1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186 
HARD SHOULDER IS A NICE SURPRISE
Page 3
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Credit where it's due. We, along with many others were extremely sceptical about the plans to use the hard shoulder on the stretch of M42 in Birmingham beside the airport. Insufficient run-off, inadequate opportunity to rejoin the motorway and over complicated technology were just some of the objections raised. As we report this week, the Department for Transport is about to review the scheme before deciding whether to roll it out across other congestion hotspots.
Much to our surprise it seems to work, with the M42 now flowing at times where previously we'd have been jammed up for hours on end. Sure, there are a few issues which need to be resolved -some drivers, for instance, seem to be under the impression hard shoulder running is a permanent state of
affairs, while there is quite a lot of lane changing required around the junctions but in general the scheme gets our approval. Like RHA chairman Willie Oliver (see pages 6-7), we want more investment in new infrastructure, but making better use of what we've got is also worthwh le. Schemes such as the use of hard shoulders are an important part of this process, but they are certainly not the panacea for congestion.
Theresa Villiers in her speech at the RHA lunch last week spoke about a future Conservative government picking off the low hanging fruit" in order to alleviate some of the congestion issues. We all have our list of this low hanging fruitthe A14/M6/M1 Catthorpe Interchange is one piece of fruit that threatens to break the bough if ft gets any lower! Sends us your suggestions (usual address) and we'll pass them on to Ms Villiers.
• Further good news on the use of infrastructure comes with Navteq's launch of an LGV version of its mapping software. New maps have been created featuring all the low bridge heights, weight limits and speed restrictions in the country, along with tight corners, narrow roads and areas susceptible to strong cross winds.
A significant contribution to road safety we'd venture...