I hate the M50 [Warning post #222]

magicbastarder

RosieJoe wrote: »

Easiest way determine the gap required is the 2 second rule. If it's wet you can say it twice. This caters for speed too so that the gap increases with speed. And the concept of Tyres on Tarmac is also lost to the majority of drivers.

i've seen on motorways in the UK where they've painted chevrons in the road at say 60m intervals; the idea being is that if there's less than the distance between the chevrons between you and the car in front at say 80km/h, you're too close.

ceannair06

B R A K E

B R A K E S

B R A K I N G

Not hard is it ????

tigerboon

Kevin Irving wrote: »

I use this on-ramp very frequently. My car is well able to accelerate up to merging speed as needed, but I still take the left hand lane every single time because it's safer to do so.

I think that those short merge lanes on the right (N3 & N4 SB & N7 NB) should be removed and only one lane should be merging. The traffic comes down the slip road in single file and will have about 5-6 km of an auxilliary lane between the N4 & N7 where they can merge at the same pace as the traffic on the LHS lane.

RustyNut

zefer wrote: »

THIS 1000000%

I've been saying this for years. There is a section just near the bridge where the wall is much higher than the road, why isn't it like this the entire length of the M50...

And this would be a huge benefit to truck drivers working over night. You have no idea the amount of drivers who won't dip their lights when approaching an oncoming truck because they cant see the trucks lights but don't seem to get that the truck driver is much higher than them and in the full glare of their lights.

deandean

Yea I hate the M50 too.

Last week, 1st day I entered the M50(S) at 07:45 and it was stopped, just sheer volume of traffic.

Next day I intered the M50(S) at 07:00, same story.

Anyone know what time do I have to hit the M50(S) in the morning to get a clear run?

tnegun

Depending on the day it gets a little later on Thursday and Friday but to be guaranteed a clear run before 6.30!

tnegun

tigerboon wrote: »

I think that those short merge lanes on the right (N3 & N4 SB & N7 NB) should be removed and only one lane should be merging. The traffic comes down the slip road in single file and will have about 5-6 km of an auxilliary lane between the N4 & N7 where they can merge at the same pace as the traffic on the LHS lane.

The short slips should be made to merge into the longer slip that becomes the aux lane with physical barriers to prevent people cutting the hatching to join the main motorway. Also something drastic has to happen with Ballymount/Redcow both North and Southbound its a major cluster fcuk since Newlands X was finished

duffman3833

magicbastarder wrote: »

i've seen on motorways in the UK where they've painted chevrons in the road at say 60m intervals; the idea being is that if there's less than the distance between the chevrons between you and the car in front at say 80km/h, you're too close.

Its a good idea, but they did come up with a saying you should use when driving behind a vehicle. Pick a point up ahead, like a sign post or bridge. Once the car goes past that sign post you say 'Im a fool to break the 2 second rule'.
If you complete saying that before the object you will be fine

Irish Steve

There are 2 merges that are lethal, Red Cow and Liffey valley coming from the east of the M50 to go North. The descending loops are very tight, and the distance to the merge is way too short for getting up to any sort of sensible speed unless you're driving a car that costs a nightmare in road tax, and the merge distance is ridiculously short. There's no alternative, the auxilliary lane isn't there, so there are times when the only option is to use the hard shoulder to build up speed while merging, which is not the best thing to be doing, but there's not many other options that are safe.

The changes that are outlined to the merge lanes on the major junctions need another update, a blocker to prevent "early" jumpers from moving out into the first lane until after the end of the slip.

As I've suggested a number of times, some blockers to prevent lane 2 and 3 from exiting "late" would also not be a bad thing, along the style used successfully in large cities in the States.

Victor

I've deleted about a dozen posts for trolling and trash-talking.

Expect harsher action if it happens again.

Moderator

bucketybuck

ciartastix wrote: »

Two weeks ago today at exactly the same time of the morning I crashed on the M50 coming off the slip road at the exact same junction as this woman except I was heading northbound. I simply lost control of the car and once that happens you are nothing but a passenger in your vehicle. Luckily the car veered towards the barrier off the slip road rather than into oncoming traffic and I escaped with just some bruising. The firemen, gardai and paramedics that came out to me all commented on how lucky I was not to seriously injure myself or someone else. Reading about this mornings accident makes me realise that all the more!!

With all due respect, I would fully support you being prosecuted for causing a crash on the M50 and impacting thousands of other people.

Simply lost control? Not good enough.

FortySeven

bucketybuck wrote: »

With all due respect, I would fully support you being prosecuted for causing a crash on the M50 and impacting thousands of other people.

Simply lost control? Not good enough.

I wonder how many use that junction every day without 'simply losing control'. It's not luck is it?

Superhorse

ciartastix wrote: »

Two weeks ago today at exactly the same time of the morning I crashed on the M50 coming off the slip road at the exact same junction as this woman except I was heading northbound. I simply lost control of the car and once that happens you are nothing but a passenger in your vehicle. Luckily the car veered towards the barrier off the slip road rather than into oncoming traffic and I escaped with just some bruising. The firemen, gardai and paramedics that came out to me all commented on how lucky I was not to seriously injure myself or someone else. Reading about this mornings accident makes me realise that all the more!!

Glad to hear you came out of it okay.

Gentleman Off The Pitch

Adoolan85 wrote: »

So its you that I'm stuck behind every morning with 2 football pitches worth of space in the lane ahead of you.

I demand you contribute to my high blood pressure medication !!!!!!!!

These threads always show up people who are of the opinion that they aren't the problem, who complain about other's driving while at the same time inadvertently displaying lack of knowledge or rules of the road, traffic flow etc.

Google "phantom traffic jam" and why if everyone left more room between their car in front there would be less tailbacks

RustyNut

bucketybuck wrote: »

With all due respect, I would fully support you being prosecuted for causing a crash on the M50 and impacting thousands of other people.

Simply lost control? Not good enough.

So shut the motorway down just to gather evidence to support a prosecution in a meer property damage accident?

Kimura

Adoolan85 wrote: »

So its you that I'm stuck behind every morning with 2 football pitches worth of space in the lane ahead of you.

I demand you contribute to my high blood pressure medication !!!!!!!!

and your the pr**k who causes the accidents, let me guess never been in an accident only seen them in your rear view mirrow

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

ectoraige

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!

Offtopic, but that's just wrong. Every household is to fill in who is there that night, but there's no rule saying where you can and cannot be. Unlike the rules about which lane you can and cannot dawdle along in. I've moved from Dublin for a good few years now, but anytime I have to drive on the M50 I am reminded how little I miss it. Most accidents have multiple contributing factors, the middle lane hoggers must be a common one.

bucketybuck

RustyNut wrote: »

So shut the motorway down just to gather evidence to support a prosecution in a meer property damage accident?

Did you mean to post in a different thread? Your question is a non-sequitur, I can only assume you meant to reply to somebody else.

RustyNut

bucketybuck wrote: »

With all due respect, I would fully support you being prosecuted for causing a crash on the M50 and impacting thousands of other people.

Simply lost control? Not good enough.

RustyNut wrote: »

So shut the motorway down just to gather evidence to support a prosecution in a meer property damage accident?

bucketybuck wrote: »

Did you mean to post in a different thread? Your question is a non-sequitur, I can only assume you meant to reply to somebody else.

What evidence do you recon the guards should use to prosecute the driver in question?

Qualitymark

deandean wrote: »

Yea I hate the M50 too.

Last week, 1st day I entered the M50(S) at 07:45 and it was stopped, just sheer volume of traffic.

Next day I intered the M50(S) at 07:00, same story.

Anyone know what time do I have to hit the M50(S) in the morning to get a clear run?

This is why I'm suggesting that a map with times and dates (and of course this would include day of the week) and places when traffic jams occur on the M50 and other motorways would be useful. If it became clear (to pick an example out of the air) that the Mad Cow entrance or exit was blocked for 15 minutes every weekday at 4.45pm, it would obviously be good information for drivers, who could time their journeys to avoid that time.

I used to get a lift from a neighbour on the Strawberry Beds many years ago. He was leaving at a very specific time to get up the canal and through town during a 15-minute lull between two waves of traffic - he'd worked it out by driving the route at slightly varying times for a few weeks. 15 minutes earlier and he'd be blocked all the way to Howth, 15 minutes later and ditto. He nearly killed me one time when I kept him late for his window; the shame still burns!

frostyjacks

I can't understand why an entire city gets gridlocked over a two vehicle collision. It's crazy. If some Islamist wanted to bring Dublin to it's knees, all he has to is push a wheelie bin out onto the M50 and we'd be crippled.

Superhorse

frostyjacks wrote: »

I can't understand why an entire city gets gridlocked over a two vehicle collision. It's crazy. If some Islamist wanted to bring Dublin to it's knees, all he has to is push a wheelie bin out onto the M50 and we'd be crippled.

Thing is it wasn't just a two vehicle collision, somebody was seriously hurt and that needs to be investigated. I'd fell pretty pissed if I myself or anyone in my family was seriously hurt in a crash on the M50 and the cars where just pushed up on a recovery truck without proper collision investigations taking place.

errlloyd

Kevin Irving wrote: »

I use this on-ramp very frequently. My car is well able to accelerate up to merging speed as needed, but I still take the left hand lane every single time because it's safer to do so.

The outside lane there, no matter what car you're driving is dangerous because it doesn't give the the car already on the motorway enough time to move right, which is necessary when a stream of cars come from the on ramp.

It's an inherenlty dangerous design.

Yet, every single time I merge on, there's some dope in a car with half the BHP of mine(which isn't fast by any means) who was behind me on the 270° loop, who has now moved right in a desperate attempt to get ahead of me onto the motorway. I see it every single time and have a little bet with myself whether or not they'll go right. To be clear, I'm not saying that that this was the cause of today's accident.

I did notice on the pics that the Independent posted that it was a new-ish Volvo FH truck involved. I believe that these come with radar controller automatic braking as standard, and there certainly seems to be a cover for the radar mounted on the front of the truck. Hopefully this lessened the severity of the accident.

This is exactly right, and thanks for putting it in words better than I did. I am often driving a very fast car, and I still hate merging in the right lane. But the worst (the absolute worst) is how often even in heavy traffic you see some asshole change his mind at the last minute and jump from the left lane into the right to make the merge before the hatching.

If there is a car on your left going around the 270, and a few cars in the inside lane on the motorway going nowhere fast, you begin to have a real problem, and not a lot of time to do anything about it. That is how cars end up merging too slowly at J7.

bucketybuck

Superhorse wrote: »

Thing is it wasn't just a two vehicle collision, somebody was seriously hurt and that needs to be investigated. I'd fell pretty pissed if I myself or anyone in my family was seriously hurt in a crash on the M50 and the cars where just pushed up on a recovery truck without proper collision investigations taking place.

There is a middle ground somewhere between shoving all vehicles to the side and shutting a major city artery down for 6 hours.

RustyNut

bucketybuck wrote: »

There is a middle ground somewhere between shoving all vehicles to the side and shutting a major city artery down for 6 hours.

How else can evidence to support a prosecution of the guilty parties (if any) be gathered if the road is not closed and a forensic examination carried out.

Superhorse

bucketybuck wrote: »

There is a middle ground somewhere between shoving all vehicles to the side and shutting a major city artery down for 6 hours.

Not for the investigators. Job is done properly or not at all. It's up to the traffic cops and the RSA to figure out a solution but tbh I don't see one. With the economy picking up and winter bad weather coming I expect to see much more shutdowns in the near future.

celticbest

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=97691993&postcount=200

Works are currently underway jd.


It will be interesting to see how the slip realignment works out at Junction 6 (N3) & Junction 3 (M1). IMHO I think the new alignment is how the Junctions should have been laid out in the 1st place.

Junction 3 SB from the M1 to M50 was realigned a few years ago & flows much better now, it was also realigned NB from the M50 to M1 last year and again traffic flow is much better.

The question has to be asked who planned the Junction layouts in the 1st place….





I still think bollards similar to below are required to stop people merging over Hatch markings.

VisibleGorilla

That layout will not work at M1/M50, traffic will get slowed down/stopped at the new merge on the outside lane.

There is enough space to widen the road there, so one lane for M1 N only, another for Airport, dedicated lanes with bollards placed to stop lane crossing.

bucketybuck

RustyNut wrote: »

How else can evidence to support a prosecution of the guilty parties (if any) be gathered if the road is not closed and a forensic examination carried out.

What is your point here? I suspect you haven't the slightest clue what is involved in these examinations yet you seem primed to claim that every second of the time is spent building a case for future prosecutions, simply because it suits you to do so.

If you truly believe that it is necessary to completely suit down the busiest road in the country for 6 hours to gather exhaustive evidence in order to prosecute somebody who admits to "simply losing control" then bully to you.