Toll or not to Toll

rounding tattenham Corner

just wondering if anybody ever worked out is it more or less economical to go through the M4 toll, it will cost me tonight €2.90 but will the fuel i save be more than that than if i go through kinnygad, i know the car type has a lot to do with it, i have a diesel saloon.

dr.bollocko

Moved from AH.

mikemac

It's Friday evening, you're picking the wrong day and time to leave the M4.

Now if it was mid week or early hours the answer would be different

Emiko

...they see me tollin'. they hatin'...

rounding tattenham Corner

one thing i can never figure out is those who pay to go through the toll and then straight away pull in to the shops and fast food, so they pay the toll so they can pay for overpriced heart attack food

Anan1

rounding tattenham Corner wrote: »

one thing i can never figure out is those who pay to go through the toll and then straight away pull in to the shops and fast food, so they pay the toll so they can pay for overpriced heart attack food

You think they're going for the food and then straight back to whereever they came from?:)

OldmanMondeo

Since I live in Kinnegad and used to work in Dublin, I am probably better placed to answer. Having used both I can honestly say you will not save €2.90 by using the toll. I actually find the old N4 quicker and only ever use the M4 toll if I am in a major hurry, ie 120kph all the way, but that will not save you money. The times I have used it on a Friday evening / Monday morning, there is more traffic on it, the old road has less traffic than the M4.

lau1247

rounding tattenham Corner wrote: »

just wondering if anybody ever worked out is it more or less economical to go through the M4 toll, it will cost me tonight €2.90 but will the fuel i save be more than that than if i go through kinnygad, i know the car type has a lot to do with it, i have a diesel saloon.

By the way the price is now 2.70.. I only found out recently..

OldmanMondeo wrote: »

Since I live in Kinnegad and used to work in Dublin, I am probably better placed to answer. Having used both I can honestly say you will not save €2.90 by using the toll. I actually find the old N4 quicker and only ever use the M4 toll if I am in a major hurry, ie 120kph all the way, but that will not save you money. The times I have used it on a Friday evening / Monday morning, there is more traffic on it, the old road has less traffic than the M4.

Agree N4 is quicker but potholes are the thing to watch out for.

OldmanMondeo

Not to many potholes now. Most have been cleared up

coylemj

OldmanMondeo wrote: »

Since I live in Kinnegad and used to work in Dublin, I am probably better placed to answer. Having used both I can honestly say you will not save €2.90 by using the toll. I actually find the old N4 quicker and only ever use the M4 toll if I am in a major hurry, ie 120kph all the way, but that will not save you money. The times I have used it on a Friday evening / Monday morning, there is more traffic on it, the old road has less traffic than the M4.

Agree, off-peak the old road is fine and has a pretty good surface plus with the price of fuel you are getting very good economy driving at 80 km/hr instead of the higher speed you'd typically be doing on the motorway.

The only problem is that when driving west, getting from the old N4 to the new M6 motorway (Galway/Athlone) at Kinnegad is a complete pain. On more than one occasion I've accidently ended up on the M4 heading to Mullingar!

OldmanMondeo

coylemj wrote: »

The only problem is that when driving west, getting from the old N4 to the new M6 motorway (Galway/Athlone) at Kinnegad is a complete pain. On more than one occasion I've accidently ended up on the M4 heading to Mullingar!

The big blue signs showing M4 / M6 are a small give away.

In fairness, it is well signposted.

Stinicker

There is this rumour you know that if you drive really really close to the car in front of you that that you can dodge the toll as the camera won't read you plate.

*Don't try this!

fryup

i sometimes do a detour through Mountrath on the M7 on the way up to Dub from Limerick

-Corkie-

OldmanMondeo wrote: »

Since I live in Kinnegad and used to work in Dublin, I am probably better placed to answer. Having used both I can honestly say you will not save €2.90 by using the toll. I actually find the old N4 quicker and only ever use the M4 toll if I am in a major hurry, ie 120kph all the way, but that will not save you money. The times I have used it on a Friday evening / Monday morning, there is more traffic on it, the old road has less traffic than the M4.

I used the old road a few times and I ended up pulling my hair out stuck behind convoys of slow moving trucks on that road. Never again.

OldmanMondeo

Stinicker wrote: »

There is this rumour you know that if you drive really really close to the car in front of you that that you can dodge the toll as the camera won't read you plate.

*Don't try this!

But watch out for the barriers....:rolleyes:

TestTransmission

Used the old road driving back Dublin to Tullamore there a few weeks ago,didn't add too much time on it bypassing the toll.I wasn't in any hurry,and wanted to enjoy the spin home and probably saved a few quid on petrol as I wasn't doing stupid motorway speeds

rounding tattenham Corner

OldmanMondeo wrote: »

The big blue signs showing M4 / M6 are a small give away.

In fairness, it is well signposted.

I did it once and have met lots of others who have done the same, when the M4 branches off left to M6 i once went on straight, you'll know your mistake straight away but by then your done for, off to mulingar you go not a nice experience:D

Of course the powers that be don't want you avoiding the toll, with the alternative road to being 80km even though its a national road, there are also lots of signs trying to get you back to the tolled road and they took away all the signs for Dublin\Galway on the alternative road.

Buffman

rounding tattenham Corner wrote: »

Of course the powers that be don't want you avoiding the toll, with the alternative road to being 80km even though its a national road, there are also lots of signs trying to get you back to the tolled road and they took away all the signs for Dublin\Galway on the alternative road.

Actually it's not, when the Motorway opened it was downgraded to a regional road (R148) with an 80 limit applied. Some of it even had an 80 limit and no overtaking before that.

The M4 toll is probably the most easily avoided in the country, you lose a few minutes but if you're not in a hurry it's grand. Also, as said, you'll use less fuel traveling at 80 instead of 120.

rounding tattenham Corner

Buffman wrote: »

Actually it's not, when the Motorway opened it was downgraded to a regional road (R148) with an 80 limit applied. Some of it even had an 80 limit and no overtaking before that.

The M4 toll is probably the most easily avoided in the country, you lose a few minutes but if you're not in a hurry it's grand. Also, as said, you'll use less fuel traveling at 80 instead of 120.

oh i did not know that, i thought they had to provide a national road as an alternative, well i did not go through the toll yesterday and did a steady 80km;)

its very easy all right to avoid but maybe not if your a tourist who is in no hurry, they stumble into it

mickdw

if you ever sat for hours trying to get back to dublin from the west on a sunday evening (before the toll road), you would gladly pay the toll everytime and drive along at speed giving thanks for the wonderful road.

-Corkie-

mickdw wrote: »

if you ever sat for hours trying to get back to dublin from the west on a sunday evening (before the toll road), you would gladly pay the toll everytime and drive along at speed giving thanks for the wonderful road.

Thats true Mick or on friday evening going West. I once stopped on the M4 at the Maynooth slip road and that was the tailback to Kinnegad..:eek:

mickdw

-Corkie- wrote: »

Thats true Mick or on friday evening going West. I once stopped on the M4 at the Maynooth slip road and that was the tailback to Kinnegad..:eek:

Yep friday going west was the same although I never saw it that far back.

-Corkie-

mickdw wrote: »

Yep friday going west was the same although I never saw it that far back.

We went into the Lenister arms in Maynooth for a shot of porter to let the backlog ease off.:)

coylemj

The council once installed a pedestrian-controlled crossing bang in the middle of Kinnegad which used to cause havoc on Fridays and Sundays, eventually the cops took the decision to disable it at peak times which solved the problem.

The cops always had someone on duty at the junction on Sunday evenings to let the traffic coming from Galway through, otherwise with the traffic from Sligo having the right of way, anyone coming from Athlone & Galway would be waiting for hours to turn right on to the main street near Harry's.

Speaking of Harry's, they used to have a special dining room for the bus drivers who used to get free meals in return for stopping outside and delivering thirty or more hungry and thirsty passengers into the place. At one stage Bus Eireann tried to remove Kinnegad as a scheduled stop for the bus service from Galway to Dublin whereupon the drivers threatened to go on strike unless it was maintained as a stop!

OldmanMondeo

-Corkie- wrote: »

Thats true Mick or on friday evening going West. I once stopped on the M4 at the Maynooth slip road and that was the tailback to Kinnegad..:eek:

In fairness, how long ago was that? I have been driving that road for 9 years now, long before the toll road opened, while traffic was always bad on a friday evening, I can only remember once when traffic did tail back that far & that was to do with an fatal accident. Sat on the motorway between Maynooth and Kilcock for nearly 2 hours not moving.

-Corkie-

OldmanMondeo wrote: »

In fairness, how long ago was that? I have been driving that road for 9 years now, long before the toll road opened, while traffic was always bad on a friday evening, I can only remember once when traffic did tail back that far & that was to do with an fatal accident. Sat on the motorway between Maynooth and Kilcock for nearly 2 hours not moving.

That was 10 years ago or maybe a bit more. Often tailed back about 1KM before the the end of the Motorway at Kilcock in recent years.

rounding tattenham Corner

mickdw wrote: »

if you ever sat for hours trying to get back to dublin from the west on a sunday evening (before the toll road), you would gladly pay the toll everytime and drive along at speed giving thanks for the wonderful road.

i've been driving the galway dublin for ten years so know how bad the traffic jams have been, but i certainly am not giving thanks for a wonderful road, what i'm giving is a toll for a wonderful road.
Be it a woman or a road you get what you pay for:D

coylemj

rounding tattenham Corner wrote: »

i've been driving the galway dublin for ten years so know how bad the traffic jams have been, but i certainly am not giving thanks for a wonderful road, what i'm giving is a toll for a wonderful road.
Be it a woman or a road you get what you pay for:D

If you've only been driving it for 10 years then you have no idea what it was like before the Athlone bypass opened, that was the single biggest improvement in that journey and it didn't involve a toll.

The Galway to Dublin traffic had to drive right through Athlone town which had a notorious bottleneck in the main street on the Leinster (east) side of town so there used to be a massive tailback out the Galway road every Sunday evening and on the August bank holiday it was practically backed up halfway to Ballinasloe.

whyulittle

The bottleneck still exists by the way.

A car got wedged in it a few years ago, between the footpath and an Army armoured personnel carrier I think it was. Can't find it online though.

Brazilmorgyn

Why when you pay the toll with paper money the cashiers give your change in coins , stating sorry I have no fivers or tenners, could it be because they don,t want to count the coins at the end of their shift,vor are they told by the company to get rid of as n
Much coins as they can so as to cut down on bank charges, in future I will pay in 2 cent coins
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