I hate the M50 [Warning post #222]

Dravokivich

Dravokivich wrote: »

Digital certificates, One time use Authentication codes. It really doesn't need all that messing about with IP Addresses. And my clients are financial groups and wealth management companies.

What the management want, the management get!

Anyway, back on topic!

3

CreepingDeath

mockingjay wrote: »

Absolutely dreading the thought of another year commuting on this M50.... feels like I'm taking my life in my hands every day...

The M1 is no better and higher speeds.
I had an 05 LH reg Silver BMW driving about 1-2 car lengths behind my bumper at 120kph+ this morning while I was in a constant stream of traffic in the right hand lane.

At one stage I had to put on my hazard lights he was driving so close, but he didn't get the message. If I had a rear dashcam as well as a forward dashcam, then I'd report him and expect him to be charged with dangerous driving. Eventually for safety I l moved into the left hand lane which forced me to slow down, just to let him move up 1 car length into my previous position and capture him on dashcam.

I have his reg number, I even memorized it at this stage, and was seriously mulling over the idea of reporting him to trafficwatch but couldn't be bothered with the hassle.

And before anyone says "I should've moved into the left hand lane", I was in the faster stream of traffic on the right hand side at 120kph which was overtaking cars on the left hand lane pretty much constantly.

Schadenfreudia

CreepingDeath wrote: »

Eventually for safety I l moved into the left hand lane which forced me to slow down, just to let him move up 1 car length into my previous position and capture him on dashcam.


And before anyone says "I should've moved into the left hand lane", I was in the faster stream of traffic on the right hand side at 120kph which was overtaking cars on the left hand lane pretty much constantly.

Don't have a dashcam so I just slow down, tap the breaks, slow a bit more..etc. Till he gets the message.

They nearly always do!

AlekSmart

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

What this means is that Dublin will continue to choke on traffic, property prices (to rent or buy) will continue to drive people further out into the surrounding counties, piss-poor driving standards and virtually zero enforcement will continue to result in accidents that bring the city to a standstill, and we'll limp along in this fashion with tinkering at the edges and increased charges (for public transport and drivers) probably indefinitely.

In short, the Irish really are too short-sighted and immature in many ways to be let at the control of a country, but this is the country we live in.

The facts underpinning all of this are undeniable....yet even whilst skinning the carcass of the Traffic Corps,nobody felt empowered to put Automatic ANPR or similar systems in place...Why oh why is it necessary to have up to 6 Gardai in place to provide "Garda Enforcement" to a simple Bus-Gate,signposted manually,electronically and every other way for the past 12 months,when One BIG sign reading,"BUS-GATE OPEN TO CARS (€250 per trip)...Have a Nice Day" would do the job every bit as successfully (Perhaps even more so)

Anyway...the GTC statistics....

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/garda-traffic-corps-slips-below-750-officers-from-2009-peak-of-1-200-1.2092923

2009- 1,200
2014- 748

Enforcement,Irish style....guaranteed to work....as typified by the tumbleweed blowing across all of those,GARDA VEHICLES ONLY,ramps dotted along our Motorway network....

Tommy Broughan TD said,"It has been several years since I’ve seen a Garda traffic vehicle on the M50, for example. And I think the visual presence of the Traffic Corps was a great deterrent,” he said.

Schadenfreudia

Tommy Broughan TD said,"It has been several years since I’ve seen a Garda traffic vehicle on the M50, for example. And I think the visual presence of the Traffic Corps was a great deterrent,” he said.

Deterring what, exactly, on the M50?

CreepingDeath

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

Don't have a dashcam so I just slow down, tap the breaks, slow a bit more..etc. Till he gets the message.

They nearly always do!

At 120kph+ on a wet road that wouldn't be wise this morning.
I've seen US police cars executing the "pit manoeuvre" ramming the back of a car and sending it off the road.
You could come off worse brake checking someone.

And it's usually the angry losers in old cars who are the most dangerous and probably don't care if their car gets a tip or not.

Schadenfreudia

CreepingDeath wrote: »

At 120kph+ on a wet road that wouldn't be wise this morning.
I've seen US police cars executing the "pit manoeuvre" ramming the back of a car and sending it off the road.
You could come off worse brake checking someone.

And it's usually the angry losers in old cars who are the most dangerous and probably don't care if their car gets a tip or not.

Got a ten year old Navara with a fine tow-bar; wouldn't worry about angry rammers in the least!

When the inside lane starts passing both of us they nearly always get the hint....

(I realize you won't find this sort of enforcement of safe driving in the Rules of the Road)

K.Flyer

mockingjay wrote: »

Just outside Swords to near Saggart, if I'm not on the M50 by 6.50, I'm caught in gridlock - get to work at 7.30, if I leave at 7.20 or later I'm sitting in queues and often push it to be in for 9 (using a tank of petrol!) - too unreliable, too stressful sitting at Blanchardstown wondering if I'll move at all, constantly alert... inching, inching forward. Very strict on punctuality in our place, (like others I know). Don't tolerate M50 excuses. I'm doing this journey for the past five years, so I know the routine well, three years ago I could leave at 7.40 and be there with ease, year before last 7.20 and last year 6.50 - it's getting crazy[...]

Are you saying that you work in Saggart and that you leave the M.50 at Blanchardstown?
Why would you do that?
Surely paying the toll and leaving at N7, Ballymount or Tallaght would be far quicker and less stressful. I know the N7 turn off was an utter disaster before the Newlands flyover, but it seems to have improved things quite a bit since.

Seth Brundle

K.Flyer wrote: »

Are you saying that you work in Saggart and that you leave the M.50 at Blanchardstown?
Why would you do that?
Surely paying the toll and leaving at N7, Ballymount or Tallaght would be far quicker and less stressful. I know the N7 turn off was an utter disaster before the Newlands flyover, but it seems to have improved things quite a bit since.

I think MockingJay is referring to the M50 junction with the N3 rather than Blanch itself.
However, what MockingJay does not mention is why they alone are sitting there whilst the rest of the traffic is moving. I suspect a huge amount of exaggeration is in use here!

Stheno

kbannon wrote: »

I think MockingJay is referring to the M50 junction with the N3 rather than Blanch itself.
However, what MockingJay does not mention is why they alone are sitting there whilst the rest of the traffic is moving. I suspect a huge amount of exaggeration is in use here!

I regularly took two hours to get from Swords to Dundrum on the M50, tailbacks started just before Blanch and were worst from there to Liffey Vally/Naas Road.

Seth Brundle

Stheno wrote: »

I regularly took two hours to get from Swords to Dundrum on the M50, tailbacks started just before Blanch and were worst from there to Liffey Vally/Naas Road.

Can you break that down into the following stretches:
* home to Blanch
* Blanch to Naas Rd
* Naas Rd to work

Incidentally, what were the average times that it took you?

Stheno

kbannon wrote: »

Can you break that down into the following stretches:
* home to Blanch
* Blanch to Naas Rd
* Naas Rd to work

Incidentally, what were the average times that it took you?

Average 90 minutes.

Home to Lucan - an hour. Lucan to Sandyford/Dundrum exit - half an hour in the morning.

On the way home.

Dundrum to Lucan - an hour.

Lucan to Swords - half an hour.

That with no crashes or delays. Crashes/delays happened three out of five days.

mockingjay

K.Flyer wrote: »

Are you saying that you work in Saggart and that you leave the M.50 at Blanchardstown?
Why would you do that?
Surely paying the toll and leaving at N7, Ballymount or Tallaght would be far quicker and less stressful. I know the N7 turn off was an utter disaster before the Newlands flyover, but it seems to have improved things quite a bit since.

No, I didn't say that, basically the traffic begins to crawl from this point forward... and yes I have altered my route, the traffic towards Tallaght & Ballymount is always at a snails pace, so I turn off at Lucan, up Fonthill as traffic moves here, and off again at Newlands.

mockingjay

kbannon wrote: »

I think MockingJay is referring to the M50 junction with the N3 rather than Blanch itself.
However, what MockingJay does not mention is why they alone are sitting there whilst the rest of the traffic is moving. I suspect a huge amount of exaggeration is in use here!

Are you actually serious??? I certainly am not "alone" on the m50 during rush hour. Just to make it clear - there are thousands of us on it... all going the same way ... at the same time .... with others merging from other junctions ....

Seth Brundle

I travel the Lucan southbound route daily. I know what it's like. For you to come off at Lucan and travel down the Fonthill Rd makes absolutely no sense.
Occasionally the M50 is bad e.g. after an incident whereby an alternative route is feasible. Most of the time, especially at the times you travel, that section of the motorway is grand.

Edit: Plus you are suggesting that frequently you are caught in very heavy traffic despite arriving in Saggart at 7:30. The M50 is not that bad!

mockingjay

kbannon wrote: »

I travel the Lucan southbound route daily. I know what it's like. For you to come off at Lucan and travel down the Fonthill Rd makes absolutely no sense.
Occasionally the M50 is bad e.g. after an incident whereby an alternative route is feasible. Most of the time, especially at the times you travel, that section of the motorway is grand.

Edit: Plus you are suggesting that frequently you are caught in very heavy traffic despite arriving in Saggart at 7:30. The M50 is not that bad!

No - I'm stating the reason I leave so early is because I don't want to get caught in heavy traffic. Your route is not similar to mine - 'if' I hit the start of the M50 at 7.20 traffic begins to slow around the Finglas exit, half way between Finglas and well before the Blanchardstown exit it actually stops & starts, this section of the journey could take up to half an hour without any incidents - I come off at Lucan because the next section to the Red Cow can also take 20 mins + from 7.30 onwards - if you come off at Lucan you are in the hard shoulder you are partly- bypassing the people queuing from Blanch

Seth Brundle

Stheno wrote: »

Average 90 minutes.

According to Google maps at the moment (1.33am), Swords to Dundrum is 30 minutes via the M50. Assuming an additional 7 or 8 minutes at each end to get to your actual start and end points, then in rush hour your driving at half the normal speed.
What is your expectation of your commuting time?

Muahahaha

mockingjay wrote: »

No - I'm stating the reason I leave so early is because I don't want to get caught in heavy traffic. Your route is not similar to mine - 'if' I hit the start of the M50 at 7.20 traffic begins to slow around the Finglas exit, half way between Finglas and well before the Blanchardstown exit it actually stops & starts, this section of the journey could take up to half an hour without any incidents - I come off at Lucan because the next section to the Red Cow can also take 20 mins + from 7.30 onwards - if you come off at Lucan you are in the hard shoulder you are partly- bypassing the people queuing from Blanch

If it's that bad I'd seriously consider getting a motorbike. At least that way your journey times would be a lot more consistent and predictable. Only €80 motor tax a year and free tolls on the m50 to boot, there's a lot to be said for it if you can handle the wet and cold with the proper gear on.

ThisRegard

Tommy Broughan TD said,"It has been several years since I’ve seen a Garda traffic vehicle on the M50, for example. And I think the visual presence of the Traffic Corps was a great deterrent,” he said.

Has he only used the M50 once in those several years or something? I see them regularly anyway, and I don't even use the M50 during the morning rush hour.

duffman3833

ThisRegard wrote: »

Has he only used the M50 once in those several years or something? I see them regularly anyway, and I don't even use the M50 during the morning rush hour.

i use the m50 a couple of times a year and nearly each trip Ive seen a garda car or bike on it so they are regularly on the m50, unless they only appear when i make a road trip

sebcity

duffman3833 wrote: »

i use the m50 a couple of times a year and nearly each trip Ive seen a garda car or bike on it so they are regularly on the m50, unless they only appear when i make a road trip

Must be!


I was pulled over once on the m50 by the traffic corps.
It was because I had 4 in the back, fair enough.
But they were insistent that the 4th person (without the seat belt) had to get out of the car...on the m50!!, they wanted me to leave the person on the side of the road!
They said no to giving him a lift.
I said I'd let him out at the airport where it's safe.

GM228

sebcity wrote: »

Must be!


I was pulled over once on the m50 by the traffic corps.
It was because I had 4 in the back, fair enough.
But they were insistent that the 4th person (without the seat belt) had to get out of the car...on the m50!!, they wanted me to leave the person on the side of the road!
They said no to giving him a lift.
I said I'd let him out at the airport where it's safe.

And they are supposed to be enforcing the law, not encourage breaking it further!

I can understand them asking the 4th person to leave the car, but they should have provided a lift and not encourage leaving someone (against the law) in a dangerous situation.

Did you have to leave the person in the end on the side of the M50?

sebcity

GM228 wrote: »

And they are supposed to be enforcing the law, not encourage breaking it further!

I can understand them asking the 4th person to leave the car, but they should have provided a lift and not encourage leaving someone (against the law) in a dangerous situation.

Did you have to leave the person in the end on the side of the M50?

No, I convinced them I'd drop them at the airport as I was heading that way. They followed for a bit then lost interest!

Stheno

kbannon wrote: »

According to Google maps at the moment (1.33am), Swords to Dundrum is 30 minutes via the M50. Assuming an additional 7 or 8 minutes at each end to get to your actual start and end points, then in rush hour your driving at half the normal speed.
What is your expectation of your commuting time?

I no longer do that commute

_Kaiser_

kbannon wrote: »

According to Google maps at the moment (1.33am), Swords to Dundrum is 30 minutes via the M50. Assuming an additional 7 or 8 minutes at each end to get to your actual start and end points, then in rush hour your driving at half the normal speed.
What is your expectation of your commuting time?

You raise a valid point... one of the biggest issues I see on the M50 (and others) every day is an inability of many drivers to progress at a consistent speed, or drive at the limit when it's safe/appropriate to do so.

I'm not talking about marginal differences either but 20-30 km/h less than the posted limit when there's no reason for it.

RainyDay

sebcity wrote: »

No, I convinced them I'd drop them at the airport as I was heading that way. They followed for a bit then lost interest!

They should have forced you to call a taxi for the extra passenger really.

_Kaiser_

RainyDay wrote: »

They should have forced you to call a taxi for the extra passenger really.

Taxis can't legitimately stop on the M50 either though

sebcity

RainyDay wrote: »

They should have forced you to call a taxi for the extra passenger really.

Yeah maybe.
They said they were going to fine him for no seatbelt and fine me for allowing it.
Neither of us received these fines.

mockingjay

The M50 has been a dream to travel on since the beginning of January.... Leaving at 7.30 arriving in work around 8am. This journey took over an hour from September right up until December. I suppose the Government will pretend they solved the problem (just in time for the election) :pac::pac::pac::

Any ideas why the traffic is much lighter (and it is lighter!)? Evidently there seems to be less lorries, less cars, moving very well. Nearly like holiday season traffic.

RainyDay

I cycle over it at Sandyford in the mornings, a bit later than you. About once a week it seems to be seriously jammed up northbound towards Knocklyon, with very slow movement.