Use of rear entrances to Motorway Services

[GlenMH]

All

A quick question: Michaelwood services on the southbound side of the M5 has a rear entrance for use by staff etc to get access to the service station.

From within the confines of the services, this looks like a country road that has a square yellow sign and a no entry roundel within it.

Are you allowed to use that access road to leave the motorway service station (and the M5)?

Cheers

Glen

[Dwight Vandriver]

Any signed traffic prohibition (i.e. no entry) as far as I am aware requires a Traffic Regulation Order.

Check with the LA to see if onehas been made. If so offence not to comply.

dvd

[puggit]

I believe that motorway service stations are granted their licenses on condition that they don't allow any traffic to leave, except back on to the motorway.

Of course we now have this new breed of service station which tends to involve leaving the motorway entirely - I personally won't stop at this type!

[Jared_m]

These entrances/exits are littered around service stations and also concealled along themselves. If you've ever been on a recovery truck you might have been taken down one.

They're meant to be used by recovery trucks and the emergency services - use by members of the public is forbidden but.. no one is likely to ever check!

Edited by Jared_m on Saturday 29th July 17:43

[JonRB]

I don't know what the reality of the situation is in the current atmosphere of jobsworths and by-the-letter rules observance and zero-tolerance, but the best route to my grandma's village in Kent was to come off the motorway at a nearby service station and go down a service road with a No Entry sign on it (which had a smaller sign underneath saying "except for access" ) and get onto the country roads that lead to her village.

All the locals used to do it.

This was years ago though, so things may be different these days.

Edited by JonRB on Saturday 29th July 17:48

[Pigeon]

Jared_m said:

They're meant to be used by recovery trucks and the emergency services - use by members of the public is forbidden but.. no one is likely to ever check!

...apart from the gaggle of police cars hanging around the point where the road comes into the service station

[GlenMH]

Dwight Vandriver said:

Any signed traffic prohibition (i.e. no entry) as far as I am aware requires a Traffic Regulation Order.

Check with the LA to see if onehas been made. If so offence not to comply.

dvd

Thanks DVD, much appreciated - would this order be done at a town council or a county council level?

Cheers

Glen

[Dwight Vandriver]

I would check with the County Council first who have authority to issue such Orders for roads other than Motorways and Trunk Roads whose responsibility rests with D of T.

dvd

[Stubby Pete]

Dwight Vandriver said:

Any signed traffic prohibition (i.e. no entry) as far as I am aware requires a Traffic Regulation Order.

Check with the LA to see if onehas been made. If so offence not to comply.

dvd

Is the fact that it is not a standard No Entry sign of an approved type sufficient to demonstrate that it is not Regulated and imposed by the owner/tenant of the land?

[Dwight Vandriver]

Signs used in connection with a TRO have to be as that prescribed in Traffic Signs and General Directions 2002 or, if not listed, special authorisation of non standard sign by Sec of State. Beyond this remit then Order not enforceable.

Locals putting up their own home made signs does not count and could lead to them being prosecuted.

dvd

[mark_T]

I may have seen a member of the public use the one out the back of the east bound M3 Fleet services once or twice when there was a queue upto junction 4a. Only 10 minutes from there into Southwood.

There are "no entry" signs and a couple of 6 inch wide poles that rise out of the ground. Not sure how they work or when they are up or down, or at what speed they rise.

[shuvitupya]

mark_T said:

I may have seen a member of the public use the one out the back of the east bound M3 Fleet services once or twice when there was a queue upto junction 4a. Only 10 minutes from there into Southwood.

There are "no entry" signs and a couple of 6 inch wide poles that rise out of the ground. Not sure how they work or when they are up or down, or at what speed they rise.

Ha ha Fleet services M3...I was going to mention that one.

[GlenMH]

Dwight Vandriver said:

Signs used in connection with a TRO have to be as that prescribed in Traffic Signs and General Directions 2002 or, if not listed, special authorisation of non standard sign by Sec of State. Beyond this remit then Order not enforceable.

Locals putting up their own home made signs does not count and could lead to them being prosecuted.

dvd

Ahh - that is interesting as this was a no-entry sign in a yellow square. May be it was up to "dissuade"....

Glen

[vonhosen]

GlenMH said:

Dwight Vandriver said:

Signs used in connection with a TRO have to be as that prescribed in Traffic Signs and General Directions 2002 or, if not listed, special authorisation of non standard sign by Sec of State. Beyond this remit then Order not enforceable.

Locals putting up their own home made signs does not count and could lead to them being prosecuted.

dvd

Ahh - that is interesting as this was a no-entry sign in a yellow square. May be it was up to "dissuade"....

Glen

& what was wrong with it being on a yellow backing board ?

[GlenMH]

vonhosen said:

& what was wrong with it being on a yellow backing board ?

Von

You have just saved me some background reading then - I was going to find out if the backing board was legal and you have now answered the question.

Thanks

Glen

[mechsympathy]

There's a similar situation at Leigh Delamere, with an electric barrier on the westbound side. The 3 digit code (presumably to be memorable for the emergency services) might have been 999

[k50 del]

We use the rear exits of motorway services regularly on road rallies / 12 cars.
I also use the Leigh Delamere ones to leave the motorway and go home at times.
Never had a problem with the BiB or service station management.

[10 Pence Short]

vonhosen said:

GlenMH said:

Dwight Vandriver said:

Signs used in connection with a TRO have to be as that prescribed in Traffic Signs and General Directions 2002 or, if not listed, special authorisation of non standard sign by Sec of State. Beyond this remit then Order not enforceable.

Locals putting up their own home made signs does not count and could lead to them being prosecuted.

dvd

Ahh - that is interesting as this was a no-entry sign in a yellow square. May be it was up to "dissuade"....

Glen

& what was wrong with it being on a yellow backing board ?

From memory there was a recent case on the A58 between Wetherby and Leeds where a speeding prosecution failed due to non-conforming signs (again from memory, these indeed had the yellow backing with conforming sign as an 'inset'.).

[cheeky]

shuvitupya said:

mark_T said:

I may have seen a member of the public use the one out the back of the east bound M3 Fleet services once or twice when there was a queue upto junction 4a. Only 10 minutes from there into Southwood.

There are "no entry" signs and a couple of 6 inch wide poles that rise out of the ground. Not sure how they work or when they are up or down, or at what speed they rise.

Ha ha Fleet services M3...I was going to mention that one.

Certainly would've been useful yesterday; where's the "exit"?

[JonRB]

cheeky said:

Certainly would've been useful yesterday; where's the "exit"?

Yes, what was with the A3 and M3 yesterday? Every time we drove over a bridge that crossed either of them it was chocka down below.