Face:
Jesus how ■■■■ up is that? I didn’t realise… I thought it was bad enough having a seemingly permanent ‘caution queue’ and 40mph limit on the almost empty SB M6 at 3am…
My favourite was coming up the M1 during a heavy rain shower in the early hours. I’d just driven a hundred miles or so at 50ish mph ( and the cars at 70ish) When I got to the M1 “smart” bit. The matrix were set to 50 with a “spray” warning. Needless to say, the cameras were going off like mad.
Why that particular bit of road needs a lower limit when all the others were safe at 70 I’ll never know.
Just remember, it’s about safety, not raising money!
Maigret:
This is the Agency that will make your wives and children sit on the side of the Motorway wrapped in a Space Blanket at sub zero temperatures because Policy won’t allow them in the car.
Given the number of lorry drivers who seem to regard straying well onto the hard shoulder for no obvious reason as part and parcel of driving, I imagine that it is indeed a lot safer behind the barrier regardless of ambient temperature. It’s where I would be.
Maigret:
The real disgrace is now the fact that the Motorway network is controlled by the HA and not the Police. The HA make or just support all policy decisions even when they are clearly wrong - such as Smart Motorway Hard Shoulder running.
This is the Agency that drives around in large 4 WD vehicles but won’t move the broken down or damaged vehicle unless all 4 wheels will turn - thus causing unnecessary tailbacks and delays.
This is the Agency that will make your wives and children sit on the side of the Motorway wrapped in a Space Blanket at sub zero temperatures because Policy won’t allow them in the car.
It should not really surprise anyone that MIDAS activates when it’s not needed, at speeds that are too low and remains active long after the issue that caused it to activate in the first place. It’s run by the HA.
Your post shows just how ill informed you are!
HE traffic officers will move damaged vehicles to the H/S even if all wheels don’t roll, but if there are injuries, then the police have to OK it first. They can even right overturned cars then drag them to the H/S. All this has to be done in a safe environment, ie. with traffic stopped, not whilst Mr Audi & Mr BMW and your colleagues are flashing past at warp factor 4. So a patrol sat behind a vehicle in the live lane, will probably be waiting for another patrol to put a rolling block on the give that safe environment.
Sitting in the car on the H/S is quite dangerous, all occupants are advised to get behind the barrier, that’s why it’s also advised to carry a waterproof coat with you, T/O’s have space blankets & cheap waterproof ponchos that they give out if required, don’t forget that you need child seats to carry children, patrol cars don’t have them.
Every motoring organisation / police force/ etc. gives advice about driving in winter weather, people need to take notice and be responsible for themselves. you’d be surprised how many forget to even turn on their hazards lights.
MIDAS. these are sunken wires in the road surface (similar to those in front of traffic lights) they react to the average speed of the traffic flowing over them, the system checks each ‘pad’ approx every 4 minutes and adjusts the speed up or down according the what traffic is doing, to note though, it will only step down in maximum steps of 20mph, so if it’s showing 40mph, there will be either a 50 or a 60 prior to this. It will also only step down to a maximum 30mph below the normal speed limit, that’s why you can get 50 / 40 /40/40/40 etc. and actually be stopped in a traffic jam, It’s the early signals that are important, to warn you of the need to slow down.
Yes, it’s true that a slow HGV can trigger MIDAS, but it should reset after approx 4 mins if traffic has gone over the pad a little faster. So you could be driving along at night, with next to no traffic on the road, you then ignore the midas warnings, then in front of you is a HGV limping along at 20mph, a lot of your colleagues are very good at running into the arse of other heavies!
If the signals are just 50’s, and there is no available message to say what they’re set for, this might not be MIDAS, but a manual setting for a “Unconfirmed incident” this could be anything, from nothing (usually due to an incorrect or wide location given) or it could be a complete disaster that’s happened in front of you. Signals would be amended to lane closures/ lower speeds etc. once the correct location & incident is confirmed by, CCTV, Police patrol, HE patrol. This type of manual setting can only be cancelled on the authorisation of a police / HE patrol at scene.
The largest amount of manual settings are for debris, which could be anything from a cardboard box (That could easily blow away, but still needs to be checked) to shed loads, HGV straps & tyre debris are plentiful.
Maigret:
This is the Agency that will make your wives and children sit on the side of the Motorway wrapped in a Space Blanket at sub zero temperatures because Policy won’t allow them in the car.
Would you prefer your wives and children to wait in the car on the hard shoulder until it gets hit by a inattentive lorry driver who has drifted over the edge line?
Maigret:
This is the Agency that will make your wives and children sit on the side of the Motorway wrapped in a Space Blanket at sub zero temperatures because Policy won’t allow them in the car.
Would you prefer your wives and children to wait in the car on the hard shoulder until it gets hit by a inattentive lorry driver who has drifted over the edge line?
its down to your own personal choice which is the point…hello highways agency man…now ■■■■ off please and goodbye till the rac/aa appear…il take my car to the grass verge anytime.
Maigret:
This is the Agency that will make your wives and children sit on the side of the Motorway wrapped in a Space Blanket at sub zero temperatures because Policy won’t allow them in the car.
Would you prefer your wives and children to wait in the car on the hard shoulder until it gets hit by a inattentive lorry driver who has drifted over the edge line?
its down to your own personal choice which is the point…hello highways agency man…now ■■■■ off please and goodbye till the rac/aa appear…il take my car to the grass verge anytime.
We don’t make you do anything, I give safety advice, if you don’t want to heed that advice, you don’t have to. However, if you ignore the safety advice, I’ll ask my operator to enter it on the log. That way if an inattentive driver wanders onto the hard shoulder and wipes the vehicle out, my backside is covered in coroners court.
Oh and for the umpteenth time - Highways Agency doesn’t exist, we’ve been Highways England since April 2015, and stop being sexist! we employ women as well.
Maigret:
This is the Agency that will make your wives and children sit on the side of the Motorway wrapped in a Space Blanket at sub zero temperatures because Policy won’t allow them in the car.
Would you prefer your wives and children to wait in the car on the hard shoulder until it gets hit by a inattentive lorry driver who has drifted over the edge line?
its down to your own personal choice which is the point…hello highways agency man…now ■■■■ off please and goodbye till the rac/aa appear…il take my car to the grass verge anytime.
We don’t make you do anything, I give safety advice, if you don’t want to heed that advice, you don’t have to. However, if you ignore the safety advice, I’ll ask my operator to enter it on the log. That way if an inattentive driver wanders onto the hard shoulder and wipes the vehicle out, my backside is covered is covered in coroners court.
you go through a procedure and say what you’ve been told to say…no more no less…the only folk that would do what you advise are the ones that think a womble in a hi viz has some sort of enforcement power and act accordingly…if only they knew…
dieseldog999:
the only folk that would do what you advise are the ones that think a womble in a hi viz has some sort of enforcement power and act accordingly…
Or maybe they hadn’t considered the risk from a driver who is too busy watching ■■■■ on their laptop, because driving at 56 mph is too boring, to pay attention to what is going on on the hard shoulder, until the traffic officer had advised them.
if only they knew…
Indeed, of what some people in charge of 44 tonnes were doing while driving past them on the hard shoulder.
Dumbed down to the lowest common denominator will always end badly, we have seen that with the 40MPH limit that was recently changed and how it has now reduced collisions.
dieseldog999:
you go through a procedure and say what you’ve been told to say…no more no less…the only folk that would do what you advise are the ones that think a womble in a hi viz has some sort of enforcement power and act accordingly…if only they knew…
You really are a grade A pratt aren’t you? enforcement doesn’t come into it. I give exactly the same advice that the recovery companies give their customers when they phone in. I advise them that there are some (not all- as the majority of drivers I speak to are decent respectable human beings) drivers who shouldn’t be in charge of a shopping trolley, let alone an articulated wagon. Those are the drivers I see constantly veering onto the hard shoulder as they watch TV, make a hot drink, send text messages, watch ■■■■ and all manner of things that responsible drivers don’t do!
im just someone with a completely low opinion of wombles and others involved in any similar attitude beancounting employment.as far as im concerned your lot cause more interference on the motorways that you solve and are nothing but a complete timewasting hinderance to all road users,from the ■■■■■ that type us useless stupid meaningless messages on the gantry signs,to the usually middle aged fat ■■■■■ trundling along the motorways in their kid on marked jeeps.useless from start to finish…if im 4 miles from junction 45 at midnight with nothing else on the road,then I realy don’t see the relevance in a lit up gantry sign telling me its going to take me 4 minutes to get there…plus the myriad of similar useless advisories.
simple as that.
Those signs are set by national operations centre, nothing to do with the guys on the ground, as for interference, we are measured by Key Performance Indicators, we only shut lanes as a last resort. Full closures usually only go on when there’s been a serious/fatal RTC and its the police that are in charge, we use 4x4s for the clearance capabilities as we drag live lane breakdowns and clear overturned cars and cans. Markings are nothing to do with us, that’s a DfT thing, which is why DVSA has the same markings, middle aged - yes, fat - no, I’ve just done a half marathon and raised £1400 for charity! Your opinion is just that - yours! There are far more people who have been grateful for our assistance.
BossHogg:
Those signs are set by national operations centre, nothing to do with the guys on the ground, as for interference, we are measured by Key Performance Indicators, we only shut lanes as a last resort. Full closures usually only go on when there’s been a serious/fatal RTC and its the police that are in charge, we use 4x4s for the clearance capabilities as we drag live lane breakdowns and clear overturned cars and cans. Markings are nothing to do with us, that’s a DfT thing, which is why DVSA has the same markings, middle aged - yes, fat - no, I’ve just done a half marathon and raised £1400 for charity! Your opinion is just that - yours! There are far more people who have been grateful for our assistance.
The amount of pictures i see on the highways twitter page of them sat behind a broken down car which is blocking 1 or 2 lanes tells me otherwise. Same for vehicles involved in minor crashes, always seems to be lanes coned off rather than just moving the ■■■■ thing out of the way.
I come from a background where I implemented KPI`s and all that old rubbish, the other acronyms that are used to meet targets are just as useless, they are merely there to give someone who cannot do a real job, something to do whilst at the same time providing a one size fits all, which we all know it does not…They have their uses, mostly in a profit making enterprise and where patterns can and will be established through manipulation and deception.
I fail to see what use they could possibly be in the road infrastructure And management of such.
The guys doing the work on the ground are told what to do and how to do it, or risk disciplinary proceedings and in some cases litigation, so no use having a pop at them.
The risk averse society we find ourselves in today is not going away anytime soon, so ■■■■ it up and use it to your advantage instead of becoming angry and bitter about it.
BossHogg:
Those signs are set by national operations centre, nothing to do with the guys on the ground, as for interference, we are measured by Key Performance Indicators, we only shut lanes as a last resort. Full closures usually only go on when there’s been a serious/fatal RTC and its the police that are in charge, we use 4x4s for the clearance capabilities as we drag live lane breakdowns and clear overturned cars and cans. Markings are nothing to do with us, that’s a DfT thing, which is why DVSA has the same markings, middle aged - yes, fat - no, I’ve just done a half marathon and raised £1400 for charity! Your opinion is just that - yours! There are far more people who have been grateful for our assistance.
The amount of pictures i see on the highways twitter page of them sat behind a broken down car which is blocking 1 or 2 lanes tells me otherwise. Same for vehicles involved in minor crashes, always seems to be lanes coned off rather than just moving the ■■■■ thing out of the way.
+1…amen to that…about as much use t mankind as a chocolate teapot.on the road,driving a 4x4 or watching a screen in a centre…useless jobsowrth fannys that serve no real purpose other than to attend breakdowns and make a mountain out of a molehill.
If the vehicle we’re sat behind has been involved in an RTC with injuries, we’re not allowed to move it until the police arrive as it’s classed as a crime scene until assessed by police.
dieseldog999:
+1…amen to that…about as much use t mankind as a chocolate teapot.on the road,driving a 4x4 or watching a screen in a centre…useless jobsowrth fannys that serve no real purpose other than to attend breakdowns and make a mountain out of a molehill.
I’ll tell the widow of my friend and colleague who was killed doing the job, that he died because he was a jobsworth fanny, I’m sure she’ll take comfort from that.
And management of such.