Safe Speed Forums

As mentioned earlier, M6 J34 n/bound takes some beating, for the following reasons:

1. It is in the bottom of a valley, so traffic already on the motorway has typically picked up speed on the downhill approach and in readiness for the long haul up the other side.

2. Joining slip road is uphill and has a relatively tight bend to align with the carriageway, so joining traffic can't observe traffic early, nor (particularly HGVs) match speed with the fast moving m-way traffic (see 1 above)

3. The merge point is ludicrously short, due to the bridge over the river Lune being immediately after it. No escape route, no hard shoulder, nothing.

So when you get to the merge point you basically have to find a gap or make one! It's bad enough if you are the only vehicle joining, where you can at least make some sort of a judgement and lunge for a gap; but if you are unfortunate enough to be following a slow-moving HGV up the slip road it gets really scary!

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I have never understood why they dont make lane 1 a filter off at the exit, block it past the junction, then filter into lane 1 on joining - as they have at Broughton Interchange - traffic joining from Preston joins as the new lane 1!

My in-laws were on the road the day of that horrendous crash, only a few minutes after it happened. I still shudder when I pass it!

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My theory is that this is to do with relative traffic volumes.

At the Broughton Interchange, probably 1/3 of the traffic is heading for the M55, therefore 1 lane peeling off doesn't increase the average throughput of the remaining two lanes.

Whereas at Lancaster only a relatively small percentage of the traffic leaves at J34. If, for arguments sake that is just 5% of the traffic then the remaining 95% would have to temporarily occupy a 33% reduction in lanes, hence it would lead to a permanent bottleneck at busy times, in a way that doesn't happen at Broughton.

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Jnc 36 used to be lane 1 filtering off/2 lanes straight through - junction was rebuilt in early 1987 (give or take a month or 2!!!)

M6/Jnc 31a is another nasty one joining southbound - quite a long slip road, but no visibility on to the main carrigeway until very late. At least there's a hard shoulder run off though unlike J34 north

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Well! it's like opening a can of worms, but is does show who knows best = the motorists who use these roads.

The M60 clockwise near Brinninton has a bend so tight it has a 50mph limit.

And if I recall a negative camber too.

But this stretch has been branded 'the worst stretch of motorway in Britain'

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... _road.html

Yes, a subject well worth raising. Anyone interested in the finer points of road design should take a look at the SABRE forum at:

http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/forum/


And now SPECS cameras too

Although easily traversed at 70 mph in a car, and IMV only needing a 50 mph advisory limit.

The 50 mph limit was imposed following a spate of freak accidents, one of which involved a broken-down car full of drug-addled teens stopped in Lane 3 and then hit by another car.

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Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

We touched on this back in May: www.safespeed.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14103

In addition to the two I put up then - the slip road on to the A57M Mancunian Way off the A34 north bound and M6 Jct 15 northbound I'd like to add M6/M65 interchange Jct 29/1.

If you're northbound on the M6 and coming off at 29 you give way at a roundabout. Traffic approaching from the right is still under M/way regs and basically as you wait to join the RA your visibility to the right is 100/150 yards (that's being generous) as the RA has a crest in it to clear the M6. So approaching cars come over a blind crest at speed as you pull out!!! If it is 150yds a car doing 60mph coming over the crest will be on you in 6 secs. And it would be pretty easy to do 60mph on the RA.

Sorry that's not a great explanation, and the map/satellite pics don't really show you the lie of the land.

Barkstar

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Re: Barkstar,

Is the sliproad onto the Mancunian Way the one off Upper Brook Street?

I thought that was a T junction !

Try making a right turn!!

Seriously, yes that's the one



and straight across the carriageway is the famous deadend slip road, and directly east of that is perhaps the tightest off slip on a UK M-way - load up that suspension!!

Barkstar

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The difference between intelligence and stupidity is that intelligence has limits.

Great Picture of the T junction above, I remember trying to get on here once and being forced off down the next slip road.

Mind you I've always found the bend on the slip road from Manchester Airport onto the M56 Northbound tricky, as it either tightens half way round or somehow takes you through 3 million degree's, at least that's what it feels like.

A real trap for the unwary.

Anyone mentioned J15 M6 going north from the A500? very sweeping long tight curve.

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I did, though briefly - it is an especially good one as having got little speed up due to the tight curve you then had a very very short slip lane. Though a couple of years back it seems they lengthened this.

Barkstar

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The difference between intelligence and stupidity is that intelligence has limits.

I've just seen J15 on Google maps, superbly bad.

You'd need a car with an Indianapolis setup and full ground effect to pick up speed on that bend!!!

hello.

The fact that this junction is motorway to motorway, and a busy one at that makes it a contender.

The M40/A43 junction is bad. HA remodelling made the junction worse, by making northbound and southbound traffic conflict, creating terrible delays. Add to that the fact that the slip roads are now narrower and more curvy than before...

I don't like the junctions to either side of Twyford Down on the M3 around Winchester. The slip roads are very steep and only a single lane wide, and so it is common to only be able to join the motorway at 35-40mph due to traffic in front not being able to accelerate fast enough. The result? Regular congestion and a greater accident risk.

If motorway roundabouts are included then how about A329/M4 J10 .


In earlier times we also had a right beauty in the Midlands - M42/M40 junction, with traffic joining from the outer lane.Believe it's now OK.
There was a reason for this ---was to do with "seniority " of roads. According to the then DOT, the lower the number ,the more "senior" the motorway, and junior motorways joined senior ones.If any doubt as to seniority, the one starting closer to London was the senior. M40 won on both counts- till someone saw sense.(Least this was the explanation i got when i worked on motorway projects )

edit typo

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

I recall a motorway junction near Leeds where I ended up back at the same garage three times before asking how to get to my destination.

It turned out the slip road was based on a corkscrew and forked about three times, but to get to the point,

HAS ANYONE NOTICED THAT THEY DON'T PUT A SIGN WITH THE NUMBER OF THE MOTORWAY JUNCTION ON IT'S FLAMING ROUNDABOUT!!!!!!

So when your miles from home with no sat-nav, it's pitch dark and raining and your on unfamiliar territory you could go "Oh! I see I'm at junction 22, I saw that on the map or I can look to see where J22 is on the map, or, well I came of at J21 so I've got an idea where I am".

IT WOULDN'T TAKE MUCH TO DO THIS, but NO it seems the number of a junction that you approach from a road must be kept a damm secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember that, and being surprised at being deposited in lane 3. What have the done to make it okay? There are a few of these jcts now as they are much cheaper to build - no need for a bridge - bl**dy cheapskates.

I'm with sotonsteve, the A43 jct on the M40 is a real confusing mess, and talking of confusing how about the jct with the biggest choice lanes? Got to be the M42 northbound at the A446, M6 toll jct, acres of tarmac and white lines. 7 lanes IIRC

Barkstar

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The difference between intelligence and stupidity is that intelligence has limits.

I remember that one too when I went to Uni up there a couple of years back.

Was bad enough trying to get on the motorway with a 1.0 litre Mini - I'll never forget having to do 45 in 2nd to get enough acceleration! So I can't imagine how bad it must be for HGVs.

I don't see any problem with A329M/M4 J10, I use it regularly.

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