Traffic lights to be introduced on motorways - really?!
Discussion
Seriously, I had to check the date?! Lots of rear-enders springs to mind.
"Highways England says the scheme will be closely monitored..." Yeah, like they closely monitor the M25 (not very) "Smart" motorway
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/101702/traff...
"Highways England says the scheme will be closely monitored..." Yeah, like they closely monitor the M25 (not very) "Smart" motorway
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/101702/traff...
The location where it's being trialled was always having rear enders where M6 through traffic carries on and the usual "dippo's" try and dash for a gap near the start of the queue and end up virtually anchoring up in free flowing lanes to nip in.
The only 'upside'
is that Midas will kick in on the main carriageway slowing that down as well.
The lights will probably be about where the yellow line is on my wonderful edited drawing
or a bit further round closer to the M62 it is a very tight bend.
There is also an 'authorised vehicles only' cut through on that bend in L2 coming out on L2
of the M62E to M6S slip which may get cluttered up with stationery traffic waiting for the lights to change . 
The only 'upside'
is that Midas will kick in on the main carriageway slowing that down as well. The lights will probably be about where the yellow line is on my wonderful edited drawing
or a bit further round closer to the M62 it is a very tight bend. There is also an 'authorised vehicles only' cut through on that bend in L2 coming out on L2
of the M62E to M6S slip which may get cluttered up with stationery traffic waiting for the lights to change . JUst another form of ramp metering which has been around for years. Only be used in peak periods where traffic speeds will be lower, so risk of rear end collisions is unlikely (or no worse than coming round the bend and meeting a queue as you can’t merge due to traffic which i imagine is the problem now - must confess to not knowing this part of the network, all my work for HE is in the south west!) Should improve flow on the M62 eastbound from the looks of things by smoothing flow and reducing weaving movements.
Initial consultation was held back in 2015.
Initial consultation was held back in 2015.
Pica-Pica said:
Riley Blue said:
There are also roundabouts on the motorway network, roundabouts with traffic lights on them too!
Are you sure there are not 'end of motorway signs' before these roundabouts, and then a 'start of motorway' sign when entering the next motorway?
The section of motorway they're putting it on can be a nightmare in the morning. The M62 goes from 3 lanes to 2, then the M6 joins.
Something needed doing, so will be interesting to see if these traffic lights help at all. At the end of the day it's sheer weight of traffic that causes the issue, and I can't see traffic lights doing much about that.
Something needed doing, so will be interesting to see if these traffic lights help at all. At the end of the day it's sheer weight of traffic that causes the issue, and I can't see traffic lights doing much about that.
IanCress said:
The section of motorway they're putting it on can be a nightmare in the morning. The M62 goes from 3 lanes to 2, then the M6 joins.
Something needed doing, so will be interesting to see if these traffic lights help at all. At the end of the day it's sheer weight of traffic that causes the issue, and I can't see traffic lights doing much about that.
The problems (generally, not just this specific junction) usually aren't traffic volumes, pure and simple - they're mostly because the slip roads are over-busy where they join the carriageway, which leads to pushy-shovey, which leads to over-reaction and localised clumping, which leads to stationariness, which multiplies.Something needed doing, so will be interesting to see if these traffic lights help at all. At the end of the day it's sheer weight of traffic that causes the issue, and I can't see traffic lights doing much about that.
That's what the lights on entry slips elsewhere sort quite well, so no reason why they won't work here.
Riley Blue said:
Pica-Pica said:
Riley Blue said:
There are also roundabouts on the motorway network, roundabouts with traffic lights on them too!
Are you sure there are not 'end of motorway signs' before these roundabouts, and then a 'start of motorway' sign when entering the next motorway?They have them on various entrances to the M60. The lights change that quickly its like a disco, they are on green for maybe 3 seconds and then back to red for a few more seconds and then green again, you get maybe 2 cars through each green, most vehicles just go through on red anyway.
What I don't get though is how does a HGV join in these circumstances legally? If he sets off on the green they will be red again before even half of the unit is through, the driver cant see the lights anymore so doesn't know when to stop on red so ends up with the trailer section going through a red light. Fantastic bit of design again by so called experts.
What I don't get though is how does a HGV join in these circumstances legally? If he sets off on the green they will be red again before even half of the unit is through, the driver cant see the lights anymore so doesn't know when to stop on red so ends up with the trailer section going through a red light. Fantastic bit of design again by so called experts.
Jarcy said:
And there's the Heathrow M4 spur road:
http://pathetic.org.uk/current/m4_heathrow_spur/ph...
Surely the sign says, MWay in 75 yards? So not there.http://pathetic.org.uk/current/m4_heathrow_spur/ph...
abzmike said:
The wow about this is the fact it’s costing £7million... our roads should be gold plated the amount they seem to spend on them.
Which pales in comparison to the amount pretty much every other first world country spends (OECD), the comparison is even worse when you consider the disparity of spend in the SE compared to everywhere else. Many other countries are building real meaningful improvement to infrastructure, building bigger, faster roads, we are spending money on quick fixes and 'patches', which have debatable effectiveness. We also have some of the highest taxation of motorists in the world, behind a couple of Scandi countries.
caelite said:
Which pales in comparison to the amount pretty much every other first world country spends (OECD), the comparison is even worse when you consider the disparity of spend in the SE compared to everywhere else. Many other countries are building real meaningful improvement to infrastructure, building bigger, faster roads, we are spending money on quick fixes and 'patches', which have debatable effectiveness.
We also have some of the highest taxation of motorists in the world, behind a couple of Scandi countries.
Oh I agree, I was expressing surprise (amongst other things) about the cost of this scheme.We also have some of the highest taxation of motorists in the world, behind a couple of Scandi countries.
It would be interesting to find the price per mile of roads construction compared to other countries. From the massive bypass project in my area right now, it seems no expense is being spared, but in strange ways. There seems now to be a fetish for 4 way signals (one legs at a time) at all junctions. In one mile heading from my office there are 7 separate sets of lights. Seems nonsensical given the flows.
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