A23, M23 To Redhill Daily

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Fri 21 Apr 2006 10:54
A23, M23 To Redhill Daily - Greg R
Hi Everyone

My sister is currently using her motorbike to communte to work from Brighton to Redhill daily.

Does anyone on this post commute this route daily either by car or motorbike.

I am just wondering how safe this route is. I know a lot of accidents can be 'wrong place at wrong time', but from peoples experience how safe will she be.

I always lecture her to ride safely, not to take risks, take your time and she has completed the bike safe course. Obviously this will make her safer, but what else can I recommend. I always say to stick at 70-80 mph based on engine ware, but secretly it is just to keep safe.

Train is not an option because of cost.

I don't want to be seen as an over protective brother, but I am just wondering if this is a safe road to use in the long term.

Thanks everyone for your help.
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Fri 21 Apr 2006 12:46
A23, M23 To Redhill Daily - Greg R
Is there any further advice I can give my sister. The whole point of this is just to ensure she doesn't have an accident at all cost. Of course I am aware accidents do happen, but there are precautions that can be taken to avoid them.

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Fri 21 Apr 2006 12:55
A23, M23 To Redhill Daily - mss1tw
Keep it sticky side down. ;o)

Best advice is ride defensively and treat every car as thought they're about to do something stupid.
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Fri 21 Apr 2006 12:59
A23, M23 To Redhill Daily - SteVee
Be visible - wear a hi-viz jacket. I know they're not fashionable, but they do help. A back protector and decent all weather riding suit should be comfortable. Filter sensibly, make good progress and never be aggresive.
Make sure she has some decent horns on the bike (doesn't need air horns - good electric horns are 10-15 pounds).
If she carries luggage make sure it is secure.

She might be treated far better on a bike than in a car. There are still drivers who treat women drivers badly, but think all bikers are men.
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Fri 21 Apr 2006 13:41
A23, M23 To Redhill Daily - Zippy123
From my experiance of the M23 - it is one of the most dangerious motorways that I have driven on.

The amount of tailgating is terrible and people drive way too fast on the road in all conditions.

I have been passed by several cars just feet apart in the rain and the must have been doing a ton+

At Handcross Hill the road suddenly switches from 3 lanes down to two and it is very twisty when approached at any speed.

I would persuade your sister to take the train. It is one hour from Brighton and costs about £15 without a season ticket.
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Fri 21 Apr 2006 13:43
A23, M23 To Redhill Daily - helicopter
If she is sensible and wears proper leather and high visibility gear she should have no problems. Tell her to keep lights on and drive defensively

The A23 / M23 south of Gatwick is generally a very busy commuter route and the traffic moves very fast indeed on the Motorway - at 70mph she will be passed by everything.

On a bike she should be able to filter through jams without any trouble . The local traffic reports in the morning are usually about problems on Handcross Hill just before the bottom end of the Motorway.

If she comes off the Motorway at Gatwick it can get very crowded at the airport turn off in the morning and then on the trek up through Horley and Earlswood on single lane roads there are a lot of junctions and traffic lights to slow things down and the possibility of the side swipe if she passes traffic caught in jam by passing on the outside..

If she is working to the north side of Redhill I would recommend her coming right up to the end of the M23 and turning back down to Redhill via Merstham which I think will be quicker if not the most direct route.
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Fri 21 Apr 2006 14:47
A23, M23 To Redhill Daily - Greg R
Thanks for all your help.

I think that the train is always the best option. The money factor is a problem. I sometimes wonder why trains cost so much...shouldn't they be cheap to persuade people to use them? Anyway, rather than ranting on about it, I will pass all this info onto my sister. I have ridden myself on the M23 many times at rush hour, but doing it daily is a very different story.

Thanks again.
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Fri 21 Apr 2006 14:54
A23, M23 To Redhill Daily - cheddar
I have not much to offer here other than to endorse the previous comments re safe riding and to say that your sister is very fortunate in having such a caring brother.
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