Is There A Standard

niloc1951

Driving on the N25 yesterday finally tempted me to hit the keyboard on the issue of 2:1 sections of roadway marked to facilitate the overtaking of slow vehicles on inclines.
Having given it some thought there seems to be a number of configurations in use with no single standard. It is not unusual to see a mixture of those listed below on the same stretch of road.

• At the beginning the sign indicates a second lane will start on the outside but the road marking indicate the lane actually starts on the inside.
• The reverse of this is also found.
• At the end the sign indicates it's the outer lane finishes (even though it may have been the inner lane which was the 'new' lane at the beginning) but the inner lane actually is marked on the road to finish.
• The reverse of this is also found.

The most dangerous layout however is when the outer lane is marked with curved arrows to merge with the inner lane but the outer lane lining is such that it is it which continues. Such lining requires vehicles using the inner lane to to move to the right, this has the potential to cause a serious accident as late overtakers who continue their manoeuvre require inside vehicles to brake or continue onto the emerging hard shoulder, if there is one. Failure of the inside vehicle to make an allowance for the late overtaker can cause that vehicle to end up on the oncoming lane with catastrophic results.

There are also many examples where the inner lane is marked to end and arrows indicate that vehicles using that lane are obliged to give way as they merge back onto what will be the single lane. Not very helpful if trying to keep 40 tonne moving as an incline comes to an end.

The system commonly seen elsewhere in Europe, and occasionally here, should be adopted as a single standard for such sections of road, where heavier vehicles may present an obstacle to faster moving lighter traffic.
Where an outer lane is added to facilitate overtaking its end should be clearly lined and signed in such a manner as to indicate it merges back in with the original lane.
All signs and road marking should indicate this alignment and no other.

Sam Russell

When travelling along the N4, as it crosses the M50, the inner lane gets arrows to move out with no apperent reason. After the bend, it becomes apparent that the inner lane becomes a bus lane. The lane markings should not require the inner lane to move right at about the same point that the lane from the M50 traffic from the Airport is merging left.

It is quite obvious there is no single standard in Ireland for road markings or speed limits. You see inconsistencies everywhere.

The treatment of right turn refuges (in the centre of the road) on 100 km/hr roads is a case in point. Some are well protected while some are not with limited room for queues. The same applies to speed limits. 50 and 60 km/hr 3 lane each way roads around Dublin, while the N5/N6 up in Roscommon has no hard shoulder and while very twisty, has a 100 km/hr limit, despite limited visibility for side roads.

But we have the Road Safety Authority so we will be OK as Uncle Gaybo is in charge.

daveohdave

How are they all in Youghal? That is indeed a very badly implemented 2+1, but I think it's pretty rare, to be fair. It's just Cork road builders, they're the worst in the country. You can nearly feel the difference when you cross the bridge.

niloc1951

daveohdave wrote: »

How are they all in Youghal? That is indeed a very badly implemented 2+1, but I think it's pretty rare, to be fair. It's just Cork road builders, they're the worst in the country. You can nearly feel the difference when you cross the bridge.

I was referring to the sections in Waterford in particular , but don't feel too bad as similar markings/signs can be found throughout Ireland. It seems to be a bit of a lottery.

sam russel, don't get me started on crazy speed limits. I recently drove an N road with a 100 KmPH limit and the road was soooo narrow my offside wheels were hopping over the cats eyes while my nearside mirror was brushing the foliage. To save my mirror and avoid the thump of the cats eyes I actually had to drive with my offside wheels over the centre line.
Incidentally, by my own estimation a safe speed limit for the section would be perhaps 70KmPH at most.

_Kaiser_

niloc1951 wrote: »

The most dangerous layout however is when the outer lane is marked with curved arrows to merge with the inner lane but the outer lane lining is such that it is it which continues. Such lining requires vehicles using the inner lane to to move to the right, this has the potential to cause a serious accident as late overtakers who continue their manoeuvre require inside vehicles to brake or continue onto the emerging hard shoulder, if there is one. Failure of the inside vehicle to make an allowance for the late overtaker can cause that vehicle to end up on the oncoming lane with catastrophic results.

Agreed, there's a stretch of road something like this that I use regularly where the inner lane ends and cars in that lane are forced to merge on top of cars in the overtaking lane (pic C below).

A few hundred yards further down the same road it gets better again as the opposite side becomes a 2:1 (with the same problem) but the road markings on my side are such that I'm apparently quite legally allowed to use that same lane to overtake as well - on a bend (first pic) and just as the 2 opposite lanes merge, and can continue to overtake going downhill! (pic :eek:

Pics attached: