M 42 use of "actively managed" hardshoulder.

[Dwight VanDriver]

Things are moving for you oppressed southerners on your daily trek.

w.e.f from 27th July, 2005 two new Statutory Instruments come into force:

1. Traffic Signs (Amendment) Regs and General Directions 2005

This adds to the TSGD 2002 and covers the signing of an
"actively managed" hard shoulder" i.e. one that can be used as a carriageway.

(www.tinyurl.com/byen3)

2. The M 42 (Junctions 3A - 7)(Actively Managed Hard Shoulder and Variable Speed Limits)Regs 2005.

opening up this section as an additional carrieway when signed. AND you didn't think they would lose the opportuntity to lob a bit of speed restriction in did you. Seems to be a variable limit to be shown on the gantries.

(www.tinyurl.com/aycuv)

NO NOT YET FER GAWDS SAKE LET THEM ANNOUNCE IT AND GET IT SIGNED.

DvD

Second reference now edited FiF.

>> Edited by Dwight VanDriver on Wednesday 29th June 20:32

[pistol pete]

Dwight VanDriver said:

This adds to the TSGD 2002 and covers the signing of an "actively managed" hard shoulder" i.e. one that can be used as a carriageway. (www.tinyurl.com/byen3) 2. The M 42 (Junctions 3A - 7)(Actively Managed Hard Shoulder and Variable Speed Limits)Regs 2005.

Where do you break down now then?

Is the M42 ready for this? Most people (trucks included) seem to drive in the right hand lanes and shoot across the carridgeway at their junction anyway as there are people driving really really slowly on the left and you have no chance of being let out to overtake them. We will now have another lane of traffic there sometimes, that many drivers will forget/not know about. I will not use the "new" Left lane as I fear being wiped off the planet by a 90mph numpty oblivious to my presence and determined to get off at "their" junction. People will be killed and the motorway will be closed for ages at a time. Obviously it will make traffic flow better occationally so it's ok though.

If an "actively managed hard shoulder" must be implemented, how about J6-J5 of the M40. Up a steep hill, where there is no traffic entering or leaving, and it desperatly needs a crawler lane as their are so many slow trucks[/caravans/vans/numptys] up the hill. This system also seems to work ok in France.

Overlegislation by civil servants attempting to justify employing too many of them in this country -AGAIN!

Pete

[Robbo1]

So this morning they could have had 4 lanes of stationary traffic instead of 3?

[Flat in Fifth]

pistol pete said:

Where do you break down now then?

If you look you will see laybys off the existing hard shoulder at intervals along the length referred to.

The idea is that if you experience problems then you should be sufficiently awake to manage to get to the next layby. We'll have to wait and see.

Personally I think there will be tears but could be proved wrong, and not for the first time.

Thanks to DVD for the legislation links, reet gradely.

Tangential thread hijack, sorry DVD.

What I object to VERY strongly are the sort of comments made yesterday by Public Accounts Committee in slagging off Highways Agency.

They accused HA of being timid and cited "hard shoulder running" as one proven way of dealing with congestion.

Well hard shoulder running is still in experimental stage and this section of M42 is the first such experiment afaik. Grossly unfair to lambast HA in this respect when one has seen the extent and duration of the work needed just for an unproven experiment.

Just my 2p.

FiF

Hey up DVD, that second link sends me to a Swedish bookstore. No tits and bums either, only computers.

>> Edited by Flat in Fifth on Wednesday 29th June 19:09

[pistol pete]

Flat in Fifth said:

The idea is that if you experience problems then you should be sufficiently awake to manage to get to the next layby. We'll have to wait and see.

This assumes you are doing more than 0mph to start with...

I have no real problems with actively using the hard shoulder as a crawler lane, as I said I have seen it enough times abroad. What I an concerned by is the use of the hard shoulder on a busy bit of motorway around a city, with many entry and exit slips when none of the drivers have driven with it previously. I believe that if driving standards were to improve on that strach of road it would have the same, if not greater effect on the traffic speed, and would have a positive effect on the accident rate.

The one thing that still really gets me about the M42 is that generally when I drive it I drive M74,M6,M6Toll,M42,M40 non-stop, and the M42 seems such a slow messy start-stop bit of road in the middle of an otherwise smooth, fast run -granted this has improved since the roadworks finally finished, but the constant panic brakeing by many drivers at present for camera markings seem to do nothing for road safety or traffic flow.


Pete

[pistol pete]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

At rush hour on a Friday, I'm sceptical. It's a while since I went that way though, so I might try it tomorrow night.

Pete