont need to know what the reduced speed limit is, but when you see the gantry light up, which you can see from about two miles away.if you are really shifting, its foot off the gas then you have lots of time to set your speed when you can tell exactly what the new limit is

[AlcoholBrazil]

So you can slow from 70 to 40 mph within 100 yards . I am impressed.

[Zambo]

As ever a tax on the stupid.

Yup

[m4 colin]

So you can slow from 70 to 40 mph within 100 yards . I am impressed.

Have a think about that ! Are you short sighted ? When I see the gantry light up I take my foot off the gas by the time i am close enough to actualyl read what the new limit is my speed will have dropped to 65-60 mph and I still have half a mile to go at least its then easy to slow to 50mph or even 40 mph

[warmleatherette]

So you can slow from 70 to 40 mph within 100 yards . I am impressed.

Have a think about that ! Are you short sighted ? When I see the gantry light up I take my foot off the gas by the time i am close enough to actualyl read what the new limit is my speed will have dropped to 65-60 mph and I still have half a mile to go at least its then easy to slow to 50mph or even 40 mph

Typical HGV driver tanking along at 70.. Tut tut tut ( this sign means I'm joking)
Having been caught doing 54 in 50 by one of these signs on the M25 and having taken my second "speed awareness" course (almost to the day of the 3 year required gap, I'm sure they record those details and issue on a 3 yearly basis) I did ask about this, apparently you have 4 minutes from the sign changing the speed limit to the cameras becoming active for said speed.

The so called 10% plus whatever allowance is down to the discretion of the local police (Herefordshire have a zero tolerance) so my advice would be to keep your eyes on the signs and obey them to the MPH, 4 mph over got me and I knew what I was dealing with.

[AlcoholBrazil]

I just question the ability of the people adjusting the speed on the gantry to read the road conditions. Many times 40 is flashed up
while there is another 3-4 miles of clear road ahead of it. Not in increments of 60-50-40 .

[warmleatherette]

I just question the ability of the people adjusting the speed on the gantry to read the road conditions. Many times 40 is flashed up
while there is another 3-4 miles of clear road ahead of it. Not in increments of 60-50-40 .

A few weeks back I was travelling home to London from Brighton, 2am on the M25 and dead quiet, 40 mph signs, after about 5 miles of 40, one car on the hard shoulder was the "hazard", about a mile after the "hazard" the signs still had 40 and I thought fair enough, about 2 miles after that they were still 40 and as the gantry was flashing away on the other cars who had assumed the hazard was over and had dared to creep up to 50 ish, cunts...

[AlcoholBrazil]

Exactly...Smart MILKING MACHINES for the cash cows on wheels.

[Hillman avenger]

I just question the ability of the people adjusting the speed on the gantry to read the road conditions. Many times 40 is flashed up
while there is another 3-4 miles of clear road ahead of it. Not in increments of 60-50-40 .

A few weeks back I was travelling home to London from Brighton, 2am on the M25 and dead quiet, 40 mph signs, after about 5 miles of 40, one car on the hard shoulder was the "hazard", about a mile after the "hazard" the signs still had 40 and I thought fair enough, about 2 miles after that they were still 40 and as the gantry was flashing away on the other cars who had assumed the hazard was over and had dared to creep up to 50 ish, cunts...

Yes they are slow to remove the warnings.

But I'd rather they erred on that side than didnt warn us about upcoming queues, workmen in the road, etc. Sadly the deafult setting for some motorists is to ignore them anyway.

[Zambo]

I just question the ability of the people adjusting the speed on the gantry to read the road conditions. Many times 40 is flashed up
while there is another 3-4 miles of clear road ahead of it. Not in increments of 60-50-40 .

A few weeks back I was travelling home to London from Brighton, 2am on the M25 and dead quiet, 40 mph signs, after about 5 miles of 40, one car on the hard shoulder was the "hazard", about a mile after the "hazard" the signs still had 40 and I thought fair enough, about 2 miles after that they were still 40 and as the gantry was flashing away on the other cars who had assumed the hazard was over and had dared to creep up to 50 ish, cunts...

Yes they are slow to remove the warnings.

But I'd rather they erred on that side than didnt warn us about upcoming queues, workmen in the road, etc. Sadly the deafult setting for some motorists is to ignore them anyway.

Personally I'm not bothered if they are cash cows or not, but the motorist has the power to make them a complete failure in that respect.

[Steve Hunt]

Personally I'm not bothered if they are cash cows or not, but the motorist has the power to make them a complete failure in that respect.

Zambo - serious question.

Do you ever stray above 30 mph in a 30 limit?

[Zambo]

Personally I'm not bothered if they are cash cows or not, but the motorist has the power to make them a complete failure in that respect.

Zambo - serious question.

Do you ever stray above 30 mph in a 30 limit?

Yep, I'll look down and see I'm doing 33 and ease back. However, if I got done say doing 34 in a 30, my fault.

A few years back I was doing some delivery work for the local hospice and I was late. I was going along, fields on one side houses on the other. Hadn't noticed any speed signs and I was doing around 40. Got done, it was a 30 mph zone. Got the paperwork with video evidence, and there looming large in the foreground was a school sign. Made me think, made me stick to the speed limit in future.

[Steve Hunt]

Personally I'm not bothered if they are cash cows or not, but the motorist has the power to make them a complete failure in that respect.

Zambo - serious question.

Do you ever stray above 30 mph in a 30 limit?

Yep, I'll look down and see I'm doing 33 and ease back. However, if I got done say doing 34 in a 30, my fault.

A few years back I was doing some delivery work for the local hospice and I was late. I was going along, fields on one side houses on the other. Hadn't noticed any speed signs and I was doing around 40. Got done, it was a 30 mph zone. Got the paperwork with video evidence, and there looming large in the foreground was a school sign. Made me think, made me stick to the speed limit in future.

I would suggest that 75% of motorists break the speed limit every day, Zambo - probably even more.

I would further suggest that it is not speed that kills, it is inappropriate speed that kills. The speed limits were set at a time when cars had drum brakes. The stopping distances you and I learn't for our driving tests are now totally inaccurate since the advent of disc brakes.

By all means reduce speed to 15 mph outside a school etc. I have no problem with that at all.

But many speed limits are now totally inadequate for today's vehicles. A motorway should be at least 80 mph. But of course the government will never increase them. Why, because they generate far too much money.