2 lanes, one with hashes on it

[KITT]

I drive back from Bristol every day and there is a section of the A38 that has 3 lanes, 2 going up the hill and one for cars going down. Over a year ago they painted hashing (the diagonal lines) onto the overtaking lane. This lane is separated with broken lines going up the hill and solid double white lines going down the hill like this:

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Is it legal to use this lane any more as no-one does now unless something really slow is going up the hill (>20mph)?

cheers

[phillvr6]

Providing you do not cross a solid line, yes.

[KITT]

phillvr6 said:

Providing you do not cross a solid line, yes.

Really? So why doesn't anyone use it then? It just seems silly that everyone is willing to sit behind that old dear in the Micra just because they don't know that they can use the overtaking lane. My journey home will be quicker tonight

[cptsideways]

I could see it was clear & safe to do so officer!

[thub]

Just watch out for the crap that builds up in the lined area because nobody uses it.

[pdV6]

KITT said:

phillvr6 said: Providing you do not cross a solid line, yes. Really? So why doesn't anyone use it then? It just seems silly that everyone is willing to sit behind that old dear in the Micra just because they don't know that they can use the overtaking lane. My journey home will be quicker tonight

Because the scam has worked. By hashing it off, it makes everybody unsure whether they're allowed to use it or not, so they don't. Bristol & surrounding local authorities are so rabidly anti-car its untrue!

[tonyout]

Round my way they add red high grip tarmac to it too, just to make it look even more daunting and official.

And...... drum roll.... They drop the speed limit. Bet you didn't see that coming

Who said anything about it being a motorcycle overtaking lane???

[KITT]

Just looking through the highway code and I can't find any mention of these lanes. The nearest I can find is rule 109:

www.highwaycode.gov.uk/10.shtml

which refers to separator markings, not entire lanes and states "If the area is bordered by a broken white line, you should not enter the area unless it is necessary and you can see that it is safe to do so." which is ambiguous at the best of times!

Can anyone find the actual section referring to what I'm talking about?

>> Edited by KITT on Wednesday 7th April 16:27

[pdV6]

Nope - that's the one.

It was necessary to overtake Mrs Numpty in the Micra, officer, as she was holding me up.

[Size Nine Elm]

Its one of those bits of the highway code which is not an offence, but if you do it and come unstuck, they will take it into account.

There's a bit like that on the A68 over Soutra, just south of Edinburgh, where there is a long, wide straight, but the central reservation is now red surface and hatched area.

Perfect for overtaking 20 or so cars in a row...

[Plotloss]

Unbelievable. Hatching a lane to discourage overtaking when they must have known full well that people will use it. Ultimately it will shirley only serve to endanger bikers because of all the nice slippy white paint...

>> Edited by Plotloss on Wednesday 7th April 17:57

[Mr2Mike]

Expect lots of headlight flashing, horn sounding and wild gesticulations from the surrounding numpties if you dare to enter a hatched section.

[V8 Archie]

Mr2Mike said:

Expect lots of headlight flashing, horn sounding and wild gesticulations from the surrounding numpties if you dare to enter a hatched section.

Right! Where's my nearest hatching. I've a finger that needs excercising.

[streaky]

A friend who lives near Bristol regularly uses such "hatched out" lanes to blast past numpties. However, he has recently reported that the council is now inserting small islands at short intervals to discourage this practice - Streaky

[KITT]

streaky said:

A friend who lives near Bristol regularly uses such "hatched out" lanes to blast past numpties. However, he has recently reported that the council is now inserting small islands at short intervals to discourage this practice - Streaky

You're quite right there. Just after the traffic lights near the reservoirs on the A38 coming out of Bristol, they added an extra island to shorten the overtaking lane. And guess what? 2 days after they finished it, I saw the only accident I've ever seen there with one car in the hedge and 2 more facing random directions! Bristol Council, helping to reduce accidents!!!

[jeffreyarcher]

KITT said:

You're quite right there. Just after the traffic lights near the reservoirs on the A38 coming out of Bristol, they added an extra island to shorten the overtaking lane. And guess what? 2 days after they finished it, I saw the only accident I've ever seen there with one car in the hedge and 2 more facing random directions! Bristol Council, helping to reduce accidents!!!

Cause no doubt put down to 'excessive speed'.
There isn't a place on STATS 19 forms for "stupid 'traffic calming' measures".