Couple of threads I've been reading have got me going on one of my own rant-inducing pet hates - highway authorities who seem to have an inexhaustible supply of white paint.
Examples: the two-lane sections of an A-road which suddenly become one when the highway gods decide it is in the public interest to cross-hatch one lane with white paint just in case someone dares to overtake; the insane 'dollop of paint' mini-roundabouts which, in one case near me, were removed within a year because everybody was driving over it; another notorious case near me where an A-road was 'pinched' into one lane for a tiny section to slow people down. Result: the accident rate went up and, once again, the feature in question has now been removed.
Just get the feeling these days that highway authorities nationally must waste millions on unnecessary road furniture deemed necessary by 'experts' who sometimes don't understand the way ordinary drivers think and operate and work to a theory which they are never going to tune into.
I understand the psychology behind some of these features and applaud efforts to make people slow down and think in certain circumstances, but the amount of white paint, road furniture and road signs is becoming almost distracting in some cases.
Rant over, responses welcome...
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You don't live near me, do you?? Sounds exactly like the road planning dept at Bedfordshire county council... Traffic "calming" because it looks like it might work.
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Especially at this time of year when they 'have to' spend money left in their budget or lose it - crazy system & behaviour.
Round my way they seem to have a fondness for peppering the roads with keep left bollards on islands that seriously reduce the carriageway width and must be hell for bus and HGV drivers. Another 'benefit' of these fool things is that when you meet up with a cyclist, s**'s law prevails and it will be just prior to a bollard, so you and following traffic have to slow to a crawl.
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"bollards on islands that seriously reduce the carriageway width" - I'd prefer them to some of the other traffic calming measures they are using (eg humps)
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Especially at this time of year when they 'have to' spend money left in their budget or lose it - crazy system & behaviour.
You've hit the nail on the head, here: one of the reasons they do these things is that it justifies their budget, justifies their existence.
But surely it's reached the point where the amount of signage and road furniture - and the sheer variety of methods they employ to alert you to the same thing - is distracting to the point of danger in itself?
Surely at least some of this money would be better spent on better driver training at source rather than cack-handed attempts to control people when they're already on the road?
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Morris Ox -
"better spent on better driver training at source"
Hmmm. I agree that some Council spending seems "interesting",
but who are these people that will volounteer for better driving training?
Learners? - how much time will that take to have in impact?
"Backwards baseball cap kids" who KNOW somehow (magically?) that they are "good" drivers?
Middle-aged who resent any cticism?
Or Elderly who absolutely HATE criticism?
How many posts/threads have you seen on this Forum complaining about other peoples driving?
Versus how many of the "I have/must learn more"?
Spot the problem?
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Of course - it's not a hole-free argument. I'd start 'at source' with learners, perhaps by introducing a specific observational element to the test, then offering the carrot of government-sponsored premium reduction if you can demonstrate three accident-free years after you've passed your test. If not, you have a choice - pay more for your insurance, or pay for more tuition.
I'm sure there are holes in this, too, but nothing ventured nothing gained.
Straying away from the point, really. My main concern is that the amount/complexity of road signage and furniture is now becoming counter-productive.
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Bedford's traffic calming also relies heavily on having the worst maintained road surfaces of any county in UK, IMHO
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That's right, a lot of our potholes are deeper than our speed-humps are high!
Even freshly resurfaced roads round here can be in a worse state than some counties allow their *old* roads to get into!
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Once again, I'm going to be all conspiratorial here and suggest that while no one in highways wants a road to descend into a dangerous condition, I bet they don't mind if a poor surface slows people down...
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"cross-hatch one lane with white paint just in case someone dares to overtake"
Something I've often done when riding a bike is to overtake using the white diagonal striped area (if it is bordered by a broken line). The highway code has the following to say:
"Areas of white diagonal stripes or chevrons painted on the road. These are to separate traffic lanes or to protect traffic turning right.
If the area is bordered by a solid white line, you should not enter it except in an emergency.
If the area is bordered by a broken white line, you should not enter the area unless it is necessary and you can see that it is safe to do so."
Interestingly, it doesn't mention overtaking per se. How do you interpret the word "necessary"? Is it permissable to say "It was necessary for me to enter the area to overtake." ?
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HHM -
"Something I've often done when riding a bike is to overtake using the white diagonal striped area (if it is bordered by a broken line)".
I certainly have used same for overtaking, particularly after exiting a roundabout.
Even in a car. (Best done of course after turning right at roundabout - because of view obtained)
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What about those areas that block off onelane forcing that lane to give way to oncoming traffic. They simply cause those people who have to give way to nail it so that they can get round before the oncoming traffic reached said blockage.
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That's exactly what I mean about the experts not understand, or allowing for, the way the mind of the ordinary individual works.
The pinch-point I wrote about sent up the accident rate through drivers attacking it like a chicane or making a late decision not to go through and getting punted up the rear by someone following too close.
Sure, it was poor driving, but we don't live in a perfect world and the road furniture assumed that we do.
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Near my house there's a place where the powers-that-be have put in a speed cushion, a pointless mini roundabout on top of the cushion and lots of foliage placed deliberately just before the roundabout to hide one's view and therefore (in theory) slow one down.
I'm struggling to understand why putting in 3 hazards will imporve road safety.
Peter
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Driving to work one morning this week and saw signs for Line Painting.
Drove over the same stretch of road this am to find the 'car' lanes had been narrowed and the left hand side of the road was now occupied with TWO parallel and adjacent cycle lanes for all of 50 yards.
Why two ????
I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
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Driving to work one morning this week and saw signs for Line Painting. Drove over the same stretch of road this am to find the 'car' lanes had been narrowed and the left hand side of the road was now occupied with TWO parallel and adjacent cycle lanes for all of 50 yards. Why two ????
Obviously a local councillor has a tricycle.
;-)
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Did my onw little experiment on the way home today and counted the number of signs on a quarter mile stretch of dual carriageway approaching a roundabout.
No less than 26 pieces of signage.
Now try taking all that in at up to 60mph...
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Funny you should say that Morris Ox, last few weeks I've been indulging in a little practice, at random intervals asking myself what was the last sign I passed and what could be the observation link.[1]
As you say an awful lot to take in, from the official road signs to Mrs Giles' farm shop 100 yds.
[1] Yes I know first sign of madness..... boom boom!
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"Something I've often done when riding a bike is to overtake using the white diagonal striped area (if it is bordered by a broken line)".
A couple of years ago when doing a 'bikesafe' observed ride with a copper on his bike behind I came across one of these. About half a mile long, downhill, with a right turn into a layby (with coffee caravan) halfway down. I hung back behind the line of cars, but the cop came past me and waved me to follow. I felt quite uncomfortable watching him overtaking cars at the gap in the markings where the right turn was, I fell back inline with the cars until I was past it. I guess there's at least one cop who won't do me for it in future ;-) 'make progress' seems to cover many sins.
Martin
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There are only 2 criteria -
1) Is the border a solid line?
2) are you putting yourself (or other road users) at danger using same if it is NOT solid white line?
If the answer to BOTH is No, consider it an option.
(NOTE - I am NOT saying you MUST - it just becomes another option)
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FIF -
the original sign raised a smile. Although we're three counties from Wales, it was bi-lingual, and if I remember correctly the welsh for line painting is ---
Peinto Leinenen
I thought he was 3rd in the 1983 Rally of the Thousand Lakes ?
;-)
I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
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If it's hatched, with or without broken lines, it's going to be covered in all the crap that get's pushed to the edge of the road. Watch that traffic cops program if you don't believe me, the Volvo that had a blowout at speed had not long driven over an area like that.
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What's worse for crap is the area leading up to traffic islands, especially in London.
The road doesn't get swept there and there is insufficient traffic going over it to keep it clear.
The result is that if you come up to it on a bike you face two hazards: debris that can lead to a blow-out and grit etc. that can cause a skid.
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Sadly not though, it's peintio leiniau, which isn't nearly as funny, but ten times more pedantic.
(Checking this I came across a Welsh-German dictionary hosted by a French ISP. I tried to use it but it didn't work... presumably not many others had even tried.)
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I've often wondered why they don't sweep the roads properly, maybe it's prohibitive insurance rates to cover a sweeper in the middle of the road.
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As they are all left hand drive, perhaps the road sweep driver thinks he's in the middle of the road?
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