Birker2020
Well-Known Member
I hate them and cannot believe they got the go ahead. Bloody ridiculous idea[/QUOTE said:
Smart Motorways
- Thread starter Wimbles
- Start date
MissGee
Well-Known Member
Yes - I live right in between junction 26 and 27 of the M1 so use it regularly for work (in rush hour) and pleasure at the weekend. The 5 lorry pile up that happened last week as a result of this "smart motorway" had an impact on my journey and I was actually with Wimbles when this happened on Sunday!
So think my comment is justified! ;-)
Birker2020
Well-Known Member
No that's fine I was just curious if you had used one. I know a lot of people say they are rubbish without ever setting foot (or rather wheels) on one that was why I asked. I understand a lorry broke down on the inside lane but the others had no where to go because the hard shoulder was open for traffic as normal. Thanks for you comments it good to hear your experience
MissGee
Well-Known Member
No that's fine I was just curious if you had used one. I know a lot of people say they are rubbish without ever setting foot (or rather wheels) on one that was why I asked. I understand a lorry broke down on the inside lane but the others had no where to go because the hard shoulder was open for traffic as normal. Thanks for you comments it good to hear your experience
There is no hard shoulder on this stretch of motorway - EVER! It's a 4 lane motorway, no hard shoulder, left lane is always in use with crash barrier at side and pull-ins every 1.5 miles. Hence stupid idea.
Once my rear diff failed on my 7.5t lorry, luckily there was a hard shoulder to pull on to but nevertheless it was very scary watching the lorry wobble (with horse on board) from the bank, as other lorries drove past.
Imagine, if I had been on this stretch of motorway. I would have had to leave my lorry with the horse on, sitting on the inside "live" lane and walk to the nearest phone to notify them to close the lane - by which point my horse could be dead as the lorry's been ploughed into the back of by another lorry.....
I wonder how much people will lose their lives before they "re-think" these smart motorways?!
Tiddlypom
Carries on creakily
This is the official guidance from the gov.uk website for what to do in the event of a breakdown in an 'all lane running' smart motorway.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...orways_smarter_-_A5_Leaflet_-_interactive.pdf
'All lane running, there is no hard shoulder'. There is no hard shoulder on these sections of motorway. Obey variable speed limits and if you need to stop in an emergency, use an emergency refuge area, a motorway service area or leave at the next junction.
No mention of what to do in the event of a sudden breakdown which leaves you stranded in a live lane...
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...orways_smarter_-_A5_Leaflet_-_interactive.pdf
'All lane running, there is no hard shoulder'. There is no hard shoulder on these sections of motorway. Obey variable speed limits and if you need to stop in an emergency, use an emergency refuge area, a motorway service area or leave at the next junction.
No mention of what to do in the event of a sudden breakdown which leaves you stranded in a live lane...
Birker2020
Well-Known Member
Personally I'd shove my hazards on, grab my mobile, hop foot it over the gear stick into the passenger side and exit out of the passenger door and stand behind the barrier some way ahead of the car if you can and up the bank if there is one and ring 999. But the cameras would hopefully pick you up on seconds and put the overhead gantries on closing the lane within a few seconds and patrol car(s) would be with you within minutes to get the lane closed physically as I've seen it happen. Still scary though especially as people often ignore the gantry signs. I've seen them put the red x in the overhead gantries in the fast lane about a mile from the incident so I've moved over to the middle lane and there are still people racing up the outside and waiting until they are a 100 yards or so before they get to the incident to switch lanes. Disgusting behavior to save a few seconds and overtake those that ARE obeying the law! This is an interesting post.
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MissGee
Well-Known Member
This doesn't happen....
When we broke down on Sunday, we did manage to limp to a pull in and my OH had already got the wheel off by the time a friend called on the orange phone to say what had happened. He replied saying "Ok I'll find you on the camera and keep an eye on you. The motorway is quiet so no need to close any lanes and just rejoin when you're ready"
Trust me even on a quiet motorway - closing the inside lane would have helped to keep the traffic further away from us and would have massively helped us rejoin the carriage way - no hard shoulder so no building speed up - just pull out into the first lane of motorway!!
inthehills
Well-Known Member
it's interesting to read this discussion and glad i'm not alone in thinking they are an insane idea. I appreciate that they speed up things at busy times but at what cost?
I ended up driving in tears on the M62 last year- rush hour traffic, all four lanes moving fast, when my car started with a fuel problem and loosing power. I had my young son in the back and I really thought we were going to die- what was the chances of us stopping in the 'slow' lane and me being able to get my son out and get out of the way in time?
thank heavens we limped it to a service station by which point I was shaking badly. never again!
I ended up driving in tears on the M62 last year- rush hour traffic, all four lanes moving fast, when my car started with a fuel problem and loosing power. I had my young son in the back and I really thought we were going to die- what was the chances of us stopping in the 'slow' lane and me being able to get my son out and get out of the way in time?
thank heavens we limped it to a service station by which point I was shaking badly. never again!
Pearlsasinger
Up in the clouds
The M62 is utterly horrible! There are parts of it in W.Yorks where the 4 lanes are always 'live', there are frequent lane closures with huge traffic jams caused. I can't see that anything has been gained by making the motorway 'Smart' but a great deal of safety has potentially been lost. Getting an ambulance through must be an absolute nightmare.
catroo
Well-Known Member
Because you'd made it to a pull in the cameras won't automatically have picked you up and acted 'smart'.
I do lots of miles and have driven on many smart motorways and think overall they're a good thing.
Last time I was unfortunate enough to breakdown on a smart motorway I hadn't even made it to the left hand lane before grinding to a halt (so hard shoulder or not wouldn't have made a difference). I'd say within 30 secs the over head gantry had signaled lane closed and reduced speed to 30 in all the others, I'd ground to a halt practically under neath one of the gantries so could see.
I used the police non emergency number and while I was on the phone to them the highways agency appeared to assist and get me safe.
It got the heart rate slightly up I admit but no harm no foul, and by being a smart motorway I was rescued quicker than I would have been on a normal motorway.
People seem to cope with dual carriageways with no hard shoulder, which for me is far worse than a smart motorway
MissGee
Well-Known Member
So why didn't they pick us up, limping at 5-10mph before eventually reaching the pull-in - it was certainly longer than 30 seconds?
Birker2020
Well-Known Member
They probably did respond and changed the speed limit on the gantry accordingly but I doubt you would have been paying much attention to be fair, I am sure you had more important things to do with your time!
You say they didn't close the lane, but I assume they reduced the speed on the lanes when you were ready to leave the safe area so it was easier to pull out. Its interesting to hear from Catroo about her experience.In July/August time I drove straight over J5 of the M42 as I do every evening on the way home from the yard. I was in the inside lane on the roundabout to go down the Solihull By-Pass and when the lights on the roundabout were red I looked down at the motorway below me and was horrified to see some poor woman break down in the fast lane on the north bound section.She jumped out of the car and leapt into the relative safety between the central reservation barrier of the north and south bound carriageways, but when the lights turned to green I pulled into a layby on the bypass and rang 101 (couldn't get any answer) so rang 999 and told them.
Only 40 or 50 seconds had elapsed between me seeing what had happened and me ringing them but I am sure that by that time she would have been picked up on the cameras. But I felt that as she was in such a vulnerable position I had to do something to help just in case. Poor woman. Imagine just how very vulnerable you would feel!Especially with rubber neckers that are not concentrating on the road but watching her instead!
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Wimbles
Well-Known Member
They probably did respond and changed the speed limit on the gantry accordingly but I doubt you would have been paying much attention to be fair, I am sure you had more important things to do with your time!
In July/August time I drove straight over J5 of the M42 as I do every evening on the way home from the yard. I was in the inside lane on the roundabout to go down the Solihull By-Pass and when the lights on the roundabout were red I looked down at the motorway below me and was horrified to see some poor woman break down in the fast lane on the north bound section.She jumped out of the car and leapt into the relative safety between the central reservation barrier of the north and south bound carriageways, but when the lights turned to green I pulled into a layby on the bypass and rang 101 (couldn't get any answer) so rang 999 and told them.
Only 40 or 50 seconds had elapsed between me seeing what had happened and me ringing them but I am sure that by that time she would have been picked up on the cameras. But I felt that as she was in such a vulnerable position I had to do something to help just in case. Poor woman. Imagine just how very vulnerable you would feel!Especially with rubber neckers that are not concentrating on the road but watching her instead!
There were friends coming behind us and the speed limit wasn't reduced or anything. I understand how, in theory, things should work like a well oiled machine but in our experience this definitely didn't happen.
Birker2020
Well-Known Member
Gosh that sounds inefficient.