Hard Shoulder use to extend to rest of UK.

[JonB]

https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7275004.stm

I have used the M42 many times since this was brought in and I think it is a good idea.

However no-one ever really uses the hard shoulder I have found.

It's also a pain in the arse at junctions.
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[TheDonUK]

I hope i dont break down is all i will say,

Fair enough the little lights will change once an accident has been reported and confirmed and then filtered through all the channels it has to go through, It sounds like the moments after an accident or breakdown will be very dangerous on motorways now...

[Kickstart]

Hi

I hate those bits. Just feel, well, numb when using them with the reduced limit and hard shoulder running. The signs generally say to only use the hard shoulder if you are going off at the next exit.

Basically a real cheapskate way of increasing motorway capacity. What is really required is a bit of effort in building new and desperatly required motorways.

All the best

Keith
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[JonB]

That's never going to happen though Keith, Labour will never inject money into road building, even though it would reduce emissions by a huge amount.

However apparantly there are still plans to upgrade the M6 from Stafford to the M6 toll to as many as 6 lanes each way. That would be confusing as hell.

As for an accident happening, I presume in an accident with your normal three lanes in operation, nobody is going to be passing the scene very quickly. You'd have to have a major breakdown to not make the designated refuse areas that are every 500m.
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[Kickstart]

[JonB]

Yeah you have a valid point on all accounts.

The UK motorway network is largely an unfinished entity, first stalled during the 70's and then the 90's. Heck it was lucky that the M40 from Oxford to the M42 was done before Labour were in power, otherwise everyone would still be going up the M1 and M6 from London to Birmingham.

I suppose now all we can do is wait and see what happens regarding personal transport, if a viable car is produced that will be around for the long term, then the government in power will have no choice but to upgrade every motorway in the UK.

Interestingly enough the M69 that goes from Coventry to Leicester was supposed to extend southwards all the way to the M50 junction at Strensham on the M5. That would have eased a lot of congestion around Birmingham for sure.
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[Itchy]

problem is a lack of will not engineering posibilties.

My solution would be prefab concrete roads made in china to double or triple deck the motorway network.

https://www.hel2.fi/kkansl/jugendsali/Nayttelyt/Kaunis%20Kiina/3.jpg

Sort of like above I've been on that bridge in Shanghai on a bus with a mad driver.

you can effectively have the T columns like in the above pic planted into the middle of the motorways (moving all the lanes out a bit and eating slightly into the shoulder) and have a deck above and below, need more capacity build a triple deck , need more capacity? , build a 4th deck.
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[TheDonUK]

Thats one of the better ideas i have heard,

but if the government are too cheap to extend the current motorways to 4+ lanes then what chance is there of them forking out for essentially another entire motorway on top existings ones, I also assume entire stretches of motorway would need to be closed for construction, what about drainage?

But i do like the idea, it just seems like its asking a major committment from a government that is unwilling to make any committments unless they involve shafting students and Iraq's...

[Skudd]

a good idea would be to learn how to use the bloody roads in the first place. Most motorways have three lanes but drivers only use one or two.
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Well some @bcf will disagree.
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[Kickstart]

Hi

Most of those come easily when you add an extra lane!

Try it though. It is just unpleasant. And the lack of difference in speed just encourages the centre lane owners club.

As to deaths. There are (2005 figures) 2201.88 miles of motorway, and the M42 bit using the hard shoulder is 11 miles long. So roughly 1/2% of the motorway network . From 1994 – 2004, 124 people were killed and 1355 were injured in accidents involving vehicles on the hard shoulder. As such you would expect a death on a section that long every 16 years and a serious injury every 1.5 years. In other words it is hardly a large enough number to yet be statisticaly relevant.

All the best

Keith
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