MNer in England who drives? Take a survey - £300 voucher to be won

[JustineBMumsnet]

We'd like to find out about your experience of and knowledge around motorway driving and breakdown scenarios.

This survey is open to all Mumsnet users in England who drive.

All who complete the survey will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Click here to complete the survey

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Condtions apply

Found this interesting - I have to admit I hadn't really considered what to do if I broke down on a smart motorway - even though I drive on the M1 a lot.

Glad for the prompt.

Interesting. I've never been on a smart motorway (goes to look up info).

Strange set of questions asking how I 'feel' about Highways England.

It's hard to feel emotional about a road maintenance/delivery organisation.

Bit like asking what emotions I feel about stamps or paving slabs!

What name should be entered?
Some guidance would help...I never know whether to use my own name, mn name or both!

@FawnDrench - this is up to you, feel free to use whichever you feel most comfortable using. We'll only use this so that we have something to address you with if you're a winner.

I agree about the 'emotive' questions ShotsFired.
I have looked up though about what to do if I broke down on a smart motorway, as I hadn't really given it any thought prior to this questionnaire.

Never been on one yet. Don't have a need for motorways in general at present.

The one about do you stay in the car or get out if you break down.

Too many variables to answer that one, including time of day, weather and how busy the road is. The answer is 'it depends'.

The 'what do you do if you break down on a motorway' one, does it matter what time of day it is?

I have always understood the best advice is to get out of the car and as far back from it as you can. Even if it's pissing down. Get behind the barrier and away from the vehicle. If for some reason you genuinely cannot, then move everyone to the passenger side if possible and all wear seat belts and remain firmly strapped in.

Essentially, we will drive where we look, even if we don't actively notice at the time. And other drivers look at cars pulled over.

It only takes a second of mis-attention and their vehicle is inside yours.

^^ all that in the context of a motorway.

I agree with ShotsFired - I obviously don't have any feelings about them. What an odd question

Done, it would be interesting to know the answers

I too have no feelings at all about HE. And as for it's "leadership"...not the foggiest clue.

Obviously HE "leadership" is paying for the survey so, yeah.

I realise I've lost all chance of winning with these comments.

Done.

I learned about Highways England from two recent tv series, one about the A1 and the other was based in the West Midlands, so M6, M5 and M42. I have a lot of respect for the people who work for H E and was at the risks they are exposed to in order to keep the motorways running and the public safe.

I have always understood the best advice is to get out of the car and as far back from it as you can. Even if it's pissing down. Get behind the barrier and away from the vehicle. If for some reason you genuinely cannot, then move everyone to the passenger side if possible and all wear seat belts and remain firmly strapped in.

Yes, this. People have been killed in/around cars on the hard shoulder

Some scary stats in this article

The refuges on the smart motorways where the hard shoulder is now in use as a lane are def too far apart.

And the advice if you do break down is to call 999 immediately (I didn’t know that & in fact answered Don’t Know to that question)

Done

Done

Done. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to say how dangerous I believe so-called “smart” motorways are.

TintinandSnowy that’s interesting - apart from the hard shoulder/refuge thing, which is dangerous, I actually think they’re safer.

The gradual reduction in speed limits when there’s a hazard ahead to reduce bunching, notice of lane closures, & verbal warnings of what the problem is, are really helpful IMO.

GiantKitten Yes, I agree that the lower speed limits and increased information help to make things run more smoothly, but I feel trapped when driving on smart motorways.

“A” roads/dual carriageways without hard shoulders are different, because they often have soft verges where you could take full or partial refuge in an emergency.
Most motorways don’t have this built in, there is often a steep bank next to the original hard shoulder, so no chance of getting partially off the road.
Obviously I haven’t done a full study of the UK road system(!) and this is just my impression. Even though traffic may be limited to 50mph in these sections (or whatever the rule is), I would not like to break down on one!!

No, I wouldn’t either. It’s good that breakdowns are so much rarer than they used to be, but they could still happen any time, & in eg the outside lane of a 4-lane motorway would be terrifying.

There was a colossal holdup on the M55 (M6-Blackpool) last night - cars were just stuck there for 5-6 hours. There was a lot of twitter activity, which helped keep people amused & also arranged some relief for eg parents with small children & people with medical issues, but I noticed one person commenting that the risk of getting stuck was like an entry fee for using a motorway, which is a good point (& matches what you say about feeling trapped)

England’s roads are just so busy though that not using motorways doesn’t seem like an option on a long journey

I vaguely knew what highways England do and answering the questions about the company was tricky. If I'd never heard of them it would have been impossible!
Agree with those who've said it depends when dealing with a breakdown. No space to express this in the survey.