What changes are required to improve our road network?
- Thread starter Ricochet J
- Start date
First we need a rethink of traffic lights, there are a lot of places which just don't need traffic lights, a lot of places that have separate arrow lights when they are not needed. Traffic lights generally are not needed at night and should be switched off. Traffic lights should also be networked and smart.
6am-9pm no overtaking for HGVs on motorways/dual carriageways with big punishments.
We need to get away from speeding is lethal and put police back on the roads. In the wrong lane they pull you, swerving they pull you, inappropriate speed they pull you, tailgating they pull you, so on and so forth. Also cyclists need to be pulled over when jumping red lights and other offences as well.
Then we need to think about the future of transport. All houses/flats should have a minimum of two parking spaces, all new estates/roads should have a separate foot path and cycle lane and bus stops that pull off the road, also where redevelopment is done or change of use, these should be implemented where ever possible. We need to start thing about self drive cars or partial self drive cars and alternative power supply. And start integrating that into the infrastructure asap.
The best solution I have seen is the mono rail, cars uyse battery power on small roads, then hope on the mono rail for long distances and get charged up. Whilst on mono rail it is self drive. cheaper solution would just to have electrical pic ups on motorways and major A roads and use the same principle of internal batterys + national grid.
6am-9pm no overtaking for HGVs on motorways/dual carriageways with big punishments.
We need to get away from speeding is lethal and put police back on the roads. In the wrong lane they pull you, swerving they pull you, inappropriate speed they pull you, tailgating they pull you, so on and so forth. Also cyclists need to be pulled over when jumping red lights and other offences as well.
Then we need to think about the future of transport. All houses/flats should have a minimum of two parking spaces, all new estates/roads should have a separate foot path and cycle lane and bus stops that pull off the road, also where redevelopment is done or change of use, these should be implemented where ever possible. We need to start thing about self drive cars or partial self drive cars and alternative power supply. And start integrating that into the infrastructure asap.
The best solution I have seen is the mono rail, cars uyse battery power on small roads, then hope on the mono rail for long distances and get charged up. Whilst on mono rail it is self drive. cheaper solution would just to have electrical pic ups on motorways and major A roads and use the same principle of internal batterys + national grid.
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Traffic lights in urban areas where it was some time ago just a crossroads and giveways, when lights are broken or the powers out in London the roads flow so much easier, yes keep the major ones or even time phase them for rush hours.
Reduce the number of buses in towns
Improve public transport especially underground networks
Some sort of test retake, not necesaraly a pass / fail but maybe something linked with insurance almost an MOT
All cars should have a device that cuts out mobile phones, maybe only for offenders
Make driving more expensive, there are to many people driving when they should be using public transport or walking
Reduce the number of buses in towns
Improve public transport especially underground networks
Some sort of test retake, not necesaraly a pass / fail but maybe something linked with insurance almost an MOT
All cars should have a device that cuts out mobile phones, maybe only for offenders
Make driving more expensive, there are to many people driving when they should be using public transport or walking
Allow HGV limiters to be temporarily disabled to facilitate overtaking. On single carriageways, allow the speed limit to be exceeded by, say, 10mph if overtaking, providing the overtakee is doing at least 10 under.
Harmonise the coach and HGV limiter rules. Currently it's 56mph for HGVs and 60 for coaches.
Get rid of most of the different speed limits for vans. There's no reason why a Transit shouldn't be allowed to do 70 on a dual carriageway.
Re-engineer motorways so that from time to time people who aren't paying attention end up bumped one lane to the left. For example if a 4th lane is created on the right for a steep uphill, at the top of the hill take away one lane from the left.
Stop using those awful junctions where one lane of a busy 3 lane motorway disappears and becomes the M5 or something (eg. M6 s/b -> M5) and instead add 2 extra lanes a mile or so before the motorway, then have them disappear to become the new motorway (eg M56 e/b -> M6)
Harmonise the coach and HGV limiter rules. Currently it's 56mph for HGVs and 60 for coaches.
Get rid of most of the different speed limits for vans. There's no reason why a Transit shouldn't be allowed to do 70 on a dual carriageway.
Re-engineer motorways so that from time to time people who aren't paying attention end up bumped one lane to the left. For example if a 4th lane is created on the right for a steep uphill, at the top of the hill take away one lane from the left.
Stop using those awful junctions where one lane of a busy 3 lane motorway disappears and becomes the M5 or something (eg. M6 s/b -> M5) and instead add 2 extra lanes a mile or so before the motorway, then have them disappear to become the new motorway (eg M56 e/b -> M6)
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Pretty much every set of traffic lights in the USA includes pedestrian crossings and it works there.
Lets face it more money needs to be spent on the roads, and soon but it wn't and the UK's economy will suffer.
Most of the solutions here require land purchasing which involves money to buy the land and to compensate the appropriate people with, let alone the construction work.
Traffic lights in general tend to provide a good solution to a cross road type situation. They are more effective than a roundabout at controlling traffic flows. You can argue that you could add extra lanes but see my above point.
I think trying to change peoples attitiudes to driving is key educating them as to better lane discipline etc.
In my opinion theway to improve the UK's road network is as follows:
Increase motorway capacity by fully widening motorways that need it to at least 4 lanes + hardshoulder before managed motorways schemes are
introduced. (i.e. using the hardshoulder as a running lane in peek periods) I realise that this would cost billions but I think its important.
Decrease the amount of signs we have. Its ridiculous.
Require foreign drivers to pass a partial UK driving test to educate them to driving on our roads.
Create more dual carriageways and upgrade all existing junctions to grade separated where feasible
Most of the solutions here require land purchasing which involves money to buy the land and to compensate the appropriate people with, let alone the construction work.
Traffic lights in general tend to provide a good solution to a cross road type situation. They are more effective than a roundabout at controlling traffic flows. You can argue that you could add extra lanes but see my above point.
I think trying to change peoples attitiudes to driving is key educating them as to better lane discipline etc.
In my opinion theway to improve the UK's road network is as follows:
Increase motorway capacity by fully widening motorways that need it to at least 4 lanes + hardshoulder before managed motorways schemes are
introduced. (i.e. using the hardshoulder as a running lane in peek periods) I realise that this would cost billions but I think its important.
Decrease the amount of signs we have. Its ridiculous.
Require foreign drivers to pass a partial UK driving test to educate them to driving on our roads.
Create more dual carriageways and upgrade all existing junctions to grade separated where feasible
How would that help? Frankly we could have the best rail network in the world and I'd still drive.
On a train, I have to sit on an uncomfortable seat that is potentially filthy/disease ridden. This will be in a carriage full of noisy people, probably with a screaming baby thrown in. Undoubtedly at least one of them will smell and one will be sitting spreading their illness around. Ultimately though, the real deal breaker is that trains only go to train stations. I never want to go to a train station.
But lots of others wouldn't, and neither would all the fright.
I went on a train on Saturday. The station was clean, and I got into an almost empty coach where I sat in complete silence for my 4 hour journey in a leather reclining chair with my own personal space, browsing the internet and drinking complimentry coffee.
All for the less than the cost of the fuel it would have cost to drive the same trip, let alone the parking.
Trains are great unless you want to use them at peak times on a commuter route. Students or tourists travelling out of hours get to reap the benefits of the infrastructure paid for by all the poor businessmen and their extortionate season tickets 
trains are great unless your travelling as a family
With a family, the cost of using the car is the same no matter how many of you are in it.
On the train, when theres 3 or 4 of you that instantly wipes out that 50 % saving that fox experiences on his own.
With a family, the cost of using the car is the same no matter how many of you are in it.
On the train, when theres 3 or 4 of you that instantly wipes out that 50 % saving that fox experiences on his own.
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Would be nice if they actually used to obseen amount of road tax charged to fix the roads.
Some of the roads around woking are shocking.
Some of the roads around woking are shocking.
130KPH/80MPH is a much better speed limit for motorways. 70 for dual carriageways.
Staged changes of speed limits with 100m and 300m warnings. I.e. 70 > 60 > 50 > 40 > 30.
I thought these worked really well in Europe. Not too sure if it will with our much more congested roads though? I expect it would work if we did keep left though.
I can see why people want to keep their 'place' in a lane over here but it does ruin the keep left rule that we have and adds to congestion. Having just got back from driving nearly 2000 miles in Europe I became much more vigorous with my keep left on the journey back home from Dover. I was pulling in after every lorry, even if they are only 100m apart. What I noticed is that once I pulled left the car behind me would accelerate and half take the place I was in previously and then hang there for ever resulting in not being able to then seamlessly overtake. Quite often they would also slow down quite a lot so my overtake essentially became from lane 1 to lane 3 and then back to lane 1. If he had also pulled to the left behind me and so on for every other car we could potentially lose a lane on our motorways.
Staged changes of speed limits with 100m and 300m warnings. I.e. 70 > 60 > 50 > 40 > 30.
I thought these worked really well in Europe. Not too sure if it will with our much more congested roads though? I expect it would work if we did keep left though.
I can see why people want to keep their 'place' in a lane over here but it does ruin the keep left rule that we have and adds to congestion. Having just got back from driving nearly 2000 miles in Europe I became much more vigorous with my keep left on the journey back home from Dover. I was pulling in after every lorry, even if they are only 100m apart. What I noticed is that once I pulled left the car behind me would accelerate and half take the place I was in previously and then hang there for ever resulting in not being able to then seamlessly overtake. Quite often they would also slow down quite a lot so my overtake essentially became from lane 1 to lane 3 and then back to lane 1. If he had also pulled to the left behind me and so on for every other car we could potentially lose a lane on our motorways.
There were two of these on the M25 around junction 17 which were removed when it was widened. Thank god - in rush hour traffic it ground to a halt there and started moving again shortly afterwards - doesn't really work when the roads are so congested.
[TW]Fox;17413317 said:
I agree, but I think it should be 70mph when wet or less because most people are too stupid do it without being told.
A driving test which includes motorway and stresses that people must use left lane unless they are overtaking.
1: Improve the rail network and lower prices so more people can use it, reducing the amount of cars on the road.
2: Somehow encourage "school run" traffic to walk instead or use a bus service like the old days. How much less busy are the road in the school hols?
3: Fix potholes.
I think the speed limit being increased won't do anything. People will still drive at the speed they want to, or are able to at busy times.
2: Somehow encourage "school run" traffic to walk instead or use a bus service like the old days. How much less busy are the road in the school hols?
3: Fix potholes.
I think the speed limit being increased won't do anything. People will still drive at the speed they want to, or are able to at busy times.
It's not road tax though.