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Fri 18 Dec 2015 21:47

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - injection doc

The ignorance of drivers on motorways driving down closed motorway lanes is certainley on the increase.

Its about time that if you drove past a RED X a camera should prosecute you for everyones saftey.

I have seen it so many times but a few days ago was alarming, 5 cars all involved in a pile up were on the hard shoulder, the nearside lane had a red x and plenty of arrows warning drivers to move over lanes. This caused slow traffic in the three outer lanes and as we got too the accident cars were driving down the closed lane at 70+ whilst the traffic officers were standing in the nearside lane waving the cars over. These officers were risking their lives to protect others.

These ignorant selfish numpties should be banned for life from driving.

Also now an alarming number of cars overtake on hard shoulders, even when its NOT a smart motorway.

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Fri 18 Dec 2015 22:04

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - S40 Man

Red x means lane closed. It said so on information board. Education innit

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Fri 18 Dec 2015 22:23

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - RichT54

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlzpfl5nrtc

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Fri 18 Dec 2015 22:51

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - Engineer Andy

I've seen drivers do this everal times on the M25. They're just asking for trouble, though it doesn't help when other matrix signs (normally the variable speed limit ones) force you to 40mph, only to find they're about 30mins out of date and the road ahead is clear (I've often seen distinctive cars overtake mine still doing 70+, pass the 'all clear' national speed limit sign and see them again 20+ miles down the road at the next motorway services car park. More and more people choose as a result not to believe such information signs, sometimes resulting in tragedies.

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Fri 18 Dec 2015 23:18

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - bathtub tom

Isn't the current thinking you should drive up to a an obstruction and then filter?

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Sat 19 Dec 2015 00:45

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - Engineer Andy

Only with cones. Most of these occurances involve police and others removing debris from the road or starting to lay cones further up after an accident/obstruction in a lane (broken down vehicles etc), and thus want the traffic moved safely away well before they get to them and at a lower speed to avoid dangerous situations arising.

These idiots drive as if there were no problems (I've also seen them tailgating) at 70 or more - only the first vehicle can hope to clearly see (in good weather) why they are having to change lanes and when, so even if they can avoid an accident themselves and filter into the open lane, vehicles behind them might not see in time (especially at night) and plough straight into them if they suddenly brake and/or turn into another lane (which itself might cause an accident).

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Sat 19 Dec 2015 01:35

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - Ben 10

Overhead lane gantry signs should reduce speeds across all lanes prior to the red X sign, which then gives plenty of time to slow down and move to a normal flowing lane.
Then as the OP says, you continue towards the red X sign and you cross under it, you should get flashed and a automatic ban. These lanes are closed to protect lives. You flout and gamble, you deserve a ban. The deterrent of a ban should be enough to prod these idiots into abiding by the rules.
A years ban. No exceptions. They're playing with other people's lives as well as their own.

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Sat 19 Dec 2015 10:27

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - Engineer Andy

As I recall, prior to the 'red Xs' the matrix signs show either an arrow to move left/right or the 'lanes blocked ahead' road sign, so drivers have fair warning of the closed sections.

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Sat 19 Dec 2015 12:02

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - Ben 10

Yes you are correct for the present warnings.
But if a suggestion of a ban is involved, there has to be no option for these idiots with their excuses for abusing the current system. Obviously it is'nt working. A combination of signs and a nice photo has to be the way ahead.
With as much warning as possible leading to a lane closure can only justify a ban when these idiots get to court and argue the point. So enough rope to hang themselves so to speak and enough time to do the right thing.

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Sat 19 Dec 2015 14:57

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - Wackyracer

I'm not one to look back with rose tinted glasses but, I definately think that driving standards are much worse thesedays.

I see several incidents of severe tailgating whenever I'm driving regardless of vehicle types.

I've always found that people ignore the overhead gantries on motorways. When it's 40mph you'll have someone behind trying to push you along or over taking.

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Sat 19 Dec 2015 15:09

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - RT

I'm not one to look back with rose tinted glasses but, I definately think that driving standards are much worse thesedays.

I see several incidents of severe tailgating whenever I'm driving regardless of vehicle types.

I've always found that people ignore the overhead gantries on motorways. When it's 40mph you'll have someone behind trying to push you along or over taking.

I'm not sure that driving standards are worse now - changed certainly but then so have traffic levels.

I've "always" thought that banning the worse 50% of drivers would make the roads so much safer - I wonder why I can't find a single politician to support that view?

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Sat 19 Dec 2015 19:43

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - focussed

" I wonder why I can't find a single politician to support that view?"

Possibly because you haven't found a single politician that either knows what they are talking about when it comes to driving - or who can give a damn anyway?

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Sat 19 Dec 2015 23:10

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - Ben 10

Agree Wacky. Standards have dropped. People driving for themselves rather for everyone. Ignoring rules leading to more aggression and poor traffic ettiquette that leads to congestion.

Recent experience of people turning left or right from weird positions crossing paths or holding up people going straight. And those going around the whole roundabout in the near side lane cutting across everyone. Maybe a foreigner thing not used to RABs, or just numpties with bad practices.

As you said tailgating. Maybe the introduction of sensors to keep vehicles apart wouldn't be a bad idea. It's frightening how bad some drivers are. Not only are they playing with our lives, but their own as well.

Sometimes I'd like to catch up with these drivers and see what makes them tick. And going by many police fly on the wall TV shows, there are a hell of a lot of people meandering around on provisionals, disqualifications and no licences whatsoever.

Most drivers are considerate, safe and drive to the rules. But many have a self important arrogant attitude that makes driving amongst them a pain and a chore.

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Sun 20 Dec 2015 06:01

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - 1litregolfeater

I thought RED X was to clear sticky piston rings, so there's no hope for me.

Seriously with all the confusing laws, we're all gonna be driving at 40 mph on the motorway checking our backs and driving up each others a***s

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Sun 20 Dec 2015 20:12

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - alan1302

I thought RED X was to clear sticky piston rings, so there's no hope for me.

Seriously with all the confusing laws, we're all gonna be driving at 40 mph on the motorway checking our backs and driving up each others a***s

Don't see why? What confusing laws? This one is a clear signal the lane witht the X is blocked so you need to move out.

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Sun 20 Dec 2015 20:40

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - injection doc

" Seriously with all the confusing laws, we're all gonna be driving at 40 mph on the motorway checking our backs and driving up each others a***sDon't see why?

Couldnt agree more Alan1302

What confusing laws? This one is a clear signal the lane witht the X is blocked so you need to move out."

Those that think something this simple is confusing then their licence should be confiscated for life ! as they are not only a danger to themsleves but to everyone else as well !

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Mon 21 Dec 2015 14:59

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - Ian_SW

The red x lane sign is one of the so called 'Smart Motorway' functions that is anything but smart (or at least used in an intelligent way by the people who control them)

They can provide a useful function in the middle of the night to protect a stranded vehicle until the police turn up with cones, but in any level of traffic at all they just make the situation less safe.

The traffic flow will detect the obstruction far sooner than anyone can turn the signs on, most likely within seconds turning into a queue in all lanes. If the queue was left to manage itself as used to happen, once the initial 15 seconds post incident has passed, the danger at the obstruction will be very low as nothing will be doing more than a few miles per hour. It is worth warning drivers of the queue so they don't run into the back of it, but nothing is needed at the blockage itself.

The problem with the red x sign is that the lane is usually shut so far back that it gives the impression that the system is broken, or that the problem has gone away. Given the record of the 'Warning - Incident' from an event cleared hours earlier, or the 50mph speed limit for half a mile for no reason at 1am, this isn't surprising. There will also be a significant proportion of drivers (older or foreign) who think it means 'Lane Closed Ahead', not 'Lane Closed Here'. The red x sign has only been on the driving test for about ten years.

Ironically the way it is applied by the 'smart motorway' is exactly that. If there is a red x on a gantry, and you can see the road is clear to the next gantry, there shouldn't be a red x sign there, but there often is. The concept of 'excessive warning' for drivers has been known for years. Level crossing engineers figured out pretty quickly after a couple of accidents that on automatic open crossings and half barriers that if you put the lights on too early, the drivers decide the system is broken and drive through the red lights just at the moment a train is coming.

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Mon 21 Dec 2015 15:30

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - gordonbennet

Interesting post Skodalan and one i agree with.

I've had a few instances now of finding cars parked, presumably broken down not long, on the live lane hard shoulder in B'ham area M6.

In all cases i was in my lorry so usually doing about 51/52mph, the problem is when the live lane is signed as clear you tend to assume it is and its surprising even at 50mph on a wet dull motorway how quickly you close the gap on a parked vehicle, so quick evasive action is the order of the day unless you're going to be the one who brakes the first two lanes and start the inevitable crawl...thats the dangerous few minutes, and still traffic is piling up behind you because the operator has gone for a fag or to get a bacon buttie or whatever, or maybe there simply isn't anyone watching at all, who knows?...but the lights tell you all is well, so its natural to assume all is well.

I'm not at all impressed with this unsmart motorway system, if we haven't the road capacity to cope with massive unending population growth, we haven't and it immigration aint going to stop, then instead of messing about with endless bodges like this we'd better start laying an extra two lanes beside the existing carriageways, and where not possible to do so such as elevated M6 Bham, the govt should take over the M6 toll road and make it free for users, and revert the whole M^ elevated back to a never live hard shoulder.

Cancelling the pointless new high speed rail and spending the money saved on something worthwhile like real road and rail improvements would make life better for everyone, while at it maybe some of umpteen billions of foreign aid could be better spent here.

Not doing anything sensible, which is what we have been doing for some years now, and i expect the whole system to grind to a complete halt within 20 years..has anyone been out at 5am recently on the motorways and witnessed just how many lorries are on the road, very little change at weekends when nearly every lorry is carrying food, the carriage of food can only increase in line with population growth.

Edited by gordonbennet on 21/12/2015 at 15:33

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Tue 22 Dec 2015 02:53

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - 1litregolfeater

Don't you have two eyes to see what's in front of you, you need to slow down a bit mate if you need big brother to post a big red red cross over your head.

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Tue 22 Dec 2015 12:37

any - Cars driving down motorway lanes with RED X - alan1302

Don't you have two eyes to see what's in front of you, you need to slow down a bit mate if you need big brother to post a big red red cross over your head.

The red x will normally be on a gantry warning you to move across from the lane before you can see any broken down vehcile in the lane. So nothing to do with needing to slow down.

You've not explained what is confusing about it though.

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