Motorway driving
I'll start with the admission that I'm not a fan of motorway driving, according to the BBC this morning I'm not the only one.
They dealt with the main concerns - lack of training and sheer volume of vehicles, but went on to point out that statistically motorway driving is safer.
Now you know what I think about unqualified statistics like that. Are motorways safer? How do you define accident? If I had an accident on an A road it's likely to involve just me and possibly one other vehicle; if on a motorway it'll be me and six others. Is that one accident or six? I don't know and see no way of finding out.
So let me deal with some of the other fun points about motorways. First off all there are idiots on the road, we all know this; but with the sheer volume of traffic on motorways if the percentages stay the same then there are more idiots on motorways (per arbitrary length) travelling at faster speeds in closer proximity.
Next there are more larger vehicles on motorways having been steered away from A roads and the like, and for the admitted fact that motorways are easier and faster and therefore cheaper to travel on. Being the filling in a two-trailer truck is not a pleasant feeling.
Then there's the motorways themselves. With lane closures and last-minute signage. In the past week alone I've heard two stories - the first about an accident on a motorway where the drivers were informed just past the exit they could have taken to avoid it; and another where someone almost missed their turn because they were so busy monitoring the lorries around them that they didn't look up at the overhead signs in time to catch their exit.
Finally if you do screw up there's not much you can do about it. On an A road chances are you can find somewhere you can pull in and turn around quite soon; on a motorway you need to wait for an exit or service station.
I'm not advocating the avoidance of motorways, just that there are more reasons behind people not liking them than lack of confidence.
6 comments:
Well, you're entitled to your opinion. Personally, I prefer to drive along motorways. You don't have to stop every 3 minutes for another set of traffic lights or a roundabout or whatever. All you need to know is the junction number you need to get off at, and that's all the navigational skill required. You can even tell how much longer that's going to be because you can see the number of the junction you're at.
About the only problem with a motorway is that if there's a traffic jam, you're stuffed. You can't go anywhere. So there's no point worrying about it, darting from lane to lane or whatever. You've just got to sit there and wait it out.
Also fun, on a normal road, if you get stuck behind a moris minor doing 17 MPH, there's usually naff all you can do about it. Usually it's impossible to overtake. On a motorway, it's a non-issue.
Now, if we could find a way to get all the crazy people off the roads… Ah yes, there's a reason why flying is statistically the safest way to travel. ;-) They don't let morons fly planes!
No I'm not entitled to my opinion :-) Feel free to try to change it.
I agree that the lack of 'obstacles' makes motorway driving more pleasant, however it also has the effect of defocusing your attention. How many people fall asleep at the wheel on A roads?
Your point about jams is telling, the "there's no point worrying about it" attitude. Fine for you, but others are going to feel trapped - this is a situation they have no control over and causes them stress.
Your argument over the 17mph is valid, but from the flip side. It's better to get the 80/90mph nutters out of your way than have them sitting on your tail. Being stuck behind someone trundling along is frustrating, but it's only really dangerous if you yourself decide to take action.
No, no morons flying planes; but strictly speaking there shouldn't be driving cars either. We've all had to pass a test to do so and that's demonstrated we have the skills and knowledge to drive 'correctly'. There's just nothing stopping us from driving incorrectly and there's nothing stopping pilots from doing that either; they just tend not to.
Ah yes, there's nothing quite like driving along at 51 in a 50 zone, and having some moron sat behind you flailing their arms around because you should be doing 93.
On my route to work, there's a stretch that used to be 60. They've put up big red signs saying “42 casualties in 3 years”, “red route, take extra care” and so forth. They've lowered the speed limit to 50, and they've put crosshatches down the middle of the road for its entire length.
…and still people come up to you, clearly infuriated that you're doing 50 when you should obviously be doing at least 60 if not more, and they overtake you — often directly in front of on-commong trucks and lorries.
Can't help thinking the road is probably less safe this way. But hey, what else can the council do? Not a lot, as far as I can see.
Oh, by the way, have you ever tried driving down the M1 at 4AM? I have. I encountered 3 types of vehicle:
1. Trucks.
2. Clapped out old bangers which probably aren't even road-legal, driving along at about 24 MPH. No exaggeration, 24 MPH. On a motorway.
3. Cars that appear on the horizon behind you, race towards you, rocket past you so fast it actually makes your car physically rock from side to side (no lies!), and then vanish over the other horizon. And I'm doing 85 MPH, so God only knows what speed they're at. I would estimate 150 MPH or so. (This, presumably, is very illegal.)
Just a little slice of life for ya there. ;-)
People say that flying is dangerous. But think about this: Every time a plane takes off, it has two frickin' drivers. The drivers have to get retested periodically. Tired drivers are prevented from flying. The plane has a full safety inspection before it takes off. It has regular scheduled maintenance. The plane is directed by a centralised dedicated traffic direction team — flight control! It has radar guidence and computer assistence.
If half of this stuff applied to cars, there wouldn't be nearly so many accidents. For example: apparently you're theoretically supposed to check all four tires visually each and every time you get into your car to drive it. Who does this?! Who the hell ever actually checks their tires?! Nobody I know!
Just to point out that of course you weren't doing 51 in a 50 or 85 in a 70 because that would be illegal; you were exaggerating.
My favourite part of the car check procedure is to test your brake lights work, so you either need someone handy or a wall to reflect off every single time.
The difference anyway is that there are limited number of planes flying compared to cars on the road and that each passenger has value; having paid to be on board. Therefore the expense of testing etc. is covered; try to apply that at a personal level and it's simply uneconomical.
Back to the main point, it would of course be your fault if they got hit overtaking you as you're only doing 50 in a 50 zone :-P. As to the safety factor I think it's more to do with nobody taking any notice of the limits because they don't seem to make any sense.
In this specific instance though I think the big "42 casualties" would indicate why the limit is what it is. Have we got around to mentioning that there are idiots on the road? :-)
Crazy thing: It's 4AM, and I'm driving round the M25 doing a steady 85 MPH. Because, you know, there's nobody there. In the distance I see a pair of headlights. Slowly they approach me. And as the vehicle effortlessly glides part me, I realise it's a police car. O_O
But anyway, yeah, there are some crazy people on the road. I guess all you can do is try not to be one of them.
Actually the crazy thing is that travelling at 85mph is illegal because it's de jure unsafe despite there being no-one else on the road.
Travelling at that speed you might injure um yourself?
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