I was on the A1(M) yesterday early evening, there was a bad crash that closed both sides for about 45 mins to an hour. When we finally crawled through, couldn't see a lot except a car parked across 3 lanes and a motorbike on the ground, which always makes me shudder.
2 things: i) there are no reports of it that I can find today... how bad does a hold up or accident have to be? and ii) the usual suspects were driving past everyone and forcing their way in at the front despite the signage showing outside lanes blocked and ACCIDENT in massive letters. "I'm too busy to wait haw haw".
Bless the heart of the VERY large HGV that blocked the middle and outside lane, and chuckles at the yuppie moron in the Z4 who shook his fist at said driver when he finally squeezed through. Who actually shakes their fist any more?!! How very Laurel and Hardy. Must be something they teach on Business Studies courses these days.
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Actually the Z4 was right and the HGV wrong!
The most efficient way to filter two lanes of traffic into one lane, is for both lanes to be full of traffic right up to the merge point and then for one vehicle from each lane, entering the single lane in an alternating pattern. Its called Zipping and its works well everywhere except the UK where we are scared that we might lose two minutes if we let someone else in.
Been discussed here previously many times.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Mmmm.. maybe you're right. It still seems that if you're polite you lose out, but maybe the zipping thing would work. Maybe a directive on this from somewhere would be good.
The "scared that we might lose two minutes" thing can surely be turned on it's head? Why rush ahead? Scared that you might lose two minutes?
And these people don't "zip" they push in NEAR the front. That to me smacks of a "I'm more important than you" mentality.
But you're right, it's been discussed many times. Part of my "beef" and I freely admit it, is that it's often class war on our roads rather than just bad driving. Witness last night on M62: I flashed a Volvo to move into the empty middle lane and he slammed his brakes on and eventually moved over. (And boy did he get a mouthful at the next services.) What car was I driving? Old 106. I've SuperXenoned people in the TT I used to have and they move straight over.
Anyhoo... anyone know anything about this accident?
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The "scared that we might lose two minutes" thing can surely be turned on it's head? Why rush ahead? Scared that you might lose two minutes?
Try using the A40 past Oxford at the moment. There are roadworks about 1/2 a mile past the Headington roundabout.
Why do I suggest this? Because at the head of the queue for the temporary lights, there is usually a line of utter plonkers who couldn't understand the instruction MERGE IN TURN if it was written in 4 inch high white letters on a red background. Which it is, of course. So, being unable to exercise common sense, they queue up in one line that is twice as long as it needs to be and therefore block the Headington roundabout for all traffic, not just that wanting the A40. So the whole of the Eastern edge of Oxford stops moving. Never mind; at least they can amuse themselves by tutting at people who use both lanes and then merge in turn.
2 minutes I can cope with. Last time I went there, I lost 40 minutes of my life that I will never get back because of a bunch of narrowminded self-righteous berks who can't read.
(/rant)
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I stand, sit and lie corrected!
: )
EXCELLENT rant, I am very impressed.
The "merge in turn" sign is a much needed thing, maybe more of those could be used at accident sites?
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Last time I went there, I lost 40 minutes of my life that I will never get back because of a bunch of narrowminded self-righteous berks who can't read. (/rant)
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Oh dear!
I went to Oxford last week from London via M40/ A40. No problems.
>>.......self-righteous berks who can't read.
Well I did read the map. I went via Wheatly and Cowley towards the end of the rush hour and it was easy.
In the middle of the day I did see the queues and smiled but there was only a couple of minutes delay in the evening.
Of course one clever biker had to overtake by riding down the wrong side of the road on the other side of the protective poles.
Please do not teach the lemmings to read OS maps!!
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Why do I suggest this? Because at the head of the queue for the temporary lights, there is usually a line of utter plonkers who couldn't understand the instruction MERGE IN TURN if it was written in 4 inch high white letters on a red background.
The trouble is you are trying to fight our deep-seated obsession with queuing. Its as English as a cup of tea and village cricket, and drummed into us from childhood. Some people join the queue because they know they may struggle to get let in further down; some will join the queue just because its there, veritably falling over themselves to join the back of it.
Merge in turn signs should be deployed at all relevant roadworks (I think I've only seen them once), and accident sites if possible, but I bet it will take years for the UK motoring public to become familiar with them, and actually start heeding them.
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Mmmm.. maybe you're right. It still seems that if you're polite you lose out, but maybe the zipping thing would work. Maybe a directive on this from somewhere would be good. The "scared that we might lose two minutes" thing can surely be turned on it's head? Why rush ahead? Scared that you might lose two minutes? And these people don't "zip" they push in NEAR the front. That to me smacks of a "I'm more important than you" mentality. But you're right, it's been discussed many times. Part of my "beef" and I freely admit it, is that it's often class war on our roads rather than just bad driving. Witness last night on M62: I flashed a Volvo to move into the empty middle lane and he slammed his brakes on and eventually moved over. (And boy did he get a mouthful at the next services.) What car was I driving? Old 106. I've SuperXenoned people in the TT I used to have and they move straight over. Anyhoo... anyone know anything about this accident?
Perhaps he was an off-duty Police Officer!!
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Agree. Nasty crash on A11 near Newmarket a couple of weeks ago. Car on its side + rescue workers just arriving and looking anxiously over the side of an embankment. Searched local news / press for a couple of days but no reports. Hopefully this means that no one was hurt...
I'm not a rubbernecker - in fact I try very much to avoid looking -BUT I can't help wondering what happened at a serious looking accident when one comes across one.
_______
IanS
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"Who actually shakes their fist any more?!! How very Laurel and Hardy".
Laughing at that - brilliant. Mind you there are people who are well bred enough not to give the finger or wave an AK47 which is the more usual response in this depressing chav dominated country we share.
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>> "Who actually shakes their fist any more?!! How very Laurel andHardy". Laughing at that - brilliant. Mind you there are people who are well bred enough not to give the finger or wave an AK47 which is the more usual response in this depressing chav dominated country we share.
And of course it might have been a revolutionary clenched-fist salute. 'Cheers, comrade. Onward, ever onward to the overfulfilment of the Five Year Plan.'
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"Who actually shakes their fist any more?!! How very Laurel and Hardy".
The same thought crossed my mind today as I was about to suggest to someone that they might have more consideration for their fellow road users after cutting me up. Chances are that the person "in the wrong" would be oblivious that they had made an indescretion and would think that the gesturer was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. I of course could have read the situation better and anticipated that they were going to pull out.
I vote for LED screens front and back to "get the message over"*
CV
* Just joking.
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I drive abroad extensively and 'merge in turn' arrangements are widely used. However they are properly signed and the road layout is generally organised to facilitate the operation (e.g. both lanes tapering to a single lane 'down the middle').
If highway authorities want to get motorists to do it then they'll have to put in a bit of work - I agree that its a good idea though.
Until we have 'merge in turn' then I think anyone belting down the outer lane is at the mercy of those in the queue to their left. Certainly screaming down the right lane and then braking hard and swerving into a "gap" to your left is not the way to do it.
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Surely it's OK if no one is alarmed or inconvenienced, Aprilia? Anything too noticeable is bad on the road, I agree.
And I certainly agree with everything else you say. One doesn't want these moment-to-moment technical decisions to be infected by individual pathologies and garbled as a result. London drivers will know what I mean.
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Certainly screaming down the right lane and then braking hard and swerving into a "gap" to your left is not the way to do it.
Try braking a few cars earlier and then crawling past the last few in the queue before trying to merge.
Does it show that I've been driving BMWs for years? ;o)
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