Standard of driving on upgraded M50

murphaph

Has anyone noticed how few people are using the auxilliary lanes and how quickly people seem to need to merge into lane 1 rather than building speed in the auxilliary lane?

All the usual idiocies of irish motorists on anything wider than a single carriageway also apply of course!

The road is being used to about 50% capacity because of these clowns.

Alun

murphaph wrote: »

Has anyone noticed how few people are using the auxilliary lanes and how quickly people seem to need to merge into lane 1 rather than building speed in the auxilliary lane?

I see similar things every day where these kinds of lanes are used. There's one on each carriageway between the last turn off on the M11 before the M11/M50 junction that's a case in point.

People who join the motorway onto one feeling the need to jump into lane 1 as soon as possible as if their very life depended on it, and on the other hand people who need to take the next turn off leaving it to the very last possible moment to turn off, when the whole auxiliary lane has been empty waiting there for them for several kilometres. And then, of course, there are those who don't understand at all what these lanes are for, and religiously pull into them and back out at every junction.

Heroditas

Anyone got any idea why the two lanes merging from the N4 onto the M50 southbound are often coned off so only one lane merges onto the M50? Sometimes it's the auxiliary lane that is coned off, sometimes the "fast merge" lane ... for want of a better word.

Lennoxschips

i do think that the marking of the irish (and british) exit and entrance lanes is poor. it's the same dashes but just slightly different lengths. holland has huge block markings, you can't confuse them for ordinary lanes.

Capt'n Midnight

I can count the number of drivers I've seen stay in the acceleration lane from Belgard Road to the Naas road on my thumbs. In many cases drivers are in the middle lane in the first 100m leaving two empty lanes to their left.

If people actually used the lane correctly then you could use it as a merging lane and traffic could filter through on flashing orange. But until those muppets learn how to drive instead of just steering the red light will have to remain and we'll just have to put up with a mile of cars illegally queuing in the bus lane and blocking the fire station.

darkman2

Lennoxschips wrote: »

holland has huge block markings, you can't confuse them for ordinary lanes.

The new M50 has this on the auxillary lanes - you cant confuse them. The markings are not the same.

Alun

darkman2 wrote: »

The new M50 has this on the auxillary lanes - you cant confuse them. The markings are not the same.

No, they're not the same, but what lennoxchips was saying (and he's right) is that there is an even greater difference between the two in the Netherlands ... the dashes are much 'blockier' than the normal ones.


EDIT: buggy links to Google maps aerial photos given as examples removed.

L1011

The M50 Western Parkway aux lane markings are noticebly wider than those on the M50/M11 merge.

Both those links, as it happens, are aerial views of Dublin

Alun

MYOB wrote: »

Both those links, as it happens, are aerial views of Dublin

Bugger I copied the links from the address bar rather than re-linking them. Haven't got time to re-do them now .. I'll edit the post.

Stark

Heroditas wrote: »

Anyone got any idea why the two lanes merging from the N4 onto the M50 southbound are often coned off so only one lane merges onto the M50? Sometimes it's the auxiliary lane that is coned off, sometimes the "fast merge" lane ... for want of a better word.

I was using the auxillary lane between the N4 and N7 today and kept expecting to smack into a load of cones! Luckily it was open for once.

darkman2

The Auxillary lane is appropriately marked IMO. You would want to be a bit dim to not realise it is not a normal lane.

darkman2

darkman2 wrote: »

The Auxillary lane is appropriately marked IMO. You would want to be a bit dim to not realise it is not a normal lane.

Just remember the standard of motorist that you see on that road most days. Some probably think it's a lane for slow moving traffic only.

Victor

Of course, its this cover by the Road Traffic Acts or the Rules of the Road?

A Dub in Glasgo

Going on the photo with no knowledge of how long that lane is, I would consider that lane as a filter lane off the M50.

Carawaystick

which it is.

A Dub in Glasgo

OK so the issue is two fold

1. Very few people use the lane and only go into it when they are close to the turn off

2. I assume the entrance from the previous junction is the same lane and too few people use the lane for getting up to speed before coming onto the M50 proper

The problem with 2. above is the fact that the driver would have to be quite knowledgeable about the road layout as travel too far in the filter lane and you may not get onto the M50 and you may have cars coming in on top of you to use the filter lane. The sign does not tell the distance to the off ramp (assuming it is an off ramp)

Carawaystick

the lane with the wide dashed lines goes the entire way between junctions, if you're not traveling more than one junction you are supposed to stay in the "auxiliary" lane

There's 3 sets of signs visible in the photo posted, Plenty of time to move a single lane right.

The M50 to the N3 from the pike breaks this convention though, usual irish eegiting.

Lennoxschips

Quick question, are you allowed to undertake traffic to the right on an Irish filter lane?

HonalD

Lennoxschips wrote: »

Quick question, are you allowed to undertake traffic to the right on an Irish filter lane?

Better still, has anyone the information from legislation about what you can and cannot do with one?

A Dub in Glasgo

Lennoxschips wrote: »

Quick question, are you allowed to undertake traffic to the right on an Irish filter lane?

I should hope so as that is the main purpose of a filter lane

murphaph

I very much doubt there is any specific legislation pertaining to auxilliary lanes. In my opinion it is an offence to overtake on the left (with usual exceptions) whether in an auxilliary lane or not.

Also in my opinion, it should not be an offence to overtake on the left in such circumstances as to my mind, the auxxilliary lanes form a sort of collector-distributor function. People simply must start to understand that the thick/short dashes have a specific meaning.

Victor

I think the auxialliary lane should be used as if it is a separate carriageway, but being conscious of the lack of safety separation.

On the M2/M5 duplex north of Belfast, I think they actually use a extra wide, solid white line for a considareable distance.

AlekSmart

The sheer scale of this "Irish Problem" is visible each day at the Northbound Cookstown/Ballymount off ramp.

Since the junction went live the numbers of motorists coming pell-mell up the off ramp only to experience a pauline conversion and a blonde moment at the top is increasing at a great rate.

Most of these incredibles simply wait at the traffic signals ( :rolleyes: ) and then progress in wild eyed befuddled amazement back down onto the M50N all the time jibbering into their mobile or staring increduously at the SatNav

However,in order to carry out those manouveres they have indeed either failed to note several of the LARGEST Traffic Sign arrays in the State OR made a conscious decision to simply ignore the information contained thereon.

However by far and away the most potentially lethal aspect of this mass muppetry is the actions of the truly lethal who will turn left (Merging not safely possible here due to the decidedly odd lane configuration) onto the R138 and boot up towards the Belgard Rd before suddenly sticking their vehicle to the road and doing an Irish version of a U turn across more solid bordered painted island than u could shake a big stick at.

This eejitry has made a multi-million euro piece of infrastructure into a pastiche of modern traffic planning,byzantine in its operation as it appears structured towards facilitating the inherently stupid rather than catering for those who DO make the effort.

The only solution IMO is to Armco the R138 up as far as the Ballymount Luas stop and force,yes force these Jinnets to proceed up to the Belgard Road and take the Long Way Round to rejoin the M7/M50 at the Red Cow....that alone will ensure they won`t suspend their conscious faculties at that point again !!!

Currently,all we are doing is waiting for the BIG accident here,and believe me it`s coming soon !! :mad:

Lennoxschips

I think the auxialliary lane should be used as if it is a separate carriageway, but being conscious of the lack of safety separation.

Yeah, this is the deal in Holland. The blocked markings denote a separate carriageway, allowing you undertake traffic on the other side of the blocks.

The fact that nobody seems to know what the rule is in Ireland is half the problem, I'd say.

Here you can see how clear the Dutch markings are. This photo must have been taken on a weekend, I've never seen it so empty.

Carawaystick

Lennoxschips wrote: »

Quick question, are you allowed to undertake traffic to the right on an Irish filter lane?

Are you not indicating you're turning left, one of the two fairly uncontroversial ways to undertake?

BluntGuy

In the UK, you are allowed to undertake on a filter lane. Since many of our Irish laws are similar to the UK, perhaps it is the same case here.

The problem with this though, is that if traffic is moving too quickly in a filter lane, and you are in Lane 1 trying to enter it, you may end up missing your exit due to not being able to enter the filter lane. This is a very unlikely event, but it could happen.

BluntGuy

BluntGuy wrote: »

The problem with this though, is that if traffic is moving too quickly in a filter lane, and you are in Lane 1 trying to enter it, you may end up missing your exit due to not being able to enter the filter lane. This is a very unlikely event, but it could happen.

That would only happen if one of two things happen;
1 you left it too late to move into the filter lane, you should aim to move in at the earliest oppertunity.
2 traffic is running up the hard shoulder before the filter lane starts.

mackerski

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

The problem with 2. above is the fact that the driver would have to be quite knowledgeable about the road layout as travel too far in the filter lane and you may not get onto the M50 and you may have cars coming in on top of you to use the filter lane. The sign does not tell the distance to the off ramp (assuming it is an off ramp)

I don't really see this as a problem. It's unusual (though you'll realise, being in Glasgow, not unheard of) to have motorway junctions so tightly spaced that you won't have plenty of time to get out of the aux. lane. The lane arrow sign as you come down the slip road will show you that you are joining in a lane gain, so drivers have notice of the fact that they don't need to yield. This allows them to look immediately for any signs indicating a quick exit ahead.