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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Smart motorway? Thick traffic managers

33 replies

longwayoff · 04/02/2019 05:48

Stunningly dangerous, no hard shoulder on motorway. Wtf is wrong with people? Can we please have this stupidity done away with?

OP posts:
Angrybird345 · 04/02/2019 05:50

They will spend billions removing the hard shoulder then will spend millions on a review then will spend millions going back to the old way with a hard shoulder... imbeciles! Does no one in the highways dept or government have common sense! Clearly not!!!

InTheNightBakery · 04/02/2019 05:53

As far as I understand it there'll still be emergency refuge areas, like lay-bys, to pull into if you have a problem, and if it's something instant that you wouldn't be able to get to that area the lane closes very quickly due to the CCTV monitoring. Then it's like you've got the hard shoulder back again but better as everyone knows to avoid it.

user1471530109 · 04/02/2019 05:58

It works v well on the M42. My only critism is that sometimes, the will be v little traffic and they've set the speed to 40. Infuriating when it's quiet.

But like PP said. The hard shoulder is only used for rush hour. They also regularly close it for breakdowns etc. The broken down car can even be in the refuge area and the hard shoulder will be closed for safety and to allow vehicles to get to it.
I was sceptical at first, but it's been great the last few years.

Original poster
longwayoff · 04/02/2019 06:04

Excellent night bakery. Do let us know how that feels when you've done it.

OP posts:
InTheNightBakery · 04/02/2019 06:14

Broken down on the hard shoulder? Feels absolutely shit and scary as hell, especially when the motorway is mad busy, it's pouring with rain and you're hoping some idiot doesn't decide to drive behind/into you. Your point is?

Breaking down/needing the hard shoulder on the motorway is always going to be horrendous (unless we develop tech that can immediately scoop your car away safely), doesn't mean we shouldn't use the motorway the best way we can.

Original poster
longwayoff · 04/02/2019 06:17

Point is, there is a hard shoulder.

OP posts:
Mayrhofen · 04/02/2019 06:19

We’ve had it a few years on the M62 and it works very well, I have. I have no complaints at all. I find the much slower traffic limits with cameras at peak times quite reassuring. Stops the twats driving like twats.

Mrscog · 04/02/2019 06:20

Another vote in favour for the M42 - made a massive difference to traffic flow.

ivykaty44 · 04/02/2019 06:21

I’ve come across cars broken down in the outside lane...

Smart motorway advise if this obstruction and everyone can cime in to the other two lanes

ivykaty44 · 04/02/2019 06:23

stops the twats lowering the speed keeps the traffic flowing and Reduces gridlock

InTheNightBakery · 04/02/2019 06:24

There is a hard shoulder on the smart motorway too, the ERA's and a whole lane hard shoulder when it's needed, so what's the issue? With the extra controls it's designed to be safer.

SwimmingJustKeepSwimming · 04/02/2019 06:25

There was a horrific recording on radio 4 when they were discussing this. Man with family in the car had rung (missed who - Aa/highways people?) And was explaining where they were and while on the phone you hear the thuds of cars going into the back of him.

LadyLannister · 04/02/2019 06:30

Hate smart motorways with a passion. I have to do 2 junctions on one on the M1 to get to work and there have been several occasions where someone has broken down and the people manning the cctv cameras have been slow at responding, very, very scary. The refuge areas are few and far between so it’s not realistic to expect that most people having car problems would be near enough to one to make use of it.

ResistanceIsNecessary · 04/02/2019 06:31

Works well on the M62. There are emergency refuge areas for people to pull into if they need to. It's monitored so if there's a vehicle stranded in a live lane, they shut it straight away and the gantry signs reduce the speed limit and instruct traffic to move across. There are speed cameras on some of the gantries to enforce the limit.

Worth noting that the hard shoulder isn't always open to traffic - they only do it at peak times. For the remainder, it's a hard shoulder as normal.

LadyLannister · 04/02/2019 06:32

InTheNightBakery - there is no hard shoulder at all on the smart motorway near us, it is extremely dangerous and very poorly thought out.

OssomMummy1 · 04/02/2019 06:33

I have had bad experience recently between Bradford and Leeds on M62. It was peak hour and all 4 lanes including hard shoulder was open for drivers. I was driving on the second lane and there was an articulated lorry on the left lane which was planning to take the next exit. Out of the blues, he suddenly put indicators to the right, immediately changed the lane and also applied brakes. I had nowhere to go as there was another truck behind me. I had to move to the right lane in the path of a kia car. Luckily, the kia driver was alert and applied his brakes just in time.

There was a broken down car on the hard shoulder, which the lorry driver was trying to avoid. I couldn't see it because I was on his side and just behind the lorry. The lorry driver had to chose between the drone down car and my car to hit. If I had not changed the lane, I would have died after being crushed between the two lorries. I was thanking my stars and Kia for weeks.

I am even considering selling my VW and buying a Kia!!

BillywilliamV · 04/02/2019 06:34

It will all have been risk assessed. Cars don’t break down half as much as they used to in the last century.

InTheNightBakery · 04/02/2019 06:35

LadyLannister - there will be one when needed, ie the lane with a breakdown/incident will be shut, making an immediate 'hard shoulder' but then that lane can be used as normal other times.

BarbaraofSevillle · 04/02/2019 06:39

We've had smart motorways for years here (all the busy sections of the M1 and M62), where are you? Seem to work quite well for reasons as explained by PP.

RussellSprout · 04/02/2019 06:40

I broke down in a live lane just before an exit once. It wasn't pretty!

LadyLannister · 04/02/2019 06:42

InTheNightBakery - that is all well and good if the people manning the cctv’s are on the ball and work fast enough, but twice in the last couple of months I have had to take evasive action and swerve into the next lane due to a broken down car, with no lane closure in place. Yes it may have only just happened but it is scary for those few minutes that the lane closure isn’t enforced. I watched a lorry nearly wipe someone off the road in this situation a few weeks ago. The idea of a smart motorway is good, the reality of driving on one in rush hour every day is not so. Junctions 39-41 northbound on the M1 is horrendous.

InTheNightBakery · 04/02/2019 06:53

So they need more monitoring/ better monitoring/ to be managed better? Would completely agree, would make them safer, but OP was wanting smart motorways done away with completely which is throwing the baby out with the bath water.

borntobequiet · 04/02/2019 06:59

Apparently they work well when properly designed with safe areas every 600 m, poorly when otherwise. This was explained on a news segment recently which included that horrifying recording of the broken down car being slammed in to.

LadyLannister · 04/02/2019 07:06

I don’t disagree with you InTheNightBakery, the congestion between those 2 junctions is nowhere near as bad as it used to be. It needs better monitoring and more emergency refuges. There are only 2 ERAs on that stretch of smart motorway, miles between them so not really that useful.

Deadbudgie · 04/02/2019 07:09

It’s worked great on the m42 for the past few years. I don’t see the problem. Move traffic is much better for both safety and the environment than long queues.

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