Motorway delays

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stefanovic

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Narrowly avoided a 1 hour delay on the M42 yesterday..
I see today severe delays again on West Midlands motorways.
Unless you have no option will you stop using them?

Any problems on A and B roads are likely to just result in a diversion.

And what's the longest you've ever been held up?
3 hours for me on the M6.
A lorry driver I spoke to reported 14 hours in Kent.
 
Nothing like those... thankfully.

Coming back from Saunton last week the M5 north was messed up, so I took the A38 from South of Taunton right up to the outskirts of Bristol.... saved quite a while and stopped for a decent coffee in a proper shop some where along the route. Anything avoiding the thieving weasels in Services Areas is a bonus.
 
4-5 hours on the M1, it was closed as someone was threatening to jump from a bridge. The kids were young, we were returning from a driving holiday in France. It was not a good time. There is a feeling of real helplessness in those situations. A plan B should come into play but it rarely seems to.

I feel for lorry drivers when I hear about the monsters they have to deal with, so often in Kent going to the tunnel terminal.
 
Once stuck in a queue on the northbound M5 just before the Portishead bridge which was closed due to an accident - was there for 3 hours
 
Always avoid the Motorway if possible, A14/A1/A66 being my preferred route to Cumbria. Normally if there is trouble you can detour.
Edit.. one bank holiday Monday we did the journey using the M1/M6. Took 9 hours.
 
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Went from Wiltshire to Exeter down the M5 on the 2nd May bank holiday this year - 5 hours to get there, 1 hr 40 to get back. And we missed the cooking demo/lunch we had booked due to the delays :mad: Teach us to book something the same day the whole world is going to the South West!
 
6hr wait on the A38 once. Fatality crash.
Been turned around on the A1 aswell. Drove as a convoy of 50 odd vehicles the wrong way up the south bound carriageway @3am in the morning once. That was a little odd.
I do 50k miles a year and for the most part avoid traffic jams due to the hours I work.
 
Longest I have ever been held up was the year of eclipse (around 2000) the whole of the A38 and M5 was just one big traffic jam took me 10 hours for a journey that normally took 1.5 to 2 hours.

I tried every 'off' I knew and just ended up rejoining the A38 as it was obvious loads were trying the same thing, no fun on the single width roads across Dartmoor.
 
This time of year the motorways are full of people who don't use motorways very often, driving cars full of kids, other halfs and dogs distracting them. Not a good recipe.

Oh, and caravans.
 
Many years ago, I was trapped on the M6 in what initially was light snow. A truck had jacknifed and traffic built up behind it whilst the snow deepened. Luckily I did have plenty fuel, nibbles and drink for what turned out to be a long night. I dread to think what it would have been like if i was in an electric car!
 
CliveW said:
Many years ago, I was trapped on the M6 in what initially was light snow. A truck had jacknifed and traffic built up behind it whilst the snow deepened. Luckily I did have plenty fuel, nibbles and drink for what turned out to be a long night. I dread to think what it would have been like if i was in an electric car!
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resistance would have been futile
 
Never been stuck in a tailback for long, but have caused several. Sorry, ladies and gents.

People often complain that the cops close motorways unnecessarily for hours following fatal collisions. Yes, they’re closed for hours, but never unnecessarily.

The absolute worst one I can recall is some poor fella who decided to commit suicide about 4am on the motorway. He did it by leaping out of the driver’s seat of his car at 70mph in lane three, whereupon he was hit by at least half a dozen vehicles.

The scene was about half a mile long, and I had to photograph and survey all of it. Sparing you the graphic details, body recovery was an absolute nightmare. It took me seven hours to process the scene, in temperatures of minus 7 Celsius. The motorway was shut for nine hours. Did I want to be there are have the road shut for that length of time whilst I did my job? Absolutely not.

I know nobody here (so far) has moaned about being stuck in a tailback. But, trust me, those working at the front of it all would far rather be anywhere else other than causing you inconvenience. I genuinely and sincerely mean that.
 
Billysboots said:
Never been stuck in a tailback for long, but have caused several. Sorry, ladies and gents.

People often complain that the cops close motorways unnecessarily for hours following fatal collisions. Yes, they’re closed for hours, but never unnecessarily.

The absolute worst one I can recall is some poor fella who decided to commit suicide about 4am on the motorway. He did it by leaping out of the driver’s seat of his car at 70mph in lane three, whereupon he was hit by at least half a dozen vehicles.

The scene was about half a mile long, and I had to photograph and survey all of it. Sparing you the graphic details, body recovery was an absolute nightmare. It took me seven hours to process the scene, in temperatures of minus 7 Celsius. The motorway was shut for nine hours. Did I want to be there are have the road shut for that length of time whilst I did my job? Absolutely not.

I know nobody here (so far) has moaned about being stuck in a tailback. But, trust me, those working at the front of it all would far rather be anywhere else other than causing you inconvenience. I genuinely and sincerely mean that.
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99% of us can’t imagine what the Emergency Services go through when dealing with instances like you describe above and anybody who does or has moaned should be ashamed.

Nothing but respect for you all.(y)
 
Billysboots said:
Never been stuck in a tailback for long, but have caused several. Sorry, ladies and gents.

People often complain that the cops close motorways unnecessarily for hours following fatal collisions. Yes, they’re closed for hours, but never unnecessarily.

The absolute worst one I can recall is some poor fella who decided to commit suicide about 4am on the motorway. He did it by leaping out of the driver’s seat of his car at 70mph in lane three, whereupon he was hit by at least half a dozen vehicles.

The scene was about half a mile long, and I had to photograph and survey all of it. Sparing you the graphic details, body recovery was an absolute nightmare. It took me seven hours to process the scene, in temperatures of minus 7 Celsius. The motorway was shut for nine hours. Did I want to be there are have the road shut for that length of time whilst I did my job? Absolutely not.

I know nobody here (so far) has moaned about being stuck in a tailback. But, trust me, those working at the front of it all would far rather be anywhere else other than causing you inconvenience. I genuinely and sincerely mean that.
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Are there contingency plans in place to release cars stuck on a motorway and at what point do they kick in?

Awful situation you described.
 
Lord Tyrion said:
Are there contingency plans in place to release cars stuck on a motorway and at what point do they kick in?

Awful situation you described.
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Always. Sometimes it involves turning stranded traffic round and sending it the “wrong” way up the motorway under escort, and occasionally a section of central barrier will be removed to allow for traffic to be turned round. There are various options. But none of them are particularly quick or easy.
 
pauldj42 said:
99% of us can’t imagine what the Emergency Services go through when dealing with instances like you describe above and anybody who does or has moaned should be ashamed.

Nothing but respect for you all.(y)
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I used to get wound up by the comments. And don’t get me started on those who drive past scenes videoing on their phones.

By the time I retired I was so used to it that it was water off a duck’s back.
 
Billysboots said:
I used to get wound up by the comments. And don’t get me started on those who drive past scenes videoing on their phones.

By the time I retired I was so used to it that it was water off a duck’s back.
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Just on this.
Outside my house last Saturday a drunk driver hit a parked car.
It was like a bomb going off.
But when everything settled down some young clown driving past ,weaving around all the debris on his phone videoing it all.
The cops just let him do it? Why. There was seven of them tree cars.
The public that were there were more incensed by this little prick than the driver.
But the cops just watched him go past.
 
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