Drivers get extra lane to overtake

this is in use on the roads in Canada, and from my experience it works quite well. However, many drivers over there tend to tail gate very close until they reach the over-taking lane!

KR

further to that article is this one Indo comment
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When 2 plus 1 adds up to slashing death on the road


THE pattern is chillingly familiar to drivers and their passengers. A long tailback of cars builds up on the single lane main Sligo to Dublin road at Longford. There's still a long way to go before the Mullingar or Kilcock dual-carriageways.

Too long to wait for the idiot who pulls out and proceeds to overtake up to a bumper to bumper line of a dozen cars and trucks. Cars travelling towards the driver are forced to swerve into the rarely used hard shoulder. Twisted metal, emergency vehicles and the ubiquitous single shoe lying on the road are the indelible impressions left on most who witness the consequences of such stupidity on these single lane main roads.

This tragic chain of events is replicated up and down the country every day.

An eminent surgeon at one of the country's main accident and emergency departments said recently that these types of roads "should be wiped off the face of the earth and replaced by dual-carriageways".

Motorways and dual-carriageways are far safer as they eliminate head-on crashes and crashes linked to right-hand turning. But they are also very expensive and take years to get built because of our notoriously slow planning system, the whole issue of objections, archaeology (see Carrickmines for details) and the thorny issue of compulsory purchase of farmland.

Now, after a two year, top-level investigation by the National Roads Authority, the local authorities and expert consultants' plan is ready to go.

It is the most radical, yet commonsense way to save lives on the familiar single lane main road between urban centres without having the massive expense of upgrading or replacing them with dual-carriageways or motorways. Put simply you take the two lanes - one in each direction, and the hard shoulder if one exists - and divide it up into three new lanes. Motorists will have two lanes every 2km, the outside lane enabling them to overtake safely. A crash barrier will separate the motorists from traffic travelling the opposite direction on a single lane. This configuration will alternate every 2km and the motorist in the single lane will then have the two-lane facility. Everyone gets a chance to overtake every 2km. Simple but very, very effective.

The move is expected to be wholeheartedly welcomed by anyone anxious to see a reduction in our unacceptably high level of road deaths. If you can't get the high visibility Garda enforcement needed to get people to behave themselves - and that now appears to be the case - the best option is to "engineer" what amounts to self-regulating road safety.

The latest and most innovative plan involves taking 150km of existing, single-lane main road with hard shoulders between the main urban centres and transforming it into three-lane "2 plus 1 roads". The scheme will then be extended to 700km of new road, representing a total of about 30pc of our main roads.

It is a radical and quite brilliant concept tried and tested in Finland, Denmark, Germany and Sweden resulting in dramatic reductions in road deaths and serious injuries.

Experience in Sweden indicates that the presence of the safety barrier slightly increases the number of minor injury accidents but decreases by 40 to 55pc fatal and serious injury accidents.

The view of the top level group was that the 2 plus 1 road type was needed for Ireland because of the poor accident record and design of single carriageway roads which make up the bulk of our main roads and because of the growing traffic volumes on much of the network.

Sweden has led the way in research and development of the 2 plus 1 road type with safety barrier systems and has constructed in excess of 25 such schemes since 1998, both on greenfield and retrofit sites.

The 2 plus 1 roads also operate in Finland, Denmark, Scotland and Germany. At present many national primary roads have climbing lanes with two lanes on the uphill section and one lane on the downhill section. Irish drivers are familiar with their operation, notably the reduction from 2 lanes to 1 lane beyond the crest of a hill.

The main difference between these roads and the new 2 plus 1 road type is the existence of a safety barrier between the opposing traffic streams.

The national primary road network has an overall length of approximately 2,750km and carries 31pc of all road traffic. The National Development Plan (2000-2006) when fully implemented will deliver approximately 1,200 km of the National Primary road network to a high quality dual carriageway /motorway standard.

The remaining 1,500 km of the network will consist of single carriageway roads.

Stark statistics show the need to eliminate the head-on collision risk on the normal, single lane roads. The risk of a crash on these roads is seven times greater than on a motorway and five times that of a dual carriageway.

Head-on collisions account for 20pc of accidents on two-lane roads but account for 37pc of fatal accidents.

Single vehicle accidents account for 24pc of accidents on two-lane roads but 30pc of fatal accidents.

The NRA experts believe that the 2 plus 1 Lane road type with a safety barrier will significantly reduce fatal head-on collisions on single carriageway roads and reduce the severity of all accidents.

In Europe there is a move towards self-regulating roads as it is recognised that the over-reliance on enforcement does not ensure safe driving behaviour. The 2 plus 1 road is a step in this direction. The 2 plus 1 road type will be considered for new main road projects on routes to which the high quality dual carriageway/motorway standard does not apply.

This applies to approximately 700km of new projects, with a potential of retrofitting an additional 150km on existing routes. Therefore this road type potentially applies to 30pc of national primary roads.

The main advantage of 2 plus 1 roads is enhanced safety. The separation of opposing traffic streams prevents cross-over accidents, including head-on collisions. In Sweden, it has been estimated that a 2 plus 1 road type with a safety barrier led to an overall reduction of 50pc in fatal accidents when compared to a single carriageway road. Quite an achievement. No wonder Swedish roads are the safest in Europe.

This was achieved largely by the elimination of head-on collisions and a transfer of accidents from the fatal category to the minor injury category.

The main benefits of the 2 plus 1 are the overall reduction in the incidence of fatal accidents and in the severity of accidents in comparison to the single carriageway road. The provision of overtaking sections every 2km reduces driver frustration and the provision of a central safety barrier eliminates imprudent overtaking.

Provision for right-turning movements will only be at designated junctions. Analyses of the capacity and economics of two-lane roads have indicated that the 2 plus 1 is a slightly more economic solution than the wide, single carriageway. It is proposed to use a safety barrier to separate the traffic streams.

Irish drivers and motorcyclists will be unfamiliar with safety barriers on single carriageway roads and it will take time for them to adapt. There are disadvantages to the plan. Property owners adjacent to the 2 plus 1 roads may be required to drive longer distances to access their property as the safety barrier prevents all right turns from the main road other than at designated junctions.

On the one-lane section of the 2 plus 1 road type, road users driving behind a slow moving vehicle such as tractors must travel until the next two-lane section is reached in order to overtake. The reduction of the hard shoulder to 1.0m will have the effect of actively discouraging the use of the 2 plus 1 road type by cyclists and pedestrians as it will not be as safe for these road users and this will have to be monitored very carefully.

This is the downside of the plan but its architects believe the gains in lives saves far outweigh any negative impacts.

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Cyclopath has some valid comments re: cyclists and to a lesser extent pedestrians (I say lesser because pedestrians are unlikely to walk on these roads anyway) But certainly whilst the construction of these is taking place would it be that difficult to provide an off the road cyclelane kinda thingy, just an extension to the road with a barrier thrown in for good measure.

Originally posted by sceptre
I'm a little concerned at the reduction of the hard shoulder to 1m though from the point of view of breakdowns. And cyclists.

Yep. Although, as uberwolf said, less pedestrians will be walking down here. However some major roads have many pedestrians walking down them, even without paths. The N81 between Brittas and Blessington being the perfect example. I wouldn't fancy walking my dog in a 1m strip with artics roaring by at 50mph+. (Ditto for cycling in heavy winds, or for people training in large groups)

Originally posted by seamus
Yep. Although, as uberwolf said, less pedestrians will be walking down here. However some major roads have many pedestrians walking down them, even without paths. The N81 between Brittas and Blessington being the perfect example. I wouldn't fancy walking my dog in a 1m strip with artics roaring by at 50mph+. (Ditto for cycling in heavy winds, or for people training in large groups)

The N81 is not as wide as most main routes though, there should be enough room on then for three traffic lanes and two decent sized cycle/walking areas. They would need to be raised or something to stop lazy drivers drifting into them though.

No matter how wide the shoulders are walking on main roads is very unpleasant.

Originally posted by Victor
Then those motorists and hauliers should go read the Rules of the Road.

I'm pretty sure they're aware that they shouldn't be there. Enforcement would be the main issue here.

Count the number of cyclist voters ..... now count the number of car driver voters ..... cyclists will be listened to and ignored......

I look forward to when it'll be finished, it'll be horiffic until then but by god its so badly needed on most of the national roads .... I'm thinking of sections of the Cork to Dublin road and sections of the Cork to Kerry road (mind you, this route is supposed to have some major problems sorted in the next 5 years)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2091-1070217,00.html

Accident danger areas to get €1.8m
Richard Oakley

TWELVE of Ireland’s worst stretches of road for car accidents are to be upgraded. The National Roads Authority is to spend €1.8m making changes to 170 miles of “high accident” roadways.

The roads include notorious stretches such as the N52 route from Ardee to Dundalk in Louth; the Foynes-Kildimo road in Limerick; the N69 from Tralee to Six Crosses in Kerry; and the N81 from Baltinglass to Blessington in Wicklow.

Improvements will include changes to junctions and bends as well as the addition of extra lanes and improved signage.

Michael Egan, head of corporate affairs at the NRA, said: “These stretches of road have high numbers of accidents. They require a significant number of improvements, but the changes are costly and funding wasn’t available until now.”

He said the NRA will spend between €80,000 to €405,000 on each stretch.The other roads in the plan, on which between €80,000 and €405,000 apiece will be spent, are the entire route of the N5 which travels through Longford, Roscommon and Mayo; a five-mile stretch in Edgeworthstown, Longford, on the N55, and another from Drumban now to Bellanagh.

A 12-mile route on the N24 from Pallasgreen to Limerick will be upgraded, as well as a seven-mile stretch from Newcastle West to Castlematrix on the N21.

The government has identified road improvement as one of the best ways to reduce accidents.

During the first quarter of this year 96 people were killed on Irish roads, compared with 74 in the same period last year.

A road safety strategy for the next three years, soon to be published, estimates that an extra 550 miles of motorway and dual carriageway would save more than 50 lives a year.

In the next five years the state is to spend €10 billion on motorways and a further €200m on changing some inter-urban routes to three-lane carriageways.