Why do dual carriageways have 2 lanes?

withabix

Strider590 wrote: »

To be even more pedantic again

We all know (or I hope we do) that the highway codes states that the national speed limit on a dual carriageway is 60mph... UNLESS it has a central reservation, in which case the limit is 70mph.
So therefore, there must be dual carriageways somewhere with no central reservation :rotfl:

Im going to call my driveway a dual carriageway

Not pedantic, just wrong.

If a road has no central reservation, it is not a dual carriageway, it is a single carriageway with more than two lanes.

Gloomendoom

Strider590 wrote: »

Im going to call my driveway a dual carriageway

I might start calling mine an autobahn as there is no speed limit on it at all.

flyingscotno1

blued wrote: »

I wouldnt complain, I'd rather fools queue in one lane allowing me to freely use the other than be confronted by 2 blocked lanes

People driving in the middle lane when there is nothing on the left lane is what annoys me the most.

Tell me about it- two nights ago I joined the M8- made a comment to my Dad in the car that there was nothing at all in sight on the road only the car joining at the same junction.

Of course with nothing in sight at all, she joined and spent all of 1 second in lane 1 going straight from slip road to lane 2! :mad: I was amazed- why go to lane 2 when there is nothing else- it states on the signs on the road keep left unless overtaking. Muppet. I would have to go lane 1-3 then back to 1 to get past!

She was incredulous to it all and sat for 4 miles there passing nothing! Really wish the police had been there- people like that should be told to read the rules of the roads, it is so inconsiderate.

Strider590 wrote: »

If we weren't meant to use both lanes, they wouldn't be dual carriageways! What's the point?

Of course as others say it is a common mistake- duel carriageways refers to a central reservation not the number of lanes. A 4 lane road with 2 lanes each way is a single carriageway not duel carriageway.

Rolandtheroadie

gordikin wrote: »

So the dual carraigeway near me that has a speed limit of 40mph is wrongly signposted?

No, because it's not a national speed limit dual carrigeway. Its a 40 mph dual carrigeway.

adouglasmhor

withabix wrote: »

Not pedantic, just wrong.

If a road has no central reservation, it is not a dual carriageway, it is a single carriageway with more than two lanes.

Can you not have a dual carriageway with wider white painted and hatched area instead of a central reservation? Or is that still a central reservation?

wealdroam

adouglasmhor wrote: »

Can you not have a dual carriageway with wider white painted and hatched area instead of a central reservation? Or is that still a central reservation?

What you have described is a single carriageway with wide white painted and hatched area.

adouglasmhor

wealdroam wrote: »

What you have described is a single carriageway with wide white painted and hatched area.

Fair Enoughsky as they used to say in the USSR.

skiddlydiddly

aldo wrote: »

I had a van driver do this to me once, blocked the right hand empty lane, so I moved in to the space he was in the left hand and wouldn't let him back in.

He then startedweaving in and out v close to my car, I had my 3 year old son in the back and the Mrs in the passenger seat, I was not too pleased about this and was ready to get out. But I thought no point as he could have a weapon and don't know what state of mind he could be in, so instead I was so furious-I cut him up BIG style and made him come to a stop-very much like the Police performing a manoeuvre to get a car to stop.

I then just drove off, the situation could of changed however luckily it didn't.


I just don't understand some other drivers mentality?

What you did was tantamount to road-rage and considering you had your child onboard makes you worse than the van driver IMO.If I did that with my partner and child in the car I'd have got a whollop from her before the van driver got anywhere near.

Did the battery on your irony detector fail on the last part of your post?;)

kwaks

What is the OP complaining about (apart from the lane blockers).

For all he knows the people waiting patiently were all in the correct lane for their destination, leaving the other lane free for those for which it was correct and also the emergency services.

So he sails through what would normally be congested traffic in the "crunchy nut" lane but still feels aggrieved?

jaydeeuk1

I'd rather have road tax a minimum of £1000 a year for everyone. Get the peasants off the roads. Or have some sort of GPS linked tracker technology so if a car is coming up behind you, going at a quicker pace than the speed you're going, your car moves out the way automatically (in to the ditch if neccessary), letting me hurtle past to an inevitable death 10 miles up the road.

Roll on 2050!