[Travel] Motorway driving

dstanman · Mar 21, 2025

Seen a couple of instances recently where lane had been closed with red X due to an incident that occurred just before a gantry, then having passed the incident people move into what was the closed lane and off goes the camera. How far do you have to pass the incident before thinking it is all clear as some of the gantries can be a distance apart and often don't give an all clear sign

Weststander · Mar 21, 2025

Hovegull said:
Bizarrely there’s nearly always police on the verges too - there’s barely a chance to get speed up between speed cameras and the police presence. But people still manage it?

One of the consequences of Austerity I think was far fewer traffic cops, dedicated in unmarked police cars to catching the idiots endangering others.

BluesRockDJ · Mar 21, 2025

Amongst Chichester (alledged) By-Pass, Arundel, Worthing and the 5 mile 50 Limit on the M/A 27 are reasons for me not renewing my ST ! TBH the drive up from Dorset, which doesn't have a Motorway, is a veritable pain in the backside .......worse the older I get !

Cheshire Cat · Mar 21, 2025

The Highway Code - Motorways (253 to 274) - Guidance - GOV.UK

Rules for motorways, including rules for signals, joining the motorway, driving on the motorway, lane discipline, overtaking, stopping and leaving the motorway. A number of the rules for motorways also apply to other high-speed roads.

www.gov.uk

For those who can read and drive (but not at the same time).

Herr Tubthumper · Mar 21, 2025

BluesRockDJ said:
Take it you're perfect ?

I am. I don’t drive.

Hovegull · Mar 21, 2025

dstanman said:
Seen a couple of instances recently where lane had been closed with red X due to an incident that occurred just before a gantry, then having passed the incident people move into what was the closed lane and off goes the camera. How far do you have to pass the incident before thinking it is all clear as some of the gantries can be a distance apart and often don't give an all clear sign

I thought that you have to drive to the next gantry with the National speed limit sign up or a speed limit across the affected gantries.
Sometimes that’s several gantries though.

jessiejames · Mar 21, 2025

Weststander said:
I started with “Not the incident above” …. because people had added merge lane scenarios too.

The X … clearly no one should be in that lane. Also sticking to the speed limits on the gantries. It’s interesting that vast numbers of drivers on the M23 and M25 brazenly drive above the speed limits. On gantries they have speed camera signs and graduated markings to match below on the road surface …. I suppose the regulars are 100% confident it’s a ploy.

What speed are these drivers doing. 50 MPH is about 44 MPH. speedometer are not accurate in a car..

Flounce · Mar 21, 2025

BluesRockDJ said:
Take it you're perfect ?

Nope but I’m not an aggressive inconsiderate dickhead whilst driving, are you?

If you don’t think the standard of driving by many is f***ing shit, you might be :smile:

Hovegull · Mar 21, 2025

jessiejames said:
What speed are these drivers doing. 50 MPH is about 44 MPH. speedometer are not accurate in a car..

I don’t agree with people guesstimating their speeds though. That’s why we have speedometers in our cars, why wouldn’t we stick to them? Why would we need to calculate our own theory based number?

To answer the question - about 80 in a 40

jessiejames · Mar 21, 2025

Drivers unable to merge from a slip road on to a motorway are a danger to everyone. The amount of times I have to slow down is a joke. If you can't filter on to a motorway correctly then hand back your licence, same with driving less than 60MPH on a clear motorway

Mackenzie · Mar 21, 2025

If it’s two lanes filtering in to one, you should use both lanes and filter in turn (if you’re coming into roadworks for example). That’s in the Highway Code.

Weststander · Mar 21, 2025

jessiejames said:
What speed are these drivers doing. 50 MPH is about 44 MPH. speedometer are not accurate in a car..

It’s been a while since I’ve used the M ways. If I’m driving at circa 70mph, they’re passing swiftly.

I put this down to knowledge shared amongst petrol heads on where the real cameras are (not my thing, but incredibly popular internet fora for car lovers). Or cloned plates.

jessiejames · Mar 21, 2025

Hovegull said:
I don’t agree with people guesstimating their speeds though. That’s why we have speedometers in our cars, why wouldn’t we stick to them? Why would we need to calculate our own theory based number?

To answer the question - about 80 in a 40

Car speedometers are not perfectly accurate and are legally allowed to overstate speed by up to 10% plus 6.25 mph, but never understate it. Therefore if your doing 50 MPH on your speedometer your probably only doing 40 to 44.

Dave the OAP · Mar 21, 2025

jessiejames said:
Car speedometers are not perfectly accurate and are legally allowed to overstate speed by up to 10% plus 6.25 mph, but never understate it. Therefore if your doing 50 MPH on your speedometer your probably only doing 40 to 44.

Interesting as I attended a speed awareness course and the advice was there in NO allowance anymore!

two people on the course actually were clocked at 1 and 2 miles over the speed limit.31 and 62 respectively.

I have discovered the speed limiter on my car and since the course use it all the time! so many people drive like complete ****s when you drive at the speed limit, especially 20 mph around local roads. Drove to blue water this week and sticking it at 70 outside the 50 mph zones you find that there are a few people, mostly vans hammering along but actually I found it relaxing not worrying if a camera was going to ping you. Very few people drive at 50 or below in 50 zones….try it if you have a speed limiter and see how many articulated truck wankers sit up your exhaust pipe.

trying to stick to 20 mph ( now on most urban roads in wales) is really difficult as you feel like you are crawling along, which of course is the aim!

Driver 8 · Mar 21, 2025

Probably an unpopular opinion coming but in my experience, and I do a lot of miles, the driving in the south east is by far the worst in the country. In particular the M25 operates like an American freeway with no lane discipline at all.

Weststander · Mar 21, 2025

Dave the OAP said:
Interesting as I attended a speed awareness course and the advice was there in NO allowance anymore!

two people on the course actually were clocked at 1 and 2 miles over the speed limit.31 and 62 respectively.

I have discovered the speed limiter on my car and since the course use it all the time! so many people drive like complete ****s when you drive at the speed limit, especially 20 mph around local roads. Drove to blue water this week and sticking it at 70 outside the 50 mph zones you find that there are a few people, mostly vans hammering along but actually I found it relaxing not worrying if a camera was going to ping you. Very few people drive at 50 or below in 50 zones….try it if you have a speed limiter and see how many articulated truck wankers sit up your exhaust pipe.

trying to stick to 20 mph ( now on most urban roads in wales) is really difficult as you feel like you are crawling along, which of course is the aim!

I had a speeding ticket and did the course 5 years ago. After clocked 33mph on the Old Shoreham Road. No complaints from me or looking for experts who reckon they can get you off on a technicality. The course was excellent.

studio150 · Mar 21, 2025

I had to chuckle a few months ago, we came effectively to a halt due to a vehicle fire on the M25 just before the Clacket Lane Services. However a few drivers decided that they could jump past the queuing traffic by going through the services and rejoining the motorway having gained a few yards or so.

However there were a couple of police cars at the service exit, holding the traffic back, so they gained no distance, as the vehicles who stayed on the motorway were able to get up to speed first.

Flounce · Mar 21, 2025

Dave the OAP said:
Interesting as I attended a speed awareness course and the advice was there in NO allowance anymore!

two people on the course actually were clocked at 1 and 2 miles over the speed limit.31 and 62 respectively.

I have discovered the speed limiter on my car and since the course use it all the time! so many people drive like complete ****s when you drive at the speed limit, especially 20 mph around local roads. Drove to blue water this week and sticking it at 70 outside the 50 mph zones you find that there are a few people, mostly vans hammering along but actually I found it relaxing not worrying if a camera was going to ping you. Very few people drive at 50 or below in 50 zones….try it if you have a speed limiter and see how many articulated truck wankers sit up your exhaust pipe.

trying to stick to 20 mph ( now on most urban roads in wales) is really difficult as you feel like you are crawling along, which of course is the aim!

Speed awareness calls are a real wake up call, I am much more circumspect in built up areas after having attended one over a uear ago

trueblue · Mar 21, 2025

Hovegull said:
I see the Xs and move…is this not right?

You’re right. The lane is closed. And you shouldn’t go back to 70mph until the signs indicate it. Blank gantries just mean the gantry isn’t operational, not that the speed limit is back to normal.

That’s what I was told on a recent speed awareness course having been photographed at 55mph on an empty motorway (with no roadworks) at 1am. Which was annoying obviously.

Some info was interesting though - like lower speed limits for no obvious reason sometimes being applied because the barrier has been hit previously and would not withstand a 70mph impact.

Dave the OAP · Mar 21, 2025

trueblue said:
You’re right. The lane is closed. And you shouldn’t go back to 70mph until the signs indicate it. Blank gantries just mean the gantry isn’t operational, not that the speed limit is back to normal.

That’s what I was told on a recent speed awareness course having been photographed at 55mph on an empty motorway (with no roadworks) at 1am. Which was annoying obviously.

Some info was interesting though - like lower speed limits for no obvious reason sometimes being applied because the barrier has been hit previously and would not withstand a 70mph impact.

The really interesting one i found out was how vans have a 10 mph reduction to cars on various roads ( 60 mph down to 50mph)

i have a mate who is a delivery driver and he reckoned even the most experienced of his colleagues never follow this..hence so many of them have points

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