Car share "fast lanes" on Motorways proposal......
Discussion
If they want to reduce congestion and environmental damage caused by all these lone drivers why don't they put some of the taxes gained from petrol into actually making a public transport system that works? FFS, I have a 84 mile round trip to the office which takes twice as long using public transport. I'd far rather use a train that if I could in a sensible time. I'd get an hours work done either way, not put miles on the car, loads of advantages. This frees the roads up for when I have to use the car, or when I want to.
As meantioned in the quoted BBC article and in this morning's papers, Darling is "considering" the use of the hard shoulder as a HOV lane.
Of course, there will need to be a taxpayer-funded study into this, which will take a few years and a lot of our money to conclude that the hard shoulder is unsuitable for an HOV lane as it is generally occupied by broken-down vehicles, break-down trucks, police and other emergency vehicles and rep-mobiles avoiding traffic jams.
PS - I liked the idea of blow-up doll sales "ballooning". At least it saves the problem of such a doll having a slow leak and continually going down on you
.
Streaky
Of course, there will need to be a taxpayer-funded study into this, which will take a few years and a lot of our money to conclude that the hard shoulder is unsuitable for an HOV lane as it is generally occupied by broken-down vehicles, break-down trucks, police and other emergency vehicles and rep-mobiles avoiding traffic jams.
sadoksevoli said:Observations of camera shots on the Washington (C) Beltway many years ago revealed that many cars had passengers who appeared to be budding opera divas ... at least, they had their arms outstretched and their mouths open!
I remember a news story years ago about a trial of this in the Netherlands enforced by cameras. Apparently sales of blow-up dolls intended for "personal use" ballooned as these were quite adequate passenger seat occupants.
PS - I liked the idea of blow-up doll sales "ballooning". At least it saves the problem of such a doll having a slow leak and continually going down on you
. Streaky
for an opposite viewpoint...
i used to live in San Francisco
...where all the motorways have them. love them or hate them, when a 60 mile journey in bumper-to-bumper takes 3 hours, and the same with a passenger takes 40 (assuming 70mph) then it DOES make sense. you have to have someone breathing, and human though, which may be a challenge for some cars/drivers
i could care less about all the tree-hugging PC cr4p, i'm just reporting that they really DO work.
the M25 would be a prime candidate IMHO
i used to live in San Francisco
...where all the motorways have them. love them or hate them, when a 60 mile journey in bumper-to-bumper takes 3 hours, and the same with a passenger takes 40 (assuming 70mph) then it DOES make sense. you have to have someone breathing, and human though, which may be a challenge for some cars/drivers i could care less about all the tree-hugging PC cr4p, i'm just reporting that they really DO work.
the M25 would be a prime candidate IMHO
Steve-B said:
for an opposite viewpoint...
i used to live in San Francisco
i could care less about all the tree-hugging PC cr4p, i'm just reporting that they really DO work.
the M25 would be a prime candidate IMHO
it is a great idea if you have the room to add an extra lane but we don't, which can only mean the use of an existing lane
I've used them in LA and they can be made to work if implemented and policed properly...unfortunately those are the two things the Govt hasn't exaclty got a flair for.
Even if they did do it properly, it's at best an token attempt to improve the crap state of affairs of our transport system.
Even if they did do it properly, it's at best an token attempt to improve the crap state of affairs of our transport system.
This a bad idea in my opinion. It's going to end up like John Prescotts Bus lanes on the M4 with even more traffic congestion.
Sales of blow-up dolls will rocket most definitely
Nobody else from my work live anywhere near me, so it's not a fair system for those that drive a long distance to get to work.
A better idea would be to charge drivers for only going one or two junctions on Motorways, as that is what causes most congestion.
Sales of blow-up dolls will rocket most definitely
Nobody else from my work live anywhere near me, so it's not a fair system for those that drive a long distance to get to work.
A better idea would be to charge drivers for only going one or two junctions on Motorways, as that is what causes most congestion.
LOL
Rather than car sharing lanes - what about restricting all HGVs to the inside lane on motorways? It seems to me on my daily commute around the M25 that an awful lot of the capacity of the road is not used because people seem to be afraid of the inside lane. Whether this comes from a fear of being stuck behind a lorry, I don't know. But if we could make better use of the space available, perhaps we wouldn't need to implement schemes such as this.
Car sharing is also limited in its appeal for many people. I do share a car with a colleague who lives close for me. But the actual times when we are in the office at the same time are limited. By sharing we are tied to each other. Any benefit from having one less car on the road is lost when you have to hang around for an hour, because your colleague has something that needs sorting out urgently.
Chris
Rather than car sharing lanes - what about restricting all HGVs to the inside lane on motorways? It seems to me on my daily commute around the M25 that an awful lot of the capacity of the road is not used because people seem to be afraid of the inside lane. Whether this comes from a fear of being stuck behind a lorry, I don't know. But if we could make better use of the space available, perhaps we wouldn't need to implement schemes such as this.
Car sharing is also limited in its appeal for many people. I do share a car with a colleague who lives close for me. But the actual times when we are in the office at the same time are limited. By sharing we are tied to each other. Any benefit from having one less car on the road is lost when you have to hang around for an hour, because your colleague has something that needs sorting out urgently.
Chris
They've been doing this in the States for a while now, car pool lanes I think they call them. I read recently that drivers will pick people up from bus stops so they can use the car pool lanes, and there's a whole etiquette involved where you're not supposed to talk to the driver until he talks to you etc etc
I can't see it working over here, I think I'd rather be stuck in traffic than have a stranger sharing my car.
I can't see it working over here, I think I'd rather be stuck in traffic than have a stranger sharing my car.
This reminds me of the episode of the Simpsons when Dr Nick Riviera was up in front of a disciplinary committee for misuse of the bodies in the morgue. "But I get here quicker if I drive in the car pool lane!" 
Do your passengers have to be human? Could I carry around a cage with 3 gerbils in it?
I wouldn't be surprised if they hope to 'introduce' a further policy to this, that they have with some car pool lanes in the States. You can use them when it's just you in the car, all you have to do, surprise surprise, is pay us a little fee...
That's why in some parts of the US some people call them 'the Lexus lane.'
Do your passengers have to be human? Could I carry around a cage with 3 gerbils in it?
I wouldn't be surprised if they hope to 'introduce' a further policy to this, that they have with some car pool lanes in the States. You can use them when it's just you in the car, all you have to do, surprise surprise, is pay us a little fee...
That's why in some parts of the US some people call them 'the Lexus lane.'
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