Panorama - Smart Motorways

User avatar
Brannen
Posts: 268
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 7:53 pm

Re: Panorama - Smart Motorways

Post by Brannen »

They're still progressing the smart motorway on the M27. The "upgrades" actually started with making the road changes, rather than adding the signs (still using the original signs). Some time last year, there was two cars broken down in the first lane maybe a mile apart. Traffic slows for the first one, moves back in to lane 1 and then has to come to another stop to avoid that car. Nothing to alert drivers etc. Lorries still barrelling past.

As per Mito, I'm convinced it's more of a money making opportunity than anything else.
User avatar
scotta
Posts: 3010
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:28 pm

Re: Panorama - Smart Motorways

Post by scotta »

Front page of the FAil today

Image
User avatar
Mito Man
Posts: 9730
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:27 pm

Re: Panorama - Smart Motorways

Post by Mito Man »

I was just thinking about this last night, it’s odd how perhaps due to it being a ‘motorway’ - people are not expecting hazards such as stationary vehicles as much?
Take a dual carriageway, the ones I use locally are usually 70 mph, have no hard shoulder in many places with bus stops built in. People navigate these just fine with no crashes even when a car breaks down and is half in the live lane. But you then call that a motorway and someone will crash!
I mean last week there was a fucking lorry reversing in lane 1 to parallel park in a side verge on the A2 :shock:
How about not having a sig at all?
User avatar
NotoriousREV
Posts: 6437
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:14 pm

Re: Panorama - Smart Motorways

Post by NotoriousREV »

Motorways are the safest roads because generally everyone is travelling in the same direction at similar speeds. They get dangerous when that changes, and Smart Motorways change that when a car breaks down.

I’m a big fan of good lane discipline but I never use the hard shoulder when in use as a live lane. I just feel it’s too risky.
Middle-aged Dirtbag
User avatar
Alex_
Posts: 593
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 10:55 pm

Re: Panorama - Smart Motorways

Post by Alex_ »

Mito Man wrote: Wed Jan 29, 2020 9:39 am I was just thinking about this last night, it’s odd how perhaps due to it being a ‘motorway’ - people are not expecting hazards such as stationary vehicles as much?
Take a dual carriageway, the ones I use locally are usually 70 mph, have no hard shoulder in many places with bus stops built in. People navigate these just fine with no crashes even when a car breaks down and is half in the live lane. But you then call that a motorway and someone will crash!
I mean last week there was a fucking lorry reversing in lane 1 to parallel park in a side verge on the A2 :shock:
You have a point but a lot of people don't even know smart motorways exist, I don't think we have any yet in Scotland. The issue is when things go wrong, like when the cameras don't pick up stationary vehicles, it can be fatal as shown.
M235i
User avatar
mik
Posts: 11631
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 6:15 pm

Re: Panorama - Smart Motorways

Post by mik »

NotoriousREV wrote: Wed Jan 29, 2020 9:56 am I’m a big fan of good lane discipline but I never use the hard shoulder when in use as a live lane. I just feel it’s too risky.
Fair position - given that the cops are (finally) doing middle-lane dawdles, I hope they are receptive to this logic.

Most drivers have no idea what is behind them or beside them at any time. This isn’t a massive problem on normal roads or on slow dual-lane roads where they have time to clumsily pull off the dreaded lane-change manoeuvre, but at motorway speeds the dithering over “can I pull out” is life or death....
Post Reply