Anyone else find themselves look out the car window at a damp, dark Hertfordshire last night?

I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated with the ability of 1 accident, 1 breakdown or lane closure to bring an entire road network to a halt.  Coming home from Oxfordshire last night – a 56 mile journey to the top of the M25 – showed a a 3hr <i>additional</i> journey time last night, due to an accident – I hope everyone was ok – on the m25 closing a lane by J25.

Of course I tried the Nav-prompted alternative routes but all roads were just queues of others doing the same.  I just got more and more depressed at the increasing prospect of missing the kids before bedtime, and not really having any evening time to “settle” before turning in myself.

By god, I don’t know how 1 incident causes such mass delay

It’s the sheer volume of people all driving to or from their place of work. Not only are cars killing us slowly with pollution… They are slowly killing us inside with the daily grind of going very slowly over relatively small distances. Glad I don’t have to suffer it.

I got slightly damp walking home yesterday morning.

We’ve locked this into our way of life, by building for cars instead of people.

Main problem Kryts, is most of your work involves travel.

You are the Traffic Jam.

By god, I don’t know how 1 incident causes such mass delay

Because people will sit in a queue for three hours grinding their teeth about the delay and then still slow right down to have a good gawk as they pass the accident, like they’ve never seen a dented car before.

You are the Traffic Jam.

this

Kryts – from recollection you’re in sales so I guess it’s a bit of an occupational hazard?

My place of work is 200 miles from home but I’m very fortunate that I can work from home a couple of days, and the rest of the time my employer pays for 1st class rail travel. This means I can sit in comfort being served food and drink, and because I get an extra 4 hours work in I can arrive late and leave early. It’s still a long day (and one of the reasons why I never make an MNPR) but there’s no way I could go back to the car – I’d have to move or get a different job..

Timbog160 you are correct and most of my travel is also as you describe.  I still manage 8000 work miles a year in the car though as some destinations are horrible by train, and yes it’s an occupational hazard.   I should have been able to complete this journey in 1:15.

My sulking though is more about the amount and size of delay caused by 1 single incident though, it’s beyond belief really.

Traffic will expand to fill the (normally) available capacity. It doesn’t make any difference how many lanes or new roads are built.

Everyone thinks that they are the important exception and that the problem is too many other people.

Hopefully at some point this year I’ll be in a position once again to have a home of my own. Almost the number one criteria is that it offers a decent ride to work. I’m not having to deal with traffic now but I see it all around and sitting in traffic jams is utterly soul destroying.

it’s beyond belief really.

is it though? Or is it blindingly obvious given that the roads are already at 100% capacity?

My sulking though is more about the amount and size of delay caused by 1 single incident though, it’s beyond belief really.

I got caught in the 12 mile queue yesterday morning on M3/M25, an hour in a queue because someone decided to rear end another car on the slip road.. how dare they eh!

Well as much as I’d like to lay blame on them for being irresponsible, and manufacturing all sorts of new ways of inflicting pain to thier nether regions… truth of the matter is this..

By them causing accidents they’ve ruined not only thier day, but that day of the person they’ve hit and the 10000 or so who’ve been caught up in the collision. And that collision will cause lots of disruption to thier weeks to come, hassles beyond just calling a cab for a few weeks.. and hassles for the person they hit..

Yet, the vast majority of people caught up in the chaos drove carefully with consideration for other road users and we ended our journeys a little late but safe and warm and without any subsequent chaos.

Stay safe dude.

Par for the course and why I will avoid driving unless I really have to and then try and plan around rush hours. It’s a complete waste of my time and the companies money to have me sat in traffic.

Want to do something about it? Find a political party looking to end the dominance of the car and improve connectivity in other ways.

Total gridlock in our village last night ..I had to wait for 45 seconds to let a tractor & a landrover through as one side of the road was blocked with cars parked opposite the pub ..

You can thank the late departed Chief Constable of North Wales for all the disruption. He had a phobia about motorists – well there’s not much else to concentrate on in Colwyn Bay. He was an obsessive. Ask Clarkson if you don’t believe me.

He wangled his way to be head of the Police Chief Constables group, and forced through a change in Police procedures that means that every accident is considered as a crime. Therefore all eveidence procedures have to be followed. The fact this closes roads for hours while civil servants stand around in white suits means little to him. He has a pass and a driver to bypass such inconveniences.

Last I heard he had moved to Hong Kong. Lucky them. he was the man who would set up a speed camera in the back of a horsebox on his day off, and go out in uniform of a PC because he enjoyed catching motorists.

 because he enjoyed catching criminals

FTFY

He wangled his way to be head of the Police Chief Constables group, and forced through a change in Police procedures that means that every accident is considered as a crime. Therefore all eveidence procedures have to be followed.

What a good idea

Last I heard he had moved to Hong Kong.

It’s a long way to go to buy him a pint.

Imagine being able to prosecute where possible and to gather evidence to make informed road safety decisions.

Ask Clarkson if you don’t believe me.

lol

Bad luck.
I don’t know the official stats. but imo Jct 24&25 of the M25 have a very ,very high & regular rate of accidents. That strectch is geographically a bit of a rollercoaster , combined with too much traffic going too fast= delays.
I always avoid that section of the m25 if at all possible.

Working from home is the future.

Granted its not for everyone – but probably 50% of the people in that queue don’t actually need to go in to the office

Traffic everywhere is at, let’s say 95% capacity at peak times. If you need to close a lane, or a car breaks down, or whatever then it hits 100% and there is gridlock. At half term the roads become miraculously empty. It’s not rocket surgery.

 because he enjoyed catching criminals

FTFY

Criminals? 🙄

I always avoid that section of the m25 if at all possible.

Well, moving house is an expensive and perhaps dramatic measure for me.

but probably 50% of the people in that queue don’t actually need to go in to the office

Quite, time for a Nespresso and a biscuit. *wanders to kitchen*.

Criminals?

People who break the law, speeding I guess in this case, so yes, criminals.

Well, moving house is an expensive and perhaps dramatic measure for me.

But might be the only practical long term solution

Well, moving house is an expensive and perhaps dramatic measure for me.

Sitting in a car and missing kids bed time is pretty priceless IMO.
I’ve recently been so aware that any other job increase travel time and cost for me, and in cold hard pounds and pence would need to be a massive increase in earnings…

If it’s any consolation to the OP at least one person was having a much worse day…

People who break the law, speeding I guess in this case, so yes, criminals.

road traffic offences (speeding, parking fines) except where the matter has been dealt with by way of a ‘fixed penalty notice’ as such matters do not constitute a criminal conviction

the amount and size of delay caused by 1 single incident though, it’s beyond belief really

Road closed for as long as necessary to fully investigate, what else can they do?

Road closed for as long as necessary to fully investigate, what else can they do?

I think some would suggest pushing the car and bodies into the ditch and open it ASAP as living people are more important.

I think some would suggest pushing the car and bodies into the ditch and open it ASAP

Succint description of Brexit Britain, that.

I drive about once a year in the UK and it gets worse every time. Along the lines of, come up M20 from Dover, choose 2h queue via Dartford or 2h the other way round, spend an hour stopped on the M1 somewhere in Northamptonshire because of a shunt, don’t even get me started on that bit through Staffs on the M6. There was even a 1h tailback to get into the little town where my dad lives thanks to roadworks.. 12h epic last time*. Very grim, glad I don’t pay road tax 😉

*At least we actually arrived, unlike when Northern cancelled the train both coming and going home at Xmas.

Road closed for as long as necessary to fully investigate, what else can they do?

I think some would suggest pushing the car and bodies into the ditch and open it ASAP as living people are more important.

mikew for PM ?

Sitting in a car and missing kids bed time is pretty priceless IMO.
I’ve recently been so aware that any other job increase travel time and cost for me, and in cold hard pounds and pence would need to be a massive increase in earnings…

So not priceless for you at all then?

I hardly drive, does my nut in whenever I do.. yesterday I had to and came out of my work, straight into a queue – there were temporary lights a few yards up – took 15 minutes to just get to the boundary of work’s fence!
If you wanna see what 1 incident does to the local traffic, try the m27 daily.. it’s unbelievable. And yet, they’re building another TOWN right on it (well not actually on it, but you see what I mean). Regular gridlock for the lucky motorists.
So lucky for my sanity that I hardly have to use the car.

My sulking though is more about the amount and size of delay caused by 1 single incident though, it’s beyond belief really.

No, it’s entirely believable. The system is at critical capacity, so any problem and the whole thing blows up. An accident is like the proverbial last straw.

My sulking though is more about the amount and size of delay caused by 1 single incident though, it’s beyond belief really.

It wasn’t though- as I understand it from traffic radio yesterday it was two separate and unrelated accidents, one clockwise, one anti, and a fuel spillage that needed to be cleaned up. HTH.

There was a couple of swans wandering about on the road through Scotton, North Yorkshire a few weeks ago.
Total Gridlock.

But there again, I do drive a minibus in & around Harrogate all day, even the M25 is a clearway in comparison.

He wangled his way to be head of the Police Chief Constables group, and forced through a change in Police procedures that means that every accident is considered as a crime. Therefore all eveidence procedures have to be followed.

What a good idea

But you would say that, wouldn’t you.

Criminals?

People who break the law, speeding I guess in this case, so yes, criminals.

Care to provide real facts to back that statement up?
The fact is, most traffic accidents occur at or below the actual posted speed limit; with lots of traffic, maybe in a 50 mph controlled section of a motorway, bunched closer together than normal, it only takes a moments inattentive driving, maybe swapping lanes without checking and there’s a two or three hour hold-up for hundreds of people.