Hey…waddya mean by we think were gods gift down here`…we dont think it,we know it…why dya think the country is run from London…and not oop norf !!
Are you allowed to use the outside lane on dual carriange ways of more than 2 lanes then?
Good point. This has come up before & we’ve never yet had definative answer.
I’ve discussed it with other intructors & other drivers…still no nearer.
Personally I can’t find anything that says you can’t use it.
MarcusTandy might be the man to comment on this.
Yeah i looked it up to check and can only find the rule relating to Motorways in the highway code.
in this example You can use all the lanes at the dartford crossing due to it being a filter system. ie. the two right hand lanes are for M25/M20 and next two A2/M2 etc
dennisw1:
What i do when i have left the
Extorsion booths…can you imagine the carnage if they wearnt there though!
It would be difficult to imagine as there would be no carnage.
What makes you think there would be?
If you take away the tolls and restrict the lanes to the current 4 then it would be like any other stretch of motorway/trunk road.
The only reason there are queues in the first place is because of the tolls which incidentally should’ve stopped being charged in 2001 by Act of Parliment.
They were only allowed to collect tolls until the bridge was paid for now we get 8 mile tailbacks daily so Teflon Tony can get his mits on 17.5% of everything that goes through there.
(I wouldn’t mind betting that if you checked out a list of Directors/Consultants you’ll find the name of a Labour MP in there somewhere 
.
They dont get “Brown Envelopes” anymore they call them non-executive directorships nowadays )
One of my pet hates 
It would be difficult to imagine as there would be no carnage.
What makes you think there would be?
No booths there to regulate the flow of traffic into the tunnels, it’s bad enough now with people cut each other up, imagine what it would be like with everone doing it at once.
You also need something there to prevent traffic building up in the tunnels, the road is so busy it’ll always happen at peak times.
Must admit though there is a fair amount of disparity in their prices.
I mean it costs the same for all goods vehicles, regardless of whether its a Austin Mini van or a 32ton rigid. Then they add the same on for a trailer, so a mini van with a camping trailer costs the same as a 44 ton artic. A Mini van costs 80p more than a mini estate, only difference is one has seats and windows in the back.
and why the hell should motorbikes go through for free?
As you come off the bridge ACW the left hand is A226 Swanscombe, lanes 3/4 A2/M2, lanes 4/5 M25/M20.
I always run up to the top of the bridge in lane 2 as there are usually vehicles in lane 1, struggling or just sticking with the 50 mph limit. About a third of the way from the bottom I get into lane 3 and take the very right hand booth to pay, as soon as I exit the booth I indicate right and head for lane 4 as I am nearly always heading for the M25/M23. As I cross between 10pm and 6am I pay £1.00.
Driveroneuk:
Are you allowed to use the outside lane on dual carriange ways of more than 2 lanes then?
Good point. This has come up before & we’ve never yet had definative answer.
I’ve discussed it with other intructors & other drivers…still no nearer.
Personally I can’t find anything that says you can’t use it.MarcusTandy might be the man to comment on this.
The key point to remember is that (as said above) if you can’t find anything to say ‘you can’t’ then you probably can!! That isn’t as open-ended as it at first sounds, though!
With regard to the ‘lane 3 of a dual carriageway’ question, I, and my colleagues, all say it is allowed. The extract below is from The Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 legislation and covers which vehicles are not permitted in lane 3 of a motorway; there is no equivalent for dual carriageways and so the answer is ‘yes’.
The Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982
12(1) This Regulation applies to:
(a) a goods vehicle having a maximum laden weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes,
(aa) a goods vehicle:-
(i) having a maximum laden weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 7.5 tonnes, and
(ii) to which regulation 36B of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986[4] applies or would apply but for paragraph (14)(a) or (b) of that regulation;"; and
(b) a passenger vehicle which is constructed or adapted to carry more than eight seated passengers in addition to the driver the maximum laden weight of which exceeds 7.5 tonnes;
(bb ) a passenger vehicle -
(i) which is constructed or adapted to carry more than eight seated passengers in addition to the driver the maximum laden weight of which does not exceed 7.5 tonnes, and
(ii) to which regulation 36A of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (Speed limiters) applies or would apply but for paragraph (13)(a) or (b) of that regulation
(c) a motor vehicle drawing a trailer and
(d) a vehicle which is a motor trailer, a light locomotive or a heavy.
12(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3) below, no vehicle to which this Regulation applies shall be driven or moved or stop or remain at rest on the right hand or offside lane of a length of carriageway which has three or more traffic lanes at any place where all the lanes are open for use by traffic proceeding in the same direction.
12(3) The prohibition contained in paragraph (2) above shall not apply to a vehicle while it is being driven on any right hand or offside lane such as is mentioned in that paragraph in so far as it is necessary for the vehicle to be driven to enable it to pass another vehicle which is carrying or drawing a load of exceptional width.
12(4) Nothing in this regulation shall have effect so as to require a vehicle to change lane during a period when it would not be reasonably practicable for it to do so without involving danger of injury to any person or inconvenience to other traffic.
One of the things to bare in mind whilst driving your ‘44t’ in lane 3 is to ensure that you aren’t/haven’t done anything that could be deemed to Driving Without Due Care & Attention or even Dangerous Driving - you just know the odds are stacked against you 'cos you’re an ‘orrible trucker’!!
Thank you kind sir 
just as i thought. (PM received also)
One bit made me laugh: about trailers not being allowed to remain at rest in the outside lane. Hmmm, that means when they park their caravans out there then (as they do) [tow car on hard shoulder] often facing the wrong way, in summer, they’ll get nicked for having it there then? 
he he he, falling of my chair laughing!
dennisw1:
No booths there to regulate the flow of traffic into the tunnels, it’s bad enough now with people cut each other up, imagine what it would be like with everone doing it at once.
Then howcome this dosen’t happen at the Blackwall Tunnel there are no booths there or Rotherhithe or Holmsdale or Folkestone (A20 not Eurotunnel)
or Hatfield etc etc etc
[quote=“dennisw1”
You also need something there to prevent traffic building up in the tunnels, the road is so busy it’ll always happen at peak times.[[/quote]
The reason it is so busy is because of the artificial (as opposed to accident or breakdown neither of which can be forseen) queues caused by the toll boothes themselves.
If you go through in the rush hours you’ll notice that once through the booths the queue magically disappears
Must admit though there is a fair amount of disparity in their prices.
dennisw1:
I mean it costs the same for all goods vehicles, regardless of whether its a Austin Mini van or a 32ton rigid. Then they add the same on for a trailer, so a mini van with a camping trailer costs the same as a 44 ton artic. A Mini van costs 80p more than a mini estate, only difference is one has seats and windows in the back.and why the hell should motorbikes go through for free?
Like I said before nobody should be paying now but the reason motorbikes go through for free is because they take too much time to pay as they have to
Take off gloves
search jacket for change
pay
put on gloves
then go through,It may not seem like a long time until you sit behind one while they do it.
If you go through in the rush hours you’ll notice that once through the booths the queue magically disappears
Yes becasue the booths are regulating the flow. Take them away and you would just have the queus at the tunnel mouths with idiots trying to switch tunnels at the last minute and making it worse. Also as i said you cant have traffic building up ‘in’ the tunnels.
Then howcome this dosen’t happen at the Blackwall Tunnel
It doesnt?! There is only one tunnel going in each direction, the traffic doesnt have to split and there arent so many lanes being condensed. Are you saying there are never queues at the Blackwall tunnel?
Folkestone (A20 not Eurotunnel)
Doesn;t bear any resemblance to the Dartford crossing. Nothing like as busy and is still a strgiht tunnel with one in each direction and no condensing of lanes.
Hatfield etc etc etc
Same as Folkestone A20 above.
Must admit i’ve not been through Holmsdale or Rotherhithe.
Like I said before nobody should be paying now but the reason motorbikes go through for free is because they take too much time to pay as they have to
Take off gloves
search jacket for change
pay
put on gloves
Take off glove, unzip pocket, put hand in pocket hand over money. Can’t see how that should take any longer than find hand bag, rummage through it for ■■■■■, find change, put ■■■■■ back, put hand back back behind seat. So should women go through free for the same reason? You just get the money ready like everyone else.
dennisw1:
If you go through in the rush hours you’ll notice that once through the booths the queue magically disappears
Yes becasue the booths are regulating the flow.
So the 8 mile jams leading up to the booths are a good thing because we get to drive through the tunnel in an orderley fashion when we get there?
dennisw1:
Take them away and you would just have the queus at the tunnel mouths with idiots trying to switch tunnels at the last minute and making it worse.
You’ve obviuosly not paid much attention to the 300metres between the booths & the tunnel mouths lately
dennisw1:
Also as i said you cant have traffic building up ‘in’ the tunnels.
My point exactly if the road was a continuous carriageway there would be no build up of traffic in the tunnels as per the examples already given
dennisw1:
Then howcome this dosen’t happen at the Blackwall Tunnel
It doesnt?! There is only one tunnel going in each direction, the traffic doesnt have to split and there arent so many lanes being condensed. Are you saying there are never queues at the Blackwall tunnel?
Folkestone (A20 not Eurotunnel)
Doesn;t bear any resemblance to the Dartford crossing. Nothing like as busy and is still a strgiht tunnel with one in each direction and no condensing of lanes.
Hatfield etc etc etc
Same as Folkestone A20 above.
Must admit i’ve not been through Holmsdale or Rotherhithe.
Exactly if you had put my quote in where I stated
North Surrey Haulage:
If you take away the tolls and restrict the lanes to the current 4 then it would be like any other stretch of motorway/trunk road.
By restricting the lanes you remove the oppertunity to “switch” lanes at the last minute.
All you would need to do this is a few cones ,which is a lot cheaper & enviromentally friendly than hundreds of cars, buses & lorries sitting there with their engines running on little more than tickover for half an hour
dennisw1:
Like I said before nobody should be paying now but the reason motorbikes go through for free is because they take too much time to pay as they have to
Take off gloves
search jacket for change
pay
put on glovesTake off glove, unzip pocket, put hand in pocket hand over money. Can’t see how that should take any longer than find hand bag, rummage through it for ■■■■■, find change, put ■■■■■ back, put hand back back behind seat. So should women go through free for the same reason?
You asked why, I told you.
I dont make up the rules if I did it wouldn’t be there