Safe Speed Forums

A recent change in circumstances means that I now make regular trips between my home in Berkshire and the West Lancs area north of Liverpool.

To date, I have avoided the M6 motorway like the plague, routing instead up the M40 to Birmingham, then the M42, A42, M1, M62, M60, M61, and then the local roads to my destination. Looking at the map, this may involve quite a few extra miles.

The obvious alternative would be to use the new M6 toll road and then the normal M6. The last time I tried this route, which was in Sept. 2005, the M6 toll road was fine until it came time to merge with the normal M6, where there was a considerable bottleneck. On top of that there was an accident which caused us to leave the M6 for a few miles and rejoin further up. My brother was my front seat passenger with the road maps, and he said he'd often had problems with the M6 and generally avoided it using the route I described above. My previous experience with the M6 had been many years ago returning from Blackpool - thanks to the M6, the journey took 7 hours! On that occasion, a large part of the problem seemed to be the uphill section near Birmingham, with lorries using all but one lane and sometimes not moving at more than about 30mph.

My next trip up there will be in about a week's time, on the morning of Monday 10th July. What do you say - should I stick to my M1 route, or should I give the M6 one last chance?

I use the M6 stretch you refer to most weeks - making the reverse of your journey.

Perhaps it's because I spent years commuting on the M25, but to me the M6 seems like a doddle. I've been caught out by tailbacks caused by accidents a few times, but mostly, since the the roadworks arond Stafford ended, it's been a clear run through with perhaps a couple of busy stretches that clear fairly quickly. The sheer volume of traffic suggests that an accident every once in a while is inevitable (although I would guess it's rarely caused by speeding, as the volume of traffic acts to throttle the maximum possible speed).

WRT the M6 toll road, my policy now is that I will only use it when my toll charges are paid by work - personal journeys tend to be evening and weekends anyway, and I would prefer not to shell out to use the road.

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

you don't happen to work for a recently merged telecoms company, do you?

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

No.

New girlfriend! sssh...!

I do this kind of trip fairly regularly, though possibly not at the same time of day as you, and I usually don't go as far north as you. (though when I have it's been ok)

I usually go up the M40 (what junction are you closest to?) then the M42. I find the M42 eastbound to often be very heavy, but westbound is ok. Then up the M5 and join the M6 at J8.

The toll road has relieved a lot of the traffic from this merge so it usually goes relatively painlessly and the rest of the M6 is usually ok.

Your intended arrival time is the critical piece of information we need here. If I was heading to, say, Preston I'd be arriving there at around midday.

As an improvement to your existing route, it may also be worth considering leaving the M40 at J10 and taking the A43 to get to the M1, thus avoiding the M42 all together. Or jeave the M40 at J11 and cut through Banbury and Rugby to emerge at M6 J2 and then take the toll road. (I usually dont bother with this route though, unless actually going to rugby. If you don't like overtaking trucks and 40mph Rovers then don't bother)

Lum - take it you mean banbury - Southam - rugby.Alternative route - haven't used it for a while - Banbury - Southam - A423 (Coventry), Joining A45 at Ryton and the A46 to J2 OF THE m6

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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

Another option is to leave the M1 at J24 and take the A50 across to join the M6 at J15 near Stoke. This is a high-standard road, NSL apart from a short stretch at the Stoke end, and mostly grade separated with only a handful of roundabouts.

However, in my experience if you avoid rush hours the M6 through the West Midlands usually flows reasonably well.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

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

I don’t know what time of day you will be travelling but there are now major roadworks on the M6 between M42 and M5. Over the weekend they have introduced roadworks (40mph) that start just before the M6-M5 junction (southbound), as I take the M5 to get to the M40 (not much difference in distance) I’m not certain how far after the M5 junction the roadworks continue. Both sets of roadworks have SPEC’s on them. I would imagine there will be a 40mph limit on the M5 northbound just before the M6 junction (I’ll check when I go home Thursday). Remember also the holiday season will start soon so the roads get busy. Personally I take the M40-M5-M6 it cuts out the M42 management section and the roadworks on the M6.

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.

With the possible exception of the M25 I find the section of M6 from Preston to Birmingham to be the most "delay-ridden" motorway in the country. I've spent lengthy periods at an absolute standstill, and on other occasions done the entire section without ever exceeding about 50mph, with no apparent cause for the delay. Journeys taking 2-3 hours longer than expected seem to be the norm.

My theory is that it basically runs pretty near to capacity most of the time, so anything that might cause a few minutes delay on another road pretty much brings it to a standstill. Coupled with the fact that it serves various large centres of population with fairly unpredictable surges in traffic, seems to require far more road works than elsewhere (that's just a personal judgement, but it seems very unusual to get from Preston to Brum without enduring 2 to 3 long contra flows) then delays seem inevitable.

That said, the M6 toll seems to have helped a lot, whatever you feel about the politics of it. For myself I resent the fact that we have to pay to use a road that our road tax has paid for already, many times over, but hey ho! So where it used to be dreadful from about Corley Services to Charnock Richard, now it's "just" the section from the north end of the M6 toll upwards.

The only thing this route has going for it is that it is slightly shorter than most alternatives, and indeed if heading for the South West from Cumbria its a lot shorter. Even so I tend to avoid it like the plague and tend to try and use M61/M62/A1 or M1. I've seen plenty of hold-ups on those roads too, but they never seem to cause anything like the degree of "knock on" delay, nor the tiresome "ripples" that regularly bring traffic to a complete halt for no apparent reason.

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CSCP Latin for beginners...
Ticketo ergo sum : I scam therefore I am!

I avoid the M6 at all costs unless there really is no viable alternative. I think its because to achive a clear run and normal motorway speeds on the M6 is the exception rather then the norm, as JT points about because its so close to capacity nearly all of the time, any slight problem brings it grinding to a halt.

With that in mind I will use the M1 despite it being unlit most of the way whereas if memory serves me right the M6 is lit for the majority if not all. Certainly up to Preston where I would be turning off. Obviously its not a big an issue at this time of year as in winter.

Interestingly last year I left Stanstead Airport services heading north to Burnley via the M11/A14/A1(M)/A1/M62/Halifax at about 6.30am and got the whole way home without encoutering a single delay and it was a weekday as well. The A1 is not a bad little road apart from the roundabouts and farm traffic.

Considering we seem to have 2 lanes closed at some point down that route at least once a day I'm suprised you are still trying to use it.
Plus the M62 between the M1 and the Pennines is one of the most congested motorways in the country.

I would go for one of the M6 routes, in fact if I'm heading south (from Bradford) I will take the M6 rather than the M1.

Thanks guys. In light of JT's post in particular, I think I'll stick with the M1/M62 route for now, although PeterE's A50 suggestion sounds interesting.


I tend to hit the M62 around noon on both the outbound and return journeys, and have never had any problems with it. It's 4 lanes in places. The northbound M1 can be a bit slow for the 30-odd miles north of Sheffield, but that seems to be caused by drivers not moving over when they could and should. The M42 is OK I suppose, but I don't like that "managed" section, with all those strange signs, cameras etc.