The Friday Afternoon Rush

GlynD

BigAl94 wrote: »

Had an incident on the M1 a couple of Fridays ago, guy sitting at 60 max in outside lane with inside lane clear as far as I could see.
Sat behind him for a while then gave him one flash of the lights. He immediately braked as hard as he could at the same time elevating one hand and finger! Undertook which I don't like doing) and left him sitting in the outside lane. The general lane discipline is horrendous on our roads and some of the worst are those who are in the outside lane and at the last minute cut across one or two lanes of traffic to leave by the slip road at the very last second!

Yes I've come across a lot of this. Not just here but in GB too. Drivers seem to forget that, under the Highway Code, certain roads and lanes require you to drive UP to certain speeds, not stay below them

GlynD

tommie wrote: »

yep, this is seriously dangerous,

had a `cotta` type driver almost take the front end outta me trying to get across from the overtaking lane onto the slip road for Sprucefield.

Should we rename the cub "Jensen" instead of Cotta? :rotfl:

RikM

Cotta wrote: »

You drivers are an annoyance then if you're doing a steady 70 mph there is no need to be on the slower lane - I only go onto the slow lane if someone is behind me who wants past me.

No wonder traffic is at a stand-still at times with the above attitudes.

Um. You do know that this is actually a ticketable fixed penalty offence now...? Lane hogging has always been illegal, but now they don't have to take you to court, just issue a ticket and a fine.

Ticked

Right, so when we see flashing blue lights, police, ambulance and fire brigade on the road in front, instead of slowing and preparing to stop if necessary, we should continue to bomb on at 70mph? I don't think so, reckon I'll slow down and be accused of rubbernecking rather than pile into the wreckage.

tightasaduck's

warmhands.coldheart wrote: »

Right I'm going on a rant now so forgive me in advance please.


Heard the good folks on Stephen Nolan's show yesterday giving off about Bus Lanes. Personally I don't have a problem with them... In my opinion by FAR the BIGGEST problem with the flow of traffic in Belfast is people pulling over and/or parking "just for a minute to pop into the shop" on the main routes in and around the city. In my view if all these major routes in/out and around the city were made Urban Freeways ie NO STOPPING ON THEM. then this would go a long way to relieving congestion on the roads. The number of times on the Ormeau Road, Cregagh Road, Ravenhill Road, Lisburn Road you get folks just stopping on the road to let someone out of the car or double parking just to nip into a shop or make a delivery.... it instantly halves the capacity of the road. Even it's just for 2 or 3 mins, it has MAJOR knock on effects to the overall flow of traffic. I know it's not as simple as just not letting people stop. Provision has to be made to have adequate local/nearby parking facilities but I can't imagine this wouldn't be achievable........... They should then have camera's monitoring these Urban Freeways as they do on the bus lanes on the M1 and levy BIG Fines on people who park or stop in them (Obviously a breakdown or accident would be exempt)............
I think this would dramatically reduce congestion in the cities roads....


Rant Over

In the mornings and evenings, during the rush hour, I'd ban turning right, other than at traffic light junctions with a separate lane for turning right, in order to help the flow of traffic.

GlynD

irishjohn wrote: »

Here's what I find really interesting about this thread. Cotta started it around 11.00am and continuously posted over the next three and a half hours and not a post since.

I presume Cotta was at work while posting as the first post seems to indicate the homeward journey being delayed on a Friday Afternoon.

So, presuming Cotta was at work, it was either a light day with little happening or a period of work avoidance. Until 2.30 that is at which point Cotta disappeared from the workplace to hog the overtaking lane and ignore the highway code and get the weekend started.

Apologies for my deep rooted cynical attitude - I have witnessed too much evidence of work avoidance in my time.
:eek:

Och give the lad a break.

Cotta

I was off on Friday Irish_John and since you analyse my posts so much why didn't you read my last post on this subject?

tara747

warmhands.coldheart wrote: »

Right I'm going on a rant now so forgive me in advance please.


Heard the good folks on Stephen Nolan's show yesterday giving off about Bus Lanes. Personally I don't have a problem with them... In my opinion by FAR the BIGGEST problem with the flow of traffic in Belfast is people pulling over and/or parking "just for a minute to pop into the shop" on the main routes in and around the city. In my view if all these major routes in/out and around the city were made Urban Freeways ie NO STOPPING ON THEM. then this would go a long way to relieving congestion on the roads. The number of times on the Ormeau Road, Cregagh Road, Ravenhill Road, Lisburn Road you get folks just stopping on the road to let someone out of the car or double parking just to nip into a shop or make a delivery.... it instantly halves the capacity of the road. Even it's just for 2 or 3 mins, it has MAJOR knock on effects to the overall flow of traffic. I know it's not as simple as just not letting people stop. Provision has to be made to have adequate local/nearby parking facilities but I can't imagine this wouldn't be achievable........... They should then have camera's monitoring these Urban Freeways as they do on the bus lanes on the M1 and levy BIG Fines on people who park or stop in them (Obviously a breakdown or accident would be exempt)............
I think this would dramatically reduce congestion in the cities roads....


Rant Over

I couldn't agree more! No parking or stopping should be allowed on arterial routes at all, ever. :T

almillar

Someone mentioned doing 45mph on a motorway - don't! Slow vehicles aren't allowed on the motorway, and although there's no official minimum speed (try that at rush hour!), I'd say as a general guide if you're not prepared to drive at at least 50 then don't join. Just remembered our poor 'R' drivers are stuck at 45, which is a rule I disagree with.
Anyway, Cotta and anyone else who isn't clear - one of the first things you're taught about driving in this country, is drive on the left. You should be in the left most lane of the motorway unless you're overtaking. There are no right turns. There is no mention of speed. Stay left unless overtaking. Do not drive in the middle or outside of the motorway if there is no-one on the inside lane around you. Got it?
Just a small note about these filter lanes that go off - in particular the one I'm familiar with - the offslip for the Black's Road junction. You'll notice that there are gantrys with signs, and eventually the lines on the road change to fatter, shorter ones. At THAT POINT is where you're meant to be in lane. NOT halfway along the Westlink! They widened the Westlink and we barely get any benefit from it because people are hogging the middle lane!

GlynD

almillar wrote: »

Someone mentioned doing 45mph on a motorway - don't! Slow vehicles aren't allowed on the motorway, and although there's no official minimum speed (try that at rush hour!), I'd say as a general guide if you're not prepared to drive at at least 50 then don't join. Just remembered our poor 'R' drivers are stuck at 45, which is a rule I disagree with.
Anyway, Cotta and anyone else who isn't clear - one of the first things you're taught about driving in this country, is drive on the left. You should be in the left most lane of the motorway unless you're overtaking. There are no right turns. There is no mention of speed. Stay left unless overtaking. Do not drive in the middle or outside of the motorway if there is no-one on the inside lane around you. Got it?
Just a small note about these filter lanes that go off - in particular the one I'm familiar with - the offslip for the Black's Road junction. You'll notice that there are gantrys with signs, and eventually the lines on the road change to fatter, shorter ones. At THAT POINT is where you're meant to be in lane. NOT halfway along the Westlink! They widened the Westlink and we barely get any benefit from it because people are hogging the middle lane!

You make a great point there about lane hogging. I see it all the time, often going on for miles. I'm a great believer in doing an overtaking maneuver then getting straight back to the inside lane. I'm also very conscious of letting faster drivers pass. I check my mirror very carefully and if I see someone booming down the overtaking lane I wait until they've gone by before doing my own overtaking. Similarly if I'm overtaking more than one car I will often return to the driving lane to allow someone to pass before completing my overtaking.

These are simple courtesies which avoid frustration for me and other drivers. Ok, the other driver may be going too fast etc etc but what skin is it off my nose to let them by?