Safe Speed Forums

Very interesting thread on merging into lane 1 - a slightly different take on that point:

As some may know, I travel on the midland express cash machine (otherwise known as the M6 toll) fairly regularly. At the north end of the toll section it merges back into the main M6.

L3 of the main M6 splits off a few hundred meters before the merge, heads up the hill and becomes effectively a slip road to join the M6 toll. L3 traffic can be travelling 80, 90 plus at this point, and it's effectively a blind merge as from the L1 of the M6 toll you can't see the cars until they are almost on top of you.

I find this bit of the road incredibly stressful ... I'm generally a L1 occupant (well, if there is nothing else around, why bother moving into another lane?) but I will move out to L2 as soon as I see the upside down y sign.

Even in lane 2 I've had to brake for drivers shooting out of the merge lane and across 3 lanes of the m6 toll without (seemingly) looking.

It's my belief that this bit of road is seriously badly thought out, and as the M6 toll traffic volume increases (if it does) the chance of uber saloon's being flattened by (usually mainland) HGV's is going to rocket.

Has anyone else had similar thoughts about this section?

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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.

I went through this section on Friday at about 19:30, on two wheels. I didn't find any issues with visibility as I merged onto the main carriageway.

I didn't find it at all stressful either. I can see the point your making though.

Very seldom (approx once a year ) use the toll - but the perspective from L3 of the M6 is similar ( use L3 as i've found it puts you in a situation of having to worry about one lane on the right ) --the merge seems to be on a curve --very off puting in a van, although never had any real problems.
On the other hand going south - the system seems designed to try and snare vehicles onto the toll.Little information about the road layout is given untill the last minute and i am very surprised that we have not seen a few more accidents with panic lane changing

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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 actually really like the design of that merge.

It allows the stereotypical L3 idiot to get onto the new motorway and fight their way across to L3 and be out of everyone's way before L1 and L2 get to merge in a slightly more sane manner.

I haven't had any problems with the raised height of the M6Toll at that point as you can see cars in L1 perfectly clearly. It's just like merging on an uphill sliproad.

Now the junction design at the other end of the M6Toll, that is completely bonkers and was clearly designed by someone on work experience (and crack)

I can't say I have had any problems joining or leaving the M6 Toll in either direction,but, yes, I have to agree that the merger with the M6 at the Northbound end is a bit stupidly laid out, and also, the split going south too, as those not going M6 Toll crown into Lane 1 causing a tailback,despite the signs indicating Lane 2 is for both motorways.

The other end seems perfectly OK to me.

Aren't the 50 and 30 speed limits at the tollbooths stupid in being applied too far away. The Safety Police strike again, (and do HMG a favour with the fines income !!)

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Good manners maketh a good motorist

Has anyone ever been done for speeding in the toll booth area.

I regularly see that 30 limit being ignored, including by the M6 Toll's own staff (I assume they are staff as they are able to bypass the toll booths via a little road on the far left that goes behind the office building. Either that or people are avoiding the toll in the most incredibly cheeky way imaginable )

If you have a tag you can use the side road ... if you are registered disabled (in a motability vehicle) you can have a free tag, or buy one here: https://secure.m6toll.co.uk/account/tag ... inmenuid=5

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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.

Seing as how the north end was mentioned , i left out the south end , going north on the M6 - IMHO opinion the layout at both ends leaves a lot to be desired - the thought occurs that perhaps someone somewhere was factoring in a few drivers missing the continuance of the M6 and going up/down the M6 toll by mistake , or am i being cynical??

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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 don't think you are being cynical - it's fairly obvious that both junctions were designed so that the 'default' route is the paying one. The evidence for this (for me) was early on in the M6 toll's life, the ONLY trucks you would see on there were from the mainland, where tolls are more common and whose drivers may have had less time (factoring in translation time) to make the manouvre to avoid the toll road.

Whilst on the toll road ... what is the point of the lichfield canal aqueduct?

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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.

what is the point of the lichfield canal aqueduct?---as i said -only use the M6T once a year so -pass.

Thinking back to my days on the motorway projects team - the rule was that the lower number motorway was the major ( as an aside - thats where the problem came in with the M40/M42 INTERSECT/JOIN --) so is the M6T more major than the M6 - ( seem to remember that distance from london was another factor ) --this would make M6T the minor of the two - but again the M6T needs to generate income - as already discussed in another thread about the signage ,where the M6 could be(misleadingly ) shown as congested ,but the M6T was always clear .
More evidence that not enough traffic uses the M6T for midland express to be happy??

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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 think I can reply to Handy on the isolated and unconnected Lichfield Canal aquaduct on the M6 Toll

There are advanced plans to restore the Lichfield Canal,and much work has already been done. (there is a web-site which tells you all about it, the name of which escapes me).

The aquaduct was put in when the M6 Toll was built as a much less costly project than doing it when the road was open, as unlike most roads, the aquaduct builders would have had to compensate the toll operators for any income reductions caused by road closure to put the bridge in.

Hope this helps........

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Good manners maketh a good motorist

safedriver - was this the site -http://www.lhcrt.org.uk/lich.htm ??

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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

The web site www.lhcrt.org.uk is indeed the one I looked at, obtained via a search or link, as it is a most obscure name, I think.

As a canal enthusiast I hope they succeed in their restoration

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Good manners maketh a good motorist

safedriver - not a canalisti - but i i wish hem good luck - part of our heritage

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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

regularly using that section of the M6 i would have thought a better design for the north end filtering would have been to make the L3 sliproad of the M6 into L1 of the "joined M6/ M6 toll" as you can still find some idiots who have used the toll road and are now pootling along in L1 making no allowance for the users of the M6 who are re-joining the M6,

as for the southern end who on earth allowed 3 motorways to snake arround each other that much? the M42 gets delays as it is filtered down to 2 lanes, the M6 gets delays as people realise that the slow moving traffic in L1 and possibly L2 is actually people on the road they want to be on.