The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Noop spurns all ditches! Panda 4x4 rules OKNoticed the loose shingle ditches before and wondered if you'd just sink into them.
Noop spurns all ditches! Panda 4x4 rules OKNoticed the loose shingle ditches before and wondered if you'd just sink into them.
I think it more likely that the shear number of cars that travel down motorways every day, versus the number of accidents makes them statically safer than a 30 mph road with bikes pedestrians, street furniture and cars moving in multiple directions.
If you have 10 million cars pass down a road every year but only have one accident a day, then you have 365 in 10,000,000 chance of having an accident. or 1 in 27,397.
If you have 10,000 cars pass down a 30 mile an hour road or even 20,000 cars and you only have one accident a year, it means you have a 1 in 10,000 or 1 in 20,000 chance of having an accident statistically making it more likely you will have an accident on the smaller road than the motorway with 10million cars.
Smart motorways are still likely to be statically far more safe than the road your house is built on due to the high numbers of cars traveling down them. Also if anything catches the media's attention then you start to hear about every accident on a smart motorway, where as you definitely don't hear about every person killed or at least not to the same degree if an accident happens not on a smart motorway. its a kind of confirmation bias that the press like to push. its a problem because we report it to be a problem
and while I can understand not wanting to break down on a smart motor way I don't even give it a second thought when driving down them.
why is the risk any different to driving down a duel carriage way which has no hard shoulder but people are still doing 70mph ??
The answer is "Not very much"! Especially if you break down.Okay, as an American, I have to ask. What the hell is a smart motorway?
Yes they have me pretty confused. I hope RoSPA and GEM manage to put a stop to them.Pandanut's description may be a bit confusing.
Traditionally all motorways in the UK have a hard shoulder, usually a red lane at the side for breakdown or emergencies. Emergency vehicle can use them too to get to major acceidents if the motorway is at a standstill.
A smart motorway has a dynamic hard shoulder. The lane can be live and cars drive on it, or if someone breaks down, then the camera are supposed to see that, and the signs say the lanes is closed and to be treated as a hard sholder.
Rather than fixing the infrastructure or adding more lanes, some government person has probably been driving one day and though "there's a free lane, if we use that then it'll stop congestion".
So as well as the lack of safety now, we have years of them digging up the motorway to convert them to smart motorway (M6 has been painful if heading to London with roadworks just for them).
Similar sort of thing. If traffic is really slow it does somehting to help I suppose, UNTIL, something goes wrong then its total hell.That makes sense. Nothing like that in my little rural chunk of the world, though a similar thing exists near Chicago's O'hare airport. There's a lighted sign above the shoulder that shows a green arrow if shoulder riding is allowed, or a red X if not, when headed into the city on the Kennedy Expressway.
Expressway is a lie, by the way. Unless it's 2am and that's no guarantee. On the rare occasions I go into the city, I take the train.
I certainly think the M6 toll is worth the money. Its many years since I did the old M6.The M6 is usually ok once you get north of stafford, then better once you clear manchester area, then a dream once you get north of carlisle.
Totally agree especially when you see the queues of cars on the non toll sectionI certainly think the M6 toll is worth the money. Its many years since I did the old M6.
Grumpy with myself now.Do we talk about football in this section ? Can't remember seeing posts about it , but I will go ahead anyway .
Tomorrow the English football leagues 1 and 2 finish .[EFL]
I have been a remote fan of Colchester United most of my life [born in Essex but in a rival football town]
I haven't been to a home match since 2011.
Haven't been to a nearer away match either , although there are teams far nearer than travelling Surrey to north Essex , Crawley ,Sutton , Wimbledon all easily reached from my house , I can walk the 3 miles to Sutton if I had the enthusiasm for it .
Some recent history......
At the curtailed end of the 2020 season , Colchester finished in the promotion play off places ,but obviously failed to reach the final or promotion from league 2 to 1 .
In the following 4 seasons 2021 to 2024 ,they have been messing around at or near the foot of the league , narrowly escaping relegation to the National league non league .
This year I believe is the closest they have come to relegation and it's not all over yet .
Some stats.....
Sutton United must win to stay up ,to match Colchester's point total ,they must also turn around a 4 goal difference deficit .
Colchester only need 1 point to stay up ,or at least lose not too badly and hope Sutton don't score loads .
Colchester have a new ish stadium that doesn't deserve to only host non league football but if the team aren't good enough then it is what it is .
5pm tomorrow it will all have been settled and depression will kick in if Colchester are relegated and I will have to go and buy comfort food to offset the disappointment .
Most men would go out and get thoroughly drunk but that would just end in lots of throwing up .
It's 2pm ,just 27 hours to go !
i didn't, just flicked past. The only time I'll watch it for the World Cup. Most of the time i can't understand how they get paid so much money for pitiful performance and worst acting every time a player comes near.Grumpy with myself now.
I have no interest in football. You told us in the first line. So why have I just spent a few minutes bothering to read this.
Oh deers. I hope they do it 4 you.Do we talk about football in this section ? Can't remember seeing posts about it , but I will go ahead anyway .
Tomorrow the English football leagues 1 and 2 finish .[EFL]
I have been a remote fan of Colchester United most of my life [born in Essex but in a rival football town]
I haven't been to a home match since 2011.
Haven't been to a nearer away match either , although there are teams far nearer than travelling Surrey to north Essex , Crawley ,Sutton , Wimbledon all easily reached from my house , I can walk the 3 miles to Sutton if I had the enthusiasm for it .
Some recent history......
At the curtailed end of the 2020 season , Colchester finished in the promotion play off places ,but obviously failed to reach the final or promotion from league 2 to 1 .
In the following 4 seasons 2021 to 2024 ,they have been messing around at or near the foot of the league , narrowly escaping relegation to the National league non league .
This year I believe is the closest they have come to relegation and it's not all over yet .
Some stats.....
Sutton United must win to stay up ,to match Colchester's point total ,they must also turn around a 4 goal difference deficit .
Colchester only need 1 point to stay up ,or at least lose not too badly and hope Sutton don't score loads .
Colchester have a new ish stadium that doesn't deserve to only host non league football but if the team aren't good enough then it is what it is .
5pm tomorrow it will all have been settled and depression will kick in if Colchester are relegated and I will have to go and buy comfort food to offset the disappointment .
Most men would go out and get thoroughly drunk but that would just end in lots of throwing up .
It's 2pm ,just 27 hours to go !