To wonder why we need adverts telling us not to drive in Motorway Lane's with a red X above them?

[Butteredparsn1ps]

There's obviously a campaign running on commercial radio as I seem to have heard these adverts over and over during the holidays. I just don't get why. Well, I suppose I do - I guess there wouldn't be a need for adverts if people didn't drive in the closed lanes - but I'm struggling to think of a clearer symbol for don't drive here

Is it me?

Agreed; I think that if people need to be told such a basic thing then they shouldn’t be on the road anyway.

Problem is, I imagine most of the drivers in the lane marked with X, know dam well
What it means, but want to fly along passing as many cars as they can before having to funnel into another lane.

So I personally think the adverts are futile.

Because some people are hopelessly stupid?

My DH is a professional driver and apparently about 45,000 warning letters were sent out to people for doing this. I can't work out if it's generally stupidity or more people thinking the rules don't apply to them

Because unfortunately there are some people who are actually that stupid. It's like the antibiotic advert on the tv telling people not to use antibiotics for colds.

Because some people are stupid and the rest are ignorant. Whilst driving to work on the m1 where it is not a smart motorway and queuing every day in the slow/outside/lane 1 just before the junction there is always some dick who is more jmportant/stupid/ignorant than everyone else blasting down the hard shoulder.

I read an article today saying that this is about to become an offence punishable in the same way as driving through a red light.

A think maybe 1 in 10 of the people who drive in them are just stupid. The rest are obviously so much more important than the rest of us that silly rules like that can’t possibly apply to them.

there is always some dick who is more jmportant/stupid/ignorant than everyone else blasting down the hard shoulder

I agree with this. Also think the adverts are a waste of time. The people they are aimed at will no doubt be too important to listen to them.

I wondered this - honestly, it's like people can't think for themselves and if someone is idiot enough to carry on regardless, I don't think an ad will stop them

Almost everyone on UK roads did a training course and passed a test of competence. Frightening, isn't it?

Nobody believes the rules on roads, especially if everyone else is whizzing through.

The single only thing that works to control free flowing traffic is average speed cameras. I think the entire motorway network should have them.

People don't slow down or get in lane because they don't want to.

People just don't like to be told. Especially when driving. Like when the speed limit is reduced to 50mph on the motorway because there's a hazard up ahead. Everyone just carries on as normal.
The other thing is that driving lessons don't cover motorways so new drivers are a bit clueless.

about 45,000 warning letters were sent out to people for doing this

Why warnings, why not fines and points off licenses?

@specialsubject The theory test lets you pass until you fail though, so even if you're someone with no knowledge of the highway code or any common sense then you can pass eventually.

Because many drivers have a massive sense of entitlement, and think the rules do not apply to them, especially when behind the wheel of their pride and joy.

Because there are far too many road signs in general (do a Google image search of "too many road signs"), so the red X's become "just another road sign".

Because of "sheep syndrome". It can be hard being right if the rest of the world is wrong; i.e. it can be very hard to be the only person obeying the rules. When I'm obeying the speed limit, or keeping a good stopping distance, I'm often the only driver doing so. As for those 20mph limits on wide main roads in south London (one of Boris's bright ideas?): if I choose to obey them, I am constantly tailgated, hooted at, overtaken, sometimes by buses. I was once using a bus lane at 20mph (allowed at that time), and was overtaken by a bus. The irony!

There are fines of say £80 for dropping litter out of car windows. What I don't understand is: why not set up a camera on roads where this is a problem, and make the fine £800 instead?

You do know there are entire COUNTIES where they have no motorway?

I'll bet my FIL has driven on motorway all of about ten times in his life and he's 68.

Also, motorway signage is notoriously unreliable, with warning signs up despite the danger passing a long time ago, so we all know people ignore very obvious signage as a result.

The unreliability of electronic signs certainly doesn't help as it encourages some drivers to ignore them, especially those who think they're more important than everyone else. I've been shocked though at how much driving standards seem to have deteriorated in recent years.

They are going to start sending fines from cameras in, I think, March.

Some people are crap drivers.

Yes, it’s stupidity sadly. So many people who are driving on the roads shouldnt be.

crazycat not with you ( long time since my test although I do know what signs mean). Does that mean people just keep trying until random chance gets them through?

Because some people are idiots and need telling

I was also going to say that loads of people rarely if ever drive on a motorway so won't have seen the signs, of course it blatantly obvious what they mean but you never know.

I have to use a motorway as part of my commute and the signs can be very wrong so it's not a surprise that regular drivers ignore them sometimes. You can drive for miles with warnings or reduced speed limits for no reason at all. If the signs were more accurate they might be better observed

@specialsubject Yeah, if you fail a theory test you can keep going back and redoing the test until you pass - even if it took you 20 tries. Imo if it takes you several tries to be able to pass a test which is mostly common sense then you can't have a great level of knowledge of the highway code.

It should be restricted to 3 tries and then you're locked out for a 2 year period before you can try again.

It’s terrifying that there have to be adverts to reinforce this knowledge in drivers.

One of those dickheads is my stbx.

Driving home yesterday, in separate cars (long story), fast lane on the motorway had a red X. Traffic had already been sped controlled for miles, and the overhead signage was also warning not to switch lanes, and stay in lane.

Stbx and I filtered onto the motorway, ending up in lane 2 (both entry lanes became motorway lanes). Stbx was a dozen or so cars behind me. I sat tight, and had a bet with myself as to when I’d see stbx go whizzing past in the closed lane.

Sure enough, off he went. In his case, he certainly knows why the signs mean, he just thinks he is far too important to follow them.

50 odd miles later, coming off the motorway on the exit for home, he was 1 car ahead of me at the traffic lights. So hadn’t even gained any advantage by being a twat and driving irresponsibly. Utterly idiotic, and for no gain.