M25 j5-6 - any improvement?
Discussion
So after months of a 50mph limit over nearly 10 miles in order to recommission the hard shoulder as an extra lane, has anyone noticed any improvement in traffic flow since this stretch of motorway was properly opened up last week?
Bank holiday monday - the new lane 1 was almost empty whilst the other 3 lanes were pretty busy.
Tuesday morning rush hour - backed up as usual by 6am, delays still being reported on the radio until gone 8am.
Thursday evening peak - averaged 50mph through that section, lane 1 closed due to a broken down vehicle (which didn't have a hard shoulder to pull into)
So has the work, expense and disruption been a massive waste of time and money or has anyone noticed any improvement whatsoever on this stretch of motorway?
Bank holiday monday - the new lane 1 was almost empty whilst the other 3 lanes were pretty busy.
Tuesday morning rush hour - backed up as usual by 6am, delays still being reported on the radio until gone 8am.
Thursday evening peak - averaged 50mph through that section, lane 1 closed due to a broken down vehicle (which didn't have a hard shoulder to pull into)
So has the work, expense and disruption been a massive waste of time and money or has anyone noticed any improvement whatsoever on this stretch of motorway?
I travel 5-7 every morning and haven't really noticed TBH. Yes I still sit for 10mins getting on to the motorway but normally clears few hundred yards after JCT 5 but I will still average 40MPH.
in the evening I have noticed a big difference will average 70MPH and instead will be home about 5.30 rather than 5.45-5.50 as there's no que at the JCT 7 where they started
in the evening I have noticed a big difference will average 70MPH and instead will be home about 5.30 rather than 5.45-5.50 as there's no que at the JCT 7 where they started
wiggy001 said:
So has the work, expense and disruption been a massive waste of time and money or has anyone noticed any improvement whatsoever on this stretch of motorway?
In my view, option 1.Adding a fourth lane for folks who can't properly drive three lanes
seems less than optimal to me.
Loss of hard shoulder seems a step backward also.
Brits seem to have lousy lane discipline, probably related to
having one of the lowest motorway speed limits in Europe.
Much more bunching seems to occur than elsewhere in Europe.
I note with interest that the lane markings are a right dog's breakfast now.
Remnants of markings for the old lanes are clearly visible, in between the new
lane markings.
I suspect that Eastbound near sunrise and Westbound at sunset will be
somewhat challenging.
Much the same further west, between M25 J8 and M25 J9.
Quite a few hairy moments while the East European lorry
drivers try to compute where the lanes are.
Someone I know had a hair raising time when her car broke down there and there was no hard shoulder to pull onto. Motorways with no hard shoulders are death traps as far as I'm concerned. Plus, with the rise of managed motorways, there seems to be an increase in people using the hard shoulder to dodge past traffic jams to the next exit or just to overtake everyone on the inside at speed. They either genuinely think they can do it anywhere or at least feel more comfortable than they perhaps did before in taking a chance doing it.
Blakewater said:
Someone I know had a hair raising time when her car broke down there and there was no hard shoulder to pull onto. Motorways with no hard shoulders are death traps as far as I'm concerned.
What's the difference from a 2 or 3 lane dual carriageway with no hard shoulder and a motorway with no hard shoulder that has frequent emergency refuge areas, is bristling with modern technology ie speed detection lazers, signs and signals (which are all for money generation rather than improving safety & traffic flow apart from on PH) but are generally ignored. I would say the "smart motorway" is safer.
There was a very nice Aston Martin DB6 broken down on that stretch this evening. Luckily it was in one of the areas where there is no barrier and so he could pull right off the road onto the gravel/grass.
By the time I got there, there were two traffic patrol vehicles with flashing lights to warn of it, the overhead gantrys had been warning of the lane being closed for a mile or two, traffic flow had slowed to about 30mph and still a white van went hooning up the inside lane and had to force his way into lane two a few metres before the traffic patrol cars.
3 observations:
1) Traffic wouldn't have been affected so much if it had been on the hard shoulder as no lane would have been closed (arguably traffic would have been heavier/slower anyway without the extra lane admittedly).
2) The elderly couple were standing on the bank a few metres away from their car - no barrier to stand behind and not a very deep verge to climb. Basically, nowhere safe to stand without walking a long way from the car.
3) What would have happened if the traffic patrol cars weren't there when the van came hooning up the inside? How long does it take them to arrive - that would seem to be the most dangerous time.
By the time I got there, there were two traffic patrol vehicles with flashing lights to warn of it, the overhead gantrys had been warning of the lane being closed for a mile or two, traffic flow had slowed to about 30mph and still a white van went hooning up the inside lane and had to force his way into lane two a few metres before the traffic patrol cars.
3 observations:
1) Traffic wouldn't have been affected so much if it had been on the hard shoulder as no lane would have been closed (arguably traffic would have been heavier/slower anyway without the extra lane admittedly).
2) The elderly couple were standing on the bank a few metres away from their car - no barrier to stand behind and not a very deep verge to climb. Basically, nowhere safe to stand without walking a long way from the car.
3) What would have happened if the traffic patrol cars weren't there when the van came hooning up the inside? How long does it take them to arrive - that would seem to be the most dangerous time.
kiethton said:
The government are loving the new speed cameras which seem to flash every 3 seconds or so, not bad at £100 a time!
These came as a surprise to me yesterday, the amount of times they flashed on approach from the opposite side of the carriageway was phenomenal. Also the amount of cameras towards the Heathrow part of the M25 is ridiculous and literally on bridge so be very careful. speedyguy said:
Blakewater said:
Someone I know had a hair raising time when her car broke down there and there was no hard shoulder to pull onto. Motorways with no hard shoulders are death traps as far as I'm concerned.
What's the difference from a 2 or 3 lane dual carriageway with no hard shoulder and a motorway with no hard shoulder that has frequent emergency refuge areas, is bristling with modern technology ie speed detection lazers, signs and signals (which are all for money generation rather than improving safety & traffic flow apart from on PH) but are generally ignored. I would say the "smart motorway" is safer.
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