ah english motorways

r3nu4l

Scottie99 wrote: »

I'm afraid they're not, they vary from 50mph upwards depending on circumstance. Example Dundee ring road (A90)D.C is a 50mph some parts Perth to Dundee are 70mph. Then A92 Dundee to Arbroath is 50mph all the way

I'm afraid they are Scottie, I was referring to the General Speed Limit I hope you don't sit on most A roads at 50 mph impeding all the traffic around you!!! Of course, every road will have stretches where the limit is reduced to suit the road.
Read this to reeducate yourself.

So my example of 70mph for the speed limit on A-road dual carriageways stands in much the same way as the general motorway speed limit in Ireland is 120 kph but stretches of some Irish motorways is lower than this.

Scottie99

r3nu4l wrote: »

I'm afraid they are Scottie, I was referring to the General Speed Limit I hope you don't sit on most A roads at 50 mph impeding all the traffic around you!!! Of course, every road will have stretches where the limit is reduced to suit the road.

I think that's what I said 50 upwards.

r3nu4l

Scottie99 wrote: »

I think that's what I said 50 upwards.

yeah, yeah, I think you were just being a pedant Even the DFT don't say '50 upwards'. Nice try though and of course you are very (pedantically) correct!

[On topic again] Speaking of Scottish roads, I've never driven there, how is lane discipline on Motorways? I've only been as far North as Sheffield in England and noticed that lane discipline was slightly poorer but drivers weren't as bullying!

getz

the national speed limit in the UK is 60mph ,motorways 70mph ,built up areas from 20[outside schools ect ]to 30mph normal roads,some roads like the road to holyhead, up to 70mph,

r3nu4l

getz wrote: »

the national speed limit in the UK is 60mph ,motorways 70mph ,built up areas from 20[outside schools ect ]to 30mph normal roads,some roads like the road to holyhead, up to 70mph,

Getz, did you even look at the links? It's quite clear that A-road Dual carriageways general speed limit is 70 mph. The National limit may be 60 but that's different to the speed limit I'm talking about. The national speed limit in Ireland is also different to the general speed limit on Irish motorways but doesn't invalidate it one bit.

I only hammer home this point because it's important that Irish drivers know this. There isn't one speed limit sign on the A11/A14 from the South Cambridgeshire M11 exit until after Bury St Edmunds (about 40 miles in total). I'd hate to see Irish drivers sticking to a '60 mph' limit they picked up incorrectly from boards.ie when the limit on that A-road dual carriageway is 70 mph, all the way past Bury St Edmunds! :eek:

Quint

phutyle wrote: »

I dunno, I find the Continental motorways very similar to Ireland: all the slow traffic trundling along in the right hand lane...

Go to Italy, you won't last 10 seconds in the fast lane. Cars floor it in that lane, but in fairness, if you want to pass a bus or something, it's grand, they'll just brake hard behind you. But god help you if you don't pull in as soon as you pass that bus. Lots of people give out about Italian driving, personally I love it!

Scottie99

r3nu4l wrote: »

yeah, yeah, I think you were just being a pedant Even the DFT don't say '50 upwards'. Nice try though and of course you are very (pedantically) correct!

[On topic again] Speaking of Scottish roads, I've never driven there, how is lane discipline on Motorways? I've only been as far North as Sheffield in England and noticed that lane discipline was slightly poorer but drivers weren't as bullying!

The more North you go the standard of driving improves:D (Well I would say that!)

mcwhirter

Quint wrote: »

Go to Italy, you won't last 10 seconds in the fast lane. Cars floor it in that lane, but in fairness, if you want to pass a bus or something, it's grand, they'll just brake hard behind you. But god help you if you don't pull in as soon as you pass that bus. Lots of people give out about Italian driving, personally I love it!

Yes, I agree, no one dawdles in the outside lane in italy, you will be forced over by plenty of headlight flashing, hand shaking etc:pac:
It is taken very seriously in italy, should be here too.

WexCan

I passed my test in the UK two months ago and I'm now back home in Ireland for a week or two, having had a very pleasurable journey from Surrey to Fishguard. I had motorway lessons from the instructor who taught me to drive and was fully confident and relaxed on the way.

The roads in the UK are generally well maintained, motorways are well signposted and usually three or four lane. Driver education is better, with most people getting at least a few hours with a qualified driving instructor. Average waiting times for tests is about two weeks where I live.

National speed limit is 60mph, but 70mph on dual carriageways, obviously unless signposted otherwise. Most driving lessons involve a lot of dual carriageway driving, and there's quite a few three lane dual carriageways around where I live. So, going on the motorway was pretty much exactly the same, except without the lights/roundabouts/etc...

The only problem I have with UK roads is mini roundabouts. Looks like someone spilled Tippex on the road.

L1011

Noffles wrote: »

In general though Irish roads are laughable, take the N11 for example, the main link to the south and the Rosslare port yet it's split by a single lane section, has to go through poxy Wexford and bottle necks in Bray....

Where as soon as you hit Holyhead you have a fantastic road... all the way to anywhere you want!

You don't hit Holyhead from Rosslare. You get to it mostly from Dublin Port which has a motorway to it.

Rosslare brings you to Fishguard or Pembroke, both of which have standard grade roads to them.

The main link to the south is the M7/M8/M9 combo, and Wexford was bypassed in the 1980s!

JHMEG

MYOB wrote: »

Rosslare brings you to Fishguard or Pembroke,

Pembroke is a moderate sized town and dual carriage way starts only a few miles outside it (I was there last week). Fishguard, yes, standard road for the last 40 miles. Tho it's better quality than many national primaries here, for example the N9.

MYOB wrote:

Wexford was bypassed in the 1980s!

I think he meant the county, not the town. The roads are generally poor in the county with a distinct shortage of bypasses (only 2 in the whole county afaik?)

MYOB wrote:

Dublin Port which has a motorway to it.

A bit disingenuous. The last 5.6km is specifically not intended for cars.

McGrath5

I was driving on the M50 last night, heading northbound at about 9pm. Just past the Red Cow exit there was some idiot in a tractor on the motorway, he was probably only doing 30-40kmh when I drove past him.
I doubt you would seee that type of carry on in other european countries!

bbbbb

Just back from 2 weeks hols in SW England. Agree with the comments, generally motorway quality and driving quality is good.
I was surprised how heavy traffic could be on the M4/M5/M6 at off peak times? (middle of the day, saturday). Some times you would come over a hill and could see the traffic for 2-3 miles ahead of you. Everything was moving along fine at 60-80 mph, but the sheer volume and lack of space was a little scary at times.
Which leads to my second point; I felt alot of the slip lanes were very short. You have to be very careful merging, and if you're in the inside lane you need to watch what's happening in the slip lane as you pass it (or even make sure to move out if you could see alot of cars on it as you approached it).

DubTony

Sorry for bumping, but I just had to have my say. There were a few comments early on here about not being taught to drive properly on motorways and how the system is at fault. I couldn't disagree more.

It's up to each individual road user to keep him/herself fully up to speed with the rules of the road as they develop and change. To use the "Ilearnt to drive 30 years ago" excuse is laughable.

I learnt to drive 26 years ago and have always tried to follow the very simple rule that applies to ALL ROADS in Ireland. Drive on the left, overtake on the right.

Since the N7 and M50 were widened I've been tempted to follow a rule I've just made up. "DO EVERYTHING ON THE LEFT".

The middle lane morons are a disgrace. The 3 lane motorway effectively becomes 2 lanes with an empty lane on the inside thats "for other people". Nobody ever sat me down and told me to stay on the left lane and overtake in the right or middle lane. I didn't need to be told. It's in the rules FFS. Until recently I've had a great respect for truck drivers but seeing so many of them trundling along the middle lane with Lane 1 empty inside them, makes me think that some of these guys ever bothered to learn how the roads should be used.

Solution? A few ads during Coronation St and use the overpasses to stick a sign on instructing idiots what lane they should be in. This would leave the outside lane free for what it was intended for....


BMWs

MaGrOtTeN

silverside wrote: »

I find Irish motorways more pleasant... wider lanes, and less heavy traffic.

Have you not seen the state of our M1 inbound to town near the airport?
You have to drive with the left and right of the car on 2 different levels!
HORRENDUS!


I didn't realise we had real motorways in this country?!!!!

SV

They're horrendous on these bloody motorways.

80-90kph sitting in the right hand lane...Wtf like?
Beeped the horn, flashed the lights..nothing

Undertook them then, got flashed by them.
If you were the person driving the 01 micra on the m9 then I say this: YOU'RE A F*CKING MUPPET

Carawaystick

MaGrOtTeN wrote: »

Have you not seen the state of our M1 inbound to town near the airport?
You have to drive with the left and right of the car on 2 different levels!
HORRENDUS!

I didn't realise we had real motorways in this country?!!!!

What cos there's a km or two of road improvements that means the entire hundred km or so of the M1 is horrendous?