This smart Motorway on M1

It's a disaster waiting to happen.

 

I don't really see how it's that unsafe really. There are lay-bys built in every few hundred yards to pull into if you have a problem and it's not like you get a hard shoulder on most fuel carriageways and we all manage to drive up and down the dearne valley parkway ok at a higher speed too

 

Sadbrewer is right it is a disaster waiting to happen. I use the m62 ably between ainley top and Normanton, and nearly always on a speed restriction. Problem is motorway drivers are doing exactly the same as they do on a and B roads. They speed up between the cameras, then slow right down as they approach one. Will guarantee a massive pile up when drivers do this. Listen to traffic reports of how many crashes are now on this stretch.

 

I had a cambelt failure on the A1-M1 link road near Leeds a few years ago , there was no warning no noise.... just a realisation that you're slowing down rapidly and suddenly the vehicle behind ducks out and passes you quickly...fortunately I was in the inside lane and only doing around 55mph..in a vehicle without power steering and got it on to the hard shoulder without a problem , had that happened in the middle or outside lane at or around the limit I hate to think what would have happened .
The Health and Safety risk assessment for this appears to me to be flawed....once the power stops...the steering becomes rock hard...then there's the human reaction time ...you will have no time to choose a lay by and will be lucky to retain the road speed to make one , particularly on an uphill section when you will stop with tens of yards rather than hundreds on a downhill section at full speed . At a busy time I am convinced this will lead to a disaster ....there may be smart technology on these but the basic idea is far from smart.

 

because wen a tyre blows you get to take your eyes off the road long enough to be able to spot a layby!? Take it from me I was happy to be able to control the fking thing when I had all the hard shoulder to aim at.

 

I'm talking about the fact they have a hard shoulder that you can use when instructed to. Obviously now on the m1 if you have a sudden blow out or something and cant make it to the lay by's, its a pretty dangerous situation.

Also, when it comes to closing lanes off to carry out works now has to be under a police rolling block as there is no hard shoulder, which obviously is a pain in the arse for anyone using the road at that time, as well as us.

 

Apparently so, although I'm not all that sure about it. When the limit is lowered you just get all the HGV's overtaking and clogging up the road. Obviously now there's 4 live lanes on the M1 has made a big difference though.

 

Speed limits can apply to one side and not the other.

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Contrary to popular belief, the cameras aren't below the gantries, but are situated at the side of the road a few feet further along the motorway. They are active when the speed limit is reduced from 70.

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They are on the side of the gantries although on a lot of other stretches of smart motorways, including the m62 I believe the camera's are in the overhead gantries.


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As if by coincidence, just witnessed a near miss between an artic lorry and a car.

Car broken down in 1st lane just before junction 40 southbound M1. No hard shoulder but pulled well to side but still half stuck out into lane 1. Lorry must have seen this and started indicating, but car in 2nd lane hadn't noticed indicator so lorry pulls out regardless, car swerves from lane 2 to 3.

Could have been a nasty one. Still could.

 

So they weren't watching the cameras to shut the lane off

 

Every few hundred yards??? There's a five mile stretch south of Leeds with no hard shoulder, there are two refuges.

 

I think he's on about the new stretch thats just opened 31-28

 

You spend more time checking the speed signs and your speedo than looking at the road.

I drove from Northampton to Barnsley on a Sunday morning and lost count of the amount of times the speed limit changed. 70,60,50,40,60,70,50, URGH.