America versus Europe: PH Blog
American-style motorways are turning us into driving dullards reckons Dan
Because even when the cones have been cleared and we're free once again to go beyond a SPECS controlled 50mph the mindset of camera-controlled cruising has set in. And I hate it. Indeed, when you have three, four or more lanes all travelling to within a few mph of each other I find it more stressful than when, shall we say, a natural hierarchy enables vehicles to move at different speeds. Why stressful? You only have to see the number of crashes caused on motorways by people caught in blindspots to appreciate a regime that forces people to drive alongside each other for prolonged periods adds to the risk. I will do all I can to avoid travelling alongside trucks on the motorway for that reason but when everyone is cowed into holding the same speed you can find yourself boxed into blindspots for miles.
I notice it on the M1 all the time. On the 'smart' sections controlled by HADECS cameras everyone trundles along, trembling at every gantry and so fixated on maintaining a steady speed any remaining grip on lane discipline is out of the window. Because what's the point. Meaning a huge phalanx of traffic, tightly bunched at 65mph and just one texting driver or random, unsighted lane swap from a pile-up. Even if that doesn't happen it's just a profoundly dispiriting way to travel.
I can almost hear the sigh of relief when the gantries disappear. It's not like it suddenly becomes an Autobahn with people doing a ton-plus in lane three. But here you get a sense of a more European* motorway mindset, one based on an understanding that those in the outside lane are seeking to make progress and everyone can get along with what they want to do. Kind of like our motorways used to be. Frankly I feel safer when there's an opportunity to manage your separation fore, aft and to the sides by managing your speed and lane choices with careful forward planning. To actually take some responsibility yourself rather than just trundle along half asleep.
I realise weight of traffic of course plays a part here. And rush-hour M25 is never going to be like a fast flowing Autobahn or blissfully quiet French Autoroute. If you never drove anywhere other than in or around our major population centres you'd think we're already at this point but there are sections of the network where the old-school rules prevail. Maybe it's the deep-rooted British obsession with class and people knowing their place; certainly it's something the Germans also appreciate with their culture of uberholprestige and a 'pecking order' of lane privilege. I have no love for snobs or 'fast lane' bully boys. But the Stateside alternative is even worse.
On heavily policed American roads speeds are strictly controlled by men with Ray-Bans and firearms and you'd have to be an idiot to attempt to stand out from the crowd. No wonder so many have seemed to give up on life and opt for something beige and hybrid powered. Here it's cameras and points. But the resulting mindset is the same and the grudging obedience just makes getting from A to B such a soul-destroying experience at times. Especially when the automated control means you can't pick your time and choose quieter moments to make a bit of progress; whether it's rush hour or 1am you're stuck in the same camera controlled groove. Cruise on. Switch off. Are we there yet?
And with no sense of engagement is it any wonder so many people are glued to their phones and reliant on their electronic driver 'aids' to warn them if they're drifting out of their lane or about to pile into the back of suddenly stationary traffic? Culturally we're too easily in thrall of influences from over the pond. This is one I reckon we could do without though.
[Photos: Highhways Agency via Flickr]
Just wait 'til you get your nice autonomous car!
Previous article & thread
I imagine a lot of the talking points for this article will have already been covered previously, so it's a worth a read.
Self responsibility for everything is being eroded out of lives slowly but surely.....and on the roads in particular, as they work towards fully autominous vehicles.
At my age though, I'll likely be close to being put in a box, or already long in it, by the time we are no longer allowed to drive 'on our own'.
I feel for those on here that are in their early 20's or younger.
I can probably count on one hand the number of times one has actually been right with a queue of traffic...
The other side is the Highway Agency's and police's over bearing use of HADEC systems in the end for any section that is smart the cruise control is set and once the thing disappears the cruise is off again...
It's demonstrated that braking in heavy traffic causes traffic jams. With these gantries, people are constantly accelerating away and then having to brake as they go under them.
It's a batst crazy camera policy that's actually counterproductive.
I've used the M1 a lot recently and noticed that there's an almost constant traffic jam where these cameras prevail, but smooth traffic in the roadwork sections...the latter are subject to average cameras and thus drivers operate at a more constant speed and you don't get tailbacks as often.
Has anyone else noticed this pattern?
It's demonstrated that braking in heavy traffic causes traffic jams. With these gantries, people are constantly accelerating away and then having to brake as they go under them.
It's a batst crazy camera policy that's actually counterproductive.
I've used the M1 a lot recently and noticed that there's an almost constant traffic jam where these cameras prevail, but smooth traffic in the roadwork sections...the latter are subject to average cameras and thus drivers operate at a more constant speed and you don't get tailbacks as often.
Has anyone else noticed this pattern?
As for people saying they're wrong about the queues - if you're being slowed down but never come to a stop or find a queue, the system is working. Obviously there are times when the limits are set for different (sometimes ridiculous, sometimes not obvious) reasons, but for the most part I don't doubt that they reduce journey times in peak periods.
Without doubt, the traffic moves better since the systems have been in place, and there are fewer crashes and incidents. Of course, this is my own experience; (and based on only a few junctions), but motorways are hardly driving nirvana, and I welcome any innovation which makes this experience a little quicker and less stressful.
I'd agree that the driving dynamic is different, each lane tends to operate as a single carriageway, and undertaking is commonplace (particularly when the hard shoulder is live). It just takes a little getting used to though?
Totally agree that driving on completely packed roads with everyone travelling at 60mph is soul destroying, but given the rise in the number of cars on the road (particularly on certain motorways), the choice isn't:
- Nice flowing roads of varying speeds vs. managed motorways with controlled speeds.
it is:
- Managed motorways of controlled speeds vs. gridlock traffic.
We all much prefer driving on more empty roads, where lane discipline is followed well because there's lots of space, and you can "make progress", but that happens when there's just much less traffic, not when the motorways are high traffic and "unmanaged".
...and I CAN see the benefits - the chap above is exactly right in terms of better flow of traffi...although the cynic in me suspects that the majority of the transit-time benefits are due to a 33% increase in capacity through hard-shoulder running.
BUT, there are 3 big flies in the ointment, practically:-
1) Breakdowns/emergencies. As a TVR-owning PH'er pointed out a few months ago ref. his breakdown on the "smart" (sic) M25, he feared losing his car to an ignorant rep/van/foreign truck driver ignoring the red X on the hard-shoulder shortly before his car and just barrelling down inside everyone before trying to do an emergency stop just before the TVR. Oh, and the resultant tailback from the enforced narrowing meant the recovery truck took ages to get to him. What if that was an ambulance attending someone seriously ill, or a woman in labour in difficulties?!? Loss of emergency-services access and reduced safety are not necessarily prices worth paying.
2) As the article points out, more 'automatons' behind the wheel and less speed-segregation increasing perceived (and IMHO actual) risk of minor bumps. As well as increasing the general 'dumbing down' of driving...
3) The gradual spread of HADECS-3 cameras, which can/will enforce the posted limit at all times of day/night, so even when the "smart" M-way is empty you cannot make progress. Worse, I've regularly seen the M42 with reduced limits at 10pm/11pm or later when there is almost zero traffic. Nonsense, and so frustrating for not being able to ignore what's clearly a control-room error. (FAR too many of these)
I presume there are also studies into these sorts of things, such as mindset in tightly controlled limits etc.
If they are statistically safer there is no turning back I'm afraid, arguments about concentration / blind spots etc be damned.
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