M50 idiocy

keithsfleet

I've been travelling the M50 daily (weekday) for near on 9 years now and just wondering what kind of idiocy anyone else has seen?
I'm not talking about the usual tail gattors or last minute attempts to exit the M50/change Lane.
More along the line of...

Just today at 17:50 I saw a motorbike in Lane 3 trying to push between cars moving 120kph + and the Central median. He quickly came across someone stubborn and moved beyond Lane 3 onto the infinitely varying width of tarmac and overtook there with a big trail of dust behind him.

I've seen a little old lady attempt to enter the motorway via an exit (pre m50 3 Lane days)

And of course, what we all see on a regular basis, idiots that have tinny tiny bumps and decide to get out of they're car on Lane 2 or 3 to exchange insurance details whilst they hold up several thousand people behind them over a few hundred euro worth of damage.

A proper muppet attempting a Saudi drift about a year ago at roughly 8pm.

I have plenty more as I see something on almost a monthly basis but I'm sure plenty of other people have seen them as well.

arleitiss

Those that always drive in middle lane even though left lane is completely free + they are not overtaking anyone in fact going even slower than left lane.

Solair

Just the general tailgating and total lack of lane discipline that you see on motorways and dual-carriageways all over Ireland. Nothing specifically unique to the M50 tbh

brokenarms

the M50 does seem to have its own breed of moron though.

Dartz

I don't know. I drive in the middle lane a lot. I drive at traffic speeds, overtaking cars moving slower when I come to them, and usually travelling faster than the left lane anyway, and with a smoother journey anyway.

Left lane is for trucking, merging and grannies who don't like touching triple-digit speeds.

Middle lane is for smooth driving.

Right lane is for speeding, or when one of the grannies wander.

bigroad

The left lane of the m50 is for driving,unless you must overtake slower moving vehicles ,in which case you should return to the left lane when and where possible.That is the proper way to drive.If you do not drive like suggested then please get some sort of driver training.

The Bishop Basher

Drove 800 miles in the UK last week and it's such a pleasure to use a motorway when everyone uses the correct lanes and drives with common sense and courtesy. Within 3 minutes of hitting the M50 on my way home from the airport I was caught behind a couple of middle lane / overtaking lane hoggers.

But as long as we have a policy of zero motorway training and learners being kept away from them altogether, nothing will improve.

Dartz

Dartz wrote: »

I don't know. I drive in the middle lane a lot. I drive at traffic speeds, overtaking cars moving slower when I come to them, and usually travelling faster than the left lane anyway, and with a smoother journey anyway.

Left lane is for trucking, merging and grannies who don't like touching triple-digit speeds.

Middle lane is for smooth driving.

Right lane is for speeding, or when one of the grannies wander.

Please god, let this be sarcasm

Anan1

Dartz wrote: »

I don't know. I drive in the middle lane a lot. I drive at traffic speeds, overtaking cars moving slower when I come to them, and usually travelling faster than the left lane anyway, and with a smoother journey anyway.

Left lane is for trucking, merging and grannies who don't like touching triple-digit speeds.

Middle lane is for smooth driving.

Right lane is for speeding, or when one of the grannies wander.

You need more lessons.

Max Power1

Deleted User wrote: »

Please god, let this be sarcasm

sad thing is that, even if he is being sarcastic, a large part (the morons) of the driving community think like that

weiland79

Anan1 wrote: »

You need more lessons.

This is the point though. I don't remember any driving instructor mentioning how to drive correctly on a motorway. I certainly didn't have any lessons on a motorway. Why is this?
Back on topic I saw someone reversing on the hard shoulder about 2 weeks ago on my way to the airport l.

ironclaw

Anan1 wrote: »

You need more lessons.

He should read here, along with anyone else who agree's with them:

http://www.rulesoftheroad.ie/rules-for-driving/motorways/on-the-motorway.html

Just today at 17:50 I saw a motorbike in Lane 3 trying to push between cars moving 120kph + and the Central median. He quickly came across someone stubborn and moved beyond Lane 3 onto the infinitely varying width of tarmac and overtook there with a big trail of dust behind him.

Let me guess, motorcross bike? Wearing a high vis vest? They always shoot out of the Dundrum off ramp (Northbound) and literally weave through traffic at serious speed. I usually meet them around the Tallaght exit in the morning. Often seen them in the hard shoulder and the little bit of tarmac to the right of lane 3. Plenty of DVR of the antics but no reg. Utter looney but I am looking forward to the day they are either a) caught or b) Peeled off the side of a truck. Hopefully both as the behavior is disgraceful.

Anan1

weiland79 wrote: »

This is the point though. I don't remember any driving instructor mentioning how to drive correctly on a motorway. I certainly didn't have any lessons on a motorway. Why is this?

It's ridiculous, I agree. All the same, the drive left overtake right rule is the same as for any other dual carriageway and it's all there in the ROTR.

ironclaw

Anan1 wrote: »

It's ridiculous, I agree. All the same, the drive left overtake right rule is the same as for any other dual carriageway and it's all there in the ROTR.

Exactly. You drive as far left as you can in all instances. Its the basis of all driving in Ireland i.e. 'Keep left'

Syllabus

ironclaw wrote: »

) Peeled off the side of a truck. Hopefully both as the behavior is disgraceful.

So u hope a biker is killed on the m50. Very mature

hadoken13

Dartz wrote: »

I don't know. I drive in the middle lane a lot. I drive at traffic speeds, overtaking cars moving slower when I come to them, and usually travelling faster than the left lane anyway, and with a smoother journey anyway.

Left lane is for trucking, merging and grannies who don't like touching triple-digit speeds.

Middle lane is for smooth driving.

Right lane is for speeding, or when one of the grannies wander.

People like this should read up on the rules of the road - as Ironclaw pointed out. Every vehicle should be driving in the left lane unless they are over-taking - period! So annoying to see cars in the middle or right-hand lane when the left lane is free. "Left lane is for trucking, merging"!! that's why there are so many poor drivers on our roads.

Cheensbo

ironclaw wrote: »

Let me guess, motorcross bike? Wearing a high vis vest? They always shoot out of the Dundrum off ramp and literally weave through traffic at serious speed. I usually meet them around the Tallaght exit in the morning. Often seen them in the hard shoulder and the little bit of tarmac to the right of lane 3. Plenty of DVR of the antics but no reg. Utter looney but I am looking forward to the day he's either a) caught or b) Peeled off the side of a truck. Hopefully both as the behavior is disgraceful.

Bit harsh hoping for a fella to be killed aint it?




The m50 sucks, most drivers suck,

The m7/n7 is the very same, even the empty m9 is the same.

I think most people on here recognise that, but, many many people think the middle lane is the driving lane, the left lane is the slow lane, and the right lane is the fast lane.

Some simple education would help, but not cure, as people will still do what they like and drive where they like.

Gosub

Stupid stuff on the M50? .... 100kph speed signs!

dar83

My new favourites are the people that come on to the M50 at the very beginning coming off the N32 at the Northern end heading Soutbound. You naturally start in the overtaking lane there and you get the odd idiot who potters along at 60-70km/h looking in their left mirror and trying to move over to the middle/left lane straight away. Of courese all the traffic coming from the M1 onto the M50 is already in those lanes and generally doing 80km/h so they sit there not accelerating or doing anything, making these hesitant little moves when there might be a gap, then aborting when they realise they wont make it. This is then compounded by the people behind them getting annoyed and undertaking them, meaning they get stuck even longer than they should, haha. The mind boggles.

Just accelerate to motorway speed and merge left when there will clearly be easier gaps you idiot!!! :mad:

The Bishop Basher

Gosub wrote: »

Stupid stuff on the M50? .... 100kph speed signs!

That was another thing I noticed in the UK. Proper speed limits with proper enforcement. The limit remains constant unless there is a genuine reason for reduced speed at which point they employ average speed cameras for a stretch with clear sign posting and as a result, people abide by them. It really struck me that their policy is based on safety rather then the revenue generating half arsed attepmt we have here which actually make the roads more dangerous imo.

tossy

Swanner wrote: »

That was another thing I noticed in the UK. Proper speed limits with proper enforcement. The limit remains constant unless there is a genuine reason for reduced speed at which point they employ average speed cameras for a stretch with clear sign posting and as a result, people abide by them. It really struck me that their policy is based on safety rather then the revenue generating half arsed attepmt we have here which actually make the roads more dangerous imo.

That's grand until the motorway cops close 2 lanes for 1km because someones hubcap came off and is lying in the middle lane

Tropheus

I drive it every day also. People texting or on the phone in the outside lane is a regular one. A couple of weeks ago I came upon slow traffic on the outside lane entering the M50 from the M1. When I got on to the M50, cars started undertaking. When I got to the car causing the tailback in the outside lane, it was a woman doing about 50 kph who wouldn't pull over. I eventually also undertook her and looked in as I was passing. She was sending a text. Absolute lunacy.

whippet

Swanner wrote: »

That was another thing I noticed in the UK. Proper speed limits with proper enforcement. The limit remains constant unless there is a genuine reason for reduced speed at which point they employ average speed cameras for a stretch with clear sign posting and as a result, people abide by them. It really struck me that their policy is based on safety rather then the revenue generating half arsed attepmt we have here which actually make the roads more dangerous imo.

you'll find that in the UK where there is the 70mph limit there isn't as many intersections bunched together as you have on the M50, the limit is due to this.

Also, even if you were travelling the full lenght of the M50 (about 45km) the difference between travelling at 100km/h and 120km/h costs at the most 7 or 8 minutes of your time.

I have driven on many motorway systems around the world and I can honestly say that every country has clowns like we do. Italy probably the worst and in the UK you get a crazy amount of idiots too .. however these tend to be around the urban motorway .. the M25 is probably the worst road I have ever had to drive on a regular basis .. and the speedlimits there would do you nut in.

On another note; I commute on the M1 every day at the moment and some of the worst driving I see on a regular basis are from cars with Yellow reg plates .... actually sunday evening after the Tyrone / Dublin game in Croke Park the M1 northbound was like a slalom race ....

dj1980

I was almost forced off the road yesterday. Going north past exit 5 in the middle lane. Left lane is slower because of merging traffic. There's maybe 1.5-2 car lengths between me and the car in front when some lad (I'm assuming male because of the aggressiveness) merges with the left lane in a gap barely big enough for him to fit in.

I'm level with his rear door at this stage and he still has the indicator on so I'm unsure if he's staying or going.
He makes a move like he is moving out to middle lane and then rethinks it because he sees me.

I think thank god he didn't do that but then he has another go and does it anyway because he thinks that in his big **** off pickup truck he can.
I was lucky there was nobody in the outside lane as I had to brake and swerve to avoid getting hit.

He puts the foot down and swerves out ahead of me continuing to drive like a lunatic in the outside lane.

I've seen idiots on the m50 before but I've never seen someone 'bully' another car out of their lane like what happened me.
If I was driving my own car and not my girlfriend's car I don't know if I would've swerved to the outside lane as quickly.

dudara

The amount of drivers who do the last minute 3-lane dive at the M1 exit northbound does my nut in. I had one pull in on top of me about a year ago. Fine, deep breath, only to have a second car pull in straightaway. Nearly came a cropper. Moronic. What's wrong with getting in lane when the road signs tell you to do so?

Chris_Heilong

I saw 2 cars, one in the middle lane and one in the lane 3 both driving at the same speed, I could feel that the car in the outer overtaking lane was looking for a chance to move left but he wasnt indicating, this went on for a while, both seeming to match each others speed, the the car on the right stated to swerve towards the car on the left, the car on the left started to do the same, at this point I slowed down an let them go far ahead of me, dangerous stuff.

flyguy

whippet wrote: »

you'll find that in the UK where there is the 70mph limit there isn't as many intersections bunched together as you have on the M50, the limit is due to this.

Also, even if you were travelling the full lenght of the M50 (about 45km) the difference between travelling at 100km/h and 120km/h costs at the most 7 or 8 minutes of your time.

AFAIK the 100kph limit is because it's a 3-lane motorway (which is a ridiculous rule to have). I don't recall (m)any exits added when the M50 was upgraded/widened and had toll gates removed. So they way I see it it's now a safer/better road, but the speed limit has been lowered?! Where the road becomes 2-lanes the limit goes back up to 120kph.
If it only cost 7-8 minutes if your time (which is a lot 2/day, 5day/week during a 30 year working life) why not make it 80kph, makes no difference does it? You can drive 100kph if you like (preferably in the left lane;-), I think most would like to see the limit back at 120kph.

Frank Black

flyguy wrote: »

AFAIK the 100kph limit is because it's a 3-lane motorway (which is a ridiculous rule to have). I don't recall (m)any exits added when the M50 was upgraded/widened and had toll gates removed. So they way I see it it's now a safer/better road, but the speed limit has been lowered?! Where the road becomes 2-lanes the limit goes back up to 120kph.
If it only cost 7-8 minutes if your time (which is a lot 2/day, 5day/week during a 30 year working life) why not make it 80kph, makes no difference does it? You can drive 100kph if you like (preferably in the left lane;-), I think most would like to see the limit back at 120kph.

Nothing to do with 3 lanes - nothing to do with revenue generation attempts.

There is a formula for calculating the design speed of a road based on the horizontal and vertical geometry, cross section and other factors including the frequency of junctions.
Generally the posted speed limit will be equal to or less than the Design Speed.
In the case of the M50 the frequency of junctions and the high volume of merge/diverge manouvers taking place result in a Design Speed/Speed Limit of 100kph.

Reg'stoy

dudara wrote: »

The amount of drivers who do the last minute 3-lane dive at the M1 exit northbound does my nut in. I had one pull in on top of me about a year ago. Fine, deep breath, only to have a second car pull in straightaway. Nearly came a cropper. Moronic. What's wrong with getting in lane when the road signs tell you to do so?

Why queue, when you can bully or squeeze your way in at the top of the queue. Worst thing is, they cause the queue by making cars brake and slow at the top of the queue; which concertinas the whole way back.

I can see them in my wing mirror, "nope, I can skip a few cars" avoid the space to join the exit lane and continue on, indicate, then spot a possible gap in traffic ahead and make for that.

The filter lanes off; are to speed up traffic, not something to be avoided as long as possible.

flyguy

Frank Black wrote: »

Nothing to do with 3 lanes - nothing to do with revenue generation attempts.

There is a formula for calculating the design speed of a road based on the horizontal and vertical geometry, cross section and other factors including the frequency of junctions.
Generally the posted speed limit will be equal to or less than the Design Speed.
In the case of the M50 the frequency of junctions and the high volume of merge/diverge manouvers taking place result in a Design Speed/Speed Limit of 100kph.

Thanks for the explanation, thought I read somewhere it was due to it being 3-lanes. Still, strange it was 120kph before and the road is now better/improved -and like I said- don't recall many changes in amount of junctions.... So did the design rules change then?

creedp

dudara wrote: »

The amount of drivers who do the last minute 3-lane dive at the M1 exit northbound does my nut in. I had one pull in on top of me about a year ago. Fine, deep breath, only to have a second car pull in straightaway. Nearly came a cropper. Moronic. What's wrong with getting in lane when the road signs tell you to do so?

One reason could be that if they do the 'right' thing and filter left when signed to do so they will spend a number of minutes watching a whole line of people skipping the queue and therefore pushing them back down the line. Better enforcement of rules leading to a critical mass of drivers actually obeying rules/instructions would have a magical increase in the number of drivers prepared to obey these rules. The old adage 'if you can't beat them .. join them' is alove and well on Irish roads.

Gosub

I was told that when they put the 3rd lane in, the lanes were then too narrow to get rated as a motorway. Tuckin fypical.

Lemming

Watched someone reverse back down the hard shoulder (north bound) and take the slip-road out towards Firhouse.

That one required a double-take.

Peanut2011

Dartz wrote: »

I don't know. I drive in the middle lane a lot. I drive at traffic speeds, overtaking cars moving slower when I come to them, and usually travelling faster than the left lane anyway, and with a smoother journey anyway.

Left lane is for trucking, merging and grannies who don't like touching triple-digit speeds.

Middle lane is for smooth driving.

Right lane is for speeding, or when one of the grannies wander.

Just to help everyone brush up on the knowledge!!

http://www.rulesoftheroad.ie/rules-for-driving/motorways/on-the-motorway.html

Lane 1

The normal 'keep left' rule applies. Stay in this lane unless you are overtaking.
Lane 2

On a two-lane motorway, use this for overtaking only and move back into lane 1 when you have finished. You may also use this lane to accommodate traffic merging from the left.
On a three-lane motorway, you may stay in this centre lane while there is slower moving traffic in lane 1.
Lane 3

If you are travelling on a three-lane motorway, you must use this lane only if traffic in lanes 1 and 2 is moving in queues and you need to overtake or accommodate merging traffic. Once you've finished overtaking, move back to your left and allow faster traffic coming from behind to pass by.
You must not use the lane nearest the central median (lane 2 or lane 3, depending on the motorway width) if you are driving:

• a goods vehicle with a design gross vehicle weight of more than 3,500 kilograms,
• a passenger vehicle with seating for more than 8 passengers (aside from the driver), or
• a vehicle towing a trailer, horsebox or caravan.

You may use it, however, in exceptional circumstances when you cannot proceed in the inner lane because of a blockage ahead. You may also use it if you are at a location on a motorway where a speed limit of 80km/h or less applies.

Gosub

Peanut2011 wrote: »

Just to help everyone brush up on the knowledge!!

http://www.rulesoftheroad.ie/rules-for-driving/motorways/on-the-motorway.html

Yeah, and that's all very good and right.... but very,very few people use the lanes in the correct way, and no-one makes them do it right. I'm sure most know the correct way, but they feel better doing it the wrong way.

I'm not saying it's right, just that it's most commonly done incorrectly.

Peanut2011

flyguy wrote: »

AFAIK the 100kph limit is because it's a 3-lane motorway (which is a ridiculous rule to have). I don't recall (m)any exits added when the M50 was upgraded/widened and had toll gates removed.

Frank Black wrote: »

Nothing to do with 3 lanes - nothing to do with revenue generation attempts.

It has all to do with the 3 lanes. The lanes are not wide enough and to make the problem further, the center divide is now not wide enough for the stretch of the road to be classified as motorway speed, hence it being reduced to 100kph!

Peanut2011

Gosub wrote: »

Yeah, and that's all very good and right.... but very,very few people use the lanes in the correct way,

I would argue that is because they do not know the rules! It has already been pointed out that when learning to drive and on your driving test, motorway driving is not covered.

The only thing covered is who is restricted from motorways, however once you pass your test and are allowed on, you are on your own, without ever having encountered that type of driving or been thought how to.

Anan1

Peanut2011 wrote: »

I would argue that is because they do not know the rules! It has already been pointed out that when learning to drive and on your driving test, motorway driving is not covered.

But driving on dual carriageways is, and the keep left rule is exactly the same.

Frank Black

flyguy wrote: »

Thanks for the explanation, thought I read somewhere it was due to it being 3-lanes. Still, strange it was 120kph before and the road is now better/improved -and like I said- don't recall many changes in amount of junctions.... So did the design rules change then?

Not sure why it was 120kph, but the widening to 3 lanes was achieved in the main by widening into the median strip, this potentially could have reduced the available forward visibilty for vehicles in certain locations.
The road design standards are maintained by the NRA and are updated on a regular basis - usually every 3-4 years - though I'm not aware of any significant changes to the section of the standards which cover design speed calculation.

It is not unknown for roads to have a posted speed limit in excess of the Design Speed and although not best practice, this may have been the case with the M50 in the past.

Peanut2011

Anan1 wrote: »

But driving on dual carriageways is, and the keep left rule is exactly the same.

Fully agree, dual carriageway is covered, however people enter the motorway and forget all that. Especially when you see the bad examples mentioned in this thread alone, any new driver thinks it's acceptable.

Now that we have 3 lane motorway in the country I would say that should be covered as well as many think lane 1 is for merging and exiting motorway and lane 2 is for normal driving.

Mind you, we have issue with the dual carriageways as well. Only this morning on my way to work I was cut off by the car joining from left slip road to dual carriageway (no traffic in either lane in front of me) only to skip straight from merging to lane 2 and continue along way below max speed limit. He never even used the slip road to the end to build up speed, cut straight across over full white line.

And this is not isolated incident. Happens at least once a week. Don't even want to go in to driving in lane 2 when lane 1 is empty, only cos they are making right turn 600-800 meters down the road.

Frank Black

Peanut2011 wrote: »

It has all to do with the 3 lanes. The lanes are not wide enough and to make the problem further,!

You'll need to re-phrase this - no idea what you mean.
Besides, the poster I was replying to suggested that a 3 lane road meant a 100kph speed limit in all cases. This is not the case under legistation or the design standards. The widening to 3 lanes may have had a knock-on effect in terms of the design speed in this case (as I suggest above) - but that's a different point entirely.

Peanut2011 wrote: »

the center divide is now not wide enough for the stretch of the road to be classified as motorway speed, hence it being reduced to 100kph!

This is simply not true - a median width of 2.6m is sufficient for a road to be classified as a motorway - it's based on the set back and working width of the median safety barrier.

Jawgap

Pre the third lane being added I remember seeing people in the central reservation picking the daffodils!

Another one - coming on to it one Sunday evening (again pre-removal of the toll booths) it seemed busier than usual - then as I drove towards the bridge it got busier........and busier and soon we were down to a crawl. Eventually reach the bridge to see there's been a tip - the toll both people were out begging this woman to move her car having been shunted. I could overhear the conversation and she was refusing to move until her husband arrived!!!

The only other slight irritation is the apparently inability of the Guards to mount proper rolling roadblocks (as you get in the UK) - but this may be down to the number of entries / exits.

Peanut2011

Frank Black wrote: »

You'll need to re-phrase this - no idea what you mean.
Besides, the poster I was replying to suggested that a 3 lane road meant a 100kph speed limit in all cases. This is not the case under legistation or the design standards. The widening to 3 lanes may have had a knock-on effect in terms of the design speed in this case (as I suggest above) - but that's a different point entirely.

Sorry I see what you mean here. Here it is described better than I ever could:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M50_motorway_%28Ireland%29

The original speed limit on the M50 was 70 mph (112 km/h) which was increased to 120 km/h when all speed limits in the Republic of Ireland became metric in 2005. The Southern Cross Route (the extension from Junction 12 to Junction 14) was given a lower limit of 60 mph (96 km/h) with a decimal limit of 100 km/h after 2005. This was because of its more undulating terrain, tighter and more frequent curves and resulting shorter sight lines. Because of the doubling of the number of running lanes along most of the route, which has shortened sight lines and increased lane changing, and due of the high number of junctions, the entire length of the route has (with the exception of the sections from Junction 1 to Junction 3 and Junction 14 to 17) the same speed limit, of 100 km/h, since it was completely upgraded (2007–10).

ipodrocker

the classic thing is the drives in the up market saloons who sit in 3rd lane in slow speed!

whippet

ipodrocker wrote: »

the classic thing is the drives in the up market saloons who sit in 3rd lane in slow speed!

classic stereotyping there !!!

It is a mixture of all makes, all genders, all ages and all demographics who drive like that.

It amazes me when people think they can isolate idiots from society in to a small niche demographic when the world over idiots come from all parts of society !!

brokenarms

whippet wrote: »

classic stereotyping there !!!

It is a mixture of all makes, all genders, all ages and all demographics who drive like that.

It amazes me when people think they can isolate idiots from society in to a small niche demographic when the world over idiots come from all parts of society !!

Yeah right.

How many new Merc and Beemer drivers have let you out of the junction recently?

Anan1

brokenarms wrote: »

Yeah right.

How many new Merc and Beemer drivers have let you out of the junction recently?

Why would they let you out, with that big resentful head on you?

brokenarms

Is it that noticeable?

belcampprisoner

I drive at 50 in the fast lane just to mess with peoples heads,then I switch lanes for no reason

Gosub

belcampprisoner wrote: »

I drive at 50 in the fast lane just to mess with peoples heads,then I switch lanes for no reason

I believe you.

keithsfleet

Why do people insist on calling it slow Lane, middle Lane and fast lane, both of which bar middle Lane are misleading.
It is Lane 1, 2 and 3 or am I mistaken?

Back on topic, someone asked me if it was a motocross bike that was pushing between Lane 3 users and the dividing median. It wasn't, think it was a cruiser style with a red and black box attacked to the back and yes he was wearing a high vis.
He was back in full force again today at the same time.
Both times I saw him was heading south bound just as I was going past Tallaght exit. I turned off at Knocklyon/Firhouse but he clearly went on further at his usual antics.