Lay-bys with/without ‘P’ plates

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doebag
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Lay-bys with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by doebag »

Out and about this morning and I got to thinking about different lay-by’s.

Some have P plates some don’t. But some without look bigger or better quality than some with plates.

Is there some sort of standard required to merit a P plate.
Last edited by doebag on Fri Jul 15, 2022 07:47, edited 1 time in total.
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KeithW
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by KeithW »

Typically P plates are parking areas subject to some restrictions such as this.
Image

Other variants may be 'Permit Holders Only ' or 'Disabled Badge Holders Only'

See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... -signs.pdf

Page 46 onwards
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RichardA35
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by RichardA35 »

No restrictions on the ones I pass. Most of the major roads are signed as clearways however and there are sometimes local bylaws about no overnight parking or mobile canteens etc. On some unimproved sections there can be more casual pull ins without a parking sign and there have also been recent closures of substandard signed laybys where there is no dividing median.
Screenshot 2022-07-03 15.37.21.png
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by Herned »

KeithW wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 15:08 Typically P plates are parking areas subject to some restrictions such as this.
They really aren't. Plenty of urban areas use the standard P symbol, and virtually every layby on the all-purpose network uses them.

I guess laybys without plates are more likely "oxbow" ones left after road improvements?
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by SteelCamel »

I get the impression that "P" plates are more often used on faster roads - often with advance warning. At 60mph, you'd have to react quite quickly to see a layby, realise it is a layby not a driveway or junction, and slow down to pull in. The "P" plate means that you can start preparing to pull in earlier.

And for a contrast, here's the exact opposite.
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by doebag »

Herned wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 18:50

I guess laybys without plates are more likely "oxbow" ones left after road improvements?
This is what I saw.
East of Swaffham on the A47, one has a kerbed island separating lay-by from carriageway, the next is an ox-bow with grass and bushes separating the carriageway but the latter does not have P plates.
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by SteveA30 »

Some P signs become hidden behind undergrowth, some fall down and don't get replaced. The A35 has some laybys with P some without in a rather random way. Some survive on old roads, the old A30 has one at an oxbow near Sticklepath and another near Bridestowe, bypassed in 1987 and 1993.

Layby development seems non-existent on existing roads, many are too short and too narrow. There is one on the A35 w/bnd on the long straight west of Winterborne Abbas, without a P sign and for non locals, it comes up very suddenly and is too short. Plenty of wide verge there, it needs widening, lengthening and a P sign. I would have thought there would be less onerous planning restrictions for longstanding ones, compared to building a new one on an existing road. Some of the really old laybys are only 1 cars length, dating probably from the earliest days of motoring.
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by Bryn666 »

If a road has clearway restrictions then laybys need to be marked clearly so they're not confused as part of the running carriageway (which is where no stopping applies).

Some laybys have limited waiting, but this is not the norm - although unenforceable "no overnight parking" signs are regularly seen. Oxbows pose problems as they're technically side roads unless designated as a parking place...
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by jervi »

First one that comes to mind is this one.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.93030 ... 312!8i6656
I drove along here last year (at night) and there was a lorry or some vehicles in the layby with the hazards on.
Because it was the first time I had drove along this road & due to the lack of P sign, plus the road is on a slight bend, I thought the vehicles had stopped on the main carriageway, not the layby, so I slowed right down to 20-30mph in the 50mph area. The cars behind me weren't very happy, but using what information I had that was the best and safest thing to do. If there was a P sign it would have not been an issue.
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by Truvelo »

Some laybys have time limits if they are located where commuters might leave their cars there all day. I've seen others which have signs saying no overnight parking for refrigerated vehicles. These tend to be where there are houses nearby.
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by A303Chris »

I know this is not the facebook page, but I will now mention the A9.

Plenty of parking laybys between Perth and Inverness, which are signed in advance

Then each layby is numbered when you get there.

I think this is the last one just south of Inverness, layby 168.

I presume they are number as there are no marker posts along the A9, and the number laybys assisted emergency services and recovery vehicles. Given the distance better to say layby 98 instead of somewhere between Perth and Inverness.
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by multiraider2 »

One of my favourite oxbow type laybys East from Wadebridge on the A39. So enticing, the Google driver went down there. It's one-way and the running lane on the left of the parking lane for the picnic tables.

There's another back nearer Wadebridge. That's not quite so scenic and doesn't have the "P" signs at the start. However, since they are building houses off this now, perhaps it stops being a layby at all and is actually just an access/side road with parking. I note there are warning sign at the other end now as well and it isn't now no entry, although the arrows on the road suggest it once was and would probably have had a "P" sign then.
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by Darren »

This one on the A249 was popular with visitors - it was the old alignment of the road, before it was dualled.
layby.jpg
(Today's view: https://goo.gl/maps/A4NndWq65ZVhpUYC6 )

Unfortunately it proved too popular with a certain type of visitor (who, let's just say, wouldn't have stayed for long) and it was sealed off around 15 years ago.
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by SteelCamel »

A303Chris wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 13:53 I know this is not the facebook page, but I will now mention the A9.
Plenty of parking laybys between Perth and Inverness, which are signed in advance
Then each layby is numbered when you get there.
I think this is the last one just south of Inverness, layby 168.

I presume they are number as there are no marker posts along the A9, and the number laybys assisted emergency services and recovery vehicles. Given the distance better to say layby 98 instead of somewhere between Perth and Inverness.
No, the numbers continue to Tore Roundabout. Pretty sure the last one is layby 194. They start at layby 1 just north of Inveralmond roundabout. There are no numbers on the rest of the A9.
As you say, this stretch of A9 is rather lacking in landmarks, especially as it bypasses most towns and villages so even the junction signs are ambiguous.
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by KeithW »

Darren wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 15:57 This one on the A249 was popular with visitors - it was the old alignment of the road, before it was dualled.

Unfortunately it proved too popular with a certain type of visitor (who, let's just say, wouldn't have stayed for long) and it was sealed off around 15 years ago.
There are still some on the A1.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.71614 ... 6656?hl=en

This one includes catering
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.70823 ... 6656?hl=en
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by tom66 »

multiraider2 wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 15:21 One of my favourite oxbow type laybys East from Wadebridge on the A39. So enticing, the Google driver went down there. It's one-way and the running lane on the left of the parking lane for the picnic tables.
I love the picnic tables. It must be a British pastime to have a picnic on the side of a major road.
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by MotorwayGuy »

I quite like it where part of the old road is used, normally this is done to provide access so they aren't signed, like here. This one on the A299 actually is signed "Access Road No Parking".
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by KeithW »

tom66 wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 21:41
I love the picnic tables. It must be a British pastime to have a picnic on the side of a major road.
Actually there are lots in US rest areas and State Parks.
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by FtoE »

A303Chris wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 13:53 I know this is not the facebook page, but I will now mention the A9.

Plenty of parking laybys between Perth and Inverness, which are signed in advance

Then each layby is numbered when you get there.

I think this is the last one just south of Inverness, layby 168.

I presume they are number as there are no marker posts along the A9, and the number laybys assisted emergency services and recovery vehicles. Given the distance better to say layby 98 instead of somewhere between Perth and Inverness.
Incidently, the trees in the left there (northbound) have been taken down and it has utterly changed the appearance of the landscape. After 35 years of very regular travelling on the road I didn’t recognise where I was!
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Re: Lay-by’s with/without ‘P’ plates

Post by rileyrob »

SteelCamel wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 18:22
A303Chris wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 13:53 I know this is not the facebook page, but I will now mention the A9.
Plenty of parking laybys between Perth and Inverness, which are signed in advance
Then each layby is numbered when you get there.
I think this is the last one just south of Inverness, layby 168.

I presume they are number as there are no marker posts along the A9, and the number laybys assisted emergency services and recovery vehicles. Given the distance better to say layby 98 instead of somewhere between Perth and Inverness.
No, the numbers continue to Tore Roundabout. Pretty sure the last one is layby 194. They start at layby 1 just north of Inveralmond roundabout. There are no numbers on the rest of the A9.
As you say, this stretch of A9 is rather lacking in landmarks, especially as it bypasses most towns and villages so even the junction signs are ambiguous.
Layby 202 on the Cromarty Bridge I have a feeling that I have seen reference to layby 209 in the past, but they don't seem to have ever been signed on streetview north of Ardullie on GSV. I was once told that the laybys are all numbered on the Scottish Trunk network, but only those on the A9 are signed, but I cannot remember who told me or how likely it is that they were right! I suspect most have a reference number, but probably based on chainage or similar and so not as simple as the A9 system.
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