You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
change your wheel on the inside lane of the motorway 😯
To be fair tho the bloke was getting his Mrs to stand the little red triangle back up each time a lorry blew it over!
Smart motorway so no hard shoulder.
Utter ****!
The infrastructure project manager for the M4 Smart Motorway upgrade is a Welsh lady from the Valleys.
Hope that helps.
Guess he could just park there and wait for the AA to turn up.
Who knows when that might be given their track record of late.
But yes he should not be doing it.
And this is a perfect example of why motorways with no hardshoulder area terrible idea.
Illegal? No idea.
Bloody stupid? Oh yes.
Smart motorways are a joke !
4 lanes on the m25 in most places now, but no hard shoulder, any accidents or breakdowns and they close off 1, sometimes 2 lanes.
Absolutely ridiculous!
Really if it's a smart motorway, lane 1 should revert back to being a hard shoulder almost immediately no?
Dark autumn day that's taking the risk but then what can they do if they don't have AA or road side assistance etc?
10 years ago when I had a blowout on the M40 and changed the wheel, cowering every time an artic went past I was later told that I should've called the highways boys and they'd come out and park their chessboard SUV behind me then watch me whilst drinking coffee and eating doughnuts.
Anybody selling those things should do mandatory jail time.To be fair tho the bloke was getting his Mrs to stand the little red triangle back up each time a lorry blew it over!
Leave the vehicle and get off the motorway behind the barrier and wait for the police.Dark autumn day that's taking the risk but then what can they do if they don't have AA or road side assistance etc?
Anybody selling those things should do mandatory jail time.
Interesting opinion- why's that's.
Although mines not little. Quite good for giving advance notice of a stopped vehicle if placed sufficient distance from the obstruction.
once folded out and once you stick some weight on the back arm you'll have to run it over to make it move.
Not saying iwould rely on it on a motorway mind ... But there are many other statuations it's anice to have
lane 1 should revert back to being a hard shoulder almost immediately no?
On day 1 of the M1 being fully re-opened after conversion to 'smart' motorway with no hard shoulder between 29 and 30, I was driving south, and northbound was 4 lanes of stationary vehicles with emergency vehicles trying to fight their way through to get to the incident.
Once the motorway has ground to a halt it's too late to revert lane 1 back to a hard shoulder. Bloody stupid idea, I'm sure people will die due to the delay in the emergency services getting to the scene.
It's all in here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/breakdowns-and-incidents-274-to-287
Rule 277
If you cannot get your vehicle onto the hard shoulder:
1. do not attempt to place any warning device on the carriageway
2. switch on your hazard warning lights
3. leave your vehicle only when you can safely get clear of the carriageway.
It was a proper jaw dropped wtf moment when I saw her scrabbling round to pick up the triangle. Her hair was blowing round like she was doing a pantene shampoo advert as she was so close to the artics still thundering by. **** that i'd have been out and behind the barrier until I got a bit of cover from something with flashing lights all over it!
Mmmmmmm flashing lights.
Look up rather fixation.
Mates a recovery truck driver.
He's had folk actually attempt GTA style use the truck as a jump despite it being an Xmas tree.
Recovery truck drivers don't get paid enough imo.
Smart motorways are a joke !
4 lanes on the m25 in most places now, but no hard shoulder, any accidents or breakdowns and they close off 1, sometimes 2 lanes.
Absolutely ridiculous!
True, but how often do you break down now Vs 50 years ago when motorways first appeared? Car's from the 70's barely make it through a month without needing some fettling, modern cars don't even need annual oil changes anymore! Having an extra lane which you can turn on/off is far more useful.
I probably see two cars a week on the hard shoulder on my commute in 320 miles, get stuck in traffic every day though.
Added bonus is the entry/exit slip road becomes lane 1, so the other three lanes can carry on at 70mph rather than the whole thing grinding to a halt when Mr Audi tries to merge straight into the fast lane from a standing start before reversing the procedure at the next junction.
Christ, I went up the M1 a week ago and in the inside lane near Tibshelf was a young woman holding a baby standing next to her broken down car whilst Arctics and other Trucks slam braked all over the carriageway to get out of the way.. Smart Motorway, no hard shoulder.. though I suspect it's not the Smart Motorways fault but quite why she was stood next to the car is quite beyond my comprehension..
Made my blood run cold that did.
It would need to be 245m + back to be of any use as an advanced warning and the danger you put yourself in travelling there and back to put it up is far greater than any good it does. There is a reason why traffic management and motorway maintenance vehicles are lit up like christmas trees.Although mines not little. Quite good for giving advance notice of a stopped vehicle if placed sufficient distance from the obstruction.
then what can they do if they don't have AA or road side assistance etc?
Use the emergency phones and get yourself off the carriageway and a safe distance away asap.
One example, there are far worse on youtube, etc.
I can't find the stats online but I'm sure I've read recently that the vast majority of motorway deaths involve stationary vehicles.
Yes, that's much more safer. 🙂km79 - Member
Dark autumn day that's taking the risk but then what can they do if they don't have AA or road side assistance etc?
Leave the vehicle and get off the motorway behind the barrier and wait for the police.
It would need to be 245m + back to be of any use
So not 2 feet behind the vehicle when stopped in the middle lane.
I've seen a longer better quality version of this but I can't find it. It shows a vehicle swerving out of the middle lane giving the camera car no chance to avoid.
Your partial quotage is crap km79.
Mean while how about I have broken down on an a road but I'm.imobile and I'm.round a blind corner waiting on the AA.
Put up the triangle before the corner and folk will slow down.
I think there should be two versions of the triangle.
One should be flashing triangle that can alert driver from very far behind. You know like the one they use on road maintenance that light up like Xmas tree.
Those tiny triangle that you have now cannot be clearly visible for winter usage IMO.
Not such a smart motorway then, I thought it was monitored and as soon as somebody was spotted needing help it went back to being a hard shoulder?
Edit - beaten to it.
I can't find the stats online but I'm sure I've read recently that the vast majority of motorway deaths involve stationary vehicles.
and one doing 80mph.
Look up Chapter 4, Appendix A of the traffic sign manual and see for yourself the distances required for the speeds involved. Far better to put on a his-vis jacket and stand in a position of safety off the road and use arm signals to warn folk if you must.Your partial quotage is crap km79.Mean while how about I have broken down on an a road but I'm.imobile and I'm.round a blind corner waiting on the AA.
Put up the triangle before the corner and folk will slow down.
And I speak from experience having been involved in accident investigations relating to this very subject.
[i]and one doing 80mph.[/i]
Usually the slower drivers then?
Triangles are not to be used on Motorways at all.
It's covered under rule 275.
leave the vehicle by the left-hand door and ensure your passengers do the same. You MUST leave any animals in the vehicle or, in an emergency, keep them under proper control on the verge. [b]Never attempt to place a warning triangle on a motorway
[/b]
It would need to be 245m + back...
96m from flattening the triangle (audible warning too 🙂 ) to stopping from 70mph (Highway Code stopping distance).
Highway Code advises that triangles, etc, should never be used on a motorway (BEB beat me to it)
Police initially cone 100m off before their car on a motorway
[quote=nickhit3 ]
and one doing 80mph.
more likely 56mph.
Guess he could just park there and wait for the AA to turn up.Who knows when that might be given their track record of late
As the ‘forth emergency service” they’d turn up after the police, fire and ambulance, but before the coastguard, mountain rescue and the bomb squad.
that's why you use the emergency telephones, that way they can pinpoint you within a mile, turn on the warning matrix signs, apply a speed limit (not that we'd adhere to it because we know better and can make our own decisions based on info we don't yet have) and get someone to you PDQ.
When it happened to me I couldn't get out of the car and up the bank fast enough, I was shitting myself and frankly only the most rabid idiot would think staying in the car was the right course of action. Then when the traffic wombles turned up, they parked behind me with all lights on and traffic moved into L2 and 3 and made me change my own wheel anyway 😉
The hard shoulder was the perfect place for me to set up my fold up table and chair to eat my sandwiches while the family wandered off to find somewhere to pee.
Big difference between not using them on the motorway and
Anybody selling those things should do mandatory jail time.
They have their place
You can still drive on a flat, slowly. Just keep going until you find one of the pull-ins that they often leave for this purpose.
To be fair tho the bloke was getting his Mrs to stand the little red triangle back up each time a lorry blew it over!
Anybody selling those things should do mandatory jail time.
No, you're not supposed to use them on the motorway though. They're intended to place a bit behind your car if you're stopped on a poorly sighted country road (round a corner etc.) - motorway there is no point.
I'd probably try to limp it to a safe place on a smart motorway.
OK, yes I exaggerated for effect.Big difference between not using them on the motorway and
Anybody selling those things should do mandatory jail time.
Yes, as a useless novelty item with deadly consequences.They have their place
Once was driving along, saw one, slowed down and guess what, broken down car round a blind bend.
Bloody useful in that situation.
Deadly molgrips you spelt deadly wrong !
Sadly death by smart motorway has already happened round here (M1) I can't remember the exact details it was on local telly news, but broken down car in lane 1, smart signals indicating lane closed, truck continued in lane 1 and hit the car killing the occupants. In this case the truck driver was prosecuted for driving without due care or something similar. It was reported as a just another RTA with no blame attached to the motorway layout but I doubt it would have happened if the hard shoulder was still in place. Get out of the car and behind the barriers, even if it is a on hard shoulder.
Deadly molgrips you spelt deadly wrong !
🙂
Get out of the car and WELL behind the barriers, even if it is a on hard shoulder.
FTFY
Seen people stood just the other side of the armco from their cars. better than in them, but if it's hit by another vehicle the debris goes a long way.
Whoops, when we broke down on a smart motorway we put the triangle out - wasn't aware of that rule. I stood near the triangle (rather than near the car) behind the barrier in the hope that if anything hit the car it would be shunted away from me. We moved in 3 stages - first a truck driver stopped on the slip road to the services (only 100m or so away but we couldn't make it) and pushed us that far. Then The police turned up fairly quickly and parked behind us, followed by highways who towed us into the services properly where we waited for the breakdown people (it was the timing belt and a tow home rather than anything fixable).
I had double blowout after hitting a spade(!) in outside lane of Aston Expressway (the raised bit) many years ago. The car was near enough sat on its exhaust, in a hard shoulder that was too narrow.
I called 999, the police motorway patrol did a brilliant job of sitting in inside lane with blues on, while assisting me to change one wheel, I basically then dragged my arse off the motorway at next junction with them following me off with blues on.
They even called the wombles patrol who also helped me get a new tyre from a nearby garage without having to drive on a flat.
I would NOT have changed tyre in live lane of motorway, no way.