Not So Smart Motorways

[Litotes]

At last the government are prioritising lives over money

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65288852

 

 

[fools]

They haven't, the smart motorways where people have died, remain. So inevitably, more accidents will happen.

 

This matter demonstrates clearly that officialdom in this country is inept.

[Tipstaff]

I am sure it's been said by many that these so-called 'Smart Motorways' are extremely dangerous.  It seems that highways England are committed to them now and obviously feel that Mr or Mrs Miggins and their offspring are expendable, as their decision to keep them remains?

I suppose it will take the death of a titled or very prominent person to reverse this?

[Baron99]

The motorways were originally built with a hard shoulder for an obvious reason. 

[PRESLEY]

8 minutes ago, Baron99 said:

The motorways were originally built with a hard shoulder for an obvious reason. 

Exactly. 

[Jeffrey Shaw]

Of the three types of so-called 'smart' motorways, it's the all-lane running ones (where the hard shoulder disappears entirely so as to add a permanent extra lane) that are the worst problem. But all three types should be discontinued asap. If an extra lane is really needed, buy the adjacent land and construct it from scratch.

[PRESLEY]

20 hours ago, fools said:

They haven't, the smart motorways where people have died, remain. So inevitably, more accidents will happen.

 

This matter demonstrates clearly that officialdom in this country is inept.

Yeh!  Well said, the Tory Mob. 

[Chekhov]

 

2 hours ago, Jeffrey Shaw said:

Of the three types of so-called 'smart' motorways, it's the all-lane running ones (where the hard shoulder disappears entirely so as to add a permanent extra lane) that are the worst problem. But all three types should be discontinued asap. If an extra lane is really needed, buy the adjacent land and construct it from scratch.

I'm not so sure if the blanket ban on smart motorways is such a good idea.

As in life generally there is a balance between risk and benefit. I am prepared to put up with a bit more risk rather than sit in a huge traffic jam for an hour or so. Thus I have always been in favour of a middle course, the hard shoulder opened up when the motorway is about to become a car park but only with a 50mph speed restriction in place. Which would be no different from a motorway through roadworks, and indeed safer than the A1 (or any other "national speed limit applies dual carriageway") where a 70mph limit applies despite there being no hard shoulder.

Edited April 16, 2023 by Chekhov

[Guest makapaka]

3 minutes ago, Chekhov said:

 

I'm not so sure if the blanket ban on smart motorways is such a good idea.

As in life generally there is a balance between risk and benefit. I am prepared to put up with a bit more risk rather than sit in a huge traffic jam for an hour or so. Thus I have always been in favour of a middle course, the hard shoulder opened up when the motorway is about to become a car park but only with a 50mph speed restriction in place. Which would be no different from a motorway through roadworks, and indeed safer than the A1 (or any other "national speed limit applies dual carriageway") where a 70mph limit applies despite there being no hard shoulder.

Maybe they could have just put another lane in and kept the hardshoulder.

 

also I’m a contractor and was travelling a lot when they restricted  the main motorways of the entire country to do this work which was an absolute nightmare and hugely expensive - and now we’ll have to do something different again now to put it right.

 

pay cheap pay twice. 

[Chekhov]

11 hours ago, makapaka said:

Maybe they could have just put another lane in and kept the hardshoulder.

Ideally yes, but that would cost a lot more, and in some locations be (practically speaking) impossible.

 

11 hours ago, Chekhov said:

 

I'm not so sure if the blanket ban on smart motorways is such a good idea.

As in life generally there is a balance between risk and benefit. I am prepared to put up with a bit more risk rather than sit in a huge traffic jam for an hour or so. Thus I have always been in favour of a middle course, the hard shoulder opened up when the motorway is about to become a car park but only with a 50mph speed restriction in place. Which would be no different from a motorway through roadworks, and indeed safer than the A1 (or any other "national speed limit applies dual carriageway") where a 70mph limit applies despite there being no hard shoulder.

Remember that when the first "smart motorway" was opened, the M42 round the east of Birmingham, it was this pattern, a 50mph limit when the hard shoulder was in use.  In fact I can remember the first time I used the M1 around Wakefield when it became a "smart motorway". It was 70mph with 4 lane running and I thought there was a fault on the signs so actually phoned the police to report it ! They said no, that's how it is supposed to work now. Interestingly, from the tone of her voice, I got the impression they thought it was a bad idea

Edited April 17, 2023 by Chekhov