6' 6" wide: roadworks
Discussion
Last week, sitting in traffic on the M5, I got to thinking about those signs in roadworks which (typically) say Lane 1 any vehicle, lane 2 & 3 max width 6' 6".
Are we including mirrors or not? If we are including mirrors there are a lot of cars over 6' 6" wide and so illegally in those lanes.....
Google doesn't tell me if mirrors are included or not: anyone know?
Are we including mirrors or not? If we are including mirrors there are a lot of cars over 6' 6" wide and so illegally in those lanes.....
Google doesn't tell me if mirrors are included or not: anyone know?
It's one of those crimes that aren't policed, a bit like using a hand-held mobile!
The M3 near me has been getting upgraded to a "Smart" motorway since 2014, and will be until "Summer 2017" (so 2018 if we are lucky!), and I regularly see Luton vans in the outside lane despite the 6'6" width limits.
The average speed limit cameras obviously cannot detect it so it is another pointless sign! You might as well drive home pissed, unlicenced and uninsured while you text - so long as you don't average more than 50 or hit anything you'll be fine!
The M3 near me has been getting upgraded to a "Smart" motorway since 2014, and will be until "Summer 2017" (so 2018 if we are lucky!), and I regularly see Luton vans in the outside lane despite the 6'6" width limits.
The average speed limit cameras obviously cannot detect it so it is another pointless sign! You might as well drive home pissed, unlicenced and uninsured while you text - so long as you don't average more than 50 or hit anything you'll be fine!
Mr Tidy said:
It's one of those crimes that aren't policed, a bit like using a hand-held mobile!
The M3 near me has been getting upgraded to a "Smart" motorway since 2014, and will be until "Summer 2017" (so 2018 if we are lucky!), and I regularly see Luton vans in the outside lane despite the 6'6" width limits.
The average speed limit cameras obviously cannot detect it so it is another pointless sign! You might as well drive home pissed, unlicenced and uninsured while you text - so long as you don't average more than 50 or hit anything you'll be fine!
Further up the M1 in road works there was a sign warning that width restrictions would be enforced by camera.The M3 near me has been getting upgraded to a "Smart" motorway since 2014, and will be until "Summer 2017" (so 2018 if we are lucky!), and I regularly see Luton vans in the outside lane despite the 6'6" width limits.
The average speed limit cameras obviously cannot detect it so it is another pointless sign! You might as well drive home pissed, unlicenced and uninsured while you text - so long as you don't average more than 50 or hit anything you'll be fine!
JumboBeef said:
Further up the M1 in road works there was a sign warning that width restrictions would be enforced by camera.
It's actually on the A1 at Catterick and it's a load of b
ks. It was put there in an attempt to stop trucks using the mile long stretch of full width carriageway to get past cars doing 35mph before lane 2 goes narrow again. I can confirm it's not enforced at all.On the subject of 6' 6" does anyone have those road restrictions designed to stop goods vehicles from going down residential areas?
They are all 6'6" however this does not account for cars with wider wheels or such like. I have maybe 1 inch either side and I only have a Scirocco!!! I have caught a tyre once but luckily not the wheel.
Some of them are just too tight for their own good...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4593504,-1.02542...
This is one near me which is impossible for most cars to be fair, you can see an A-class only has a few inches to spare.
They are all 6'6" however this does not account for cars with wider wheels or such like. I have maybe 1 inch either side and I only have a Scirocco!!! I have caught a tyre once but luckily not the wheel.
Some of them are just too tight for their own good...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4593504,-1.02542...
This is one near me which is impossible for most cars to be fair, you can see an A-class only has a few inches to spare.
xjay1337 said:
On the subject of 6' 6" does anyone have those road restrictions designed to stop goods vehicles from going down residential areas?
They are all 6'6" however this does not account for cars with wider wheels or such like. I have maybe 1 inch either side and I only have a Scirocco!!!
Factory spec width for a current-shape Scirocco is 1810mm, 71.3" - so just under 6'.They are all 6'6" however this does not account for cars with wider wheels or such like. I have maybe 1 inch either side and I only have a Scirocco!!!
If you've modified your car to be so much wider, then it's your own bloody stupid fault if it doesn't fit through width restrictions.
xjay1337 said:
On the subject of 6' 6" does anyone have those road restrictions designed to stop goods vehicles from going down residential areas?
They are all 6'6" however this does not account for cars with wider wheels or such like. I have maybe 1 inch either side and I only have a Scirocco!!! I have caught a tyre once but luckily not the wheel.
Some of them are just too tight for their own good...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4593504,-1.02542...
This is one near me which is impossible for most cars to be fair, you can see an A-class only has a few inches to spare.
Surely they could just make that a normal layout and be fine, why does a bus need a 20m stretch of buslane?They are all 6'6" however this does not account for cars with wider wheels or such like. I have maybe 1 inch either side and I only have a Scirocco!!! I have caught a tyre once but luckily not the wheel.
Some of them are just too tight for their own good...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4593504,-1.02542...
This is one near me which is impossible for most cars to be fair, you can see an A-class only has a few inches to spare.
But the bus still has to give way to cars before the roundabout so could be worse off than mixing with normal flow. Trusting vans not to use the bus lane means that you think they are more likely to obey a bus lane instruction than a "No vehicles wider than 6' 6" one, which seems unlikely."
JumboBeef said:
I can see the logic. With that layout only buses and vehicles under 6'6" can get through. Normal layout would allow vans and larger vehicles.
Hmm, I do kinda see it now, travelling up the road a bit shows that eventually there isn't two distinguishable lanes because of marked parking spots on the side of the road.TooMany2cvs said:
Factory spec width for a current-shape Scirocco is 1810mm, 71.3" - so just under 6'.
If you've modified your car to be so much wider, then it's your own bloody stupid fault if it doesn't fit through width restrictions.
Not sure if you are being a bell end on purpose but congratulations on achieving the status. If you've modified your car to be so much wider, then it's your own bloody stupid fault if it doesn't fit through width restrictions.
Did you look at the picture?
It's not stupidly wide and it's not my fault the road layout is tight as a nuns........
Someone measured between the bells and it's 6ft 4" which gives 2 inches of room either side.
xjay1337 said:
On the subject of 6' 6" does anyone have those road restrictions designed to stop goods vehicles from going down residential areas?
They are all 6'6" however this does not account for cars with wider wheels or such like. I have maybe 1 inch either side and I only have a Scirocco!!! I have caught a tyre once but luckily not the wheel.
Some of them are just too tight for their own good...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4593504,-1.02542...
This is one near me which is impossible for most cars to be fair, you can see an A-class only has a few inches to spare.
Mondeo man here! And I can get the car through these width restrictions, but 'only just' and sometimes I swing the mirrors in to make sure...They are all 6'6" however this does not account for cars with wider wheels or such like. I have maybe 1 inch either side and I only have a Scirocco!!! I have caught a tyre once but luckily not the wheel.
Some of them are just too tight for their own good...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4593504,-1.02542...
This is one near me which is impossible for most cars to be fair, you can see an A-class only has a few inches to spare.
These two are on the perimeter of a local industrial estate, and are there to keep large commercial vehicles out of neighbouring residential streets...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3315421,-0.76210...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3335242,-0.76334...
As can be seen in the photos, it's a tight squeeze for even 'medium size' cars, and there's plenty of damage to the poles to show that many have gotten it wrong. Only passable at a crawl, really, but I suppose that's the whole idea of putting them there - to maximise the deterrent to car drivers using the industrial estate as a 'rat run' to cut through to the bypass road, as well as keeping large vans and trucks away from residential streets.
This single-lane "Weak Bridge" has had a width restrictor fitted since the photo was taken...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3011724,-0.70998...
...principally because too many over weight vehicles were ignoring the '7.5T mgw' restriction. Now, everyone has to suffer delays at busy times because some know-it-all commercial drivers decided that the weight limit didn't apply to them. As if it were not bad enough that it's a single lane bridge in the first place. I'm OK as I only tend to use it when cycling, but I've seen cars in the queue turning round to take another route because two idiots are blocking the road having decided not to negotiate the sharing of the road there.
The width isn't enforced at roadworks, although it is signed so as to be enforceable. The width is chosen as on (most) DCs and Motorways, the width of the carriageway plus hardstrip allows a 2x1 contraflow with relevant safety zones between opposing flows. It's also easier to manage the traffic if you can keep all the big stuff in lane 1, less signing and weaving lengths required. Plus if you permit trucks to use a contraflow lane, and they break down, they are a lot more difficult than a Fiesta to push through the cones to wait for recovery!
Most truckies are pretty decent and follow the signs. You do get some that use the narrow lanes who really shouldn't, you can tell if someone's done that because the cones with the lamps on them are normally all laying flat, but they'll only really get a bking if they've done something stupid like clipping the cones, "pinging" them at workers etc, then we'll let the Police know. Equally, if they get through with no issues and no damage done, then fair play, live and let live. 
Most truckies are pretty decent and follow the signs. You do get some that use the narrow lanes who really shouldn't, you can tell if someone's done that because the cones with the lamps on them are normally all laying flat, but they'll only really get a b
king if they've done something stupid like clipping the cones, "pinging" them at workers etc, then we'll let the Police know. Equally, if they get through with no issues and no damage done, then fair play, live and let live. JumboBeef said:
Last week, sitting in traffic on the M5, I got to thinking about those signs in roadworks which (typically) say Lane 1 any vehicle, lane 2 & 3 max width 6' 6".
Are we including mirrors or not? If we are including mirrors there are a lot of cars over 6' 6" wide and so illegally in those lanes.....
Google doesn't tell me if mirrors are included or not: anyone know?
My understanding from the Construction & Use Regs is that mirrors are not considered when measuring vehicle width:Are we including mirrors or not? If we are including mirrors there are a lot of cars over 6' 6" wide and so illegally in those lanes.....
Google doesn't tell me if mirrors are included or not: anyone know?
Construction and Use said:
overall width:
the distance between longitudinal planes passing through the extreme lateral projecting points of the vehicle inclusive of all parts of the vehicle, of any receptacle which is of permanent character and accordingly strong enough for repeated use, and any fitting on, or attached to, the vehicle except—
(a) any driving mirror
http://legislation.data.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/made/data.htm?wrap=truethe distance between longitudinal planes passing through the extreme lateral projecting points of the vehicle inclusive of all parts of the vehicle, of any receptacle which is of permanent character and accordingly strong enough for repeated use, and any fitting on, or attached to, the vehicle except—
(a) any driving mirror
Edited by Puddenchucker on Monday 22 August 13:25
xjay1337 said:
On the subject of 6' 6" does anyone have those road restrictions designed to stop goods vehicles from going down residential areas?
They are all 6'6" however this does not account for cars with wider wheels or such like. I have maybe 1 inch either side and I only have a Scirocco!!! I have caught a tyre once but luckily not the wheel.
Some of them are just too tight for their own good...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4593504,-1.02542...
This is one near me which is impossible for most cars to be fair, you can see an A-class only has a few inches to spare.
Just knew it'd be that before I even looked at where you were or anything like that...They are all 6'6" however this does not account for cars with wider wheels or such like. I have maybe 1 inch either side and I only have a Scirocco!!! I have caught a tyre once but luckily not the wheel.
Some of them are just too tight for their own good...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4593504,-1.02542...
This is one near me which is impossible for most cars to be fair, you can see an A-class only has a few inches to spare.
I got a fine a few years ago for going in the bus lane at 1am to avoid those damn bells
Recently went through in my Noble (very gingerly) and upset the fine gentleman behind me who didn't appreciate my safe navigation of those horrible things.
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