Limerick Tunnel Toll Barrier this morning...

MarkR

I probably shouldn't have laughed, but I did...

I was driving into the city this morning around nine. A guy in a mercedes was way too close behind another driver attempting to use the toll tag lane. Because the merc was so close, the barrier didn't open, and driver in the front had to change lane for a coin booth / toll booth operator. Just as they changed lane, the barrier went up. Merc carried on. Barrier came down on the merc's bonnet.

The barrier broke, or bits of it came flying off anyway. Seemed to be fairly light, and the merc driver didn't stop, so I presume no damage.

Anyone see this before? Wish I had a dash cam. I could have made millions on youtube.

1. Record car getting damaged
2. Upload to youtube
3. ??????
4. Profit!

Berty

I have seen it 3 times, would you believe it. Twice on the M6 and once on the M8. The ones on the M1 mind you is covered in foam so they must hit it quite frequently. They are designed to crumple mind you.

The Limerick Tunnel plaza is a joke. Other plazas react immediately when you pass under the tag reader, the light goes green tick and you know you are going to get through.

Multiple cars can get through one by one. In Limerick people are so thick they STOP, they ACTUALLY stop under the reader waiting for the car in front to clear the barrier. When I see this I just use the regular lanes and get through faster.

I call things like the Merc thing, the sheep factor, because people follow each other blindly in traffic, roundabouts, toll plazas etc.

The Toll Company will catch him. They have cameras on the Toll lanes. I know this because I was asked to test the Toll Plaza months back when the tags weren't working(contacted through boards.ie). I was on the phone(handsfree) approaching and he said "I can see you approaching, going through and leaving the Express lane".

Itsdacraic

On a slightly related topic, what's with traffic in Limerick these days?
It's gone very heavy in the mornings. I have to go half way in the Dock Rd a couple of times a week and lately it's been as bad as it was 3 or 4 years ago.

Also the amount of people cheating the lanes on the double roundabout at the cement factory really grinds my gears.

langdang

Itsdacraic wrote: »

On a slightly related topic, what's with traffic in Limerick these days?
It's gone very heavy in the mornings. I have to go half way in the Dock Rd a couple of times a week and lately it's been as bad as it was 3 or 4 years ago.

Also the amount of people cheating the lanes on the double roundabout at the cement factory really grinds my gears.

God help us if the economy ever improves, there will be traffic backed up from the roundabouts as far as the south court and clarina.

Not sure if people are cheating or just don't know how to use roundabouts. A little from column A, a little from column B I'd say! Some people are just born more entitled than the rest of us I suppose :mad:

Itsdacraic

langdang wrote: »

God help us if the economy ever improves, there will be traffic backed up from the roundabouts as far as the south court and clarina.

Not sure if people are cheating or just don't know how to use roundabouts. A little from column A, a little from column B I'd say! Some people are just born more entitled than the rest of us I suppose :mad:

It's definitely cheating in a lot of cases. Cars in the queue behind me in the at the train tracks, pull out and off up the lane for turning right but go straight through both roundabouts before cutting in at the last minute at the top of the queue. People in the correct lane have been getting more and more aggressive in recent weeks in blocking them off!

Goofy

Yesterday i was coming up to the toll booth and there was a Mercedes jeep slowing down in the fast lane getting ready to use the "express" lane. Slowing down so much that i went passed in the slow lane, went straight up to a free automated lane, dropped in the change that i had ready and took off. When i looked in my mirror after the toll booth the Mercedes was a good 100m behind me.

ZombieBride

Itsdacraic wrote: »

It's definitely cheating in a lot of cases. Cars in the queue behind me in the at the train tracks, pull out and off up the lane for turning right but go straight through both roundabouts before cutting in at the last minute at the top of the queue. People in the correct lane have been getting more and more aggressive in recent weeks in blocking them off!

So they were doing this, I can't stand this:






As for the tolls, some people just don't know how to use them, and worry that they will get an enormous fine if it is not done exactly right, and then others are just impatient.

Itsdacraic

ZombieBride wrote: »

So they were doing this, I can't stand this:






As for the tolls, some people just don't know how to use them, and worry that they will get an enormous fine if it is not done exactly right, and then others are just impatient.

Not exactly what you are describing above but very similar. You'd sort have to know the two roundabouts to appreciate whats happening.

golden8

Some people dont know how to drive. Two days ago heading on to the toll plaza at Junction 4, a car on the overtaking lane stopped and went onto the driving lane to get off towards Coonagh. I blasted him out of it as there was a squad car they just looked and went one. So if the laws are of the land are not going to be enforced what hope is there!! The car would of had penalty points as going on the chevrons and dangerous driving.

Roadend

Merced, as it were...

steveon

Itsdacraic wrote: »

On a slightly related topic, what's with traffic in Limerick these days?
It's gone very heavy in the mornings. I have to go half way in the Dock Rd a couple of times a week and lately it's been as bad as it was 3 or 4 years ago.

Also the amount of people cheating the lanes on the double roundabout at the cement factory really grinds my gears.

Its quite simple too many flippin new traffic lights all out of sequence and people taking their kids to school which is always the furthest one from where the live, too many roadworks going on at once I mean why couldnt the finish william street before attack johns square...

Berty

The Dock Traffic inbound might be attributed to the works on the Roches Feeds Roundabout.

I heard a traffic report today "Limerick City - Traffic backed up as far as the Maternity inbound". WHAT? I remember traffic tailing back to the Tennis Courts before the Tunnel.

The only major traffic in Limerick in the mornings is the Ballysimon Road, approach to the Dublin Road Roundabout, the Corbally road and the Dooradoyle-Raheen inbound. Yes, major arteries but once you pass the hot spots causing the delay the tailbacks vanish.

At least until you reach a school.

thesimpsons

steveon wrote: »

Its quite simple too many flippin new traffic lights all out of sequence and people taking their kids to school which is always the furthest one from where the live, too many roadworks going on at once I mean why couldnt the finish william street before attack johns square...

you gotta blame (in part) the secondary school choice system for this as your only chance of a guaranteed place for your child is to go to school parents are past pupils of. loads of people I know are crossing the city back and forth to bring their kids to school where they themselves went while now living at other side of town.

judosean2005

In regards to above diagram. i feel same way when ur going from Parkway to childers road.
Left lane is into GAA pitch etc. right for straight ''indicate'' to left lane for Shopping Centre.
People just fly up left lane straight through lights.

Annoys me sometimes.

Sean

phog

judosean2005 wrote: »

In regards to above diagram. i feel same way when ur going from Parkway to childers road.
Left lane is into GAA pitch etc. right for straight ''indicate'' to left lane for Shopping Centre.
People just fly up left lane straight through lights.

Annoys me sometimes.

Sean

Yes, but they should mark the left lane to allow turning left at the lights and straight ahead just for the queue/lane into the Shopping Centre.

Berty

phog wrote: »

Yes, but they should mark the left lane to allow turning left at the lights and straight ahead just for the queue/lane into the Shopping Centre.

They should but people will just take liberties.

In Sligo this morning coming in the Bundoran road. Everybody stays in the left because the right lane is for right turn only over the bridge. Yet this morning the right lane was fairly quiet and people were flying down and indicating to get into the left lane. 99% of people were preventing them from merging but its the 1% of people who go "ah go on sur" that makes it ok for the person to continue doing it.

Making the left lane shopping centre lane wont stop a thing.

Look at the Parkway roundabout. People still fly along the shopping ONLY lane and creep right to go down to Clare Street.

THAT I truly hate.

thats not gone well

Beer Baron wrote: »

Look at the Parkway roundabout. People still fly along the shopping ONLY lane and creep right to go down to Clare Street.

THAT I truly hate.

the most persistent offenders seem to drive white ford focus's or new shape avensi with these funny blue things on the roof :rolleyes:

ZombieBride

Beer Baron wrote: »

Look at the Parkway roundabout. People still fly along the shopping ONLY lane and creep right to go down to Clare Street.

And block the roundabout up so you can't exit to Childers road from the city centre direction.

Once I saw a guy drive the wrong way around that roundabout in rush hour to get from the old Dublin Road exit, to the Childers Road exit.

LB6

That bloody round-about needs traffic lights!

Berty

LB6 wrote: »

That bloody round-about needs traffic lights!

Dependant on your age you might not know but it used to be a T Junction with traffic lights.

LB6

I remember - when times were simpler and there was less traffic

Berty

LB6 wrote: »

I remember - when times were simpler and there was less traffic

Yes when not everybody had 2 cars in the driveway and their 17yr old son/daughter wasn't driving a 3rd car to school.

The good aul 80's when people didn't have jobs so nowhere to go and IT WAS OK to be like that.

LB6

LMAO!

Mr. TTime

My bugbear is the groody roundabout coming from UL. To go into town you take the right lane (usually backed up) but the "entitled" constantly use the left lane and swing the whole way around. Really pisses me off.

Today a Merc flew up the left lane as I was entering the roundabout on the right lane. She wasn't indicating and a car coming from town was turning right to go down the Groody which was by then blocked off by the douche in the Merc swinging around to go back into town.

End result? Squealing tyres from the car wanting to go down the groody, an oblivious b*tch in a Merc and a fuming Mr. TTime...

phill106

*bump*
How often do people drive the wrong way on this?
Met an old fella in a small red car in my outside lane approaching the toll from shannon.

Kess73

phill106 wrote: »

*bump*
How often do people drive the wrong way on this?
Met an old fella in a small red car in my outside lane approaching the toll from shannon.

Have met cars coming against me a few times on the stretch between the tunnel entrance and the flyover near Carew park.


Best one I have seen in a while happened yesterday morning, but in the city. Was driving down Edward street, then reached the traffic lights at the end of the Yellow road. Lights went green so I headed towards the turn off onto Mallow street, but before I got there a large army 4X4 turned right from Mallow street, came towards me, swerved around me and headed half way up that one way section before doing a turnabout at speed and going the right way around the green.

AnCapaillMor

Kess73 wrote: »

Have met cars coming against me a few times on the stretch between the tunnel entrance and the flyover near Carew park.


Best one I have seen in a while happened yesterday morning, but in the city. Was driving down Edward street, then reached the traffic lights at the end of the Yellow road. Lights went green so I headed towards the turn off onto Mallow street, but before I got there a large army 4X4 turned right from Mallow street, came towards me, swerved around me and headed half way up that one way section before doing a turnabout at speed and going the right way around the green.

Saw 2 cars at different times drive down william street.

As for the tunnel, twice i've been faced by cars coming down the ramp by the cement factory roundabout(the road you use to get onto the tunnel).

thesimpsons

just found this nice little bit of news - tunnel toll charge increase. :mad:


http://www.independent.ie/national-news/toll-charges-to-rise-in-new-year-2926031.html

Mc Love

bloody disgrace

Kess73

thesimpsons wrote: »

just found this nice little bit of news - tunnel toll charge increase. :mad:


http://www.independent.ie/national-news/toll-charges-to-rise-in-new-year-2926031.html

Ahh the Irish solution to a problem. A service is falling way below target so the solution is to raise the price. Yep that will draw in new users and keep all the current users:D


I guess it does not matter when the tax payer has to make up the shortfall on target figures each year.:mad:

Berty

I guess its an odd decision to make but its the regulator who approves these increases. It is fair to say though that the Tunnel is much busier now than it has ever been, by my personal experience anyway, so this will only serve to put people off.

I could understand it if their costs have risen but I doubt they have, at least not by that margin.

Kess73

Beer Baron wrote: »

I guess its an odd decision to make but its the regulator who approves these increases. It is fair to say though that the Tunnel is much busier now than it has ever been, by my personal experience anyway, so this will only serve to put people off.

I could understand it if their costs have risen but I doubt they have, at least not by that margin.

I see it as being similar to the Topaz service station beside the Regional hospital. Month after month they are way ahead of the other city servioce stations in terms of price for Unleaded and Diesel, yet they always have plenty of people filling their cars at the pumps. If people are too stupid to purchase the exact same product for 4c a litre cheaper just a few hundred yards up the road or for up to 9c a litre cheaper at other city stations, then the station will just keep the prices high as idiots keep buying at the higher price.

As for the tunnel being busier than it was, you are right there, but it is still thousands and thousands of vehicles a week off the projected figures, and has flopped badly in terms of the HGV trade. But unlike most businesses they have the safety blanket of the taxpayer stumping up the difference if they don't hit the projected figures.

Interstingly enough there has been a survey done over the past 11 months using a number of different retailers that would have been on the traffic routes used before the tunnel was opened, and also using a number of city centre retailers.

Basically they are taking the sales figures for the 18 months before the tunnel opened and the sales figures for the 18 months following it and seeing how the figures match up month on month.


To date the stores in the survey on the old routes have had dramatic drops in sales now that a chunk has been taken from the passing trade. There are a number of variables etc factored in as well, but from what I has seen so far, it would appear that quite a bit of money has stopped coming into the city since the tunnel was built as a bypass. From what I gather the report is going to be presented to the city council next summer, as it ends in Febuary, and some time will be needed to crunch all the figures and get everything documented and verified.

The talk from the City council might be that shopping centres do the damage, but a bypass that makes it easier to avoid the city centre and get to those shopping centres and to other towns seems to be casually ignored.

Not that anything can be done about the tunnel, but it is in itself an unmentioned obstacle in many ways to regrowth in the the city centre. Probably a chat for a different thread at a later date, but I thought what I read was interesting.

Cookiemunster

According to the Leader the increase is only for trucks.

From January, two and three-axle vehicles will have to pay €4.60 to use the tunnel and and heavy trucks will have to pay €5.80 per trip.
There will be no increase for other classes of vehicles.


Full story http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/business/cost_of_using_limerick_tunnel_set_to_rise_by_10_cent_1_3223445

Kess73

Cookiemunster wrote: »

According to the Leader the increase is only for trucks.

From January, two and three-axle vehicles will have to pay €4.60 to use the tunnel and and heavy trucks will have to pay €5.80 per trip.
There will be no increase for other classes of vehicles.


Full story http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/business/cost_of_using_limerick_tunnel_set_to_rise_by_10_cent_1_3223445

Guess we will have to wait until January to see what the truth is.

The National Roads Authority are the quoted source of information which the Irish Independent, Irish Times etc are using, and they are claiming that there will be a 10c increase on all using vehicles.

Someone has made a cock -up though, and either the NRA gave the wrong info to the national press about what increases were happening where, or the Leader is wrong and come January people in cars at the toll booths will find the price has actually gone up for them.:)

Pushing up the truck price is stupid though, especially when the president of the Irish Road Haulage Association is quoted as saying that most of the trucks belonging to their members that come through Limerick are already avoiding the tunnel, so any increase will only get the trucks that do use it starting to avoid it.

thesimpsons

Kess73 wrote: »

Pushing up the truck price is stupid though.

ah but stupid and logic are opposite ends of the spectrum in this case. It gives trucks even more reason not to use the tunnel now. don't you just love the irish logic though - trucks aren't using it cos its too dear, what will we do, ah ya, push up the price

Mc Love

Did anyone see that bit in the Leader where they do the voxpop and get people on the streets views? I dont think its expensive and would rather use than go through the amount of traffic lights etc to get to the northside from southside.

Delphi91

Kess73 wrote: »

Guess we will have to wait until January to see what the truth is.

The National Roads Authority are the quoted source of information which the Irish Independent, Irish Times etc are using, and they are claiming that there will be a 10c increase on all using vehicles.

Someone has made a cock -up though, and either the NRA gave the wrong info to the national press about what increases were happening where, or the Leader is wrong and come January people in cars at the toll booths will find the price has actually gone up for them.:)

Pushing up the truck price is stupid though, especially when the president of the Irish Road Haulage Association is quoted as saying that most of the trucks belonging to their members that come through Limerick are already avoiding the tunnel, so any increase will only get the trucks that do use it starting to avoid it.

The day that this was first suggested, I was listening to the radio and whatever station it was (a national one) contacted the companies running the tolls for a comment. Nobody was available for comment except the company running the Limerick toll. The spokesman was interviewed live and I distinctly remember him stating that the increase would NOT apply to cars.

Cookiemunster

Mc Love wrote: »

I dont think its expensive and would rather use than go through the amount of traffic lights etc to get to the northside from southside.

Do you use it every day though? I go through it in the mornings to save time going to work, but I come home through town. €1.80 a day adds up over the course of a year.

Delphi91

Just curious, does anyone who uses the toll tags on the Shannon Tunnel find that there is an appreciable time lag between when your tag is read and the green light activates to lift the barrier??

I find it frustrating, I've slowed to down to the requested 50kph to allow the tag to be read and invariably end up slowing down further as I reach the barrier as it hasn't lifted. The one at the Portlaoise toll is much faster and you can begin to accelerate almost immediately after the tag "beeps" as the barrier has started to raise.

Twin-go

Delphi91 wrote: »

Just curious, does anyone who uses the toll tags on the Shannon Tunnel find that there is an appreciable time lag between when your tag is read and the green light activates to lift the barrier??

I find it frustrating, I've slowed to down to the requested 50kph to allow the tag to be read and invariably end up slowing down further as I reach the barrier as it hasn't lifted. The one at the Portlaoise toll is much faster and you can begin to accelerate almost immediately after the tag "beeps" as the barrier has started to raise.

Yes the express lane on the Limerick Tunnel is crap. Go too fast it doesn't work, go too slow it doesn't work, be too close to the car in front it doesn't work, have a car to close behind you it doesn't work. There are people stopping at the entrance waiting for the car in front to go through. this kind of defeits the pourpose of an express lane.

Cookiemunster

Delphi91 wrote: »

Just curious, does anyone who uses the toll tags on the Shannon Tunnel find that there is an appreciable time lag between when your tag is read and the green light activates to lift the barrier??

I find it frustrating, I've slowed to down to the requested 50kph to allow the tag to be read and invariably end up slowing down further as I reach the barrier as it hasn't lifted. The one at the Portlaoise toll is much faster and you can begin to accelerate almost immediately after the tag "beeps" as the barrier has started to raise.

I noticed the exact same thing driving to Dublin last week. I was slowing down as you have to do with the tunnel and was amazed to see the barrier rising as soon as my tag beeped. At the tunnel I'm usually at the indicator sign before it changes from red to green. And don't get me started about how rarely the barrier raises for me at the normal booth when I do get dirverted.

Berty

Delphi91 wrote: »

Just curious, does anyone who uses the toll tags on the Shannon Tunnel find that there is an appreciable time lag between when your tag is read and the green light activates to lift the barrier??

Twin-go wrote: »

Yes the express lane on the Limerick Tunnel is crap. Go too fast it doesn't work, go too slow it doesn't work, be too close to the car in front it doesn't work, have a car to close behind you it doesn't work. There are people stopping at the entrance waiting for the car in front to go through. this kind of defeits the pourpose of an express lane.

+1 on Twin-go

My Limerick Tunnel rule is if there are 2 cars in the express lane then use a normal lane and invariably you get through before the 2nd car does. See my post previously about the two muppets stopping having a chat in the express lane because it didn't open. It's best to avoid morons and use the normal lanes. It will add at most 10 seconds to your life.