New "how to drive on motorways" ad

murphaph

Does anyone know if this ad (or the others in the series) is available online?

grahamo

murphaph wrote:

Does anyone know if this ad (or the others in the series) is available online?

About time people were educated on this. There are actually drivers out there who think the left hand lane is for 'Trucks and slow cars'!

corktina

not just on motorways either...the flyover on the South Ring in Cork at the Airport roundabout has an almost unused inside lane....even saw a tractor using the middle lane on the flyover the other day.....still at least he got in the way of all the bimbos doing 60 k/mh in that lane....:)

embraer170

The Cork South Ring is where I time and time again see the worst driving, The number of drivers who decide they want to 'police' the road and sit on the outside lane at 55mph (sometimes a lot less) and refuse to move in no matter how many times you flash your lights at them.

Chris_533976

Half the reason for that is you're probobly pissing them right off by flashing at them

corktina

Undertake......the only answer and legal I believe (amazingly) according to the rules of the road......

Del2005

corktina wrote:

Undertake......the only answer and legal I believe (amazingly) according to the rules of the road......

No it isn't. We had the Gardai in work a while back and asked then this. Their answer was to sit back and flash and if that didn't work flash some more. But they said never over take on the left. Doesn't stop me though:D

I find sticking on the right indicator sometimes works if I'm not in too much of a hurry to get past.

Back on topic, are they showing how to do roundabouts also? Don't really watch adds on TV anymore.

_Kaiser_

grahamo wrote:

About time people were educated on this. There are actually drivers out there who think the left hand lane is for 'Trucks and slow cars'!

Well who can blame them.. parts of the N7 for example become a 2+1 road where the left lane is marked as the "slow" lane. :rolleyes:

corktina

i beleive the rules of the road say you may pass on the left if traffic in the right hand lane is travelling slower than the left lane.....i dont condone it but i think thtas what it says....

and yes the left hand lane is for slow vehicles....and slow can mean slower than other traffic....you should ALWAYS use the left hand -most lane available.

Chris_533976

Thats only in a situation where traffic is at a crawl, eg a traffic jam.

If you're behind someone in the right hand lane going 50 and you want to go 70, do NOT undertake him. Its illegal and dangerous and stupid.

mobpd

Chris_533976 wrote:

Thats only in a situation where traffic is at a crawl, eg a traffic jam.

If you're behind someone in the right hand lane going 50 and you want to go 70, do NOT undertake him. Its illegal and dangerous and stupid.

You are correct. Last year I contacted the Road Safety Authority about this poor (non-existant) lane discipline on the new 3 carriageway N7 and they also at first said it was fine to undertake on left until I reminded them that this only applied in situations of queuing traffic (doh!) - the Rules of the Road do not permit you to trundle at less than the national speed limit in the middle or outer lane when not overtaking.

I am glad that an eduation campaign is underway but it should not be labelled as just for motorways because people who just drive the new national 3 lane roads will think it doesnt apply.

Also I suggested to NRA and they are considering using the mobile traffic signs to display a message such as "drive on Left unless overtaking" - and they are supposed to be changing the overhead gantry signs on N7 which give confusing advice at the junctions.

Zoney

mobpd wrote:

they are considering using the mobile traffic signs to display a message such as "drive on Left unless overtaking"

While this will probably help, it's terribly depressing that we need road signs to fix such a basic problem.

What next? Signs reminding you to brake if there's an obstacle ahead? Reminders that you really should think about having two working headlights?

Bards

Zoney wrote:

What next? Signs reminding you to brake if there's an obstacle ahead? Reminders that you really should think about having two working headlights?

We have a sign in Waterford asking drivers to Indicate.. it is located in the Newtown area on the Dumore Road

mackerski

Zoney wrote:

While this will probably help, it's terribly depressing that we need road signs to fix such a basic problem.

In the case of the gantry signs on the N7 (and M50 and N2 and probably others) is that they instruct drivers to drive in the incorrect lane.

icdg

As I say every time the topic of the dodgey gantries comes up, changing them would be welcomed. Unfortunately an Irish Times article on Wednesday implied they would be spreading...

Zoney

Bards wrote:

We have a sign in Waterford asking drivers to Indicate.. it is located in the Newtown area on the Dumore Road

Again, sadly, I know of at least one location where I would like to see this: the R445 Dublin Road in Limerick eastbound approaching the Groody Roundabout - the lane layout seems to encourage people to just slip off to the left without indicating (onto the Plassey Park Road to UL). If you're crossing that exit as a pedestrian it is very difficult to figure out what traffic intends to do (straight on R445 or turning off) - and so people either spend an age being cautious or else risk life and limb crossing quickly. Cycle lanes on the PPR end too on the other side of the exit, so it's messy with cyclists dragging bikes across (cycling around the roundabout is also a case of risking life and limb!)

mobpd

icdg wrote:

As I say every time the topic of the dodgey gantries comes up, changing them would be welcomed. Unfortunately an Irish Times article on Wednesday implied they would be spreading...

This is what the NRA have told me about the gantry signs being changed:

The Authority plans to make amendments to the sign faces later this year to improve their clarity in the light of recent experience / comment from the motoring public on the M50 South Eastern Motorway and the N7. The single panel per lane layout will be replaced with an overall panel over the entire road width and will show Dublin as straight ahead on all three lanes.

I wish to advise that new sign faces are currently being designed and contract tenders are currently being evaluated. There is no definite date yet for installation but the Authority expectsd that it will be before the summer.

murphaph

So the National Roads Authority needs the general public to tell them they made a balls up. Great. They have the TSM, why not just do what's in that? Doesn't sound very authoritative to me I'm afraid. Glad to hear they'll be gone though.

DubTony

I saw the overtaking on motorways ad tonight. I assume this is the one mentioned here. The ad is quite unrealistic of driving in this country today. I think I'm right in saying that there are 2 cars on the road i.e. the overtaker and the other one.

Much of the problem with people hogging the outside lane (and I'm not saying for a minute that there isn't often pig-headedness going on), is that the guy travelling at 100k sees a car 200m ahead of him, which he has determined is moving slower, and so stays in the outside lane to overtake it. Obviousy we're not talking M50 during peak, but when, after several minutes, the "overtaking manoeuvre" takes place and the overtaker then moves into the left lane, it's quite obvious that many people have no idea of how to judge distances and speed. It's going to take a lot more than tv ads to sort out this particular problem. Of course we could just make it the law for everyone to have at least 15 hours of lessons by a "qualified" instructor before they're allowed take a test.
Enforcement of the law is probably the simplest way to ensure people pull in. It won't take long before everyone and his mother will know somebody who "got done cos I was in the fast lane".

As for signs. Simple signs fixed to every overpass with the words "driving lane" and "overtaking lane only" would go some way to sorting out the problem, especially now that the NRA has seen the glaring errors in the new motorway signs.

Victor

Who produced the ad? NRA? RSA?

DublinDilbert

Chris_533976 wrote:

Thats only in a situation where traffic is at a crawl, eg a traffic jam.

If you're behind someone in the right hand lane going 50 and you want to go 70, do NOT undertake him. Its illegal and dangerous and stupid.

Chris,

What makes it dangerious and stupid? In the likes of canada it is fine to "under-take". If someone is going to do a lane change they should ALWAYS check their blind spots, no mater which lane they are moving into.... For example someone driving in the middle lane of a 3 lane motor way wants to move into the "slow" lane, they shouldn't assume it's free, just cause no-one will be undertaking them....

The rules of the road in ireland will have to be updated to keep up with the new roads that are being built, soon there will be 4 lanes each way on the M50, on certin streaches anyway... now your telling me anyone who is in the slow lane and wants to over take should do 3 lane changes to get to the "fast" lane and after they've gone by some cars do 3 more lane changes to get back again??

What happens when we have roads with more than 4 lanes?? They trew out the no undertaking rule in alot of countries cause it just doesn't make sense as the roads get more and more lanes...

mackerski

DublinDilbert wrote:

What makes it dangerious and stupid? [to overtake on the left]

Convention. Most countries in the world have discovered that it's not dangerous to drive on the right either, but I wouldn't try it around here. A part of road safety involves being able to predict what other cars will do, and national convention, driven out of the laws we have, is that you have the right to expect that nobody will overtake on your left.

Seth Brundle

Victor wrote:

Who produced the ad? NRA? RSA?

The RSA and someone else IIRC. Can't see anything about the ad campaign on rsa.ie.

DublinDilbert wrote:

The rules of the road in ireland will have to be updated to keep up with the new roads that are being built, soon there will be 4 lanes each way on the M50, on certin streaches anyway... now your telling me anyone who is in the slow lane and wants to over take should do 3 lane changes to get to the "fast" lane and after they've gone by some cars do 3 more lane changes to get back again??

Firstly there is no such thing as the slow lane. Using that terminology convinces people tat they should use the other lanes to drive fast.
As we are meant to drive on the left then using this principle on a 2, 3, 4, 5, 100 lane carriageway is not difficult. You keep left. If traffic in that lane is going slower than you intend to then you use the next lane to overtake it. If traffic in the second lane is still going slower you move right to overtake it, etc. When you are able to move back to the left you do so.

corktina

so a tractor in the second lane is Ok then?
or an ESB truck (they seem to be bad for this ) doing 50km/h?

nbo of course it isnt but did anyone ever get pulled by the traffic corps for it? i doubt it.

mackerski

corktina wrote:

so a tractor in the second lane is Ok then?
or an ESB truck (they seem to be bad for this ) doing 50km/h?

nbo of course it isnt but did anyone ever get pulled by the traffic corps for it? i doubt it.

On a 2-lane motorway, it's a penalty point offence for any vehicle restricted to 80km/h or less to use any lane other than the left one.