4 lane motorways - do they really work?
Discussion
I ask this question as the inconvenience for 5 years or so as they do a stretch seems to far outweigh having an extra lane. I use the M1 regularly and live just off junction 31. From junction 32 to 28 (around 20 miles) has been worked on now for at least 2 years and looks nowhere like being completed. I'm not sure of the estimated completion date but prior to this junction 28 - 24 took over 5 years to finish. This stretch is full of morons just using whatever lane they wish to - there is very rarely a car in lane 1, one or two in lane 2 with most cars sat in lanes 3 and 4 travelling no faster than any other lane.
Lane discipline is a massive bug bearer of mine and so I will always move back into lane 1 where possible and find myself travelling up the inside of people in lanes 3 and 4. Often I am flashed by these pricks who can't seem to grasp the concept of moving over once you have overtaken something. So I either carry on as I do illegally (grey area) or join them and add to the problem.
What I don't understand is why go to all the effort to cause daily congestion and frustration on our motorways as well as many accidents when people can't use them properly anyway. If the government are going to all this trouble why not try educating drivers on how to use these motorways and prosecuting the ones that don't? I dread to think how much these renovation projects cost and they are all over the UK.
Maybe I'm missing the point and they aren't trying to make motorways work properly, just spreading out the traffic that uses them but in my honest opinion if people used 3 lane motorways how they should be used we wouldn't need them. I travel about 1500 - 2000 miles a week so have a lot of time to assess these things
Lane discipline is a massive bug bearer of mine and so I will always move back into lane 1 where possible and find myself travelling up the inside of people in lanes 3 and 4. Often I am flashed by these pricks who can't seem to grasp the concept of moving over once you have overtaken something. So I either carry on as I do illegally (grey area) or join them and add to the problem.
What I don't understand is why go to all the effort to cause daily congestion and frustration on our motorways as well as many accidents when people can't use them properly anyway. If the government are going to all this trouble why not try educating drivers on how to use these motorways and prosecuting the ones that don't? I dread to think how much these renovation projects cost and they are all over the UK.
Maybe I'm missing the point and they aren't trying to make motorways work properly, just spreading out the traffic that uses them but in my honest opinion if people used 3 lane motorways how they should be used we wouldn't need them. I travel about 1500 - 2000 miles a week so have a lot of time to assess these things
The muppets just move further over towards the central reservation.
The bit up round Luton where they've added extra lanes sometimes works well. Stick to the "slow" lane and maintain a steady 60-70 mph in splendid solitude while the rest of the world does the stop-start nose to tail shuffle in the outside 2 or 3 lanes.
I'm not sure that's the way it's supposed to work, but it works! Sometimes.
The bit up round Luton where they've added extra lanes sometimes works well. Stick to the "slow" lane and maintain a steady 60-70 mph in splendid solitude while the rest of the world does the stop-start nose to tail shuffle in the outside 2 or 3 lanes.
I'm not sure that's the way it's supposed to work, but it works! Sometimes.
So the responses show they don't work how they should do then. L1 for driving, L2 for overtaking L1, L3 for overtaking L2 & L3 and L4 for overtaking all other lanes. It's as though the government have accepted that the majority of people cannot drive properly on motorways and just given them more space to do so.
mondeoman said:
The worst bit is when the wagons elephant race in lanes 2 and 3, the reps snake gets stuck in lane 4 and you get some numpty in a noddy car doing 50 in lane 1. Total rolling road block.
Best in when noddy isn't there, then lane 1 is an easy 70mph cruise past all the brain-offs.
Should be a fine-able offence if you're being over taken by HGVs and there is no reason for it imo.Best in when noddy isn't there, then lane 1 is an easy 70mph cruise past all the brain-offs.
I used to live at J33 M1, the four lanes from 31 to 28 were always a pleasure to get to, albiet a little chaotic but fun and good progress could be made. You could easily cruise at 90 in the outside lane for good streatches until you arrived back to the 3 lane (due to overtaking lorries mostly single lane) motorway.
Yes 4 lane motorways work.
Yes 4 lane motorways work.
They do work, but with proper lane discipline so would 3-lane motorways; on plenty of journeys I see a nearly empty nearside lane, MLMs where you would expect them and everyone else trying to overtake the MLMs in lane 3. I try my best to maintain proper lane discipline but I do ashamedly admit I sometimes contribute to the problem.
It's doesn't matter how many lanes there are on a motorway, as some brain dead simpleton will always end up sitting in n-1 at 65MPH, where n = the lane furthest to the right.
Parts of the A2 in north Kent are 4 lanes, and that's only a dual carriageway. But everyone insists on sitting in lane 3. And whilst I'd be happy to undertake usually, lanes 1 and 2 are usually full enough, or there are enough junctions, that you cant cruise in them easily without having to pull out regularly - which you can't, because Terry McF***wit is there, barely moving any faster than the traffic inside of time, essentially creating a rolling roadblock.
Parts of the A2 in north Kent are 4 lanes, and that's only a dual carriageway. But everyone insists on sitting in lane 3. And whilst I'd be happy to undertake usually, lanes 1 and 2 are usually full enough, or there are enough junctions, that you cant cruise in them easily without having to pull out regularly - which you can't, because Terry McF***wit is there, barely moving any faster than the traffic inside of time, essentially creating a rolling roadblock.
Baz Tench said:
They can build as many lanes as they like, but as mentioned above, Terry/Sherry F**kwitt will always sit in the nearest to centre lane.
My piss gently simmers.
agree totally and if you flash a middle lane hogger they have not a clue what they have done wrongMy piss gently simmers.
I think there should be a minimum speed limit on the motorway for cars so that lorries never need to overtake a car. Completely unenforceable I know...
Using the M25 as a guide, absolutely bloody useless, because the mumpties are even more confused as to what lane they're going to cruise in. After 50yrs of trying to drive on motorways correctly, I'm beginging to loose the will to do it anymore. As I seem faster than most, I'll just stick to the outside lane as long as it's clear, and not bother to move over until someone faster wants to pass. Which aint often.
Managed motorways with speed limits work (well the M6 anyway) because it reduces the weaving and rapid accelerating a braking of 
s trying to steal some progress vs the cars around them, cutting up a lane and then causing phantom jams. To top it off now all the Gonks crash at Cannock after the managed motorways stop.
The thing that fking winds me right up is. x seconds accelerating to whatever speed, braking hard then spending x seconds stationary rather than just rolling along at a slower but constant speed.
s trying to steal some progress vs the cars around them, cutting up a lane and then causing phantom jams. To top it off now all the Gonks crash at Cannock after the managed motorways stop.The thing that f
king winds me right up is. x seconds accelerating to whatever speed, braking hard then spending x seconds stationary rather than just rolling along at a slower but constant speed.xxChrisxx said:
The thing that fking winds me right up is. x seconds accelerating to whatever speed, braking hard then spending x seconds stationary rather than just rolling along at a slower but constant speed.
When in traffic, I always try and leave a big gap in front of me so I can just get the car rolling in first gear and crawl along. It would work fine, but the moment you leave a gap, someone will pull into it, even though it serves them no advantage whatsoever king winds me right up is. x seconds accelerating to whatever speed, braking hard then spending x seconds stationary rather than just rolling along at a slower but constant speed.
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