Reply to: Motorway speeds: Get used to driving at 40mph

[lilelvis2000]

This is partly a result of privatising the railways IMO. The private companies shut or cut back frequency on many routes in the midlands so it's all but impossible to commute by train from outlying areas.

It was exactly this situation (commuting in the midlands) that finally prompted me to learn to drive. I couldn't have taken the job otherwise.

We need an integrated & well thought out transport policy, not just more spending on roads. Instead we get what I suspect is a purely ideological decision



how is that going to help? They are going to need a new agency to oversee the public corporation anyway, so either it's just going to cost more overall or they plan on giving the corporation less money to spend on actually making it work. Stupid ****ers.

Its all about helping their cronies out...have you not figured out what politics is about these days. As if they care if it costs more - they'll just invent a new tax and a credit where you'll be worse off by several £ a week.

Yeah, how the hell has society gone downhill so fast.

[BrilloPad]

If you speed you may run over sheep, there as in London whether you speed or not some pedestrian walks out in front of you to try and kill themselves.

+1000

I always feel the biggest problem with cycling in London is not car drivers. Its the pedestrians.

[Gibbon]

What's that?

The short cut from M66 to M65, B6232.

[Platypus]

M60 Anti clockwise, M66 and M65: average speed of 70mph often hitting 90mph. This was at the peak of rush hour. Beat that.

As far as incriminating yourself for speeding, I can't

[SueEllen]

No-one speeds in North Wales. The Heddlu make the SS look like amateurs.

If you speed you may run over sheep, there as in London whether you speed or not some pedestrian walks out in front of you to try and kill themselves.

[BrilloPad]

Not so bad in parts of Wales. Went to site once years ago in rural Powys and jokingly asked what traffoc was like in rush hour.

They told me avoid certain time because farmer in next village moves his sheep across the road to his other field some days.

No-one speeds in North Wales. The Heddlu make the SS look like amateurs.

[SueEllen]

It's a different ball game in South East and London. Unless you do 11-7 or 12 - 8 then you will hit serious traffic.

You can escape traffic if you like driving at 6.30am. Though you need to have a client who doesn't mind you being in around 7am and leaving before 5pm. Though you have to time your departure for the gap between school kick out time and normal rush hour.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

I don't know....the m60 is pretty shocking. When I was on my last role I had to commute between Rochdale and Warrington. I'd get to my car for about 6:45 to 7 am and it would take about 10 mins to get to the motorway. It was already queuing by then. This didn't seem to disperse until well after 10. Usually I'd drive into the middle of Manchester city centre and back out along the M602 rather than crawl round the M60 - even if it took as long as the M60 the fact that I was moving was a benefit - often it was quicker. Helps when you know the rat runs in Manchester though!

Manchester is 100x easier than London. You just need to know the right routes and whether it is worth getting the tram or train. Commute daily on M60 and 95% of the time it is clear unless there has been an accident.

[d000hg]

What many people don't realise judging by the comments in that article (although it's quite well documented) is that dense fast moving traffic experiences chaotic shockwaves similar to a sonic boom. It travels in the opposite direction to the traffic and usually causes the flow to come to a halt. The point of reducing speed lmits is to prevent this happening, which reduces the overall journey time through a given busy stretch.

To put it simply, you just can't get that much traffic to flow at 70mph down that road. The above mentioned phenomena will prevent you from doing so.

Car trains would be another option.

[psychocandy]

Not so bad in parts of Wales. Went to site once years ago in rural Powys and jokingly asked what traffoc was like in rush hour.

They told me avoid certain time because farmer in next village moves his sheep across the road to his other field some days.

[BoredBloke]

It's a different ball game in South East and London. Unless you do 11-7 or 12 - 8 then you will hit serious traffic.

I don't know....the m60 is pretty shocking. When I was on my last role I had to commute between Rochdale and Warrington. I'd get to my car for about 6:45 to 7 am and it would take about 10 mins to get to the motorway. It was already queuing by then. This didn't seem to disperse until well after 10. Usually I'd drive into the middle of Manchester city centre and back out along the M602 rather than crawl round the M60 - even if it took as long as the M60 the fact that I was moving was a benefit - often it was quicker. Helps when you know the rat runs in Manchester though!

[original PM]

It's a different ball game in South East and London. Unless you do 11-7 or 12 - 8 then you will hit serious traffic.

That's not actually true on some stretches though. On parts of the network it's more like 8-12 hours a day of congestion.

Yeah I know - the M6 stretch from end of the toll road to Preston could do with an extra few lanes - it is stupid most days and just nuts on a Friday.

[doodab]

why when apart from say 2 hours per day during the week there is plenty of capacity

That's not actually true on some stretches though. On parts of the network it's more like 8-12 hours a day of congestion.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

why when apart from say 2 hours per day during the week there is plenty of capacity

I never do 9-5 any more - no point as I hit rush hour

Either 8-4 or 10-6 (or WFH!) and rarely queue on the motorway.

It's a different ball game in South East and London. Unless you do 11-7 or 12 - 8 then you will hit serious traffic.

[original PM]

Can't we build new motorways alonside or above the existing ones?

why when apart from say 2 hours per day during the week there is plenty of capacity

I never do 9-5 any more - no point as I hit rush hour

Either 8-4 or 10-6 (or WFH!) and rarely queue on the motorway.