Driving on the hard shoulder

[TripleT]

I'm all for it, mainly because I'll never use the lane but also because I drive from the M6 J21a > M62 East to Manchester City Centre which is just solid traffic.

It would work quite well there as after J9 of the M62 theres no junctions for about 7miles until you hit the M60 ring road which is what causes all of the delays. The poor sods like me who go inside the M60 are just stuck

 

[bigchez]

I use the M42 everyday for work thru the cameras and 4 lanes and it works very, very well. Sometimes they are a little draconian with the limit, enforcing the 50 on a bright sunny saturday morning, but during rush hour it works very well. I'm all for it.

 

[Booner!]

Drivers have been using the hard shoulder on an 11-mile stretch of the M42, from south Birmingham and through Warwickshire, at peak times.

Transport correspondent Peter Plisner said figures showed the motorway was safer at these times.

No, that is because the speed cameras are set to 40-50 all the time...enforcing people to slow down regardless of the traffic.

I hate that road

 

[Wicksta]

I think the biggest problem is that this will cause people to drive along the hard shoulder even outside of times/areas that you are allowed to do it.

My dad is an RAC man (or recovery monkey as Tom|Nbk so kindly put it). About 10-15 years ago one of his colleagues was working on the motorway when a van came flying down the hard shoulder, smashed his RAC van out of the way and crashed into him/the car. He nearly lost both legs but suffered permanent disability and was never really able to work on the motorway again. The fact that I basically saw someone's life destroyed in this way makes me extremely wary about this scheme and the use of the hard shoulder for anything about from what it was originally designed for.

I'd much rather see proper investment into the motorways rather than this cheap bodge.

 

[Vertigo]

Call me thick.....if it's in the story....but how does that work when you come to a slip road? (assuming all motorists are the type that i see and dont move into the first lane)

The hard shoulder becomes the slip road. The line separating the hard shoulder from the first lane becomes dashed around the exit. In normal "mode", you simple move across the broken line onto the slip road/hard shoulder. When the hard shoulder is in use, the overhead signs warn you that the hard shoulder lane is for exiting only so if you don't want to come off you move out into the first lane. Works quite well actually.

 

[Oblivious]

No, that is because the speed cameras are set to 40-50 all the time...enforcing people to slow down regardless of the traffic.

I hate that road

Rubbish, Its not set at 40-50 all the time. Its set to 40-50 in busy periods where there is a lot of congestion. It does actually work well and the traffic flows a lot better than it used to before the scheme was introduced.

The hard shoulder is only made live when the speed of the rest of the traffic is right down and enforced by speed cameras, even then there are cameras every few metres monitoring the hard shoulder. It can be turned off at an instant and there are plenty of HATOs along that stretch.

Also it isn't a camera infested road as outside of peak hours when nothing or the NSL sign is displayed on the overhead gantrys then the cameras are inactive.

I'm all for this scheme going live on all the motorways in this country, but over a long timeframe, ie decades. I was completely sceptical to this scheme before and HATO in general but it works very well.

As for Vertigos comment re: Emergency services. I dont think it would be possible to completely block the motorway, it would take them longer to get through granted but cars should be able to create a space simply moving to the left or right a little. (Of course this is assuming people leave enough room between them and the car infront of manoveure)

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

My brother is a Highways officer, and I have not spoken to him about it yet, but im sure that he will not like the idea!

His job is already dangerous enough with the hardshoulder, without it, its fear it will be far worse. I personally wont be supporting this if he does not!

He has far more experience than me in these matters, so i bow to his judgement! Will report back when i know it

 

[Shock]

I use this stretch everyday and had the same thoughts. I know the speed is limited when the hard shoulder is in use but I'd still crap myself if the car broke down and I had nowhere to go. Anyone who is half asleep or just not concentrating might not see the hazards until it's too late.

Also it seems to be common knowledge that the cameras aren't live so you get people ignoring the limit too. Maybe they do work but I don't know anyone that's been caught...

 

[karoshi]

Hands up everyone here who has had cause to immediatly pull over and stop on the hard shoulder of the Motorway in the last 5 years.

*raises hand* twice:

first was an instant and total failure of the gearbox in a Volvo480 on the m69, i was doing about 60mph at the time as i'd only just got onto the motorway at leicester, went for 3rd gear to be met with a loud bang and lots of rattling.. i had enough momentum built up to coast for about 50yards

second was a tyre blowing out on a loaded car trailer, didn't really have any say in the matter from then, luckily it was the left tyre so the whole lot was dragged onto the hard shoulder


I live near the m42 now and having used it for a while it does work somewhat during rush hour, especially if like me you only want to use the motorway for one or two junctions. It fails however on the weekends.. at the moment if there's any kind of event on at the NEC, the controllers seem to like setting the entire stretch from the m40 to the m6 down to 40-50mph for the day

 

[mattpc]

I initially thought the same as well. But then I got wondernig.

Hands up everyone here who has had cause to immediatly pull over and stop on the hard shoulder of the Motorway in the last 5 years.

er me!

Cylinder head went on the Xantia- massive overheating, steam had to pull over

Transit ran out of fuel- suddenly engine dies, no power can't restart so have to dive in to the hard shoulder before I cause an obstruction

 

[ci_newman]

If anyone was watching the BBC news this morning, they had an interview with Ruth Kelly. Where this additional hard-shoulder lane is in place, the ENTIRE stretch of it is covered by CCTV. In the event of someone breaking down, the lane is simply shut again and because it's monitored 24/7 by the human eye then break-downs etc get spotted very quickly.

Before people lay into this project, they really need to know the full ins-and-outs.

 

[Vertigo]

The biggest problem I have with it is when they set one gantry to a lower speed than the others. Quite often they'll set the northbound gantry following J5 to 40 when the rest are at 60, as there is a lot of traffic joining at that junction. Problem is everyone is cruising at 60 and suddenly sees the 40 and slams on the brakes as there are cameras. That's just bloody dangerous!

 

[Shock]

If anyone was watching the BBC news this morning, they had an interview with Ruth Kelly. Where this additional hard-shoulder lane is in place, the ENTIRE stretch of it is covered by CCTV. In the event of someone breaking down, the lane is simply shut again and because it's monitored 24/7 by the human eye then break-downs etc get spotted very quickly.

Before people lay into this project, they really need to know the full ins-and-outs.

They can monitor the lane all they like but they won't be able to instantly clear it in event of a breakdown.

With the general standard of driving in this country I really wouldn't want to be sat there stationary hoping everyone behind is paying attention.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

They can monitor the lane all they like but they won't be able to instantly clear it in event of a breakdown.

With the general standard of driving in this country I really wouldn't want to be sat there stationary hoping everyone behind is paying attention.

How much does this monitoring cost? How much to implement all the cameras, the staff to monitor them, and the infrastructure to maintain it?!

I do wonder how it compares to just widening the roads where possible?

 

[AmDaMan]

I saw a Peugeot 306 broken down in the fast lane on the motorway the otherday. He stopped in his vehicle until the free service came and removed the car.

The hard shoulder is open on times of heavy traffic with a 50mph limit. If someone breaks down and puts their hazards on there is less chance of an accident as the traffic will be moving slower so people can respond more effectively until the services come out and even then you still have 3 lanes to play with.

 

[Mekrel]

I drove on the M42, from 3a onwards every day for 6 months in the morning and the evening during both rush hours - the scheme works.

Never seen any of these mystic piled ups that everyone (who coincidently lives no where near the M42 3a - 6) on here seems to think will happen.

I was told that the cameras are activated randomly, my uncles X-Type was caught speeding on the stretch when it was stolen.

 

[Luke]

Hands up everyone here who has had cause to immediatly pull over and stop on the hard shoulder of the Motorway in the last 5 years.

Me.
Once for a puncture, once for the engine catching fire.

It just strikes me as a cheap way of widening the roads. I've not been on the M42, so I don't know what condition the hard shoulder is in, but on the M1/M6 and M18 they are always in a poor state and covered in road debris. Can anyone who has used the hard shoulder on the M42 comment on if they have done any work to resolve the problem?

 

[Dogbreath]

If someone breaks down and puts their hazards on there is less chance of an accident as the traffic will be moving slower so people can respond more effectively until the services come out and even then you still have 3 lanes to play with.

What are you supposed to do if you do actualy have a serious break down on a motorway with the hard shoulder full of traffic? Stay in your current lane and just stop the traffic, or barge your way into the hard shoulder using whatever momentum you have left and stop all the traffic in that lane?

 

[Boycie]

I drive down that stretch of the M42 and it works a treat, i've never been caught in a traffic jam even in the rush hour, its a far cry from the M1 21-25 stretch i have to do in the evenings. When driving in malaysia they use the hard shoulder on the federal highways during busy times although theres no signs telling people when they can and can't and it works fine, granted i still get stuck in traffic jams in the rush hours or when its raining in kuala lumpur

 

[!bluetonic!]

No, that is because the speed cameras are set to 40-50 all the time...enforcing people to slow down regardless of the traffic.

I hate that road

My main gripe is with the motorways not being used correctly anyway.

If they were, I'm sure we'd have plenty of room for all.

(hint: Right lanes for overtaking, middle lane not for 'cruising' )