Arthritic Toe
Well-known member
This is scary as hell. These smart motorways need to be got rid of now. They are lethal.
Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊
[TV] Smart Motorways - BBC Panorama now
- Thread starter Arthritic Toe
- Start date
Lower West Stander
Well-known member
I agree.
Total death traps. I completely fail to understand how so much money and disruption can result in something so intrinsically dangerous.
My engine overheated on the M6 a few months ago. The warning message told me to stop immediately.
I couldn’t.....
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Total death traps. I completely fail to understand how so much money and disruption can result in something so intrinsically dangerous.
My engine overheated on the M6 a few months ago. The warning message told me to stop immediately.
I couldn’t.....
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Incredibly dangerous when finished and turning the South East in to a dangerous car park whilst they are being constructed. The M23 and M27 are virtually unusable and the net result when they are done is that they will be MORE lethal. It's lunacy.
38 deaths in 5 years. Huge implementation costs, massive disruption. The whole thing done with little or no consultation or accountability.
It isn't the main point, but I can't help but wonder what the press would have made of a Labour government pulling this stunt.
It isn't the main point, but I can't help but wonder what the press would have made of a Labour government pulling this stunt.
On a personal note, they nearly did for me. I was going through the works at the top of the M23 last year, when I suddenly saw a crane toppling towards me. I had no time or space to avoid it and fortunately the metal crash barrier at the side of the road, stopped it from tumbling over. The arm would have extended across both open lanes. I carried on driving and it didn't really sink in until I heard reports the road was shut to recover the crane.
beorhthelm
A. Virgo, Football Genius
- Jul 21, 2003
- 36,029
they did, originally called managed motorways about 15 years ago around Birmingham.
AZ Gull
@SeagullsAcademy @seagullsacademy.bsky.social
For the benefit of those of us who haven't seen the programme, what are "smart motorways" and why are they lethal?
Cheshire Cat
The most curious thing..
No hard shoulder to escape to
portlock seagull
Well-known member
- Jul 28, 2003
- 17,788
No hardshoulder. Should be called Dumb but that would have meant another £3billion consultation before they did it anyway.
The M42 has a refuge area every half a mile - this works very well - drove up and down it every day for over seven years
The so called smart motorway way is to have a refuge area every 1.5 miles instead which is too far apart
The M42 you can clearly see the first lane is a hard shoulder when not open in rush hour
The smart motorway way of doing things is first lane always looks like a live lane - so folks ignore the red X and drive into broken down cars
The so called smart motorway way is to have a refuge area every 1.5 miles instead which is too far apart
The M42 you can clearly see the first lane is a hard shoulder when not open in rush hour
The smart motorway way of doing things is first lane always looks like a live lane - so folks ignore the red X and drive into broken down cars
Arthritic Toe
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #11
Yeah - sorry, they are the sections of motorway where they are getting rid of the hard shoulder to use as an extra lane. The justification has been that technology will be in place to close the lane (as indicated by a red X over the lane) if a stopped vehicle is detected. The trouble is, that technology doesnt really seem to be in place and certainly doesn't adequately mitigate against the loss of the refuge that the hard shoulder offers. The accident statistics on the sections of smart motorway that have been introduced to date are horrendous.
The initial roll-out was based on the pilot scheme in place on the M42 which was supposedly a success, however the ones done since then have been done on the cheap.
If you do break down on one and can't get to a refuge layby (which are up to 2.5 miles apart - unlike the 600 yards on the M42 pilot), you are in severe danger.
That was the gist.
Superphil
Dismember
I had to go on a speed awareness course after being photographed doing 60 when the variable message signs said 50, the road was clear, there wasn’t a car anywhere near me, I know because I saw the photo, but hey ho, I was speeding, so attended the course. One thing that stood out was the guy running the course categorically said that since the Variable Speed Limit motorways (called smart motorways) had been introduced there had “never been a fatality” on them. It’s clearly a system that is flawed, they don’t really seem to be certain about anything about them. Time for a serious rethink.
My experience of smart motorways is that they work 99.999% of the time when it comes to easing congestion. Of course, that’s of little consolation for anyone who finds themselves in that 0.001% - 38 deaths is 38 too many for them to be considered a remote success.
Surely there’s a simple solution though? If you want to open up the hard shoulder, then the variable speed limit is automatically reduced to 30 or 40mph. Yeah, that means a slight delay but it’s better than the stop / start 10mph crawl you get on non-smart motorways. I personally wouldn’t mind that, particularly if it means I still get to put my kids to bed that night in the event I have a mechanical problem.
Surely there’s a simple solution though? If you want to open up the hard shoulder, then the variable speed limit is automatically reduced to 30 or 40mph. Yeah, that means a slight delay but it’s better than the stop / start 10mph crawl you get on non-smart motorways. I personally wouldn’t mind that, particularly if it means I still get to put my kids to bed that night in the event I have a mechanical problem.
blockhseagull
Well-known member
Dangerous and lethal.
Only work on the assumption that the red X goes up immediately when there is an incident and that people don’t choose to ignore signs.
An ex-colleague of mine was recently killed on the M1 after being hit on the ‘live’ hard shoulder.
Only work on the assumption that the red X goes up immediately when there is an incident and that people don’t choose to ignore signs.
An ex-colleague of mine was recently killed on the M1 after being hit on the ‘live’ hard shoulder.
jessiejames
Never late in a V8
That's the problem, will people move lanes when they see the red cross? We have speed limit signs and some drivers ignore them.
Was caught on M23 last month, 2 miles from incident, the emergency services struggled to get last as there was no hard shoulder.
The two key changes that were in the M42 original version but "adapted" in other versions were
refuge areas no longer every half a mile
hard shoulder lane no longer looks like a hard shoulder lane
This was seemingly compensated by coining the name "smart" which is anything but the correct word to describe above changes - cheaper they no doubt were though
refuge areas no longer every half a mile
hard shoulder lane no longer looks like a hard shoulder lane
This was seemingly compensated by coining the name "smart" which is anything but the correct word to describe above changes - cheaper they no doubt were though
Thunder Bolt
Silly old bat
I watched Motorway on Ch5 this evening which showed incidents on the M1 between Leeds & Northampton. The traffic cops were desperately trying to get to cars with punctures, or blowouts and one with a complete electrical fsilure.
Even with a red X in the lane marker, vehicles were ignoring it, leaving it live.
AmexRuislip
Retired Spy 🕵️♂️
melias shoes
Well-known member
- Oct 14, 2010
- 4,830
I didn't need a panorama report to tell me that smart motorways are dangerous. Anyone could see that. Take away the hard shoulder and leave nothing for motorists to get help if they break down was never going to end well.