The most annoying part of the A303? It's not Stone Henge....

The most annoying part of the A303? It's not Stone Henge....

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Discussion

JordanTurbo

Original Poster:

937 posts

140 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Evening.

I've recently been spending some time commuting backwards and forwards along the A303 between Yeovil and Andover.

Anyone who uses the road regulary, or has ever made a trip to the south west for a bank holiday, will know the nightmare that the A303 past Stone Henge can be. But that's not the part of the drive that annoys me, as the timings of my work normally miss the worst of the jams.

What annoys me is the bit south of Warminster, westbound, just before the A350.

Picture the scene almost every day....

Typical slow truck/van/pensioner up front. You are 3 or 4 cars back, and followers 1 & 2 are unable/unwilling to overtake. There is a resulting tailback as you can imagine.

You get to this bit of road.



"Great" you think, "I can get past all of them and have some clear road for the rest of my trip" driving "It's a steep hill, but I have a PH worthy car. I can make it" thumbup

Unfortunatly not. Because some fk nugget thought it would be a good idea to put a speed camera half way up the hill! mad



So you can get past a couple of cars, then have to slow down, wait, pass the camera, and then complete your overtake on the remaining steep part of the hill with no momentum.



Stupid, stupid bit of road!

Anyone else have an extra annoying camera localy?

Edited by JordanTurbo on Tuesday 26th April 19:36

Johnnytheboy

24,498 posts

185 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Ah yes, Chicklade. In an odd sort of way it puts a lot of drivers off using lane 2 though.

The new version of the roundabout just west of stonehenge is quite irritating, as most people drift across two of the three lanes, negating its design purpose.

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
JordanTurbo said:
Evening.


Anyone else have an extra annoying camera localy?

Edited by JordanTurbo on Tuesday 26th April 19:36
Chirk bypass on the 2 lane uphill - similar situation

marshall100

1,124 posts

200 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
The A303 is a dreadful stretch of tarmac that needs to be nuked from orbit.

bga

8,134 posts

250 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
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I use the 303 from M3 to Exeter a couple of times a week. I don't think it's too bad - I prefer it over the M4/M5 for that journey. What is annoying is the sudden appearance of camera vans over the last few weeks.

Mabbs9

1,072 posts

217 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
I hate where fences block the view approaching one of the roundabouts. I assume to force traffic to slow almost to a stop before entering. Totally removing the benefit of a roundabout.

marshall100

1,124 posts

200 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
You have my sympathy, I guess you'll change your tune in about two weeks time when it turns into a complete shambles as names such as 'pegasus' 'Eldis' and 'Swift' grace that stretch of road.

I'm sure that in the middle of the night, in the middle of maybe March, there's a bit of fun to be had, and some of the views are impressive.

I'll stick to the flow of the M4/M5.

Beati Dogu

8,861 posts

138 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
The section in Somerset I think it is used to have a common overtaking lane, AKA a suicide lane. That was bloody scary. Now it alternates sides at least.

CrutyRammers

13,735 posts

197 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Beati Dogu said:
The section in Somerset I think it is used to have a common overtaking lane, AKA a suicide lane. That was bloody scary. Now it alternates sides at least.
Yeah that bit used to scare me, even as a crazy youngster.

Jezzerh

816 posts

121 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
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Mabbs9 said:
I hate where fences block the view approaching one of the roundabouts. I assume to force traffic to slow almost to a stop before entering. Totally removing the benefit of a roundabout.
God, this. road engineering dumbed down to the lowest ability level. Sad really.

e21Mark

16,205 posts

172 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Another 303 fan here. I drove it twice last weekend in my old E30 and was good fun. Agreed with the OP about that bloody speed camera though! If it wasn't for the 303 I would have to do the M4/M5 and that's not much fun for an E30 M3. hehe

tobinen

9,178 posts

144 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
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I use that bit fairly regularly. I've always assumed the dual carriageway is 70 MPH limit but I usually pass at low 60s. Is it 70 MPH?

kuro

1,621 posts

118 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
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Jezzerh said:
Mabbs9 said:
I hate where fences block the view approaching one of the roundabouts. I assume to force traffic to slow almost to a stop before entering. Totally removing the benefit of a roundabout.
God, this. road engineering dumbed down to the lowest ability level. Sad really.
They stuck one of these on the a30 Alphington junction in exeter. Whoever thought these were a good idea needs fking shooting!!

LordHaveMurci

12,034 posts

168 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
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Somebody did me a favour many years ago & triggered that speed camera one night, aren't half bright aren't they!

Was just after it went in & I didn't know it was there despite doing Salisbury-Exeter regularly back then.

Love the 303 when it's quiet, sadly that's almost never these days frown

caiss4

1,864 posts

196 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
If that camera is in Wiltshire then it isn't an issue. Wiltshire's cameras have been decommissioned for quite a few years now. Bit like the cameras near Solstice Park; the boxes are there but no cameras for at least 4/5 years.

giantdefy

684 posts

112 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
tobinen said:
I use that bit fairly regularly. I've always assumed the dual carriageway is 70 MPH limit but I usually pass at low 60s. Is it 70 MPH?
If you are referring to the bit where it is three lanes it ain't a dual carriageway. Dual carriageways have to have some sort of dividing strip between the carriageways.

JordanTurbo

Original Poster:

937 posts

140 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Johnnytheboy said:
The new version of the roundabout just west of stonehenge is quite irritating, as most people drift across two of the three lanes, negating its design purpose.
Yes. That is probably the most annoying part of my eastbound morning commute.

I normally use the center lane on approach to the roundabout, to bypass the many drivers who que in the left lane. Then have to make sure I'm not alongside anyone, to avoid being cut up as I go across.

anonymous said:
[redacted]
I've recently started playing "hide & seek" with the camera if there is a decent length truck available in lane 1.

By timing the overtake so that the the lorry is always between me and the camera on the way up.



anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Ageist

Deerfoot

4,897 posts

183 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
marshall100 said:
You have my sympathy, I guess you'll change your tune in about two weeks time when it turns into a complete shambles as names such as 'pegasus' 'Eldis' and 'Swift' grace that stretch of road.
You can add Coachman to your list of caravan names (mine has a Canadian flag sticker on the back) but don't worry, I'm a local so can skirt round Countess roundabout and Stonehenge without adding to the traffic.

Andy Meads

320 posts

202 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
CrutyRammers said:
Beati Dogu said:
The section in Somerset I think it is used to have a common overtaking lane, AKA a suicide lane. That was bloody scary. Now it alternates sides at least.
Yeah that bit used to scare me, even as a crazy youngster.
Agreed. The Illminster by-pass is much better now. I wish they'd do the same to the Essex Regiment Way near Chelmsford.

The A303 can be a nice road. It can also be hellish, but I generally prefer it to the monotony of the M4.