SMARTening motorways

[The Spin Doctor]

I can access my handbook via the touch screen (there is a paper copy in the book pack too).

Cool! You can read it whilst driving

[KungFooBob]

I can access my handbook via the touch screen (there is a paper copy in the book pack too).

Cool! You can read it whilst driving

It reads Wikipedia articles about local points of interest out loud, I'll checked if it reads the manual to you too.

[The Spin Doctor]

It reads Wikipedia articles about local points of interest out loud, I'll checked if it reads the manual to you too.

You'll be telling me it does Fox News next...

[Mr. Dazzle]

Yeah they do News...not Fox though, some random organisation I've never heard of. Also shows you the weather on the Sat Nav map. Goes without saying you can ask the car "what's the weather like at home/my destination/anywhere you choose".

[Horse]

anywhere you choose

Your car

Somewhere random

My car's voice recognition

[Noggin]

All this middle console control stuff is a bit shit if you've got a spazzy arm on that side Depending on the day, I can't reach the hazard button with my right hand and have to lean across and use my left Not exactly ideal I don't remember older cars having having the hazard light button right in the middle of the car? I remember that button as being for the driver to press and so being closer to the driver!!! I guess that, if my memory is not tricking me and the button has moved it's a combination of access for all and not having to change so much when selling vehicles to the uk!!

TBF, this winter has been the first time I can actually change the controls (most days but not all) with my right hand. Motorbikes are much easier for this 'handicapée'!!!

[Mr. Dazzle]

In every car I can remember, including the two I own now, the hazards have been a largish red, physical button somewhere centre-ish on the dash.

Mrs D calls them the Taxi parking lights.

[Scootabout]

I guess that, if my memory is not tricking me and the button has moved it's a combination of access for all and not having to change so much when selling vehicles to the uk!!

I'm pretty sure the 'not having to change for the UK' is a factor with our Skoda. The handbrake is closer to the passenger than the driver, and the bonnet-opener lever is in the left hand footwell. Fortunately it's a good car in important respects.

[Noggin]

In every car I can remember, including the two I own now, the hazards have been a largish red, physical button somewhere centre-ish on the dash.

Mrs D calls them the Taxi parking lights.

I've always thought they were closer to the driver - but then, if I was sat int he right hand seat, maybe they would be!!

[The Spin Doctor]

In every car I can remember, including the two I own now, the hazards have been a largish red, physical button somewhere centre-ish on the dash.

Mrs D calls them the Taxi parking lights.

I seem to remember one where it was a button on top of the steering column, which meant poking a hand through the spokes of the wheel.

[Horse]

In the news today

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68848418

Claims that smart motorways tech leaves drivers at risk

The technology behind England's smart motorway network stops working on a regular basis, the BBC has discovered.

Figures obtained by Panorama have revealed hundreds of incidents when crucial safety equipment was out of action.


I think it's a fairly open secret that some of the tech hasn't been wonderful when working.

One point to note:

The worst problems were in the latest period ... there were 174 power outages - almost one a day.

The longest was at junction 14 on the M4, where there were no signals or sensors for 11 days.

J14 - if that's correct - isn't a 'smart' motorway. Normal 'D3+HS'. The only tech will be vehicle detection loops and, possibly, Variable Message Signs (I can't remember what's there).

Edit: VMS

20240422_090854.jpg (111.08 KiB) Viewed 671 times

[Dodgy69]

I would imagine breaking down on a motorway "with" a hard shoulder to be quite scary, I'd be out of the car and behind the barrier pretty sharpish. With no hard shoulder, bloody frightening. Then in the dark, I dread to think.

So many shit drivers around these days, in touch screen cars, paying no care and attention to the road ahead.

[Supermofo]

Smart motorways just aren't really. They don't work.

Pretty much every time I'm going west on the M25 they'll be an assortment of variable speeds but they'll go something like
60
50
Blank screen - so some people go back to NSL others stay at 50
40
50
40
60

For those bottom 4 for example why not just have them all at 40 or 50. The constant changing means means you have to keep checking your speed meaning more time looking at speedo's/pressing cruise buttons than looking at what's going on. That's before dealing with drivers (vans more often than not) doing the speed limit under the gantry then back to as fast as possible chopping lanes left and right to get ahead.

And that's before the nonsense of having 40 mph speed limits when you are actually only doing 5 cos it's stop start traffic and you couldn't do 40 if you wanted.

As for lane closures, on the odd time I've come across one that seems to mean 70% of people try and get out of the closed lane when told. The other 30% actively get in that lane to get as far ahead as possible and cut in at the last second. A good portion of people only get out of the closed lane when they get to the blockage having driven through multiple lane closed signs.

The only difference I notice on Smart Vs non smart M'Ways is that on the Smart ones 95% of people are doing 70mph max cos of the threat of camera's.