Queuing on the hard shoulder

[jellybeard999]

Lorries, white vans, and Range Rovers physically position themselves to block people overtaking the queue and prevent people exiting at the correct place, something that's also extremely dangerous as people are forced to stop in lane 1 unexpectedly until someone let's them in. This merge in turn blocking should be prosecuted.

This infuriates me at merge in turns. It makes the queue unnecessarily long, backing up onto other junctions and roundabouts. Just because they don't want to use the lanes effectively they feel the need to police it themselves and enforce their own ideas of how things should work and stop you "queue jumping" even though they're in the wrong and could have done the same!

Add buses to the list too!

 

[Outcast]

Poor road design as the problem is off the motorway that's causing the issue.
The same used to happen at the M6 end of the A14. Poor design being the cause of many people being killed & maimed. They have sorted the A14 out now, no doubt at massive cost when it would've been far cheaper to have built the slip from correct designs !

 

[Django x2]

Anyone else noticed this has become a thing?

Noticed it a few times now when driving down the M5 at rush hour, notably around Cheltenham and Gloucester. Often half a mile or more of traffic queueing for the exit on the hard shoulder.

You can see the thought process as it keeps the live lane clear but surely this isn't legal? Plus unless you are prepared for it you get people unable to safely exit as they don't realise until too late that the queue to get off is on the hard shoulder and then end up having to push their way in..

Thoughts?

Those junctions are particularly crap, and offer such a small exit slip it's laughable in RHT. The Tewks exit further north is as bad and both of those junctions are crap north and south. They are earmarked for major redev but will be well into 2020's before anything meaningful happens

 

[Jonnycoupe]

This happens on junction 14 of the M40 towards Warwick and in this case seems to be caused by two things.

Seems better since they upgraded the roundabout at the end of the road (Europa way) J12 was just as bad aswell!

Probably at 14 isn’t helped by the length of the sliproad joining at 15 means you get a pretty messy crossover of joining and leaving traffics halfway between the junctions.

Similar situation at 15 north and people all in lane 1 ages before they leave and 14 is joining. I just stay in lane 2 or 3 there then move to 1 after the messy cross over and dawdlers leaving huge gaps for you.
Mind boggles - especially when the lane 1 morons stay in lane 1 past the exit and remain on the M40

 

[Semple]

Anyone else noticed this has become a thing?

Noticed it a few times now when driving down the M5 at rush hour, notably around Cheltenham and Gloucester. Often half a mile or more of traffic queueing for the exit on the hard shoulder.

You can see the thought process as it keeps the live lane clear but surely this isn't legal? Plus unless you are prepared for it you get people unable to safely exit as they don't realise until too late that the queue to get off is on the hard shoulder and then end up having to push their way in..

Thoughts?

I've noticed this has been happening for years with these two junctions when at rush hour.

I have even seen police cars in lanes 1/2 and have just continued past. I would presume their thinking is that as long as traffic is flowing then they won't intervene.

Frankly queuing traffic in lane 1 is dangerous and HE/local councils should be looking at changing major junctions so that they have a longer exit slip. M4 J19 is notorious when there's a problem on the M32, lane 1 of the M4 (Coming from the east) just grinds to a halt, and then catches so many drivers out that also want off, the number of near accidents I've seen...

 

[dessimpson]

I've been in these queues on the hard shoulder many times. The problem stems from the 1000's of houses that have been built by both Gloucester and Stroud councils (Stroud tactically building right on the border of Gloucester, as far away from Stroud as possible) and the road networks just cannot cope. Once you eventually get off the motorway you're stuck in another traffic jam as the vast majority of the northbound and southbound M5 traffic is trying to go to the West side of the M5.
There's recently been talk of a huge industrial complex being built on the east side right next to the junction too! Couple that with the added traffic that will soon be heading towards the incinerator and this problem is only going to get worse