Pointless motorway overhead messages

[the cheesecake man]

New variation on M1 today

DRIVE TO EU
NEW DOCS
1 NOV

I'm tempted to ask if HE have seen the news recently but it's probably best if I don't.

[ManomayLR]

New variation on M1 today

DRIVE TO EU
NEW DOCS
1 NOV

I'm tempted to ask if HE have seen the news recently but it's probably best if I don't.

That message isn't even understandable by us Brits, let alone foreign drivers with limited knowledge of English.
What the hell does "drive to EU" mean?

[the cheesecake man]

New variation on M1 today

DRIVE TO EU
NEW DOCS
1 NOV

I'm tempted to ask if HE have seen the news recently but it's probably best if I don't.

That message isn't even understandable by us Brits, let alone foreign drivers with limited knowledge of English.
What the hell does "drive to EU" mean?

Quite. Maybe it was an order designed to reduce immigration figures!

Perhaps that's why today it had been expanded to

DRIVING TO EU
NEW DOCUMENTS
1 NOV - CHECK

[ManomayLR]

New variation on M1 today

DRIVE TO EU
NEW DOCS
1 NOV

I'm tempted to ask if HE have seen the news recently but it's probably best if I don't.

That message isn't even understandable by us Brits, let alone foreign drivers with limited knowledge of English.
What the hell does "drive to EU" mean?

Quite. Maybe it was an order designed to reduce immigration figures!

Perhaps that's why today it had been expanded to

DRIVING TO EU
NEW DOCUMENTS
1 NOV - CHECK

Maybe "freight" was changed to "driving" because they need to also encourage tourists/other drivers that they may need different travel documents to continue their journey.

[BeenEverywhere]

On the A1m just south of Peterborough yesterday "A1 SOUTH CLOSED".

I went round my options... I could change my days around and go to Northampton instead, or I could drop down the old north Road, come out at Huntingdon and drop down the 141, but then I'm likely to end up in the diversion anyway.

So I decided to plough on and see what happens.

By the time I got to black cat, I decided that the A1 south wasn't actually closed.

[the cheesecake man]

That message isn't even understandable by us Brits, let alone foreign drivers with limited knowledge of English.
What the hell does "drive to EU" mean?

Quite. Maybe it was an order designed to reduce immigration figures!

Perhaps that's why today it had been expanded to

DRIVING TO EU
NEW DOCUMENTS
1 NOV - CHECK

Maybe "freight" was changed to "driving" because they need to also encourage tourists/other drivers that they may need different travel documents to continue their journey.

That sounds far too sensible. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's saying this afternoon!

[punyXpress]

EU GOODS DRIVER
NEW RULES -
TAX LORRY 1 NOV

[Chris5156]

I'm tempted to ask if HE have seen the news recently but it's probably best if I don't.

At the risk of defending the indefensible, I don't think Highways England get to decide whether these messages are on their signs; they've been instructed to do it, and that instruction presumably stands until Government policy actually changes and the DfT instructs them otherwise.

[Johnathan404]

And that campaign is still running, no matter whether you or I think it's necessary.

Though it's also true that there can be a delay taking these redundant campaigns down. I recall in about 2015 there was a planned nationwide rail strike, and messages were put on the VMS shortly before it was called off. That was unfortunate, but the messages remained up for another 24 hours, for what I can only assume were administrative reasons.

[ManomayLR]

New variation on M1 today

DRIVE TO EU
NEW DOCS
1 NOV

I'm tempted to ask if HE have seen the news recently but it's probably best if I don't.

M25 yesterday - incomprehensible signs still up! They should take the old “freight to EU” message which was correctly phrased and just change “freight” to “traffic”

So it would look like this on a 3 line MS3:
TRAFFIC TO EU
PAPERS MAY CHANGE
1 NOV PLEASE CHECK

And this on a 4 line MS4:
EU TRAFFIC
PAPERS MAY
CHANGE 1 NOV
PLEASE CHECK

[the cheesecake man]

And that campaign is still running, no matter whether you or I think it's necessary.

We could add to the 17 signatories on this petition!

[Big L]

Northbound M6 between J1 and J2 this afternoon. "M1 delays between J20-something and 20-something-else".

Fair enough, turn up the M69 and you end up in that.

But who has turned off the M1 onto the M6 intending to do that? And who got on at J1 to do it, rather than just continue up to Lutterworth and straight onto the M1?

[ManomayLR]

At least there’s no more “DRIVE TO EU”

[the cheesecake man]

At least there’s no more “DRIVE TO EU”

Until January

[DB617]

New MS4 of shame at the Brynglas Tunnels:

POLLUTED AIR
KILLS
SLOW DOWN

Thanks for the safety critical message I can read instead of looking at the road.

[ais523]

New MS4 of shame at the Brynglas Tunnels:

POLLUTED AIR
KILLS
SLOW DOWN

Thanks for the safety critical message I can read instead of looking at the road.

That message may well be safety critical. The reason that avoiding accidents has safety importance is that it reduces the number of injuries and deaths. Avoiding deaths due to air pollution is just as important when it comes to reducing injuries and deaths; crashes aren't the only way to kill someone. So if overspeeding is causing deaths as a consequence of pollution, a sign warning people against it may well save lives, at least if people obey it.

[KeithW]

New MS4 of shame at the Brynglas Tunnels:

POLLUTED AIR
KILLS
SLOW DOWN

Thanks for the safety critical message I can read instead of looking at the road.

That message may well be safety critical. The reason that avoiding accidents has safety importance is that it reduces the number of injuries and deaths. Avoiding deaths due to air pollution is just as important when it comes to reducing injuries and deaths; crashes aren't the only way to kill someone. So if overspeeding is causing deaths as a consequence of pollution, a sign warning people against it may well save lives, at least if people obey it.

While long term exposure to NOx and particulate air pollution can cause problems for local residents I seriously doubt its going to influence drivers and in any event the real deterrent is the presence of variable limit speed cameras. Those who drive at excessive speed are already risking their own lives as well as other road users so are hardly likely to worry about some anonymous person in Newport. The worst case scenario for residents is stationary traffic particularly in calm sunny weather when smog can quickly form under an inversion layer.

[DB617]

New MS4 of shame at the Brynglas Tunnels:

POLLUTED AIR
KILLS
SLOW DOWN

Thanks for the safety critical message I can read instead of looking at the road.

That message may well be safety critical. The reason that avoiding accidents has safety importance is that it reduces the number of injuries and deaths. Avoiding deaths due to air pollution is just as important when it comes to reducing injuries and deaths; crashes aren't the only way to kill someone. So if overspeeding is causing deaths as a consequence of pollution, a sign warning people against it may well save lives, at least if people obey it.

While long term exposure to NOx and particulate air pollution can cause problems for local residents I seriously doubt its going to influence drivers and in any event the real deterrent is the presence of variable limit speed cameras. Those who drive at excessive speed are already risking their own lives as well as other road users so are hardly likely to worry about some anonymous person in Newport. The worst case scenario for residents is stationary traffic particularly in calm sunny weather when smog can quickly form under an inversion layer.

Yes, I should have added that the section is under variable speed limit which is permanently set to maximum 50mph for pollution enforcement.

SPEED LIMIT
SET FOR
AIR QUALITY

...May have at least given drivers some understanding, without the need to preach. However as the speed limit is already compulsory, the feeling of needing to justify or preach the reasons for speed limits to drivers would seem to give the impression that if you don't care about pollution, feel free to drive faster. I still firmly believe the Welsh M4 needs HADECS type cameras on every gantry to get even 50% obedience, and I don't think telling everyone the speed limit is for pollution, not road traffic safety reasons, is going to help matters. The trunk agency knows this because of the staggered installation of the widely maligned miles-long SPECS section around Swansea which is permanently reduced to 50 for safety and air quality. Nobody obeyed the 50 limit in the un-enforced section across the Briton Ferry Bridge, which was installed later than the original section at Baglan.

Sadly the SWTRA policy on VMS messages has always been quite amazingly patronising and it's unlikely to change.

[ManomayLR]

England need to use their VMS more.
Messages should be tailored to the motorway and they should be able to use lowercase letters on all messages, not just the pre programmed ones. Also where a junction is a motorway to motorway or motorway to major A road interchange they should use the names of those instead of junction numbers.

Eg

instead of “M25 J23 EXIT CLOSED” say “M25 J23 exit closed”

Instead of “LANE CLOSED FOR INCIDENT ACCESS” say “Lane closed for incident access”

Instead of “DO NOT USE CLOSED LANES” say “Do not use closed lanes”

Instead of “M25 J25-27 LONG DELAYS”
say “M25 A10-M11 long delays

[Fenlander]

New MS4 of shame at the Brynglas Tunnels:

POLLUTED AIR
KILLS
SLOW DOWN

Thanks for the safety critical message I can read instead of looking at the road.

That message may well be safety critical. The reason that avoiding accidents has safety importance is that it reduces the number of injuries and deaths. Avoiding deaths due to air pollution is just as important when it comes to reducing injuries and deaths; crashes aren't the only way to kill someone. So if overspeeding is causing deaths as a consequence of pollution, a sign warning people against it may well save lives, at least if people obey it.

How's this for coincidence, as I was reading this post a message just flashed up on the notifications on my phone to say a Boeing 747 has just taken off from Cardiff heading to St Athan, a distance of 4 miles as the crow flies (not being a crow of course it took off heading south east, did a 180 short of Flat Holm Island and came in to land heading south west at St Athan. It got as high as 3,375ft!). That must be a hideous pollutants/mile set of figures.