Made my monthly pilgrimmage from Devon to Leeds tonight - worst journey EVER! First off, I meet a massive herd of cows in the lane right after setting off. Despite reversing 1/4 mile to the nearest passing space, the cows still managed to scrape themselves down the side of the car when walking past.
Then in Birmingham a taxi driver decided he needed to have the exit I was passing in lane 1, and swerved across 3 lanes to take it. I had to really stamp on the anchors, and looking at the expression of horror on his passenger's face, I don't think he'll be paid for the trip either!
Finally, the worst bit. M6 northbound, just before Thelwall viaduct. Signs come on saying that two of the four lanes are closed. Everyone creeps along in lanes 1 and 2 for FIVE MILES until the lanes actually close, with no workmen around. You could count the braincells of the Highway Planning Agency on one hand.
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>>>Finally, the worst bit. M6 northbound, just before Thelwall viaduct. Signs come on saying that two of the four lanes are closed. Everyone creeps along in lanes 1 and 2 for FIVE MILES until the lanes actually close, with no workmen around. You could count the braincells of the Highway Planning Agency on one hand.<<<
That's just classic. Friday night - what a great time to close a few lanes. As if the recent - what is it - nine years of roadworks on the bridge didn't cause enough congestion. Nanny's vast coterie of civil servants really don't have a brain cell between them.
And now cue the inevitable person saying that they had a good reason to do this and we should all be grateful....
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>>Everyone creeps along in lanes 1 and 2 for FIVE MILES until the lanes actually close
But what's this bit about ? Why do people pull over immed. they see a sign saying that the lanes will close ? Of course you often don't have a choice because of the truckies who don't understand traffic flow and who have decided to block the lanes, but even when they're not around people still don't seem to get it. A lot of the problem would go away if people drove properly and filtered when they needed to, not 5 miles before.
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>>Everyone creeps along in lanes 1 and 2 for FIVE MILES until the lanes actually close But what's this bit about ? Why do people pull over immed. they see a sign saying that the lanes will close ? Of course you often don't have a choice because of the truckies who don't understand traffic flow and who have decided to block the lanes, but even when they're not around people still don't seem to get it. A lot of the problem would go away if people drove properly and filtered when they needed to, not 5 miles before.
Precisely. I am often flashed and tooted at for approaching lane closurs in the "not closed yet" lane. Don't see the reason for it at all. If a lane is available, might as well use it.
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>>f people drove properly and filtered when they needed to, not 5 miles before.>>
But how is someone who is on a long journey from the south expected to know that the closed lanes are actually five miles ahead from the original warning signs - or anyone else for that matter?
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Yep, came over Thelwall at the right time last night heading north and hit the same traffic. Lots and lots of traffic at 10.30pm. Think the problem was made a lot worse by going through the M62 exits; with people trying to cross lanes it was worse than it needed to be.
-- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us.
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Back to this old chestnut again - to filter or not to filter?
If it is a quiet time of night then surely with two lanes open and 5 miles warning of lane closures, there would be plenty of time for cars to get over and for everyone to progress at the legal speed without stop / start?
I honestly don't know the answer on this one. I always try and get over to the inside lane as soon as possible and wait my turn. I believe then that if it wasn't for all the selfish people racing down the lane that is closing then the open lane would progress much faster. But if we all went down the closing lane then we would have even more gridlock.
If I can get over early enough why can others not? Why should I then have to slow down and stop to make way for people who insist on keeping going until they hit the cones before turning in?
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Yesterday i experienced a similar thing to this filtering - driving down towards roadworks on the A500 in stoke there is a massive queue in the left hand lane whilst the right lane was virtually empty approaching the first set of traffic lights.
Despite both lanes being able to be used for straight on, which the majority of people were doing everyone seemed happy to queue and wait in the left hand lane whilst leaving the right hand lane virtually unocuppied and much quicker through the roadworks.
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I honestly don't see any problem with zip merging. It saves valuable road space for one. How many times have you seen junctions blocked by traffic queueing unnescessaraly in one lane, where by using the free lane right up to the obstruction they could all move up and not create more jams for people not even going toward the roadworks?
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I'm all for zip merging, but the truckers weren't letting people do it.
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>I always try and get over to the inside lane as soon as possible and wait my turn. I believe then that if it wasn't for all the selfish people racing down the lane that is closing then the open lane would progress much faster. But if we all went down the closing lane then we would have even more gridlock.<
That argument is fine on an infinite road (i.e. more than a couple of miles long). But if everyone gets in the slow lane on a shorter road, it easily creates an unnecessary tailback to the previous junction or roundabout. Therefore it can be less anti-social to fill all available lanes, provided everyone 'merges in turn'. Other countries can manage it.
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Unless you had a reason to go this way why did a journey from Devon to Leeds involve going near the Thelwall Viaduct? I've been travelling to Cardiff from Leeds 5 or 6 times a year for the last 15 years and going on the M6 has never even been considered. M1 and A38/M42 or A42/M42 every time for me.
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I had to drop something off in Rochdale. Easier than using M1 and doubling back on oneself. Usually, the traffic is fine on a Friday night northbound.
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Hmmmmm whenever I used to drive from Basingstoke to Lancs or onto the Lakes on a Friday afternoon/evening, the traffic was always a nightmare. If it wasn't the A34, then it would be the M40, if not that then the M42 and I would always be Q'ing on the M6. Average journey time was about 7 hrs from Basingstoke -> Ambleside, sometimes more but never less.
The average speed on the trip made a nonsense of modern motoring. The 1936 MG NB that my father owned would have easily kept up with the rate of traffic flow.
So I moved to Lancashire and the problem went away.....well it became someone elses' problem. Davids' in this case (and a few thousand other people)
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