I hate the M50 [Warning post #222]

First Up

VisibleGorilla wrote: »

I know, I never said that.

Whoever is at a fault should face the penalties.

If I'm driving along normally and you crash into me, on a straight road such as the M50 you should be banned for a period of time as you cannot drive safely and are a danger to yourself and others.

So in this case, either the truck driver or the driver of the smaller car is at fault here, one of them should be punished for their clear dangerous driving.

You said "whovever has a crash". If you meant " whoever causes a crash" you should have said so.
Going too fast and leaving inadequate braking distance will increase the number of vehicles involved but most crashes originate from drivers doing something other than going in a straight line.

mickoneill31

ThisRegard wrote: »

At this stage of your life, if the concept has already escaped you, there's no point wasting my time or yours.

So that'd be a no then. Thanks for that.
If you can't explain then it's OK to say no rather than smart arse replies.

NickDunne

Coast road, Alfie Byrne Road and East wall are a fiasco. Left baldoyle at 8:30 this morning and still on east wall Road.

Larbre34

Whats the one thing the driving test doesnt cover? Yes, driving on motorways. Unless that changes there is no argument, its a lottery of ignorant and inexperienced drivers.

Todays incident breaks records and thats saying something, all northside journey times, add 3 hours. Bad times for those low on fuel/ needing a poo/ hungry baby on board.

No excuse for a 6 hour closure for forensics in my view, its just unacceptable to the normal business of the City, take a few photos then **** off sharpish.

Conor Bourke

Is the northbound side open? Need to head home to Sligo, would be joining m50 from junction 11

Superhorse

Good god I hope the posts on boards aren't representative of the people who drive in this country. "Anyone who crashes on the motorway should be banned from driving as it's their own fault"??

Maybe take a stroll up to the national rehab centre and speak to a particular guy who is being taught to walk again. The wheel came off his car back in 2013 on the M50 causing it to crash that resulted in him sustaining very serious injuries and tell him it was his own fault.

magicbastarder

beauf wrote: »

If your eyes can see, it can be recorded by camera. It won't be definitive on a lot of stuff no. But will catch a lot of stuff.

it can be *recorded* by camera; but what is currently *analysed* by camera, so to speak? speeding and RLJing. which are based on simple triggers. what is being discussed above is a lot more complicated than an 'is this car exceeding 60km/h'.

Wanderer78

Loop Zoop wrote: »

Is the northbound side open? Need to head home to Sligo, would be joining m50 from junction 11

sounds like a helicopter is your best bet!

on a more serious note, i wish all involved in this crash the best

Larbre34

Loop Zoop wrote: »

Is the northbound side open? Need to head home to Sligo, would be joining m50 from junction 11

Yes, fully open, however due to insufferable gobshytes who like gawking at Gardai in yellow jackets at the accident site on the southbound, there are heavy delays, expect 30-45 mins on top of normal journey.

nullzero

Superhorse wrote: »

Good god I hope the posts on boards aren't representative of the people who drive in this country. "Anyone who crashes on the motorway should be banned from driving as it's their own fault"??

Maybe take a stroll up to the national rehab centre and speak to a particular guy who is being taught to walk again. The wheel came off his car back in 2013 on the M50 causing it to crash that resulted in him sustaining very serious injuries and tell him it was his own fault.

Felt like replying to one or two of them but people that ignorant can't be reasoned with.
There are kinds of mitigating factors in road traffic accidents wherever they occur, the "straight" motorways which are typically not straight, involve multiple bends and inclines etc are even more dangerous in this country as we do not train people to use them properly.

RustyNut

Loop Zoop wrote: »

Is the northbound side open? Need to head home to Sligo, would be joining m50 from junction 11

If I was doing that I would head out the n81-n82-n7 then cut across from kill through straffan towards maynooth then M4. If you take the m50 you are heading into the middle of it.

magicbastarder

Larbre34 wrote: »

Yes, fully open, however due to insufferable gobshytes who like gawking at Gardai in yellow jackets at the accident site on the southbound, there are heavy delays, expect 30-45 mins on top of normal journey.

so if i'm forced to slow to a crawl because of a traffic jam, and there are gardai attending a scene, so i look out the window at it, am i going slowly because i can't physically go any faster, or because i'm rubbernecking?

listermint

There is quite a simple huge impact things that can be done

1) Start a project to install Visibility barriers down the centre of the road. This is needed immediately

2) setup a highly visible and highly active Motorbike Gardai to catch phone drivers on the M50 for a designated period to get the message across (excuse the pun) that smartphones should be kept out of reach.

Qualitymark

Point of information, please )I haven't driven for a couple of years, and now cycle or take buses or trains):

• How much of the chaos on the M50 is caused by bad signage? When I used to drive it, the signs didn't tell you, for instance, when a turn-off would lead you to the Red Cow, Inchicore, etc.
  
• Are the signs in advance of the turns, or are they too near the turns?
  
• Is there a user-friendly website with a map where road users can mark the time, date and place of a traffic jam, so road planners can see where the hitches are happening and plan how to change the road?
  
• Do a lot of drivers exit the M50 before toll bridges and rejoin after them? A friend who cycled the Esker Riada across Ireland a couple of years ago told me that it was quiet and safe except for one stretch where many cars and trucks sped along twisty country roads so they didn't have to pay a toll on - oh, maybe the M6 or M4, not sure what the motorway was, but they skipped off it before the toll 'plaza' and back on after it.
  
• Would more drivers using satnavs help? I found my driving immensely improved when using a TomTom, because it told me in time when I'd need to turn.

Very good point by a poster a few pages back (sorry, didn't note who it was) that staggering the price of using the road so that the toll was cheaper at off-peak times would change road usage. Companies would be more inclined to stagger their workers' hours if the workers/company saved hundreds of euro every year from using the M50 at cheaper times.

I personally would make it illegal not only to use a mobile phone while driving, but even to have a phone switched on while in a car. But then I'm speaking as a cyclist; it's chilling to see how many professional drivers are chatting away on a phone, half their attention away from the road, while turning their vehicles and entering and exiting roads, changing lanes, etc. I'm a fragile little creature here on my two slender wheels, lads! Take care of me!

I hold the lady injured today on the M50 in the light. http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/traffic-chaos-in-dublin-as-m50-closed-until-lunch-and-woman-critical-in-hospital-following-collision-with-truck-34189578.html

bucketybuck

Superhorse wrote: »

Maybe take a stroll up to the national rehab centre and speak to a particular guy who is being taught to walk again. The wheel came off his car back in 2013 on the M50 causing it to crash that resulted in him sustaining very serious injuries and tell him it was his own fault.

Who's fault was it then? Wheels don't just fall off for no reason.

Seth Brundle

This morning in summary for many people...
8am - stuck in traffic on the way to work
9am - stuck in traffic on the way to work
10am - stuck in traffic on the way to work
11am - finally arrive at work.
11:30am: I wish I didn't have to work today


(thankfully I'm off work at the moment)

JustTheOne

Rte should do a programme on the m50 and the rules the same night of a census. Everyone in the country has to be in their home and can watch it!

bucketybuck

Larbre34 wrote: »

Whats the one thing the driving test doesnt cover? Yes, driving on motorways. Unless that changes there is no argument, its a lottery of ignorant and inexperienced drivers.

I think people are far too quick to focus on the driving test. Anybody who isn't an idiot doesn't need a driving test to tell them that it is unsafe to drive while playing with a mobile, or that it is unsafe to tailgate people before cutting across 3 lanes of traffic.

Its all just common sense, that many people don't have it or that many people are selfish ignorant ***** isn't down to what is on the driving test.

ThisRegard

Qualitymark wrote: »

Point of information, please )I haven't driven for a couple of years, and now cycle or take buses or trains):

• How much of the chaos on the M50 is caused by bad signage? When I used to drive it, the signs didn't tell you, for instance, when a turn-off would lead you to the Red Cow, Inchicore, etc.
  
• Are the signs in advance of the turns, or are they too near the turns?

On this point, yes, there's marked in advance. However what you see every day is people sitting on the outside lane and wait until the last minute to cut across all lanes and into the slip for their exit. Without fail you'll see it at every exit.

And I don't for one minute believe that all these people are unfamiliar with the M50 and only realise at the last minute that this is their exit.

OldMrBrennan83

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Redsoxfan

Not speculating on how this happened, but I can see how that merge would present issues for a lot of drivers/cars.

You are coming off a slow loop where the limit is 30 km and then need to join the motorway where the limit is 100 km while descending a steep enough ramp. The ramp doesn't really level out before it joins the motorway itself.

At that time in the morning, I would imagine that traffic would be relatively light and free flowing and so any traffic on the main carriageway could well be at 100 km or even 90 km for a truck. Without a good deal of effort, that merge is hard to make and if you need to speed up to make a gap in traffic, there's always the danger that the vehicle behind is moving faster than the vehicle in front which makes it worse again.

Safest option is generally to use the longer merge lane. A lot of drivers don't seem to realise this and essentially crawl onto the motorway, even when traffic is fast moving. When there is gridlock or slow moving traffic, it's less of an issue.

RainyDay

listermint wrote: »

The problem is phones and the idiots using them I see it everyday. Every single day

Indeed. I really hope these posts are from passengers, not drivers.

Bulmers wrote: »

Another day,another crash,another closure..seriously what's going on with this road?

Hit blanch on ramp at 6.35,not even paid my 2.10 yet.

Closed at lucan

NickDunne wrote: »

Coast road, Alfie Byrne Road and East wall are a fiasco. Left baldoyle at 8:30 this morning and still on east wall Road.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

GreatDefector

JustTheOne wrote: »

Rte should do a programme on the m50 and the rules the same night of a census. Everyone in the country has to be in their home and can watch it!

Or... I don't know.... Just teach it in school?!?

listermint

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

The one this morning was an extraordinary example, of what appears to be a merge gone very very wrong.

Most accidents on the M50 are tail bumps, these are a daily occurence.

You clearly do not drive the M50 regularly or look out your window on a daily basis if you think smartphones are not the number 1 problem.

Either that or you are a regular smartphone user and dont really care and believe you can use your phone and drive. Skills to pay the bills so to speak.



Im interested what you think is the number one cause of tail bumps on the M50 outside of distracted driving.

duffman3833

what i find baffling is some people merging onto a busy motorway drive slower that the speed the traffic is moving on the motorway and then people have to slow down to allow this person to merge causing each car behind to have to brake too

Qualitymark

I will certainly not speculate on this morning's accident.

It's true that Irish drivers, and drivers in Ireland, have become stressed and unable to wait. A few years ago in Paris a campaign with billboards saying

WHAT WILL YOU DO WHEN YOU GET THERE?

cut down the number of accidents drastically. It would be good for drivers to remember that they're sitting in a comfy armchair listening to their favourite music (or shouting at Joe on the radio). Relax, lads! Enjoy the journey!

VisibleGorilla

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Not speculating on how this happened, but I can see how that merge would present issues for a lot of drivers/cars.

You are coming off a slow loop where the limit is 30 km and then need to join the motorway where the limit is 100 km while descending a steep enough ramp. The ramp doesn't really level out before it joins the motorway itself.

At that time in the morning, I would imagine that traffic would be relatively light and free flowing and so any traffic on the main carriageway could well be at 100 km or even 90 km for a truck. Without a good deal of effort, that merge is hard to make and if you need to speed up to make a gap in traffic, there's always the danger that the vehicle behind is moving faster than the vehicle in front which makes it worse again.

Safest option is generally to use the longer merge lane. A lot of drivers don't seem to realise this and essentially crawl onto the motorway, even when traffic is fast moving. When there is gridlock or slow moving traffic, it's less of an issue.

This ramp is a bit dodgy but a merge can be done successfully and safely if the driver actually drives correctly.

ACCELERATION, simple as that. There is a enough room to get from 30/40 to 100 on that ramp. Merging at a speed slower than the traffic is a dangerous maneuver. There should be acceleration signs placed at on ramps.

jd

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Safest option is generally to use the longer merge lane. A lot of drivers don't seem to realise this and essentially crawl onto the motorway, even when traffic is fast moving. When there is gridlock or slow moving traffic, it's less of an issue.

Yup, I always use the long merge lane where possible.

I seem to end up ahead of the drivers who cross 1 or two hatchings/solid lines to get on the main line asap!

https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.4086512,-6.2714147,3a,75y,254.74h,71.09t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVB7SIWw1m7EldPhnL6gyUA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.