Author Topic: Smart Motorways. Safe???  (Read 1031 times)

Cee Gee

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Smart Motorways. Safe???
« on: Jan 13, 2020, 06:53:23 PM »
I think not. Opinion formed from 50 yrs driving for a living a lot of it on motorways.

zoony

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #1 on: Jan 13, 2020, 06:57:43 PM »
Agreed. Not nearly enough thinking done yet. I'd prefer smart planners to smart roadways.
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klondike

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #2 on: Jan 13, 2020, 06:59:59 PM »
I don't drive on motorways a lot these days but from what I've seen of the stretch of M1 that runs from about J16 to J19 I'm not overly impressed. I wonder what happens when you get a breakdown that can't make it to one of the not-that-frequent refuges.


The annoying variable speed limits lead to more attention being given to the speedo which must mean less being given to the road.
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zoony

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #3 on: Jan 13, 2020, 07:24:11 PM »
Already been accidents for the very reason you point out K. Highly dangerous when you consider the driving standards of some folk..
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Ashy

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #4 on: Jan 13, 2020, 07:42:13 PM »
I assume this is down to permitted driving on the hard shoulder. Since you can only drive on the hard shoulder until the next exit, I have never been in a position to do so, but if I did I would be very wary.

mick607

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #5 on: Jan 13, 2020, 07:51:15 PM »
I never had a problem with smart motorways. They make a lot of sense to me. 99.9% of accidents are the result of bad driving.
The majority of new drivers expect. No demand a driving license as a matter of right. Next time you are in a car park take a look around at the antics of some drivers.
Seriously my ex wife cannot park her car to save her life. She passed her test after 5 failed attempts. Poor drivers are not just older drivers with slower reaction times or failing eyesight. But younger entitled drivers.

klondike

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #6 on: Jan 13, 2020, 08:02:11 PM »
Regardless of driving standards making roads less safe because it is cheaper than increasing their capacity by widening them is a rather poor policy IMO. Then again I don't use them regularly so could easily be wrong. We'll presumably find out over time.
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Ashy

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #7 on: Jan 13, 2020, 08:12:40 PM »
Yes I would prefer to see a road widened if the traffic demand is there, but to agree with M607 too, you could have ten lanes in a motorway and some drivers will only drive their cars in lane 10. Not that I want them anywhere near me.

Cassandra

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #8 on: Jan 14, 2020, 12:02:45 AM »
Yes I would prefer to see a road widened if the traffic demand is there, but to agree with M607 too, you could have ten lanes in a motorway and some drivers will only drive their cars in lane 10. Not that I want them anywhere near me.

I completely concur, I've been on a few now and whilst the great majority of drivers integrate to the instructions there's always the increasing number of doom brain idiots who don't and cause dangerous circumstances to evolve through their crash selfishness. Somehow the Police and the cameras never seem to notice!
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zoony

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #9 on: Jan 14, 2020, 12:10:47 AM »
Or the CPS throw it out...
"Listen to the wind, it cleans the mind."

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Goingtoseed

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #10 on: Jan 14, 2020, 12:24:48 AM »
Fancy driving along the M1/M25 in the nearside lane (the old hard shoulder) at 70mph (102 feet per second) you see someone broken down in front of you. You will have travelled 315 feet before the car come to a standstill and that is in perfect driving conditions with a car in perfect condition.

In distance terms that is the equivalent of approx. 25 car lengths.

So effectively you should at 70mph be looking at (a minimum) of 25 car lengths in front of you at all times.
 

Michael Rolls

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #11 on: Jan 14, 2020, 06:03:32 AM »
Fancy driving along the M1/M25 in the nearside lane (the old hard shoulder) at 70mph (102 feet per second) you see someone broken down in front of you. You will have travelled 315 feet before the car come to a standstill and that is in perfect driving conditions with a car in perfect condition.

In distance terms that is the equivalent of approx. 25 car lengths.

So effectively you should at 70mph be looking at (a minimum) of 25 car lengths in front of you at all times.

 
Absolutely - as the Highway Code (that useful booklet which may well be the most ignored publication on the planet) states, always drive at a speed consistent with an ability to be able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear ahead of you (my words, but very much the HC's principle)
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richmond62

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #12 on: Jan 14, 2020, 09:23:13 AM »
The safest things where cars are provided are smart drivers.

As soon as people start relying too much on technology they stop concentrating.

Diasi

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Re: Smart Motorways. Safe???
« Reply #13 on: Jan 14, 2020, 09:51:46 AM »

So effectively you should at 70mph be looking at (a minimum) of 25 car lengths in front of you at all times.
 

I always did that on the M25 on my regular commutes between Kent & the East Midlands & East Anglia.

It was very considerate driving as it enabled 20 other cars to jump in front of me so the police camera would have caught me tail-gating two feet behind the last car to fill the gap.
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