M1 Overhead Gantry Signs

R.O.R · 23-11-2007 11:06am #1

Anyone notice the overhead gantry signs on the M1 southbound this morning?

The "Fast Lane" will be closed overnight on some days or another. Can anyone enlighten me as to where the "Fast Lane" is, so I can try to avoid it?

Think I'll contact the NRA as well to see if they can let me know there whereabouts of this.

delly · 23-11-2007 11:08am

*sigh*

I presume you have issue with the term "fast lane" as opposed to "outside lane", rather then being genuinely confused?

TontoMurphy · 23-11-2007 11:09am

Take your point, according to Rules of the Road the right lane is the "Overtaking Lane"

Idleater · 23-11-2007 11:32am

Having read that sign, I presumed that the left hand side lane would be closing.

However, all the cones are put on the right hand side of the right lane, so the poor workers will have quite a job running across the lanes to put them in place.

There must be some mistake somewhere all right.

Mike07 · 23-11-2007 11:56am

Where is this fast lane? is it available during rush hour?

Vikings · 23-11-2007 11:59am

R.O.R wrote: »

Think I'll contact the NRA as well to see if they can let me know there whereabouts of this.

Are you really that bothered about it?

Whether its the correct term or not everybody knows what it refers to.

R.O.R · 23-11-2007 12:07pm

Vikings wrote: »

Are you really that bothered about it?

Whether its the correct term or not everybody knows what it refers to.

I'm guessing you don't drive that stretch of Motorway? It would appear 90% of people think they should be sitting in the outside lane until 3m before they have to get off. If the overhead signs are confirming that the outside lane is the Fast Lane, it just enforces people misguided belief that they should be in that lane if they want to go "Fast".

I do have a major problem with Traffic signs that are there for information purposes giving out mis-information. The last thing needed in this country, with it's appaling state of Motorway driving, is anything that misleads people.

Tony Danza · 23-11-2007 12:14pm

Are you sure you're fit to drive if you can't figure out which lane they are referring to by calling it the fast lane?

Run_to_da_hills · 23-11-2007 12:40pm

R.O.R wrote: »

Anyone notice the overhead gantry signs on the M1 southbound this morning?

The "Fast Lane" will be closed overnight on some days or another. Can anyone enlighten me as to where the "Fast Lane" is, so I can try to avoid it?

Think I'll contact the NRA as well to see if they can let me know there whereabouts of this.

I was told off by a cop a few years back for calling the outer lane the "fast lane", he corrected me by telling me it should be called the "overtaking" lane.

R.O.R · 23-11-2007 12:41pm

Tony Danza wrote: »

Are you sure you're fit to drive if you can't figure out which lane they are referring to by calling it the fast lane?

I can go Fast in either lane if it's clear. Which is the fast lane so smartarse?

Bluetonic · 23-11-2007 12:48pm

R.O.R wrote: »

The "Fast Lane" will be closed overnight on some days or another. Can anyone enlighten me as to where the "Fast Lane" is, so I can try to avoid it?

I wish I had tried to avoid your post to be honest.

R.O.R · 23-11-2007 12:56pm

Bluetonic wrote: »

I wish I had tried to avoid your post to be honest.

Well, thanks for contributing. Made my day that has :rolleyes:

Stark · 23-11-2007 12:59pm

They have the same sign on the M50 as well. The misinformation is as annoying as the people who brake to read the sign.

Vikings · 23-11-2007 12:59pm

R.O.R wrote: »

I can go Fast in either lane if it's clear. Which is the fast lane so smartarse?

Exactly. Everybody knows that the Overtaking Lane is referred to as the Fast Lane. It is also referred to as the Outside Lane as it is on the outside.

Just because it isn't referred to as the Overtaking Lane shouldn't make a difference to how you drive. It could be called the Pit Lane for all I care, if you don't know where it is or how to use it correctly it's not my fault, or the fault of people calling it by a different name.

Blame the people using the lane wrongly, not people calling it something different.

xabi · 23-11-2007 1:06pm

I agree with ROR, these signs should have the correct terminology, it really annoys me when i see signs refering to to 'fast lane' and is part of the reason most people dont know how to drive on motorways and dual carrigeways. Its the overtaking lane FFS.

X.

flanzer · 23-11-2007 1:19pm

My Girlfriend spotted the inaccuracy last night (before I did :mad:). I'm enraged!!

Anan1 · 23-11-2007 1:37pm

How could anyone be unable to grasp why referring to the overtaking lane as the 'fast lane' is not a good idea?

Vikings · 23-11-2007 1:42pm

Is it a good idea? No.

Does it affect the way I drive? No.

Call it what you like, at the end of the day it is down to each and every driver to use the lanes correctly regardless of what they are called.

xabi · 23-11-2007 1:47pm

It’s the inconsistency of it all; sometimes we are told they are ‘fast lanes’ other times they tell us they are ‘overtaking lanes’. The same goes for signs telling me that the slow lane ends in 200M or whatever, then 20 miles down the road the overtaking lane ends in 200M – A bit of consistency is all I want.

Anan1 · 23-11-2007 1:58pm

Vikings wrote: »

Is it a good idea? No.

Does it affect the way I drive? No.

Call it what you like, at the end of the day it is down to each and every driver to use the lanes correctly regardless of what they are called.

Whilsi I agree with the above, I think you're missing the point. There are many drivers out there who actually believe that going 'fast' is a good enough reason to block the overtaking lane.

Vikings · 23-11-2007 2:04pm

I get ya, personally I don't refer to it as the Fast Lane... but I don't care if other people do as long as it is used correctly.

I know a lot of people out there treat it as simply a faster lane, it only takes 2 minutes on a motorway to see that. I still dont think that simply by referring to it as the Overtaking Lane will solve that though.

Anan1 · 23-11-2007 2:15pm

Again, I agree. Thing is, calling it the 'fast lane' only encourages the muppets. Calling it the overtaking lane won't teach everyone but, as the saying goes, every little helps.

R.O.R · 23-11-2007 2:17pm

It seems that the sarcasm in my original post was missed somewhat.

I have absoloutely no problem with drivers refering to it as the fast lane, the problem I have is with some sort of authority refering to it in that manner when it's blatantly incorrect. It makes no difference to how I drive, I'll still be going from inside to outside and back again, but there is a large majority of drivers out there who are not as edjucated in the rules of the road as the posters in here, and it's that section of the population who need to be edjucated.

Can I claim eenglish isn't my first language? OK, spelling isn't my strong point, thought edjucated didn't quite look right.

Bluetonic · 23-11-2007 2:49pm

R.O.R wrote: »

it's that section of the population who need to be edjucated.

OldmanMondeo · 23-11-2007 2:51pm

Probably more to do with the number of letters allowed on the sign. That said I have seen signs indicating closure of the Right hand / Overtaking land been called the "Outside lane or Right Hand Lane".

Breezer · 23-11-2007 3:49pm

99% of the time it's not the 'overtaking lane', the 'fast lane' or the 'outside lane', it's the 'break the speed limit lane.' Occasionally it's the 'lane where you shine your full beam on the driver ahead who's using it as an overtaking lane, thereby preventing him from seeing what's coming up in the left hand lane, thereby making it unsafe for him to move back in and perpetuating his presence in front of you.'

Healyc · 23-11-2007 4:45pm

Look lads, as we all know there is two lanes on most of our motorways.

L/H= Slow lane
R/H= Fast Lane

My girlfriend is the worst of them out there. She will stay in the "Fast Lane" holding up all the traffic just because she is going at the legal speed limit and she believes knowone should be going any faster than this. This then develops into a row when i tell her to move into the "Slow Lane" and dont mind if the car behind her wants to go faster.

Drives me mad when she or anybody in fact does this.:mad:

Anan1 · 23-11-2007 4:50pm

Would you not just show her the ROTR?;)

ballooba · 23-11-2007 4:51pm

Healyc wrote: »

My girlfriend is the worst of them out there. She will stay in the "Fast Lane" holding up all the traffic just because she is going at the legal speed limit and she believes knowone should be going any faster than this. This then develops into a row when i tell her to move into the "Slow Lane" and dont mind if the car behind her wants to go faster.

It's a pity she doesn't realise that her behaviour is putting her and the following drivers in danger by contributing to congestion and increasing the density of traffic.

Healyc · 23-11-2007 5:05pm

Anan1 wrote: »

Would you not just show her the ROTR?;)

Ha Ha Ha, well said Anan1

And trust me i do realise how serious this is but then again no of us are perfect drivers!

highdef · 23-11-2007 5:17pm

Well both lanes have the same speed limit of 120 KMPH which I would regard as being fast so therefore they are both "fast" lanes in my eyes. The "driving lane" can just be as fast (if not faster) than the "overtaking lane" due to "overtaking lane" hoggers who refuse to pull over into the "driving lane" to allow people to overtake in the "overtaking lane".

All the inverted commas are there as the terminology I have used to describe the lanes are what I would deem to be the correct terminology. However, I am open to correction.

M1 Overhead Gantry Signs

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