Ask a Highways England Traffic Officer anything

[BossHogg]

Red 4 said:

Is this the guy who was texting whilst driving through torrential rain/ gale force winds ?

Yep, that's the one.

[mcdjl]

dmsims said:

HantsRat said:

dmsims said:

I don't know whether to laugh or cry

Why? The first picture is on a bend, the second is a straight?

Really are you being serious ?

Look at the number of cars in the two pictures. Thats probably a clue. As one is probably a 'main' road and the other less so the type of traffic on it will also be a factor.

[dmsims]

mcdjl said:

Look at the number of cars in the two pictures. Thats probably a clue. As one is probably a 'main' road and the other less so the type of traffic on it will also be a factor.

Possibly, but it's the same road

[Red 4]

dmsims said:

Possibly, but it's the same road

The A59, for example, is the "same road" but it's massively different in some parts compared to others.

What are you going to say next ?
Complain that it's a waste of paint to have longer broken white line centre markings to identify a hazard ?

[dmsims]

Red 4 said:

The A59, for example, is the "same road" but it's massively different in some parts compared to others.

What are you going to say next ?
Complain that it's a waste of paint to have longer broken white line centre markings to identify a hazard ?

So maybe you can explain why exactly a massively wide road needs all that paint ?

[HantsRat]

dmsims said:

So maybe you can explain why exactly a massively wide road needs all that paint ?

Does it matter? If it adds to road safety surely that's a good thing?

[dmsims]

HantsRat said:

dmsims said:

So maybe you can explain why exactly a massively wide road needs all that paint ?

Does it matter? If it adds to road safety surely that's a good thing?

That's your best answer ? (how does it add to road safety?)

[Red 4]

dmsims said:

HantsRat said:

dmsims said:

So maybe you can explain why exactly a massively wide road needs all that paint ?

Does it matter? If it adds to road safety surely that's a good thing?

That's your best answer ? (how does it add to road safety?)

As HantsRat said, it's an attempt to reduce casualties.

Busy, fast road by the looks of it.
Head-on collisions rarely have a happy outcome.

[dmsims]

Red 4 said:

As HantsRat said, it's an attempt to reduce casualties.

Busy, fast road by the looks of it.
Head-on collisions rarely have a happy outcome.

Make no(n) sense

60 mph limit (max) , there are many many narrower, busier roads - so why the stupid line painting ?

[Galveston]

dmsims said:

Make no(n) sense

60 mph limit (max) , there are many many narrower, busier roads - so why the stupid line painting ?

Because on narrower busier roads there isn't a prevalence of people overtaking injudiciously and crashing into each other?

[IroningMan]

dmsims said:

Make no(n) sense

60 mph limit (max) , there are many many narrower, busier roads - so why the stupid line painting ?

Because if the road is wide enough there will be drivers who attempt to overtake in the face of oncoming traffic by creating a 'third lane'. The central hatchings are one way of discouraging this behaviour.

[Red 4]

IroningMan said:

dmsims said:

Make no(n) sense

60 mph limit (max) , there are many many narrower, busier roads - so why the stupid line painting ?

Because if the road is wide enough there will be drivers who attempt to overtake in the face of oncoming traffic by creating a 'third lane'. The central hatchings are one way of discouraging this behaviour.

It's what IroningMan says.

It's psychology. It works.

[cmaguire]

dmsims said:

Make no(n) sense

60 mph limit (max) , there are many many narrower, busier roads - so why the stupid line painting ?

Maybe they have stock of white paint that needs using up.

I can see why they might put the hatchings on the wider road as this encourages more separation between opposing traffic and the road is plenty wide enough to allow it.

I'm more mystified by all the idiotic painting that seems to be in favour on the approach to roundabouts that were at one time two-lane approaches but vehicles are now prohibited from using what was the right-hand lane. In view of current traffic volumes making congestion progressively worse this is idiocy on a grand scale.

[dmsims]

IroningMan said:

Because if the road is wide enough there will be drivers who attempt to overtake in the face of oncoming traffic by creating a 'third lane'. The central hatchings are one way of discouraging this behaviour.

So why build the road that wide? Does not compute

[Driversmatter]

It would have been a 3 lane road once upon a time... your side, my side and suicide in the middle.

[Galveston]

dmsims said:

So why build the road that wide? Does not compute

Priorities change. Society's attitude to risk changes.

Wider roads inevitably have greater capacity regardless of the number of marked lanes, plus greater resilience when there's a crash, or a breakdown, or maintenance.

[BossHogg]

All those questions answered on road layout and priorities, and I didn't have to lift a finger, and it all happened off network!

[oyster]

200Plus Club said:

Have you ever been overtaken at speed by a heavily modified mk1 cortina with its passenger showing you the middle finger because you can't do sod all about it?

One of you has ! :-)
As you were.

Can't do sod all, or can do sod all? Which is it.

Anyhow, great story about the finger.













If you're 11 years old.

[berlintaxi]

BossHogg said:

Red 4 said:

Is this the guy who was texting whilst driving through torrential rain/ gale force winds ?

Yep, that's the one.

7 Years, nowhere near long enough.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-42752...

[techguyone]

Better than before, wasn't it a 2 yr max sentence before they (recently) changed the rules