M11 - Arklow to Rathnew

Antarctica · 21-07-2015 02:09AM

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

A guy who believes in the Virgin Mary believes in global warming?

Hardly an endorsement of the science! :rolleyes:

Nah it is an endorsement cause you wouldn't have expected it from them.

Well what about the 99% consensus in the scientific community is that endorsement enough?

thedarkroom · 21-07-2015 04:45AM

Poochie05 wrote: »

Great road, nice and quiet surface, slightly shorter journey time, now all we need is to get people to drive properly on it! Impossible to drive on cruise control what with all the overtaking lane hoggers and people overtaking you then pulling in in front of you and slowing down to 115kph to make up for having had to break the speed limit to overtake you going a steady 120kph in the driving lane

Hopefully it will all settle down after a while.

Thats a regular gripe of mine. I wouldn't be a fast driver and usually set the cruise control to 105/110 kph and even still I find that I end up passing on the left because of cars squatting in the overtaking lane for no other reason but that they can. Nothing worse than sitting behind one of these and they insist on driving at the same speed as the car on the left for miles and miles.
Another bugbear is the one who over takes and then slows down meaning then that you have to overtake them. I've had cars do this several times and could end up overtaking the same person two or three times because of this.
Or tailgaters in the left lane who won't overtake but just sit against your bumper.
Or people who just won't use feeder lanes properly to merge with traffic on the motorway.
Or . . . damn, I knew I shouldn't have started this,
I could go on all day. Motorway driving on the M11 is such a pain in the hole at times.

Schadenfreudia · 21-07-2015 08:09AM

thedarkroom wrote: »

Thats a regular gripe of mine. I wouldn't be a fast driver and usually set the cruise control to 105/110 kph and even still I find that I end up passing on the left because of cars squatting in the overtaking lane for no other reason but that they can. Nothing worse than sitting behind one of these and they insist on driving at the same speed as the car on the left for miles and miles.

There is, of course, a simple solution to that!

Pass left; when you come to the next slow vehicle pull out and take 5 minutes to pass it while the overtaking lane hogger is forced to slow down behind you and knock off their cruise control.

Eventually overtake the slow vehicle and pull in to the driving lane; if the slob still stays out in the outside lane then repeat, only this time slow to about 80kph and stay there till the slob pulls in - to overtake you on the left!

Then pull fast away.

Always works if you are prepared to go slow enough - it's like training a particularly stupid dog

spacetweek · 21-07-2015 11:42AM

Ren2k7 wrote: »

How did other countries in the 60's cope when motorways arrived?

The UK had public service ads to explain the concepts.

Sam Russell · 21-07-2015 11:53AM

Jaguar tested their E type at 5am in the morning.:D

murpho999 · 21-07-2015 01:22PM

Ren2k7 wrote: »

Motorways and, well, decent roads in general are a fairly new concept to Ireland, so it's not at all surprising many motorists are still struggling to understand what the overtaking lane is for. Or the "fast lane" as many call it. How did other countries in the 60's cope when motorways arrived?

Sorry but I'm not buying this. The extensive network is but Dual Carraigeways/Motorways have been around for a long time.

The problem is the driving test is all wrong.

There is no motorway driving tested at all which is wrong.

As a result Irish drivers have no lane discipline, think the road has slow and fast lanes. Also, joining a motorway at 60-80km per hour whilst the traffic is moving at 120kph is dangerous.

Driving test needs to be amended and public awareness programmes done as well as better enforcement by the Gardai who are almost non existent on Irish motorways.

marno21 · 21-07-2015 01:46PM

murpho999 wrote: »

Sorry but I'm not buying this. The extensive network is but Dual Carraigeways/Motorways have been around for a long time.

The problem is the driving test is all wrong.

There is no motorway driving tested at all which is wrong.

As a result Irish drivers have no lane discipline, think the road has slow and fast lanes. Also, joining a motorway at 60-80km per hour whist the traffic is moving at 120kph is dangerous.

Driving test needs to be amended and public awareness programmes done as well as better enforcement by the Gardai who are almost non existent on Irish motorways.

Saw this yesterday on the M7 and didn't realise how dangerous it was until I saw it. The cars behind also have to slow down if it's a single merge lane and then you have a queue of traffic joining a motorway at 60km/h

tertials · 21-07-2015 02:31PM

M11 now updated on Google Maps.

Sheldons Brain · 21-07-2015 02:36PM

murpho999 wrote: »

Sorry but I'm not buying this. The extensive network is but Dual Carraigeways/Motorways have been around for a long time.

The problem is the driving test is all wrong.

There is no motorway driving tested at all which is wrong.

THis thing about the driving test is often repeated, but does not make sense. The test shows you can drive, bad driving is then a question of choosing not to which comes down to enforcement and perhaps the rules of the road test.

Everyone should have rules of the road test every time a licence is renewed.

Schadenfreudia · 21-07-2015 02:46PM

I find it hard to believe that anyone isn't aware at this stage that you must "drive on the left unless overtaking".

The outside lane-hogs simply ignore it so they can stay on cruise control without all that pulling in and out; and they have a "moral" view that if they are doing 120kph (or near 120) then nobody should be passing them anyway.

Exceeding the speed limit is accepted as breaking the law but, oddly, driving in the wrong lane isn't in their minds.

VR6 · 21-07-2015 02:55PM

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

There is, of course, a simple solution to that!

Pass left; when you come to the next slow vehicle pull out and take 5 minutes to pass it while the overtaking lane hogger is forced to slow down behind you and knock off their cruise control.

Eventually overtake the slow vehicle and pull in to the driving lane; if the slob still stays out in the outside lane then repeat, only this time slow to about 80kph and stay there till the slob pulls in - to overtake you on the left!

Then pull fast away.

Always works if you are prepared to go slow enough - it's like training a particularly stupid dog

I wait a decent period for lane hoggers to react to my presence, then I flash them, repeat if necessary and finally overtake on the inside and blast the horn as I go by. For particularly stubborn offenders I cut across them as I move from the inner lane - thy finally get the point at that stage.
Worst offenders ? TAXI DRIVERS !!!! ARRRGGHHHH!!!

Another thing about Irish drivers is they automatically drive in the middle lane on a 3 way motorway and NEVER on the inner lane.

Public service TV advertisements and an obligatory motorway driving session for the driving test is the only way to change this. The driving instructors and testers would also have to be educated mind you !

murpho999 · 21-07-2015 03:04PM

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

THis thing about the driving test is often repeated, but does not make sense. The test shows you can drive, bad driving is then a question of choosing not to which comes down to enforcement and perhaps the rules of the road test.

Everyone should have rules of the road test every time a licence is renewed.

Practice is often better than theory so if an instructor takes you to a motorway and teaches you to enter correctly, choose the right lane, overtake correctly and then exit correctly then they will be all the better for it.

A driving test is more that just about 'driving' and it's about how drivers handle different situations and motorway driving is certainly a situation that requires a different approach.

Following your logic the test should be all theory based and then just drive the car around the car park.

Cookiemunster · 21-07-2015 03:48PM

murpho999 wrote: »

Practice is often better than theory so if an instructor takes you to a motorway and teaches you to enter correctly, choose the right lane, overtake correctly and then exit correctly then they will be all the better for it.

A driving test is more that just about 'driving' and it's about how drivers handle different situations and motorway driving is certainly a situation that requires a different approach.

Following your logic the test should be all theory based and then just drive the car around the car park.

The problem there is that leaner drivers aren't allowed on motorways so can't be taught to drive on them. Even if they were allowed are you going to make people from Donegal or Kerry travel over 100k to the nearest motorway for a lesson?

L1011 · 21-07-2015 03:58PM

Cookiemunster wrote: »

The problem there is that leaner drivers aren't allowed on motorways so can't be taught to drive on them. Even if they were allowed are you going to make people from Donegal or Kerry travel over 100k to the nearest motorway for a lesson?

Donegal and Kerry have dual carriageways. Only Mayo, Cavan and Monaghan doen't at this stage IIRC - with Monaghan having extensive 2+1

murpho999 · 21-07-2015 04:00PM

Cookiemunster wrote: »

The problem there is that leaner drivers aren't allowed on motorways so can't be taught to drive on them. Even if they were allowed are you going to make people from Donegal or Kerry travel over 100k to the nearest motorway for a lesson?

They should be allowed on it with a fully registered qualified instructor with a dual control car.

I got my licence in The Netherlands and that's how they do it there. You learn everything with an instructor , no learning licence.

mackerski · 21-07-2015 04:59PM

tertials wrote: »

M11 now updated on Google Maps.

Not terribly well - at least some of the new section is labelled as N11 and most of the obliterated side roads are still cheerfully crisscrossing the alignment.

OldMrBrennan83 · 21-07-2015 05:16PM

This post has been deleted.

21-07-2015 05:37PM

Sam Russell wrote: »

Jaguar tested their E type at 5am in the morning.:D

Before they put speed limits on it!

NicoleW85 · 21-07-2015 05:43PM

L1011 wrote:

Donegal and Kerry have dual carriageways.

Very few in Donegal! Considering the size of the county, I think there's only 1 proper stretch of DC outside Letterkenny... We are THAT deprived of decent roads

21-07-2015 05:43PM

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

I find it hard to believe that anyone isn't aware at this stage that you must "drive on the left unless overtaking".

The outside lane-hogs simply ignore it so they can stay on cruise control without all that pulling in and out; and they have a "moral" view that if they are doing 120kph (or near 120) then nobody should be passing them anyway.

Exceeding the speed limit is accepted as breaking the law but, oddly, driving in the wrong lane isn't in their minds.

Best thing to do is get a dash cam, video the lane hogging being sure the get a good shot of the number plate, upload to youtube and send a link to the gardai trafficwatch.

prunudo · 21-07-2015 05:56PM

Personally I think that the main problem is that the vast majority of drivers switch off the minute they get in a car. They don't even realise they're causing a hold up. Too caught up in all the other distractions of life as they happily sit in second or third lane.

Sam Russell · 21-07-2015 06:41PM

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

THis thing about the driving test is often repeated, but does not make sense. The test shows you can drive, bad driving is then a question of choosing not to which comes down to enforcement and perhaps the rules of the road test.

Everyone should have rules of the road test every time a licence is renewed.

And an eyesight test.

Sam Russell · 21-07-2015 06:46PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Before they put speed limits on it!

That is why they put speed limits on them. Can't have E types doing 150 mph on the motorway - even if they are Jaguars.

Schadenfreudia · 21-07-2015 06:48PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Best thing to do is get a dash cam, video the lane hogging being sure the get a good shot of the number plate, upload to youtube and send a link to the gardai trafficwatch.

Would they care in the slightest?

21-07-2015 07:05PM

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

Would they care in the slightest?

Probably not, but shaming them on youtube may have more of an affect.

Poochie05 · 21-07-2015 10:26PM

I know this is going off topic but my first time using this new stretch last weekend there was an ambulance with flashing lights coming southbound stuck behind a little silver micra in the overtaking lane. All the other traffic had moved back in to the driving lane and there she was just pootling along, completely oblivious to the ambulance stuck to her rear bumper!!

ItHurtsWhenIP · 22-07-2015 08:43AM

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

...
The outside lane-hogs simply ignore it so they can stay on cruise control without all that pulling in and out; ...

Anytime I'm on the motorway driving with Cruise Control on, I would sit in the left hand lane, and change lanes, quite happily, without the need to adjust speed when I come up against slower moving cars. Then when finished move back over to the left hand lane. It's really rather easy. :rolleyes: If traffic is heavy then the cruise comes off.

One bizarre behaviour I saw a few years ago - I was on cruise at 100Kph, behind an Audi in the left-hand lane, near the end of the M50 southbound and the road was very quiet. We got to the 120Kph speed limit and he pulled out to the right-hand lane and stayed there, increasing speed to 120 (as did I). :eek: In fairness he got out of the way of anybody coming to overtake, but would then pull back out to the right-hand when done. I actually think he did more lane changing than I did. :rolleyes::p

Schadenfreudia · 22-07-2015 12:17PM

Not often you get a chance to use CC on the M50!

ItHurtsWhenIP · 22-07-2015 01:05PM

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

Not often you get a chance to use CC on the M50!

I know! I was surprised myself, but it was a quiet weekday evening in August, 2 years ago, about 8:00pm

Schadenfreudia · 22-07-2015 05:05PM

I came back from Arkla' today and tried to follow the R772.

- It is not signposted as an "alternative route" with the yellow background R-road logos.
- It ceases to exist (heading north) at J18 (Beehive)
- openstreetmap has it wrong, the road towards Wicklow Town from the Beehive/J18 is signed R773, not R772.
- there is no "alternative route" unless you go R773; R751; Wicklow Releif Road (an L-road) and R750 before joining the R772 in the middle of Rathnew! (A complete mess :mad:)
- A few hundred metres of parallel road between J18 and J17 could have provided an R772 alternative.
- And, of course, this mess is repeated north of Ashford southbound!

And they had 15 years to plan this!

M11 - Arklow to Rathnew

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