This is a brief addendum to my previous post on the same topic.
I was driving down the M6 the other night, past junction 8 where the M5 splits off – and the Active Traffic Management was turned on.
At one point, we were all going along nicely at 40mph, as indicated by the overhead signs. All lanes were open, and there were no workmen about on the roads.
At the penultimate gantry before the M5 lane forked off the main carriageway, the overhead signs had been set to 20mph. With the majority of traffic moving along nicely, 11pm and no obstructions in the road, the driver of the lorry must have not seen the drop by 20mph. Unfortunately, the car driver in front of him had – and with the threat of the speed camera sign, had slowed his vehicle fairly abruptly.
This sent the HGV swerving into the middle lane, causing me to pull out into the fast lane – luckily fully aware that there was nothing coming up on the outside.
It’s exactly stupid and irresponsible uses of technology like this that make me wonder why Active Traffic Management was put there in the first place.
With the sad events that have occurred on the roads over the past few days, I can only hope that someone has the good sense to review this technology before it too contributes to the rising death tolls on our motorways.
