Why are there so many accidents on the A14?
Deryck
I am interested to know why this road appears to attract so many accidents.
Is the number above the norm for a road of this size/category/busy-ness and
if so, why? Or is this just CEN trying to make up a drama?
Cheers
Deryck
Mary Ann Tuli
A14 have three lanes, no lights and no hard shoulder.
You do not expect to find stationary recovery vehicles on the road when
it's dark and busy. He had put a cone behind his truck...oh, a good 5m
behind.
Mary Ann
Anthony Wieser
"Steve" <ste...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4tf2s017lva5henie...@4ax.com...
: (sic) for when volumes were much lower.
: -Driver behaviour
I was behind a terrifying incident yesterday morning, heading for the M11
Slow lorry overtaking two slightly slower lorries in convoy, from around Fen
Ditton
Slow lorry didn't manage to pass by the exit for A14 N.
So, he signalled, and the trailing convoy lorry wouldn't let him in, then
trailing lorry swerved, and nearly tipped over.
This happened twice.
Needless to say, I dropped well back, letting other stupid drivers slide
into the gap in front of me to tailgate these idiots.
Tony
Nick Wagg
news:32csreF...@individual.net...
One problem is that in the neighbourhood of Cambridge and Huntingdon,
hazards such as entry and exit points and lay-bys are quite close together.
Then the M11, A14 and Huntingdon Rd. merge from 4 lanes to 3 at
Girton, then to 2 at Bar Hill, all of which leads to a lot of traffic moving
between lanes at a variety of speeds.
Then there are roundabouts at Spittal's and Bramton Hut, effectively in
the middle of a motorway, and at Girton the A14 is reduced to a single
lane in both directions.
In some ways I am quite glad that my 17 year old daughter has learned
to drive here because if she can cope with the A14 she should be able
to cope with anything.
Nick.
tony sayer
<der...@REMOVElonghope.co.uk> writes
Yes..
Piss poor driving standards. Simple as that. Saw a couple of HGV's the
other day where the unit following was some 2 metres behind the other
one, almost as if he was being towed by it.
They stayed like that for what must have been some two miles or so..
--
Tony Sayer
Keith Willshaw
You have a mix of local and through traffic which always
makes for dangerous situations as people come on and
off a road thats already got a lot of heavy traffic moving
at speed. Worse you get traffic queing off the slip road
back onto the main carriageway.
One solution quite common in the USA is to segregate
the traffic using a 3 or 4 lane section with barriers between
lanes 2 and 3. The outer lanes are desgnated for
through traffic and dont have access to the slip roads
for local destinations. This way local traffic doesnt
impede the flow of the long distance vehicles and
you can reduce speed on the local lanes with less
effect.
Keith
Keith
The Natural Philosopher
Hevy traffic, small road, and a dewadly mixrure of fast through traffic
and local trtraffic lulling onto it to go a couple of junctions.
> Cheers
>
> Deryck
>
>
Alan
news:dLoEMVAa...@bancom.co.uk:
Not just by the HGVs though. There's an incredible amount of poor
driving by cars - again too close, but also changing lanes too often, or
too late.
I'm amazed by the ignorance of drivers who belt up the outside of slower
moving queues at junctions, only to cut in at the last moment, quite
often using the white hatchings as their slip road.
Also, there's this mentality that a lot of drivers have to be in the
queue moving the quickest, even if there's only a few mph difference. So
they're continually changing lanes, moving up the outside, up the inside,
anything to gain them an extra few seconds.
Of course the road is too small for the amount of traffic, and has cheap
slip roads (minimal amount of land bought, so layby and sliip roads much
too short), which doesn't help.
Alan
--
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Nick Wagg
news:41c15...@127.0.0.1...
So if I'm travelling from Huntingdon to Harwich I would have
to cut across the path of people travelling from Bar Hill to
Cambridge.
Vince Bowdren
(Deryck) wrote:
I always thought that the problem with the A14 was more that the number of
lorries on it relative to the size meant that when an accident does occur
it causes more problems for surrounding traffic than would happen on other
roads?
--
Vince
Meldrew of Meldreth
<n...@transcendata.com> writes
>> One solution quite common in the USA is to segregate
>> the traffic using a 3 or 4 lane section with barriers between
>> lanes 2 and 3. The outer lanes are desgnated for
>> through traffic and dont have access to the slip roads
>> for local destinations. This way local traffic doesnt
>> impede the flow of the long distance vehicles and
>> you can reduce speed on the local lanes with less
>> effect.
>
>So if I'm travelling from Huntingdon to Harwich I would have
>to cut across the path of people travelling from Bar Hill to
>Cambridge.
If done properly, the local lane would have its own grade separated path
through the Girton Junction. Otherwise, it would the same as now, so no
worse.
--
"now, the thing you type on and the window you stare out of are the same thing"
Keith Willshaw
"Nick Wagg" <n...@transcendata.com> wrote in message
news:cprpjn$qh4$1$830f...@news.demon.co.uk...
> "Keith Willshaw" <keit...@kwillshaw.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>>
>> One solution quite common in the USA is to segregate
>> the traffic using a 3 or 4 lane section with barriers between
>> lanes 2 and 3. The outer lanes are desgnated for
>> through traffic and dont have access to the slip roads
>> for local destinations. This way local traffic doesnt
>> impede the flow of the long distance vehicles and
>> you can reduce speed on the local lanes with less
>> effect.
>
> So if I'm travelling from Huntingdon to Harwich I would have
> to cut across the path of people travelling from Bar Hill to
> Cambridge.
>
>
Erm no, you'd be in a lane segregated from the people
going from Cambridge to Bar Hill - thats the point.
What would happen is that on the northern approach to
Cambridge BEFORE Bar Hill the road would
divide in sections for through and local traffic.
The through traffic lanes would not have access to the
Bar Hill/Cambridge slips. The sections would then merge
again east of Cambridge, around Newmarket
Keith
Michael Kilpatrick
As Vince Bowdren has also commented: it's just the volume of goods
traffic that in my mind is the worst contributor, bad road design or
not. Just take a good look at the road on any day and then compare it
with other trunk roads around the UK. The level of HGV traffic is, in my
mind, very obviously much higher than most.
Get more freight on the rails.
Michael
Brian Watson
> -Driver behaviour
Got it in one.
--
Brian
Sig: <<I have nothing more to say>>
Nick Wagg
news:E1XfoSV6...@donald.internetpolicynews.co.uk...
For a separate path it would need a bridge/flyover of some sort too
which would be expensive. And to facilitate smooth traffic flow there
would have to be more than one local and more than one long distance
lane.
Suddenly the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon has become an
8-lane monster, like the A1 between Alconbury and Peterborough.
Jon Anderson
> I suspect many reasons including....
> -Short slip roads on the section Cambridge to Huntingdon, designed
> (sic) for when volumes were much lower.
> -Driver behaviour
To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to go
on the A14 she er, stopped.
Then she *turned her head* to look out of her window for traffic, and
then when she'd found a reasonably sized gap accelerated hard to get up
to speed.
Apparently she was not confident using her side mirrors and coupled with
a tiny slip road she felt she had no choice other than to stop dead.
Jon
--
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[ All views expressed are personal unless otherwise stated ]
Jon Anderson
> Suddenly the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon has become an
> 8-lane monster, like the A1 between Alconbury and Peterborough.
The 8-lane monster is one hell of a lot nicer than the cramped 4-lane
road it used to be...
Tim Green
> "Meldrew of Meldreth" <rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:E1XfoSV6...@donald.internetpolicynews.co.uk...
>> through the Girton Junction. Otherwise, it would the same as now, so no
>> worse.
>
> For a separate path it would need a bridge/flyover of some sort too
> which would be expensive. And to facilitate smooth traffic flow there
> would have to be more than one local and more than one long distance
> lane.
>
> Suddenly the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon has become an
> 8-lane monster, like the A1 between Alconbury and Peterborough.
And how many accidents do they have on that stretch?
--
To email me, please remove the lime from the tin first.
Value of 2p or 2cent comments may go up as well as down.
A Plagued Lighthouse Keeper
Seconded! The level of HGV traffic has steadily risen over the last 10
years so that a lot of it dominates - particularly when a boats been in
at Harwich or Felixstowe and the roads are full of continental drivers.
Add in the speed differential (typically 20mph) between cars and lorries
and the number of lorries passing each other at 1mph (cos they're both
at the speed limit give or take speedo error and ability to climb a
grade) forming a hazard that is like discovering a brick wall in front
of you.
Dave Holland
>To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
>Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to go
>on the A14 she er, stopped.
>Then she *turned her head* to look out of her window for traffic, and
>then when she'd found a reasonably sized gap accelerated hard to get up
>to speed.
I do a quick over-the-shoulder check before changing lanes or pulling
out, nothing wrong with that...
>Apparently she was not confident using her side mirrors and coupled with
>a tiny slip road she felt she had no choice other than to stop dead.
That slip road is one of the longer ones on that section. :-(
Dave
Paul Grimes
> Jon Anderson <j...@durge.org> wrote:
>>To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
>>Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to go
>>on the A14 she er, stopped.
>>Then she *turned her head* to look out of her window for traffic, and
>>then when she'd found a reasonably sized gap accelerated hard to get up
>>to speed.
>
> I do a quick over-the-shoulder check before changing lanes or pulling
> out, nothing wrong with that...
>
You fail if you don't do that on a driving test.
There's usually a large blindspot between the outside of the mirrors field
of view and the side window. On a slip road that meets the main
carriageway at a significant angle, then traffic coming down the
carriageway is usually in the blindspot
Paul
Meldrew of Meldreth
Keeper <us...@example.net> writes
> The level of HGV traffic has steadily risen over the last 10 years so
>that a lot of it dominates - particularly when a boats been in at
>Harwich or Felixstowe and the roads are full of continental drivers.
2% of the A14's traffic. Gosh, it must be at least 3 weeks since this
hoary old chestnut last cropped up.
Meldrew of Meldreth
<n...@transcendata.com> writes
>> >So if I'm travelling from Huntingdon to Harwich I would have
>> >to cut across the path of people travelling from Bar Hill to
>> >Cambridge.
>>
>> If done properly, the local lane would have its own grade separated path
>> through the Girton Junction. Otherwise, it would the same as now, so no
>> worse.
>
>For a separate path it would need a bridge/flyover of some sort too
>which would be expensive. And to facilitate smooth traffic flow there
>would have to be more than one local and more than one long distance
>lane.
Yes, I think the suggestion was two of each, and of course it will
involve expense - all road building does!
Keith Willshaw
"Dave Holland" <da...@biff.org.uk> wrote in message
news:5u1spc...@212.13.211.121...
> Jon Anderson <j...@durge.org> wrote:
>>To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
>>Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to go
>>on the A14 she er, stopped.
>>Then she *turned her head* to look out of her window for traffic, and
>>then when she'd found a reasonably sized gap accelerated hard to get up
>>to speed.
>
> I do a quick over-the-shoulder check before changing lanes or pulling
> out, nothing wrong with that...
>
Nothing at all provided you accelerate down the slip road
to match speed so you can merge with the traffic. I have seen
the same thing as the OP. Last week I followed a driver
down the slip road from the madingley road onto the M-11
who trickled down the slip at 30mph and then stopped at the bottom
waiting for a gap large enough to get into from a standing
start, at 5.30 pm !
We were there for a while.
Keith
Richard Bullock
> In article <Gwfwd.27$BI...@newsfe5-gui.ntli.net>, A Plagued Lighthouse
> Keeper <us...@example.net> writes
>> The level of HGV traffic has steadily risen over the last 10 years so
>> that a lot of it dominates - particularly when a boats been in at Harwich
>> or Felixstowe and the roads are full of continental drivers.
>
> 2% of the A14's traffic. Gosh, it must be at least 3 weeks since this
> hoary old chestnut last cropped up.
You do of course mean "between 18 and 27%" of the A14's traffic flow.
Figure taken directly from the Highways Agency's "A14 Kettering to
Felixstowe Route Management Strategy" website.
Gropius Riftwynde
wrote:
Absolutely. The blindspot can be the kller. Addtonally, with a quick
head view you get a more accurate view of the speed of rear traffic
than you do in a mirror.
GR
Mary Pegg
>
> "Meldrew of Meldreth" <rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:I4WM7Kf+...@donald.internetpolicynews.co.uk...
>> In article <Gwfwd.27$BI...@newsfe5-gui.ntli.net>, A Plagued Lighthouse
>> Keeper <us...@example.net> writes
>>> The level of HGV traffic has steadily risen over the last 10 years so
>>> that a lot of it dominates - particularly when a boats been in at
>>> Harwich or Felixstowe and the roads are full of continental drivers.
>>
>> 2% of the A14's traffic. Gosh, it must be at least 3 weeks since this
>> hoary old chestnut last cropped up.
>
> You do of course mean "between 18 and 27%" of the A14's traffic flow.
Is that vehicles, or tonnage?
--
Nothing to be done.
John Hall
>> I do a quick over-the-shoulder check before changing lanes or pulling
>> out, nothing wrong with that...
> Nothing at all provided you accelerate down the slip road
> to match speed so you can merge with the traffic. I have seen
> the same thing as the OP. Last week I followed a driver
> down the slip road from the madingley road onto the M-11
> who trickled down the slip at 30mph and then stopped at the bottom
> waiting for a gap large enough to get into from a standing
> start, at 5.30 pm !
Drivers who join dual carriageways too slowly are a menace. I try to
spot them, and ease right back when behind them, so that I then have
space to accelerate when I join. Obviously this doesn't help if the
driver actually stops...
Cheers,
john
John Hall
news:cps4d2$hoe$1...@gemini.csx.cam.ac.uk...
>> I do a quick over-the-shoulder check before changing lanes or pulling
>> out, nothing wrong with that...
>>
> You fail if you don't do that on a driving test.
>
> There's usually a large blindspot between the outside of the mirrors
> field of view and the side window. On a slip road that meets the main
> carriageway at a significant angle, then traffic coming down the
> carriageway is usually in the blindspot
Additionally, I try to sit as far to the right as possible in the slip
lane, and use my wing mirror to look back down the carriageway when
joining a dual carriageway.
Cheers,
john
Naich
> Steve wrote:
> > I suspect many reasons including....
> ...
> > -Short slip roads on the section Cambridge to Huntingdon, designed
> > (sic) for when volumes were much lower.
> > -Driver behaviour
> ...
>
> To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
> Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to go
> on the A14 she er, stopped.
Can I be the first to point out that the junction of the slip road and a
dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is technically nothing
wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
Naich.
--
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http://www.veggiefoodguide.co.uk ... Time for some nice food.
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Motto: Women who seek to be equal to men lack ambition.
Alan
news:Pine.SOL.4.58.04...@cadsa.ra.phy.cam.ac.uk:
> On Thu, 16 Dec 2004, Jon Anderson wrote:
>
>> Steve wrote:
>> > I suspect many reasons including....
>> ...
>> > -Short slip roads on the section Cambridge to Huntingdon, designed
>> > (sic) for when volumes were much lower.
>> > -Driver behaviour
>> ...
>>
>> To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
>> Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to
>> go on the A14 she er, stopped.
>
> Can I be the first to point out that the junction of the slip road and
> a dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is technically
> nothing wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
>
Quite, and what happens if there is no sensible gap? You might _have_ to
stop. (Yes I know some drivers believe there is always a gap for them,
which is probably another contribution to the accident rate)
Richard Bullock
>>> hoary old chestnut last cropped up.
>>
>> You do of course mean "between 18 and 27%" of the A14's traffic flow.
>
> Is that vehicles, or tonnage?
>
"The route has the following characteristics:-
a.. It is a dual carriageway road, approximately 130 miles long
a.. It carries a high percentage of heavy goods vehicles
(between 18 & 27 % of traffic flows)
a.. Carries approximately 400,000 vehicles per week
a.. Forms part of the Trans-European Network of Roads "
A later thing also mentions in a table "Annual Average Daily Traffic"
(measured in vehicles per day)
and then "% HGVs"
The report seems to use figures based on 1997 traffic flows, 65,800 vehicles
per day using the M11 to A1 section of the road so that would be in the
region of 11,800 and 17,800 HGVs per day using that section of the A14 in
1997 - probably higher now.
Keith Willshaw
"Alan" <a.b...@deadspam.com> wrote in message
news:Xns95C1A1816A668...@193.150.150.3...
And if you fail to match the traffic speed there rarely
will be a suitable gap. Its all about relative speeds after all.
Keith
Meldrew of Meldreth
Naich <d...@mrao.cam.ac.uk> writes
>> To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
>> Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to go
>> on the A14 she er, stopped.
>
>Can I be the first to point out that the junction of the slip road and a
>dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is technically nothing
>wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
If the traffic is too dense to merge with safely, then you *have* to
stop.
John Penton
> Naich <d...@mrao.cam.ac.uk> wrote in
>
> > > To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading
> > > towards Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the
> > > slip road to go on the A14 she er, stopped.
> >
> > Can I be the first to point out that the junction of the slip road
> > and a dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is
> > technically nothing wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
>
> Quite, and what happens if there is no sensible gap? You might
> _have_ to stop. (Yes I know some drivers believe there is always a
> gap for them, which is probably another contribution to the accident
> rate)
Agreed. On a short slip road, I try to make the decision about whether
there is a sensible gap or not at the start of the slip road. I've seen
people assume there will be a gap, accelerate as if there will be one, and
then have to abort and grind to a halt at the last minute. Thereafter they
need an even larger gap or pull into fast traffic at a slow speed. I stop
(if necessary) at the start of the slip road and look for a gap coming up
which I can accelerate to meet.
My 2p.
John
--
John Penton - posting as an individual unless otherwise indicated.
Alan
And volume of traffic.
Meldrew of Meldreth
<richard....@NOSPAMntlworld.com> writes
>The report seems to use figures based on 1997 traffic flows, 65,800 vehicles
>per day using the M11 to A1 section of the road so that would be in the
>region of 11,800 and 17,800 HGVs per day using that section of the A14 in
>1997 - probably higher now.
So apply a sniff-test. Can you imagine how many boats from
Harwich/Felixstowe would be needed to carry 15,000 HGVs a day?
Rather a lot!!
Alan
> In article <Pine.SOL.4.58.04...@cadsa.ra.phy.cam.ac.uk>,
> Naich <d...@mrao.cam.ac.uk> writes
>>> To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
>>> Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road
>>> to go on the A14 she er, stopped.
>>
>>Can I be the first to point out that the junction of the slip road and
>>a dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is technically
>>nothing wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
>
> If the traffic is too dense to merge with safely, then you *have* to
> stop.
Trouble is, some people don't realise that. They get up to speed,
indicate and close their eyes :-)
Meldrew of Meldreth
<richard....@NOSPAMntlworld.com> writes
>> 2% of the A14's traffic. Gosh, it must be at least 3 weeks since this
>> hoary old chestnut last cropped up.
>
>You do of course mean "between 18 and 27%" of the A14's traffic flow.
>
>Figure taken directly from the Highways Agency's "A14 Kettering to
>Felixstowe Route Management Strategy" website.
You need to quote a page and document name (from that rather
spaghetti-like site).
From previous reports I rather think you'll find that the total lorry
traffic on the A14 is ~25%, but only a tenth of that (ie 2% of the total
on the A14) is going to and from the ports and is therefore susceptible
to simplistic "stick it on a train" solutions [1]. The other 90% of the
lorries are travelling between diverse start/finish points spread over
the whole South-East and Midlands.
[1] Which even then don't address the diversity of inland destinations.
Nick Wagg
news:cpruob$vq2$1...@heisenberg.grid-zero.net...
>
> To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
> Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to go
> on the A14 she er, stopped.
> Then she *turned her head* to look out of her window for traffic, and
> then when she'd found a reasonably sized gap accelerated hard to get up
> to speed.
> Apparently she was not confident using her side mirrors and coupled with
> a tiny slip road she felt she had no choice other than to stop dead.
A lot of people don't understand the concept of an acceleration lane.
Paul Rudin
> ... it's just the volume of goods traffic that in my mind is the
> worst contributor...
It's funny how the volume of traffic always seems to be someone else
fault. It's always "mums doing the school run", or "local traffic" or
"long distance traffic" or "foreigners going for the ferry" or "goods
vehicles" or "holiday makers" etc. Oddly it never seems to be the millions
of men in single occupant cars driving to or from work :)
Rachel
fairly near in orders of magnitude. Add in Harwich etc and the
distribution centres located near the ports because near the ports...
Ian Cowley
>
> Can I be the first to point out that the junction of the slip road and a
> dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is technically nothing
> wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
Indeed, and as such people should indicate *left* to join the carriageway
(it's just a T-junction at a shallow angle).
I've never understood why people indicate to join the main carriageway from
a slip road anyway - sure it does no harm, but where else are they gonna go?
--
Ian Cowley (Not Reverend) - Perfecting pedantry through practice
Check www.iancowley.co.uk for contact details!
"Maybe, just once, someone will call me 'sir'
without adding 'you're making a scene'"
DuncanWood
<rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <Yniwd.444$hX....@newsfe6-gui.ntli.net>, Richard Bullock
> <richard....@NOSPAMntlworld.com> writes
>> The report seems to use figures based on 1997 traffic flows, 65,800
>> vehicles
>> per day using the M11 to A1 section of the road so that would be in the
>> region of 11,800 and 17,800 HGVs per day using that section of the A14
>> in
>> 1997 - probably higher now.
>
> So apply a sniff-test. Can you imagine how many boats from
> Harwich/Felixstowe would be needed to carry 15,000 HGVs a day?
>
> Rather a lot!!
About 5
Mary Ann Tuli
> Naich <d...@mrao.cam.ac.uk> burbled:
>
>>Can I be the first to point out that the junction of the slip road and a
>>dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is technically nothing
>>wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
>
>
> Indeed, and as such people should indicate *left* to join the carriageway
> (it's just a T-junction at a shallow angle).
>
> I've never understood why people indicate to join the main carriageway from
> a slip road anyway - sure it does no harm, but where else are they gonna go?
>
>
joining them, and allows them to move over if need be.
Mary Ann
Ian Cowley
Rather akin to the BBC Cambs' traffic website where there's a section for
people to vent their spleen about the A14 [1] and comment on the MGB.
The first poster, IIRC, says "Rar for the MGB, get all the traffic off the
A14 to make getting to Cambridge easier". They don't seem to realise that
*they* are one of the people that should also be getting off the A14...
[1] Never realised that rhymes...
--
Ian Cowley (Not Reverend) - Perfecting pedantry through practice
Check www.iancowley.co.uk for contact details!
"You have 30 minutes to move you car. You have 10 minutes to move your car
Your car has been crushed into a cube. You have 30 minutes to move your
cube"
Patrick Gosling
Ian Cowley <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
>I've never understood why people indicate to join the main carriageway from
>a slip road anyway - sure it does no harm, but where else are they gonna go?
Flashing lights are more likely to attract the attention of a less than
perfectly alert driver.
Of particular importance, they tend to reduce the chances of someone
deciding to complete their overtaking maneouvre and return to the
lane you're about to join, in exactly the place that you were planning
to join it.
-patrick.
Patrick Gosling
Meldrew of Meldreth <rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote:
>So apply a sniff-test. Can you imagine how many boats from
>Harwich/Felixstowe would be needed to carry 15,000 HGVs a day?
Most of them don't carry HGVs, they carry containers. My guesstimate
is between 5 and 30 vessels a day. Assuming that the shippers are
efficient and both load and unload, you can halve that.
-patrick.
Mary Pegg
> And volume of traffic.
^
"Sheer"
Doesn't look right otherwise.
Ian Cowley
Yeah, 'spose. I guess I'm fairly observant and careful around junctions
anyway, and always know if there are cars on the slip road and that if they
are then they're gonna be joining the carriageway...
--
Ian Cowley (Not Reverend) - Perfecting pedantry through practice
Check www.iancowley.co.uk for contact details!
"I never apologise! I'm sorry, but that's just the way I am"
Tony Finch
>
>Add in the speed differential (typically 20mph) between cars and lorries
>and the number of lorries passing each other at 1mph (cos they're both
>at the speed limit give or take speedo error and ability to climb a
>grade) forming a hazard that is like discovering a brick wall in front
>of you.
I look forward to the Highways Agency's trial of banning HGV overtaking.
Tony.
--
f.a.n.finch <d...@dotat.at> http://dotat.at/
NORWEGIAN BASIN IN NORTH, WEST OR NORTHWEST 5 TO 7, BECOMING VARIABLE 3 OR 4
IN NORTHEAST LATER. WINTRY SHOWERS. MODERATE OR POOR. LIGHT ICING.
Mary Ann Tuli
> Patrick Gosling <jp...@eng.cam.ac.uk> burbled:
>
>>Ian Cowley <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
>>
>>>I've never understood why people indicate to join the main carriageway
>>>from a slip road anyway - sure it does no harm, but where else are they
>>>gonna go?
>>
>>Flashing lights are more likely to attract the attention of a less than
>>perfectly alert driver.
>>
>>Of particular importance, they tend to reduce the chances of someone
>>deciding to complete their overtaking maneouvre and return to the
>>lane you're about to join, in exactly the place that you were planning
>>to join it.
>
>
> Yeah, 'spose. I guess I'm fairly observant and careful around junctions
> anyway, and always know if there are cars on the slip road and that if they
> are then they're gonna be joining the carriageway...
>
Also, it's useful for cars behind the one just about to join. Gives them
an idea of how the traffic is moving.
Mary Ann
Tim Green
But school holidays make such a HUGE difference to the morning traffic
for us 9to5'ers who take their holidays at other times of the year (I
can highly recommend Malta in late November, for example).
Tim.
--
To email me, please remove the lime from the tin first.
Value of 2p or 2cent comments may go up as well as down.
Patrick Gosling
Meldrew of Meldreth <rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote:
>Harwich/Felixstowe would be needed to carry 15,000 HGVs a day?
The assertion in http://www.corringham.org.uk/speac/newsletters/may02.htm
is that Felixtowe has 4000 HGV's each way per day, with a peak flow of
800/hr inbound.
-patrick.
Gropius Riftwynde
<rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote:
>In article <Pine.SOL.4.58.04...@cadsa.ra.phy.cam.ac.uk>,
>Naich <d...@mrao.cam.ac.uk> writes
>>> To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
>>> Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to go
>>> on the A14 she er, stopped.
>>
>>Can I be the first to point out that the junction of the slip road and a
>>dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is technically nothing
>>wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
>
>If the traffic is too dense to merge with safely, then you *have* to
>stop.
Absolutely so. If there is not a safe space to move into, which is
often the case, then I'm buggered if I want to move into the main
highway on the basis that some cam.misc pedant would criticise me if I
didn't!
GR
Gropius Riftwynde
wrote:
>I've never understood why people indicate to join the main carriageway from
>a slip road anyway - sure it does no harm, but where else are they gonna go?
The flashing light highlights their presence to people wafting down
the inner lane listening to Radio 1.
GR
Gropius Riftwynde
wrote:
Which is precisely the reason why people have to be ultra-careful when
joining, knowing that there are idiots bowling along who have never
heard of a concept.
GR
Alan Braggins
>Paul Rudin <paul....@ntlworld.com> burbled:
>>
>> It's funny how the volume of traffic always seems to be someone else
>> fault. It's always "mums doing the school run", or "local traffic" or
>> "long distance traffic" or "foreigners going for the ferry" or "goods
>> vehicles" or "holiday makers" etc. Oddly it never seems to be the millions
>> of men in single occupant cars driving to or from work :)
>
>Rather akin to the BBC Cambs' traffic website where there's a section for
>people to vent their spleen about the A14 [1] and comment on the MGB.
>
>The first poster, IIRC, says "Rar for the MGB, get all the traffic off the
>A14 to make getting to Cambridge easier". They don't seem to realise that
>*they* are one of the people that should also be getting off the A14...
http://www.theonion.com/auto/news_3643.php
"Report: 98 Percent Of U.S. Commuters Favor Public Transportation For Others"
Paul Grimes
I think you mean Radio 3 or, heaven forbid, 2. The Radio 1 listeners are
doing 90 mph weaving between the trucks.
Radio 4 listeners are probably doing exactly 69 mph in the outside lane :)
Paul
Tim Ward
news:32csreF...@individual.net...
> Just read this:
http://w3.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/story.asp?StoryID=66511
>
> I am interested to know why this road appears to attract so many
accidents.
> Is the number above the norm for a road of this size/category/busy-ness
and
> if so, why? Or is this just CEN trying to make up a drama?
(1) Bad driving.
(2) And yes, the CEN have been hyping it up for years.
--
Tim Ward - posting as an individual unless otherwise clear
Brett Ward Ltd - www.brettward.co.uk
Cambridge Accommodation Notice Board - www.brettward.co.uk/canb
Cambridge City Councillor
Mark Ayliffe
Patrick Gosling <jp...@eng.cam.ac.uk> illuminated us with:
Presumably a fair few containers leave the yards at the port by lorry as
well?
--
Mark
Real email address | Men are like a fine wine. They start out as grapes, and
is mark at | it's up to women to stomp the crap out of them until they
ayliffe dot org | turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.
A Plagued Lighthouse Keeper
You keep quoting this but refuse to back it up.
Rupert Moss-Eccardt
The largest container ships I am aware of are around the 8,000 TEU mark
(TEU=twenty-foot equivalent unit).
Peter Benie
Nick Wagg <n...@transcendata.com> wrote:
>"Jon Anderson" <j...@durge.org> wrote in message
>news:cpruob$vq2$1...@heisenberg.grid-zero.net...
>>
>> To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
>> Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to go
>> on the A14 she er, stopped.
>
Including the designers of this particular slip road. I've used this
one precisely once. Never again.
Peter
Meldrew of Meldreth
Rachel <rhb21-b...@cam.ac.uk> writes
>Felixstowe alone handled 1.6 million containers so 15000 is probably
>fairly near in orders of magnitude. Add in Harwich etc and the
>distribution centres located near the ports because near the ports...
There is a major difference between a container ship arriving from the
far east with several thousand containers to distribute, and a
roll-on-roll-off-roll-over ferry arriving with a few hundred of the
"continental drivers" that the lighthouse was on about.
--
"now, the thing you type on and the window you stare out of are the same thing"
Meldrew of Meldreth
writes
>> So apply a sniff-test. Can you imagine how many boats from
>>Harwich/Felixstowe would be needed to carry 15,000 HGVs a day?
>>
>> Rather a lot!!
>
>About 5
This is turning into a comedy. 3,000 HGVs on a ferry!
From what I can find the typical P&O cross-channel "Pride of ..." ferry
has the following capacity:
2,036 passengers, 530 cars or 84 articulated lorries
Chris Newton
> "Jon Anderson" <j...@durge.org> wrote in message
> news:cpruob$vq2$1...@heisenberg.grid-zero.net...
>
>>To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
>>Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to go
>>on the A14 she er, stopped.
>>then when she'd found a reasonably sized gap accelerated hard to get up
>>to speed.
>>Apparently she was not confident using her side mirrors and coupled with
>>a tiny slip road she felt she had no choice other than to stop dead.
>
A lot of people don't even understand the concept of acceleration. :-(
I can't count how often I've been trundling along at 70 or so in lane 1,
only to have Joe Fiesta pull in right in front of me from the slip road
while doing 50-60. It's the way they always look at me as I overtake, as
though it's my fault that we nearly had an accident and I should take my
menacing fast car and blatant high speed tendencies elsewhere, that
always gets me.
Then again, in a country where a lot of driving tests don't seem to
involve going faster than 28mph, what can we realistically expect?
Cheers,
Chris
DuncanWood
<rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <opsi3z84zakx08km@amy>, DuncanWood <free...@dmx512.co.uk>
> writes
>>> So apply a sniff-test. Can you imagine how many boats from
>>> Harwich/Felixstowe would be needed to carry 15,000 HGVs a day?
>>>
>>> Rather a lot!!
>>
>> About 5
>
> This is turning into a comedy. 3,000 HGVs on a ferry!
>
> From what I can find the typical P&O cross-channel "Pride of ..." ferry
> has the following capacity:
>
> 2,036 passengers, 530 cars or 84 articulated lorries
>
But what you mainly get at Harwich & Felixstowe is container Ships, 4-5000
TEUs per ship.
Richard Bullock
"Meldrew of Meldreth" <rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote in message
news:D0pOIpnC...@donald.internetpolicynews.co.uk...
> In article <mlhwd.315$Rl4...@newsfe5-win.ntli.net>, Richard Bullock
> <richard....@NOSPAMntlworld.com> writes
>>> 2% of the A14's traffic. Gosh, it must be at least 3 weeks since this
>>> hoary old chestnut last cropped up.
>>
>>You do of course mean "between 18 and 27%" of the A14's traffic flow.
>>
>>Figure taken directly from the Highways Agency's "A14 Kettering to
>>Felixstowe Route Management Strategy" website.
>
> You need to quote a page and document name (from that rather
> spaghetti-like site).
>
is one of a couple of pages which has this info.
Linda Fox
wrote:
>I've never understood why people indicate to join the main carriageway from
>a slip road anyway - sure it does no harm, but where else are they gonna go?
Probably just an extra way of making sure other drivers are really
paying attention to you. Like when I cycle and signal to turn right, I
often energetically waggle my fingers as well so that drivers are
less likely to ignore my signal
(I don't _think_ it's the old-fashioned signal for "I am about to take
off")
Linda ff
Meldrew of Meldreth
<jp...@eng.cam.ac.uk> writes
>The assertion in http://www.corringham.org.uk/speac/newsletters/may02.htm
>is that Felixtowe has 4000 HGV's each way per day, with a peak flow of
>800/hr inbound.
On one hand, that's not:
"a [ferry] boats been in at Harwich or Felixstowe and the roads
are full of continental drivers."
On the other hand, what fraction of the lorries that are dispersing the
container ships end up going up the A14? Perhaps most of them go down
the A12 and round the M25 to places in the south of England.
Meldrew of Meldreth
Lighthouse Keeper <us...@example.net> writes
>You keep quoting this but refuse to back it up.
I've backed it up twice in the past, use Google to find it.
Meldrew of Meldreth
writes
>But what you mainly get at Harwich & Felixstowe is container Ships,
>4-5000 TEUs per ship.
But those don't result in:
"The level of HGV traffic has steadily risen over the last 10
years so that a lot of it dominates - particularly when a boats
been in at Harwich or Felixstowe and the roads are full of
continental drivers."
That's ferries.
Meldrew of Meldreth
<richard....@NOSPAMntlworld.com> writes
>>>You do of course mean "between 18 and 27%" of the A14's traffic flow.
>>>
>>>Figure taken directly from the Highways Agency's "A14 Kettering to
>>>Felixstowe Route Management Strategy" website.
>>
>> You need to quote a page and document name (from that rather
>> spaghetti-like site).
>>
>http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/a_roads/a14/kettering_felixstowe/rms/01.htm
>
>is one of a couple of pages which has this info.
Ah, you have made my case for me. As I suspected, the figure you quoted
was lorries in total. Not lorries from the ports. Those are about 10% of
the lorries in total.
Ben Hutchings
Likewise. That was a tough lesson.
--
Ben Hutchings
This sentence contradicts itself - no actually it doesn't.
Meldrew of Meldreth
<tin...@spodlife.org> writes
>But school holidays make such a HUGE difference to the morning traffic
Another old chestnut.
(1) Lots of people who would otherwise be travelling to work, that don't
in the school holidays. These include:
Anyone in the education industry
Anyone with a child, who is now forced to only take holidays when
schools are out
(2) People with children to take to school, that are only now accepted
between 8.50 and 8.55, so their journey to work co-incides with all
those others. But in the holidays can travel to work any time they
like, thus spreading the load.
Mary Pegg
> (2) People with children to take to school, that are only now accepted
It's not that long ago that children walked or cycled, because car ownership
was neither widespread nor expected. As far as I can see most schools and
most houses have not moved since then.
Golly, we haven't done *this* one for *ages*...
--
Nothing to be done.
Jon Anderson
> I look forward to the Highways Agency's trial of banning HGV overtaking.
They do this on the continent in places IIRC.
Of course that is not me saying it'll work here...after all they use the
Euro on the continent...
Jon
--
Durge: j...@durge.org http://users.durge.org/~jon/
OnStream: acco...@rowing.org.uk http://www.rowing.org.uk/
[ All views expressed are personal unless otherwise stated ]
DuncanWood
<rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <opsi4cnqhikx08km@amy>, DuncanWood <free...@dmx512.co.uk>
> writes
>> But what you mainly get at Harwich & Felixstowe is container Ships,
>> 4-5000 TEUs per ship.
>
> But those don't result in:
>
> "The level of HGV traffic has steadily risen over the last 10
> years so that a lot of it dominates - particularly when a boats
> been in at Harwich or Felixstowe and the roads are full of
> continental drivers."
>
> That's ferries.
Quite agree, that wasn't the point I was replying to.
Jon Anderson
> Radio 4 listeners are probably doing exactly 69 mph in the outside lane :)
Can't work out why but for some reason I find this utterly utterly
hilarious. :-)
You've just cheered me up a lot - thanks! :-)
Naich
> I can't count how often I've been trundling along at 70 or so in lane 1,
> only to have Joe Fiesta pull in right in front of me from the slip road
> while doing 50-60. It's the way they always look at me as I overtake, as
> though it's my fault that we nearly had an accident and I should take my
> menacing fast car and blatant high speed tendencies elsewhere, that
> always gets me.
The one that always gets me ranting is when I'm doing 70 on a DC and
someone overtakes me, pulls in front of me, sees a speed camera, slams on
the anchors and slows down to 60. I'd say a good 40% of people don't seem
to know what the speed limit is on a DC.
Naich.
--
http://www.fuzzyblobs.com .......... My blurry pics.
http://www.maggenhoof.co.uk/thoday . Improving our new dump.
http://www.veggiefoodguide.co.uk ... Time for some nice food.
http://www.sodwork.com ............. Right. I've had enough.
Motto: Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
Meldrew of Meldreth
<nos...@widetrouser.freeserve.co.uk> writes
>> (2) People with children to take to school, that are only now accepted
>
>It's not that long ago that children walked or cycled, because car ownership
>was neither widespread nor expected. As far as I can see most schools and
>most houses have not moved since then.
>
>Golly, we haven't done *this* one for *ages*...
The problems started when cuts were made in bus-passes for school
children. Not that Cambridge has a useful bus service, mind. The
particular problem in Cambridge is the large number of private schools,
and parents exercising "choice" in the public sector, which result in a
catchment area way in excess of what is walkable or cycleable.
Although to merge those thoughts, I knew one parent who cycled their
child from Girton to the Newnham Croft state primary - must have had a
good reason I suppose.
There's also the idea that society has become more prosperous, and can
afford to do things differently. When I went to primary school we didn't
have central heating, and it's difficult to say it did me any harm. In
fact, it was rather fun to draw in the ice on the inside of the bedroom
windows on a winter morning. So should we all be campaigning for
families with school age children to turn off their central heating, as
it's un-necessary? Would save the ozone, too.
Nick Wagg
news:o8v3s0paftfuqo5c0...@4ax.com...
>
> Probably just an extra way of making sure other drivers are really
> paying attention to you. Like when I cycle and signal to turn right, I
> often energetically waggle my fingers as well so that drivers are
> less likely to ignore my signal
>
> (I don't _think_ it's the old-fashioned signal for "I am about to take
> off")
I thought it was the old-fashioned signal for "yoo hoo" or "cooeee".
Nick Wagg
news:slrncs3v82.v4b.b...@decadentplace.org.uk...
> Peter Benie wrote:
> > In article <cpscr6$jbb$1$830f...@news.demon.co.uk>,
> > Nick Wagg <n...@transcendata.com> wrote:
> >>"Jon Anderson" <j...@durge.org> wrote in message
> >>news:cpruob$vq2$1...@heisenberg.grid-zero.net...
> >>>
> >>> To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
> >>> Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to
go
> >>> on the A14 she er, stopped.
> >>
> >>A lot of people don't understand the concept of an acceleration lane.
> >
> > Including the designers of this particular slip road. I've used this
> > one precisely once. Never again.
>
> Likewise. That was a tough lesson.
Gah! Wussies! It's an everyday occurence.
My worst experience there was encountering someone changing
a wheel, so not only was his car blocking the lane, but so was his
wheel, jack and his fat jacksie. Not a red triangle in sight.
Nick Wagg
news:Pine.SOL.4.58.04...@cadsa.ra.phy.cam.ac.uk...
> On Thu, 16 Dec 2004, Chris Newton wrote:
>
> > I can't count how often I've been trundling along at 70 or so in lane 1,
> > only to have Joe Fiesta pull in right in front of me from the slip road
> > while doing 50-60. It's the way they always look at me as I overtake, as
> > though it's my fault that we nearly had an accident and I should take my
> > menacing fast car and blatant high speed tendencies elsewhere, that
> > always gets me.
>
> The one that always gets me ranting is when I'm doing 70 on a DC and
> someone overtakes me, pulls in front of me, sees a speed camera, slams on
> the anchors and slows down to 60. I'd say a good 40% of people don't seem
> to know what the speed limit is on a DC.
They don't seem to know the national limit on ornery roads either.
tony sayer
of Meldreth <rol...@perry.co.uk> writes
>In article <8Tnwd.2028$NC4....@newsfe3-gui.ntli.net>, Mary Pegg
><nos...@widetrouser.freeserve.co.uk> writes
>>> (2) People with children to take to school, that are only now accepted
>>
>>It's not that long ago that children walked or cycled, because car ownership
>>was neither widespread nor expected. As far as I can see most schools and
>>most houses have not moved since then.
>>
>>Golly, we haven't done *this* one for *ages*...
>
>The problems started when cuts were made in bus-passes for school
>children. Not that Cambridge has a useful bus service, mind. The
>particular problem in Cambridge is the large number of private schools,
>and parents exercising "choice" in the public sector, which result in a
>catchment area way in excess of what is walkable or cycleable.
We've all but given up on the "cycleable" bit thanks. The car/lorry/bus
drivers are one thing, but at least there're on the road.
No, what's really dangerous is the behaviour of the cyclists on the
paths!!!!.........
>
>Although to merge those thoughts, I knew one parent who cycled their
>child from Girton to the Newnham Croft state primary - must have had a
>good reason I suppose.
>
>There's also the idea that society has become more prosperous, and can
>afford to do things differently. When I went to primary school we didn't
>have central heating, and it's difficult to say it did me any harm. In
>fact, it was rather fun to draw in the ice on the inside of the bedroom
>windows on a winter morning.
Ice on 't glass 'o water by yer bed eh?, why you should have seen
't sheet of ice on me granny's bedpan;))
>So should we all be campaigning for
>families with school age children to turn off their central heating, as
>it's un-necessary? Would save the ozone, too.
If I could get the little monkeys to remember to switch of the lights
and shut doors behind them;!. Should bring back the gas shilling!...
--
Tony Sayer
Tim Green
> <tin...@spodlife.org> writes
>>But school holidays make such a HUGE difference to the morning traffic
>
> Another old chestnut.
>
> between 8.50 and 8.55, so their journey to work co-incides with all
> those others. But in the holidays can travel to work any time they
> like, thus spreading the load.
Ah, I see.
Have you any good reasons for Friday morning traffic levels? These are
not quiet as quiet as holidays, but still better than Monday to
Thursday.
Tim.
--
To email me, please remove the lime from the tin first.
Value of 2p or 2cent comments may go up as well as down.
Mark Ayliffe
Tim Green <tin...@spodlife.org> illuminated us with:
> Meldrew of Meldreth <rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote:
>> In article <cpsf5t$pis$1...@salmon.pepperfish.net>, Tim Green
>> <tin...@spodlife.org> writes
>>>But school holidays make such a HUGE difference to the morning traffic
>>
>> Another old chestnut.
>>
>> (2) People with children to take to school, that are only now accepted
>> between 8.50 and 8.55, so their journey to work co-incides with all
>> those others. But in the holidays can travel to work any time they
>> like, thus spreading the load.
>
> Ah, I see.
>
> Have you any good reasons for Friday morning traffic levels? These are
> not quiet as quiet as holidays, but still better than Monday to
> Thursday.
Odd that. With the weather one would expect the traffic to be heavier than
usual. We managed to cross Histon Road before the Pelican lights changed.
Usually it's so solid that even the two minute wait isn't enough for a gap
both ways. Possibly people were skiving the last day or turning up late as
it's the last day of school.
OTOH quite a few were snarled up in Metcalfe Road this morning. Why
non-residents even attempt to drive along that road between 8:30 and 9am at
present is beyond my comprehension.
--
Mark
Real email address | "I am MS-DOS of Borg.
is mark at | Prepare... oops, out of memory!"
ayliffe dot org |
Meldrew of Meldreth
<tin...@spodlife.org> writes
>Have you any good reasons for Friday morning traffic levels? These are
>not quiet as quiet as holidays, but still better than Monday to
>Thursday.
There is a cycle involving those who are "weekly" commuting. Not all
start their week on a Monday, nor finish on a Friday, but few will start
their week on a Friday. However, the results of this are more obvious on
trunk roads than within a town, I'd have thought.
Mike Clark
<URL:mailto:a.b...@deadspam.com> wrote:
> Naich <d...@mrao.cam.ac.uk> wrote in
> news:Pine.SOL.4.58.04...@cadsa.ra.phy.cam.ac.uk:
>
> > On Thu, 16 Dec 2004, Jon Anderson wrote:
> >
> >> Steve wrote:
> >> > I suspect many reasons including....
> >> ...
> >> > -Short slip roads on the section Cambridge to Huntingdon, designed
> >> > (sic) for when volumes were much lower.
> >> > -Driver behaviour
> >> ...
> >>
> >> To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
> >> Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to
> >> go on the A14 she er, stopped.
> >
> > a dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is technically
> > nothing wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
> >
>
> Quite, and what happens if there is no sensible gap? You might _have_ to
> stop. (Yes I know some drivers believe there is always a gap for them,
> which is probably another contribution to the accident rate)
>
Yes I was going to comment on that point. Several times I have been in
heavy traffic on the A14 and have had to brake violently because a car
has just pulled straight out from a slip road and tried to force itself
into the flow of traffic.
Mike <URL:http://www.path.cam.ac.uk/~mrc7/>
--
o/ \\ // |\ ,_ o Mike Clark
<\__,\\ // __o | \ / /\, "A mountain climbing, cycling, skiing,
"> || _`\<,_ |__\ \> | immunology lecturer, antibody engineer and
` || (_)/ (_) | \corn computer user"
Mike Clark
Meldrew of Meldreth <URL:mailto:rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <Pine.SOL.4.58.04...@cadsa.ra.phy.cam.ac.uk>,
> Naich <d...@mrao.cam.ac.uk> writes
> >> To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading towards
> >> Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the slip road to go
> >> on the A14 she er, stopped.
> >
> >Can I be the first to point out that the junction of the slip road and a
> >dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is technically nothing
> >wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
>
> stop.
Yes but unfortunately some drivers believe they have a right to merge
unsafely.
Mike Clark
<URL:mailto:m...@privacy.net> wrote:
> Naich <d...@mrao.cam.ac.uk> burbled:
> >
> > Can I be the first to point out that the junction of the slip road
> > and a dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is
> > technically nothing wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
>
> carriageway (it's just a T-junction at a shallow angle).
>
> I've never understood why people indicate to join the main carriageway
> from a slip road anyway - sure it does no harm, but where else are
> they gonna go?
Well I consider it good practice to indicate whenever I'm about to cross
a lane boundary, whether it is entering or leaving on a slip lane, or
merely changing lanes on a multi-lane carriegeway. I can't understand
why some people find it so hard to clearly indicate their intentions.
Alan
news:ant17140...@mrc7acorn1.path.cam.ac.uk:
> In article <10LDoNlK...@donald.internetpolicynews.co.uk>,
> Meldrew of Meldreth <URL:mailto:rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote:
>> In article
>> <Pine.SOL.4.58.04...@cadsa.ra.phy.cam.ac.uk>, Naich
>> <d...@mrao.cam.ac.uk> writes
>> >> To illustrate these two points, I once sat in a car heading
>> >> towards Huntingdon from Bar Hill and as the driver went onto the
>> >> slip road to go on the A14 she er, stopped.
>> >
>> >Can I be the first to point out that the junction of the slip road
>> >and a dual carriageway is a 'Give Way' junction, so there is
>> >technically nothing wrong in stopping there and waiting for a gap?
>>
>> If the traffic is too dense to merge with safely, then you *have* to
>> stop.
>
> Yes but unfortunately some drivers believe they have a right to merge
> unsafely.
>
This thread started with someone critising a driver who had to stop on
the slip road and wait until "..she'd found a reasonably sized gap..",
and another said "A lot of people don't understand the concept of an
acceleration lane."
It's as if people assume you hit the slip road accelerate to speed and
merge. Just like that. There will always be a space - so go for it.
Alan
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Nick Wagg
news:ant17144...@mrc7acorn1.path.cam.ac.uk...
That isn't a problem peculiar to the A14 but seems to be common practice
everywhere. Few people seem to understand the concept of "right of way",
seeming to think that it's more a matter of "its my turn now".
Nick Wagg
news:Xns95C29484DB7F3...@193.150.150.3...
Well, there usually is, because drivers tend to leave a gap between
themselves and the car in front. We've had discussions before about
it being no use leaving a 2 second gap because someone else will
always fill it.
Colin Rosenstiel
Ayliffe) wrote:
> On or about 2004-12-16,
> Patrick Gosling <jp...@eng.cam.ac.uk> illuminated us with:
> > In article <ZUPIgQmY...@donald.internetpolicynews.co.uk>,
> > Meldrew of Meldreth <rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote:
> >>So apply a sniff-test. Can you imagine how many boats from
> >>Harwich/Felixstowe would be needed to carry 15,000 HGVs a day?
> >
> > The assertion in
> > http://www.corringham.org.uk/speac/newsletters/may02.htm
> > is that Felixtowe has 4000 HGV's each way per day, with a peak flow of
> > 800/hr inbound.
>
> Presumably a fair few containers leave the yards at the port by lorry as
> well?
Far too many but a lot go by rail too.
--
Colin Rosenstiel
Colin Rosenstiel
(Deryck) wrote:
> Just read this:
> http://w3.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/story.asp?StoryID=66511
>
> I am interested to know why this road appears to attract so many
> accidents. Is the number above the norm for a road of this
> size/category/busy-ness and if so, why? Or is this just CEN trying to
> make up a drama?
The CEN's agenda is to widen it to handle even more traffic. However, if
improving safety was what really mattered it would have a 50 MPH limit and
a ban on overtaking by lorries.
--
Colin Rosenstiel
tony sayer
Colin Rosenstiel <rosen...@cix.co.uk> writes
Yes saw a container train pass through Bury-St_Edmunds the other week.
One driver, one loco, and a *lot* of containers;)
--
Tony Sayer
Mark Ayliffe
Colin Rosenstiel <rosen...@cix.co.uk> illuminated us with:
Yeah and on such diddly little trains it's probably barely worth while:
http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/photos/dieselfreightaction/cofc/4560.shtml
http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/photos/dieselfreightaction/cofc/4670.shtml
and particularly:
http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/photos/dieselfreightaction/cofc/dfa1121.shtml ;-)
It's a right pain breaking in new technology sometimes, those following
behind get to avoid all your mistakes.
--
Mark
Real email address | A person, who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter,
is mark at | is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay
ayliffe dot org | attention. It never fails.)