Educating the media

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Micro The Maniac
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Educating the media

Post by Micro The Maniac »

Why is the M25 called the M25 and where is the M24?

According to Hertfordshire Mercury...
The reasoning behind the name of the motorway is actually quite simple.

Motorways were essentially named after their nearest A road, reports EssexLive.
:roll: :roll: :o :confused:

https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/ ... 25-5727746
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jervi
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Re: Educating the media

Post by jervi »

Saw this video yesterday on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6R4jvXT3Yw
Seems to have some of the exact same lines from that article. I disliked it and didn't even bother to leave a comment it was that incorrect and not worth my time.

The amount of times the media (and council) incorrectly use the term "dual carriageway" or just the word "carriageway" in general is mindblowing.
The word "carriageway" seems to be used to make the writer seem smart, but end up using it incorrectly as they usually are referring to either a single lane or both carriageways.
FtoE
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Re: Educating the media

Post by FtoE »

I lost a pub quiz once because the answer to “what was Britain’s first motorway” was given as “the M1”.
(Being British I expressed my frustration by tutting as loudly as I could under my breath...)
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Bryn666
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Re: Educating the media

Post by Bryn666 »

They can't get basics right like this yet people will quote them as gospel when it comes to things like top secret UN Agenda 21 and government plans to take your car off you.

Why is that?
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IAN
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Re: Educating the media

Post by IAN »

Micro The Maniac wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 08:19 Why is the M25 called the M25 and where is the M24?

According to Hertfordshire Mercury...
The reasoning behind the name of the motorway is actually quite simple.

Motorways were essentially named after their nearest A road, reports EssexLive.
:roll: :roll: :o :confused:

https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/ ... 25-5727746
The comment on the article, left by 'Rushmoor Resident' sounds like it was written by a member of SABRE.
AKA M5 Driver
Andyman
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Re: Educating the media

Post by Andyman »

It's quite funny that this thread has appeared - last night I was listening to Talksport and they got talking about the numbering of the motorway network when one caller said he was stuck on the M25. The presenter had a massive Partridge moment when he said 'Is there a higher number than the M25?' clearly never been further north than Watford Gap in his life :roll:

Listeners were then amusingly calling in their droves claiming what motorway they were on that was numbered higher than the M25 - one guy then rang up and explained that there was an M898 at Erskine which blew the presenter's mind :laugh: he then said 'Does that mean there are 898 motorways in the UK? Can someone please call and explain to me how motorways get their numbers?' I stopped listening so don't know whether anyone actually did, or if so whether it was someone from here :mrgreen:
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trickstat
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Re: Educating the media

Post by trickstat »

Andyman wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 11:08 It's quite funny that this thread has appeared - last night I was listening to Talksport and they got talking about the numbering of the motorway network when one caller said he was stuck on the M25. The presenter had a massive Partridge moment when he said 'Is there a higher number than the M25?' clearly never been further north than Watford Gap in his life :roll:
Without thinking too hard, the M26 and M40 both have junctions with the M25! :roll:
SteveA30
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Re: Educating the media

Post by SteveA30 »

Single track road or single track carriageway are commonly used terms. Do they mean an S2 or a narrow country lane?
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Mark Hewitt
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Re: Educating the media

Post by Mark Hewitt »

SteveA30 wrote:Single track road or single track carriageway are commonly used terms. Do they mean an S2 or a narrow country lane?
Having just driven down a single track road 10 mins ago this one is an issue. Single track and single carriageway are clear. But enough but it doesn't emphasise the difference sufficiently when comparing the two.
B1040
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Re: Educating the media

Post by B1040 »

I would expect a single track road to be S1.
A single track carriageway might be S1 or part of a D1.
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KeithW
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Re: Educating the media

Post by KeithW »

Typically a proper S1 public road will have passing places or a firm shoulder.
B1040
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Re: Educating the media

Post by B1040 »

What off the A1077(M) or the fabled A6138(M)?
Someone could have a lot of fun with that radio announcer.
Micro The Maniac
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Re: Educating the media

Post by Micro The Maniac »

IAN wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 11:01 The comment on the article, left by 'Rushmoor Resident' sounds like it was written by a member of SABRE.
Whistles quietly to himself...

A clue... the B3272/A325/A331 join in the corner of north east Hampshire, in the borough of Rushmoor ;-)
WHBM
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Re: Educating the media

Post by WHBM »

KeithW wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 13:13 Typically a proper S1 public road will have passing places or a firm shoulder.
You've never lived in the West Country ... :)
SteelCamel
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Re: Educating the media

Post by SteelCamel »

WHBM wrote: Fri Aug 20, 2021 12:59
KeithW wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 13:13 Typically a proper S1 public road will have passing places or a firm shoulder.
You've never lived in the West Country ... :)
Not sure if it's still the case, but the coach operators that ran trips into Dartmoor had an unofficial one-way system. It's noticeable as trips including the same destinations always included them in the same order, never the other way about, even if starting from a different town. All the drivers knew about it, and so never met each other on the narrow roads. Of course, some of the foreign operators didn't know about this, and must have wondered how they kept meeting so many coaches coming the other way :) .
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trickstat
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Re: Educating the media

Post by trickstat »

Micro The Maniac wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 08:19 Why is the M25 called the M25 and where is the M24?

According to Hertfordshire Mercury...
The reasoning behind the name of the motorway is actually quite simple.

Motorways were essentially named after their nearest A road, reports EssexLive.
:roll: :roll: :o :confused:

https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/ ... 25-5727746
That article also says that the first breakdown on the M25 occurred at 11:16 on 29 October 1986. That may have been the first breakdown after the final section was opened and it was complete but I suspect there may have been a few before that on various sections of the incomplete route, some of which had been open as the M25 for quite a few years.
Runwell
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Re: Educating the media

Post by Runwell »

It's a Reach plc publication, so I wouldn't expect them to have researched it. Most of the journalists probably weren't born until at least a decade after the whole thing finally opened.

This just looks like one of their cheap little clickbait articles they like to regurgitate every few months, dressed up as 'new' content. A sad stain on what were once decent local publications.
fras
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Re: Educating the media

Post by fras »

Who coined the phrase "teenage scribblers". It seems to apply to far too many so called journalists even though they may be well into their 40s and above.
B1040
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Re: Educating the media

Post by B1040 »

fras wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:12 Who coined the phrase "teenage scribblers"?
May have been Nigel Lawson.
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Enceladus
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Re: Educating the media

Post by Enceladus »

Yep, it's a bit of a bugbear of mine, the way the media get so many facts incorrect with respect to roads and other infrastructure.

In Ireland, it's common for the media - local papers in particular - to refer to new sections of DC as "motorway," mix up "N" and "M" road designations (very common!), exaggerate the potential effects of proposed new road schemes (thus engendering NMMBYism) whilst praising the new roads that are delivered as a "godsend," "boon" and "lifeline" to bypassed towns and villages.
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