RE: America versus Europe: PH Blog

RE: America versus Europe: PH Blog

Tuesday 13th September 2016

America versus Europe: PH Blog

American-style motorways are turning us into driving dullards reckons Dan



I'll try and keep politics out of this but, as we turn our backs on the Continent and look hopefully across the Atlantic are we also rejecting a more European style of driving in favour of the Stateside model of plodding, multi-lane roads packed with disengaged drivers? I've ranted about 'smart' and managed motorways before and I must, as I said I would, press Highways England for an opportunity to visit a control room and see it from the other side. But as a consumer I have to say nothing about the remote control of our major roads fills me with joy.


Because even when the cones have been cleared and we're free once again to go beyond a SPECS controlled 50mph the mindset of camera-controlled cruising has set in. And I hate it. Indeed, when you have three, four or more lanes all travelling to within a few mph of each other I find it more stressful than when, shall we say, a natural hierarchy enables vehicles to move at different speeds. Why stressful? You only have to see the number of crashes caused on motorways by people caught in blindspots to appreciate a regime that forces people to drive alongside each other for prolonged periods adds to the risk. I will do all I can to avoid travelling alongside trucks on the motorway for that reason but when everyone is cowed into holding the same speed you can find yourself boxed into blindspots for miles.

I notice it on the M1 all the time. On the 'smart' sections controlled by HADECS cameras everyone trundles along, trembling at every gantry and so fixated on maintaining a steady speed any remaining grip on lane discipline is out of the window. Because what's the point. Meaning a huge phalanx of traffic, tightly bunched at 65mph and just one texting driver or random, unsighted lane swap from a pile-up. Even if that doesn't happen it's just a profoundly dispiriting way to travel.


I can almost hear the sigh of relief when the gantries disappear. It's not like it suddenly becomes an Autobahn with people doing a ton-plus in lane three. But here you get a sense of a more European* motorway mindset, one based on an understanding that those in the outside lane are seeking to make progress and everyone can get along with what they want to do. Kind of like our motorways used to be. Frankly I feel safer when there's an opportunity to manage your separation fore, aft and to the sides by managing your speed and lane choices with careful forward planning. To actually take some responsibility yourself rather than just trundle along half asleep.

I realise weight of traffic of course plays a part here. And rush-hour M25 is never going to be like a fast flowing Autobahn or blissfully quiet French Autoroute. If you never drove anywhere other than in or around our major population centres you'd think we're already at this point but there are sections of the network where the old-school rules prevail. Maybe it's the deep-rooted British obsession with class and people knowing their place; certainly it's something the Germans also appreciate with their culture of uberholprestige and a 'pecking order' of lane privilege. I have no love for snobs or 'fast lane' bully boys. But the Stateside alternative is even worse.


On heavily policed American roads speeds are strictly controlled by men with Ray-Bans and firearms and you'd have to be an idiot to attempt to stand out from the crowd. No wonder so many have seemed to give up on life and opt for something beige and hybrid powered. Here it's cameras and points. But the resulting mindset is the same and the grudging obedience just makes getting from A to B such a soul-destroying experience at times. Especially when the automated control means you can't pick your time and choose quieter moments to make a bit of progress; whether it's rush hour or 1am you're stuck in the same camera controlled groove. Cruise on. Switch off. Are we there yet?

And with no sense of engagement is it any wonder so many people are glued to their phones and reliant on their electronic driver 'aids' to warn them if they're drifting out of their lane or about to pile into the back of suddenly stationary traffic? Culturally we're too easily in thrall of influences from over the pond. This is one I reckon we could do without though.

[Photos: Highhways Agency via Flickr]

Author
Discussion

crostonian

Original Poster:

2,427 posts

171 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
Completely agree with everything in this piece. SMART motorways are anything but smart and are reliant on sometimes less than smart people to operate them correctly and unfortunately drivers are at the mercy of their bad decisions.

Bodged

116 posts

109 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
Agreed - they are a complete waste of time and money. Doesn't help when the signs have a 1 in 10 chance of being correct either...

Dave Hedgehog

14,541 posts

203 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
i avoid m-ways at all cost now

the A2 towards the blackwell tunnel is just a sea of bored drivers thanks to the variable speed limit

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

245 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
"But the resulting mindset is the same and the grudging obedience just makes getting from A to B such a soul-destroying experience at times. Especially when the automated control means you can't pick your time and choose quieter moments to make a bit of progress. Switch off. Are we there yet?"

Just wait 'til you get your nice autonomous car!

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
The previous article Dan wrote regarding SMART motorways and roadworks made for a quite interesting discussion. A few individuals (myself included) tried to explain why things are like they are i.e. SMART being used to maximise the available road width because we aren't in a position to widen the highway. It's a shame the NCC/RCC visit didn't materialise - seeing it from the other side of the coin can be quite eye opening.

Previous article & thread

I imagine a lot of the talking points for this article will have already been covered previously, so it's a worth a read.


aeropilot

34,299 posts

226 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
But this is exactly what the Govt want - control over all, in all aspects of life.

Self responsibility for everything is being eroded out of lives slowly but surely.....and on the roads in particular, as they work towards fully autominous vehicles.

At my age though, I'll likely be close to being put in a box, or already long in it, by the time we are no longer allowed to drive 'on our own'.

I feel for those on here that are in their early 20's or younger.


JoeMarano

1,042 posts

99 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
Build more roads. It's not like we have Afghan or Iraq to worry about now so let's just pump the cash into something for the future!

FWDRacer

3,564 posts

223 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
Coupled with all the modern tech and passive/active safety features and some are practically asleep at the wheel-drving standards testify to it. There is a drowsyness gadget in some modern cars to detect that at well... rolleyes

unpc

2,831 posts

212 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
I spend a lot of time on motorways both here and abroad and driving in this country is way more stressful than anywhere in Europe. I can sit all day behind the wheel when in France for example but 200 miles here and I'm done.

Debaser

5,665 posts

260 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
At least it's not as bad as Australia. Yet.

Ninja59

3,691 posts

111 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
I do not have a problem directly with the smart motorways in theory, in practice though the critical bit as posted above is they tend to not be smart at all as most of the signs tend to be not correct for the given situation.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times one has actually been right with a queue of traffic...

The other side is the Highway Agency's and police's over bearing use of HADEC systems in the end for any section that is smart the cruise control is set and once the thing disappears the cruise is off again...

breezer42

132 posts

150 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
The truly insane thing is that by having fixed cameras instead of average speed cameras, these motorways are actually increasing the number of traffic jams.

It's demonstrated that braking in heavy traffic causes traffic jams. With these gantries, people are constantly accelerating away and then having to brake as they go under them.

It's a batst crazy camera policy that's actually counterproductive.

I've used the M1 a lot recently and noticed that there's an almost constant traffic jam where these cameras prevail, but smooth traffic in the roadwork sections...the latter are subject to average cameras and thus drivers operate at a more constant speed and you don't get tailbacks as often.

Has anyone else noticed this pattern?

smilo996

2,754 posts

169 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
To be fair, pretty much anything American does that. Completely agree.

SirSquidalot

4,039 posts

164 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
M62 is the best, can be 2am and the signs will all show 50mph, despite no cars on the road and no roadworks...

Matthen

1,285 posts

150 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
breezer42 said:
The truly insane thing is that by having fixed cameras instead of average speed cameras, these motorways are actually increasing the number of traffic jams.

It's demonstrated that braking in heavy traffic causes traffic jams. With these gantries, people are constantly accelerating away and then having to brake as they go under them.

It's a batst crazy camera policy that's actually counterproductive.

I've used the M1 a lot recently and noticed that there's an almost constant traffic jam where these cameras prevail, but smooth traffic in the roadwork sections...the latter are subject to average cameras and thus drivers operate at a more constant speed and you don't get tailbacks as often.

Has anyone else noticed this pattern?
No. Most people I observe stick to the variable limit when its in force, very few accelerate between the cameras. The last thing we want is more average speed cameras. Nothing worse in my opinion - they make driving an absolute chore, unlike any other "road safety" equipment. At least with fixed cameras people are only looking at the speedometers at that point, rather than gazing at them, making sure they're at exactly the speed limit.

As for people saying they're wrong about the queues - if you're being slowed down but never come to a stop or find a queue, the system is working. Obviously there are times when the limits are set for different (sometimes ridiculous, sometimes not obvious) reasons, but for the most part I don't doubt that they reduce journey times in peak periods.

Cotic

469 posts

151 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
I've commuted down the M42 for the last 10 years, and have experienced the motorway before, during and after the SMART systems were installed.

Without doubt, the traffic moves better since the systems have been in place, and there are fewer crashes and incidents. Of course, this is my own experience; (and based on only a few junctions), but motorways are hardly driving nirvana, and I welcome any innovation which makes this experience a little quicker and less stressful.

I'd agree that the driving dynamic is different, each lane tends to operate as a single carriageway, and undertaking is commonplace (particularly when the hard shoulder is live). It just takes a little getting used to though?

hufggfg

654 posts

192 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
Dan, in some way I think you've missed the point.

Totally agree that driving on completely packed roads with everyone travelling at 60mph is soul destroying, but given the rise in the number of cars on the road (particularly on certain motorways), the choice isn't:

- Nice flowing roads of varying speeds vs. managed motorways with controlled speeds.

it is:

- Managed motorways of controlled speeds vs. gridlock traffic.


We all much prefer driving on more empty roads, where lane discipline is followed well because there's lots of space, and you can "make progress", but that happens when there's just much less traffic, not when the motorways are high traffic and "unmanaged".

havoc

29,928 posts

234 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
I've got before-and-after experience of the M42 and the M25 also...

...and I CAN see the benefits - the chap above is exactly right in terms of better flow of traffi...although the cynic in me suspects that the majority of the transit-time benefits are due to a 33% increase in capacity through hard-shoulder running.

BUT, there are 3 big flies in the ointment, practically:-
1) Breakdowns/emergencies. As a TVR-owning PH'er pointed out a few months ago ref. his breakdown on the "smart" (sic) M25, he feared losing his car to an ignorant rep/van/foreign truck driver ignoring the red X on the hard-shoulder shortly before his car and just barrelling down inside everyone before trying to do an emergency stop just before the TVR. Oh, and the resultant tailback from the enforced narrowing meant the recovery truck took ages to get to him. What if that was an ambulance attending someone seriously ill, or a woman in labour in difficulties?!? Loss of emergency-services access and reduced safety are not necessarily prices worth paying.

2) As the article points out, more 'automatons' behind the wheel and less speed-segregation increasing perceived (and IMHO actual) risk of minor bumps. As well as increasing the general 'dumbing down' of driving...

3) The gradual spread of HADECS-3 cameras, which can/will enforce the posted limit at all times of day/night, so even when the "smart" M-way is empty you cannot make progress. Worse, I've regularly seen the M42 with reduced limits at 10pm/11pm or later when there is almost zero traffic. Nonsense, and so frustrating for not being able to ignore what's clearly a control-room error. (FAR too many of these)

powerstroke

10,283 posts

159 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
JoeMarano said:
Build more roads. It's not like we have Afghan or Iraq to worry about now so let's just pump the cash into something for the future!
This , they talk about How important HS2 is but goods and services need to be moved about people don't !! make the desk jockeys work from home scrap the train set and build a proper East west motorway to replace the A14 and dual trunk roads like the A49...

ukaskew

10,642 posts

220 months

Tuesday 13th September 2016
quotequote all
Article could do with a bit of journalism thrown in, such as accident rates on these controlled stretches (or the huge 50mph stretch of the M3) compared to 'unregulated' NSL motorway.

I presume there are also studies into these sorts of things, such as mindset in tightly controlled limits etc.

If they are statistically safer there is no turning back I'm afraid, arguments about concentration / blind spots etc be damned.