Smart Motorways
- Thread starter Orionaut
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No new Smart Motorways without additional safety measures: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56815522
Makes you wonder, if they don't want to build new ones without additional measures, are the ones currently existing/under construction really that safe?
I live just off the M27, which they've been working on converting to Smart for the past 3 years, and I'm just a bit unconvinced about how great they are given how frequently there is some sort of accident.
Makes you wonder, if they don't want to build new ones without additional measures, are the ones currently existing/under construction really that safe?
I live just off the M27, which they've been working on converting to Smart for the past 3 years, and I'm just a bit unconvinced about how great they are given how frequently there is some sort of accident.
Man of Honour
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I assume these radar devices will simply put an X on the sign above the lane if they detect a car stopping? Doesn’t fill me with confidence, I see plenty of people ignore them.
Do you think people will stop ignoring them if the cameras gave you 3 points + fine for every red X you pass?
Don't be fooled, they are still building them but they are now called digital roads instead of smart motorways.
Every morning on the radio there is some kind of accident holdup on the nearest "smart" motorway. Also any time it rains or is foggy.
They already do and people still do.
From what I've read one of the major safety flaws is that of the refuges. When the plans were sold to the government for approval the documentation stated that they would be every 500 metres, 1/3 of a mile. Whilst a small number of refuges have this distance apart the majority do not, some are as much as 2500m apart, 1.6 miles.
I live in Sheffield, have done all my life apart from a 7 month period. In the years since the smart motorway section went live in the area there are significantly more incidents and deaths.
One of the most recent reviews, first announced as an independant inquiry, was in fact a review completed by Highways England themselves. They were NEVER going to find that smart motorways were at fault because it opened them up to liabilty.
Soldato
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I suspect the additional safety measures will just be the ones that smart motorways were supposed to have had all along
There were a number of systems from cameras to direct observations etc that the original smart trials had and were part of the sign off for more motorways to go smart
Then someone somewhere decided all this expenses was unnecessary so they started converting to smart with less than the original levels of safety systems being added.
There were a number of systems from cameras to direct observations etc that the original smart trials had and were part of the sign off for more motorways to go smart
Then someone somewhere decided all this expenses was unnecessary so they started converting to smart with less than the original levels of safety systems being added.
The average speed camera etc are a huge distraction as well. They should never have messed with motorways as we already had some of the safest in the world. They have added complexity which has made them more dangerous.
Its about generating money tbh. Catch drivers making minor mistakes, more profits. Which untimately ends up in the pockets of contracting companies and the MPs who sit on their boards.
Its about generating money tbh. Catch drivers making minor mistakes, more profits. Which untimately ends up in the pockets of contracting companies and the MPs who sit on their boards.
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Soldato
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I'm amazed how many people fly past those HADEC cameras. Saw three people get flashed on my way up the M6 the other day.
Soldato
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The best are the ones that slow down for each average camera
. I personally just set cruise and leave them to it (until I'm out of the camera section).Not as close as you think. It obviously gets better the closer you are.
On the show MythBusters, drafting behind an 18-wheeler truck was tested and results showed that traveling 100 feet (30 m) behind the truck increased overall mpg efficiency by 11%. Traveling 10 feet (3.0 m) behind the truck produced a 39% gain in efficiency.
Being 3m behind the truck in front is clearly incredible stupid but 30m is very common and will be still way above the recommended safe distance. I believe HGVS need 100m to stop at 56mph loaded, double in the wet.
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If not driving under a red 'X' is complex, and matching the numbers on your dashboard to the numbers in the giant red circles is complex, I hate to think how people cope with traffic lights with 3 colours, or a roundabout with multiple exits. Given the slackjawed gormless expression on most drivers faces, I would just take the keys off anyone who hasn't mastered breathing with their mouth closed. Millions of us, every single day, manage to avoid paying into this money generating scheme, so they really havent set it up well if that was the purpose. People either disobey the signs deliberately, are unable to see the signs, or don't understand the signs. I'm not sure which is worse but we should all worry that we have to share the roads with them.
Deleted User 298457
Deleted User 298457
TBH I really enjoy the average speed limit sections on the M1 when I am on a long run. Finally a chance to somewhat relax about making good progress, and just stick on cruise control and ponder my life choices.
Would be interesting to know what the stats are for 'normal' vehicles, presumably they provide less benefit in terms of air resistance. I guess if you are hypermiling or whatever then you probably don't mind being stuck behind a truck anyway as 56mph will be fairly optimal in terms of efficiency even if you weren't slipstreaming, at least on flat roads.
Soldato
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It's the slowing down to have speed I couldn't stand
(that's a joke, before someone gets triggered
).Shock as the Daily Mail does some actual journalism and exposes smart motorways as just another big mess.
I wonder why we don't also look at the other side of this problem, why are people breaking down on the Motorway and what if anything can be done to help prevent it happening in the first place? Is there any research into the most common reasons for breaking down on a Motorway?