Smart motorways and accidents.

[ThomasG]

Originally Posted by Discombobulated

Also if the emergency services need to get to an accident and there is a long tailback and no hard shoulder all lanes will be closed and they will drive the wrong way down the motorway, safely

I really, really, SHOULD have seen this one coming..

So simple..

And explains why whenever I was I such a tailback (not many times, but I was), I've never seen emergency vehicle pushing itself trough all these parked up cars.

However..

I can still see a little drawback to this solution.

It's all good if junctions are within few miles from each other (like on M25, just an example) and accident happens somewhere between them.

But on longer stretches?

What makes more sense:

To filter trough 3 (let's say) miles of standing cars

Or

To go 15 miles forward, using roads to the side of motorway, turn around, then go upstream (empty) for 12 miles?

What if these 3 miles of bumper to bumper cars formed a corridor?

Yes, I'm pushing it now. Even I am aware of it

[john.wigley]

I'm not saying that it wouldn't work, Thomas, but I'm afraid that it would require a paradigm shift in the mentality of the average driver for it to do so.

I think it could be made to work on the M25, as you say, but there is a stretch of the M1 just south of Leicester (J20 to J21) where implementation would be much more difficult for the reasons that you mention. I also think that driving the "wrong" way on a closed motorway would be safer and possibly quicker for the emergency crews.

Although not a practical alternative for the Fire Service, the Police and Ambulance Services can call upon air support if they consider it necessary for a major incident.

But keep the ideas coming. You're making us think and that can't be bad!

Regards, John.

[john.wigley]

Thinking further, Thomas, isn't there effectively a 'corridor' on a three-lane motorway already, unless the road is totally congested? I've been travelling on busy, but not congested, motorways many times, when, on hearing / seeing 'blues and twos', traffic has moved over to lanes one and two, leaving lane three clear for the emergency vehicle.

Regards, John.

[christheancient]

So far, the ideas postulated do have sense.

But... that dreaded word... they rely on the 'average' UK motorway and 'average' UK driver. Put the 'average' driver on the 'average' motorway and things are not so brilliant.

Then implementing a "corridor of life" at "Spaghetti Junction" comes to mind. (Gulp)

I do suppose that in this country, "The Corridor of Life" is the most sensible option.

But (that word again), how does one get a majority of motorway users to implement it? There would have to be so many 'adverts' or similar on tv bombarding 'Joe Public' with it. And, perhaps at the same time, bombard the 'centre lane drivers club members' who only ever drive in the centre lane however busy, or not, the the correct way to use the motorway with 'adverts' (and the more blood, guts and gore the better) on tv ("oooh, enough time to make a cup of tea while the adverts are on!").

"I didn't see that on tv! I only watch Sky TV and internet tv!"

A quick way to get people to obey a new 'rule' like that? Send a great big snow plough (like they use for Heathrow runways) through first?

Back to a serious side. I bet if anyone was involved (innocently, of course) in a serious RTA, they would be very glad of a "corridor of life" system.

[john.wigley]

And that's the rub, isn't it, 'CTA'? Most people do not use the existing motorways correctly.

I've often thought that we would not need all the new build and additional lanes if only people used the existing ones correctly. How often does one see traffic making easy progress in lane one, while the 'faster' drivers gravitate to lane three, only to travel at a lower average speed, and are on and off the brakes all the time?

As I said, it would require a paradigm shift in mentality for it to work as Thomas suggests.

Regards, John.

[ThomasG]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/7352...ont-brits/amp/


And dismissing an idea, even under current... "internal state of anxiety" in UK, dismissing it only because it originated in EU..

Just don't

https://etsc.eu/video-on-emergency-c...0-on-facebook/


https://etsc.eu/wp-content/uploads/R...SE-STUDY_4.pdf

[christheancient]

Perhaps if one could 'persuade' Joe Public without disclosing that it is an EU 'thing' we might get somewhere. And deffo not say it is an idea form 'The Loony Bin'... sorry, Houses Of Parliament.

The hardest part is the 'persuading'! Somehow.

"But I've always driven this way Guv coz it were the way I were taught when I were a lad! And I've never had an accident in me life!" (oh yeah?) But probably caused a few?

That mentality is far too true for very many motorists. So, how to get it into their thick heads that while there might be some inconvenience of a delay, by using the "corridor scheme", the delay will possibly save some lives and could actually make things quicker and easier all round.

[ThomasG]

How about a silly sticker? Nobody is legally preventing you from having one?

Not easy to find (and I'm getting low on data allowance), but I hope link with example works

Bottom right, of course

Btw: full text translates as "corridor of life- turn on your thinking " (in English it would sound better as "turn on your brain" me thinks)

[christheancient]

A neat sticker.

But how many people realise what it is trying to tell them? A very small minority, I would think. They're too busy playing with gadgets in the car or talking on the phone (using bluetooth, I hope!) anyway.

Maybe some sort of advertising (a lot?) on tv telling people what it's all about and then putting a nice big sticker on all vans, lorries or trailers that have a nice flat back. But then again, a lot of people would just keep looking at the sticker and wonder what it's all about!

And then, my favourite (probably pathetic) in my mind is a habit I've heard of (not sure of which country, though) where a police car follows and takes a picture of every car that contravenes any road laws. Do that in this country as well!

[ThomasG]

When there's a will...

But let me ask: would you put such a sticker in the rear of your car?

English version, of course.