Great Idea....Smart Motorways!
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MarkMas
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Silvercat
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Simple answer......if enough drivers boycott using the 4th lane then just maybe the Govt will eventually get the message that they are **** right dangerous and abandon the whole idea of using the hard shoulder/ 4th lane!! I never ever use the 4th lane for exactly this reason.
Zep
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The thing that always baffles me is why anyone is in the other 3 lanes when they see my BMW in the 4th one.
Wanderer
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Indicators are an optional extra on Beemers.....
Wack61
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First hand experience of how dangerous smart motorways are
Approaching J15 SB M6 in the motorhome, signs read, report of stranded vehicle , nothing else , could be a mile away but I move to lane 2 , as we pass the junction the truck in front returns to lane 1
It's a LH bend after the junction , trucker needs an eye test , experience has taught me not to sit alongside an artic , that experience probably saved my life because 10 seconds after returning to lane 1 he swerved round a stopped car
Missed it by inches , i'm amazed he didnt hit it ,had I overtaken him he'd have taken me out
The smart motorways really are not fit for purpose, the guy who'd broken down was walking back to his car quite a way from it so it must've been there for at least 10 minutes and STILL no red X closed lane
Approaching J15 SB M6 in the motorhome, signs read, report of stranded vehicle , nothing else , could be a mile away but I move to lane 2 , as we pass the junction the truck in front returns to lane 1
It's a LH bend after the junction , trucker needs an eye test , experience has taught me not to sit alongside an artic , that experience probably saved my life because 10 seconds after returning to lane 1 he swerved round a stopped car
Missed it by inches , i'm amazed he didnt hit it ,had I overtaken him he'd have taken me out
The smart motorways really are not fit for purpose, the guy who'd broken down was walking back to his car quite a way from it so it must've been there for at least 10 minutes and STILL no red X closed lane
Bebs
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That’s putting it mildly!! It’s an unbelievably bad idea.. what the f@ck were they thinking!
Wack61
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That's exactly how I feel , it's like the 1970s exploding car, ford pinto wasnt it , xM$ in damages for those that burn to death or xxxM$ to recall and fix them all.
Smart motorways are a cheap fix , even now they build dual carriageways instead of motorways
Are we really one of the richest countries in the world or is it BS because big projects all seem to be done on the cheap or is it the age of the driven motor car is winding down and we're collateral damage during the transition to the self driving car.
MarkMas
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Supposedly, the whole length of a smart motorway is monitored by cameras, and either automated systems or humans are meant to detect an incident immediately. But in practice it is (under)staffed by minimum-wage people working double-shifts to make end meet, so they are not exactly as attentive as air traffic controllers. And even if they did spot incidents, people would still miss or ignore the warnings. Also the number of inaccurate warnings and false alarms cause drivers to be sceptical about any warnings that are given.
Basically if you are stopped anywhere on the motorway (to be fair, the normal hard shoulder is incredibly dangerous too), just run away from your car up the embankment as fast as you can!
If you are driving along a motorway, expect almost any hazard to appear instantaneously. I was driving my first ever Maserati home from the dealer in Scunthorpe when a car directly in front of me in lane 3 swerved very suddenly into lane 2. Right in my path was a television aerial that had, presumably, fallen off a pick-up truck or something. Fortunately, I had left enough of a gap to see it and drive round it, but it was a bit of a drama for my first day in a 'new' and 'huge' QPV, rather than the very familiar little Jaguar X-type I had been driving for 5 years.
Wack61
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At least you've got a chance of getting out of your car alive with a hard shoulder , there are long sections of smart motorway where it's a metal barrier then a fence , the disabled have no chance as they're unlikely to be able to exit the passenger door
Imagine how terrifying that'd be , stuck in a car in a live lane hoping bored drivers see you at 70+ mph
CatmanV2
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Zep
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I’m fine with controlled smart motorways, but not all lane running smart motorways, the idea of breaking down on one of those makes me think I should buy more brown trousers.
It is interesting that only 5ish percent of collisions are caused by stopped vehicles even on a ALR smart motorway. Makes you wonder what the other 95% are caused by.
I was a meter or so from being crushed by a bit of precast concrete falling off a truck years ago, I still won’t drive next to one.
It is interesting that only 5ish percent of collisions are caused by stopped vehicles even on a ALR smart motorway. Makes you wonder what the other 95% are caused by.
I was a meter or so from being crushed by a bit of precast concrete falling off a truck years ago, I still won’t drive next to one.
zagatoes30
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But even if they had put the red cross on too many numpties still drive in that lane and don't stop, maybe the rules have changed but I thought a red cross above a lane meant stop
MarkMas
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I think it means "don't use this lane".
Scaf
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A hard shoulder is scary enough, an X lane on a smart motorway is definitely dicing with death.
More than once I have told my family never to stop if the car will keep going, would rather them ruin an alloy or cause more damage to the car, all of which can be fixed afterwards.
If anyone does have to stop, get out quick onto the verge, walk back the way you came by 20 yards or so and stay behind the barrier of there is one.
I have taken to carrying a coat and umbrella in all my cars as well, just in case.
More than once I have told my family never to stop if the car will keep going, would rather them ruin an alloy or cause more damage to the car, all of which can be fixed afterwards.
If anyone does have to stop, get out quick onto the verge, walk back the way you came by 20 yards or so and stay behind the barrier of there is one.
I have taken to carrying a coat and umbrella in all my cars as well, just in case.
IanU
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Correct. A red cross across all lanes means STOP at the sign - motorway closed effectively. Normally after the catastrophe has already happened !!