Slowing down for roadworks...

2011G6E · 14-11-2011, 03:56 PM

Having just done a few trips down to Bundy and back, with all the roadworks, I had a few close calls with people in roadworks areas, mainly those who refuse to slow down for roadworks at all.

It could be a hold-over from my job as a train driver...if you come to a temporary speed restriction sign for some damaged track, say 40kph, and you take the train across it at 41kph and it derails, there's a pretty good chance you'll be standing in the unemployment line come monday morning.

So when I see roadworks at any time of the day or night (they do work at night sometimes now I've noticed), I do the damn speed it says on the sign. I don't want to have to explain to my insurance company why I wrecked my car or did some damage doing 60 in a 40 zone, and more importantly I really don't want to stand up in court and explain why was doing 70kph when I ran into and killed that road worker when it was signposted at 60kph...

However, driving along those sections, I would be tailgated by semis half a meter off my bumper, cars attempting to overtake even in areas with only a lane and a half of road available, and overtaken by everything from ordinary cars to council vehicles, goverment cars, a police car, and SES vehicles. Does anyone at all bother to do the signposted speed in those areas?

One funny example...and why it's fun to drive a brand new Falcon...was when we were down near the Sunshine Coast after going through lots of roadworks. A white van had been behind us...attempting to overtake, tailgating right up our backside, and finally he zoomed past and had to jam in in front of us when the lane started to end in a 40kph zone. He just got ahead of us and he started to pull away, well over 40, and I flashed the headlights at him a couple of times.
The brake lights came on, and he braked...hard...and sat exactly on every speed for every other roadworks we went through while he was in front of us.
Obviously it was a panicked moment of "Oh crap...that Falcon I just overtook was an unmarked police car!"...

Another amusing one was coming back from Bundy a week ago in our Celica. We were coming to the end of a long 40kph section, and the road widened back out to two lanes...but was still 40 for another half a k or so. A Lancer Evo that had been sitting right up my ding zoomed past me, giving it everything...and giving me the finger...and raced off with a fart from his show-off valve. As he came to the end of the 40 section up ahead, I saw a police camera van sitting off to the side of the road, inside the 40 area...lets see...maybe 30 or 40kph over the posted limit for that area, double the fine and points as well I think...

Then there's the plain stupid. Just the other side of Dingo out here on the Capricorn Highway, there is a long stretch of highway being resurfaced. It now has two guys there 24 hours a day signalling to traffic and making sure people slow down for the long gravel stretch, but a couple of weeks back, I was driving along in a line of cars on the gravel doing the posted 40kph, and a moron in an old Commodore with mismatched panels flew past the lot of us, overtaking and showering us all with rocks. I saw waved fists out windows up ahead, as he pulled in at the front of teh short line of mine vehicles, cars, and a couple of utes. I was watching to see if he would stop at the Dingo roadhouse...he didn't, but I suspect he would have been flogged to death by half a dozen angry guys who would have followed him in.

Hey, I'll drift over the limit on the highway now and then, but when it comes to roadworks, what's wrong with just sitting on the posted limit, especially seeing as how the fine is bigger if you get pinged, not to mention all the potential dangers involved?

**Giant Cranium** · 14-11-2011, 04:01 PM

mate im with you. the times when ive been on the side of the road working and a car flys past at warp speed it is bloody scary. one stumble while working and id be dead.

edit: tiss my 1000th post. and none of them helpfull

|Nate · 14-11-2011, 04:10 PM

I used to be mad about how they left the speed signs up when no one was working at night, but I don't care anymore and still will follow the speed limits, it isn't worth saving a few seconds nor losing your license.

Funny thing happened to me, on the way back from Melb city, on the Frankston Fwy driving through the Peninsula link roadworks. I was sitting at the posted 60 limit just cruising along, when I see up ahead the reflection of a marked police car. My car must've been in the way because some tool in a Triton ute flew past me at about 100 (The old speed limit of the road) and kept going without even noticing the car. Oh what joy it was to see that cop car light up and tear down the road after him :P

GreenR · 14-11-2011, 04:11 PM

Exact same thing down here in Melbourne with the Western Ring Road. I suspect it is because people get frustrated as there have been road works and 80 speed limit for as long as I can remember.

flappist · 14-11-2011, 04:11 PM

Yes in many situations this is correct but unfortunately some lazy workers, often council will leave the signs out at night or on weekends even when they are for mowing the roadside or surveying etc.

These situations are EXTREMELY annoying and dangerous particularly when they cause traffic bunch ups.

vztrt · 14-11-2011, 04:17 PM

I won't speed through them even if no one is there working as I know the cops sit here waiting. I remember two trucks getting impounded here a while back when they went through a construction zone at the freeway usual speed.

SB076 · 14-11-2011, 04:25 PM

Sometimes I think a bit of frustration, Sunday was on the Monash, road works signs slow down to 60k's. No road works taking place - Eastlink was closed (due to a bike event) So basically they slowed the Monash to 60k's because Eastlink was closed which I thought was overkill.

Kryton · 14-11-2011, 04:48 PM

I drive according to the conditions.

irish2 · 14-11-2011, 04:58 PM

There is a small section of the Warrego highway that has a damaged guard rail. It has a road works sign and a reduced speed to 80km/h. It has been there for over 3 years and nothing has changed. If it is such a danger why has it not been fixed? If something is off to the side of the road and obviously has no consequence to the traffic, why is it a signed slow down?

Parkway · 14-11-2011, 05:10 PM

I'll be honest and say I will generally sit 10-20k's above the posted limit (highway only, not city roadworks) depending on conditions and whether it's night/day or weekend/weekday. I will happily sit behind someone doing the limit but the reason I don't do it is because (as mentioned) you get bullied into doing a greater speed or there just isn't any roadbludging happening.

blackf6 · 14-11-2011, 05:26 PM

I used to be a road worker and the signs are there not only for the roadworkers saftey but also your own. We have seen cars roll it, lock it up skid crash, because the newly bitumen road is also very slippery with precoated stone. So best to do what the sign says to. Every day as a road worker is almost your last the amount of close calls and near misses is horrendous.

blackf6 · 14-11-2011, 05:29 PM

Also alot of cases of signs being left out overnight at reduced speed limit is because the road has just been re surfaced and you can strip it all off if you hit it too fast. Costing thousands of dollars to fix again.

Franco Cozzo · 14-11-2011, 06:00 PM

Out where I live there has been some "roadwork" going on over the past few months, its a single lane either direction country highway. 90% of the time the workers aren't even there but they keep the speed signs up.

So you get a lot of people getting very angry and impatient, overtaking in dangerous places, doing over 100km/h in 40 zones, sometimes even when some workers are there. In the morning its like the Tradesman grand prix, you've got tradies in their vans/4X4 utes doing 130km/h+ on the 40km stretch the road goes for, people overtaking during "roadworks", over double lines, on the bridge, its crazy.

Today coming home I seen someone doing 100+ half way on the side of the road, on the left side of the solid line on the edge of the road and half on the grass just passing people on the road.

Ben73 · 14-11-2011, 06:14 PM

I remember first time I drove the Golden Highway. 100 speed limit was reduced to 40 for "roadworks". I drove about 12kms and saw no roadworks. Roadwork and 40 signs were located every 500m or so.
Finally I came around a bend to some workers! After I passed them there was another 4kms or 40 signs before it finally said end roadworks 100.

And they wonder why people don't want to slow down when they see stupid setups like that.

TheInterceptor · 14-11-2011, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davway

I drive according to the conditions.

x2...

Jammit · 14-11-2011, 06:19 PM

Yeah roll out the spike strips for the ratbags.

Jim Goose · 14-11-2011, 06:54 PM

Unfortuneately most of the time people really dont care, but the traffic controllers out there are their own worst enemies it seems.

I have come across a great deal of speed restrictions left out for no apparent reason other then they forgot or were too lazy to pack up after the end of the day. (And yes while desperate for work I did traffic control several years ago so i know what goes on).

Because of this the majority of motorists simply ignore all the signs and speed through because they believe there is a good chance no one is actually there (if your out on the highway i mean).

On a number of occasions I have come across road works with NO signage left up to warn people that the road is still yet to be sealed (road base or primed ready to be bitumened).... so rocks and dust go flying everywhere.

It not only comes down to the motorist doing the right but the traffic controllers (and councils) setting up everything correctly and not making a dogs breakfast out of it.

Ben73 · 14-11-2011, 07:02 PM

I wouldn't be surprised if they are too lazy to pack up. Last week i came across a stop go guy near wilpinjong, middle of no where NSW. His sign was at stop but as I approached he was waving me past. We pulled up next to him and asked what was going on. His response was "your right to go, I can't be bothered turning my sign around.". Seriously?

jpd80 · 14-11-2011, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

Yes in many situations this is correct but unfortunately some lazy workers, often council will leave the signs out at night or on weekends even when they are for mowing the roadside or surveying etc.

These situations are EXTREMELY annoying and dangerous particularly when they cause traffic bunch ups.

The stretch South of Gladstone between Benaraby and Gin Gin is just appallingly bad,
It took my brother three hourd to get to Gin Gin last Thursday so we turned off at Miriam Vale
down to Bundy, South Kolan, cross the bridge and down to Apple tree creek in 2.5 hours...

A damning indictment on our road system when road works and crash zones can
reduce the Bruce highway to a slow pathetic crawl, filling motorists with frustration.

vanman_75 · 14-11-2011, 08:43 PM

I always slow down for the actual job , but the signs on the new work on the rocky - dingo road are set up miles literally before the job , I don't go tearing through but back down a bit ... no hope getting me driving 5 plus km for a culvet replacement geesh. And yes I have been a council worker also , its the idiots that speed over reseal and past actual people that gets me .

Of topic sorta , but gee it seems that road building has gone to the dogs with the costs of all these stop go / lcd screens / escorts etc all for pot hole repair , it must cost a fortune .and I don't know if its just me but it don't seem like they build em like they use to ?

SteveJH · 14-11-2011, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanman_75

I always slow down for the actual job , but the signs on the new work on the rocky - dingo road are set up miles literally before the job , I don't go tearing through but back down a bit ... no hope getting me driving 5 plus km for a culvet replacement geesh. And yes I have been a council worker also , its the idiots that speed over reseal and past actual people that gets me .

Of topic sorta , but gee it seems that road building has gone to the dogs with the costs of all these stop go / lcd screens / escorts etc all for pot hole repair , it must cost a fortune .and I don't know if its just me but it don't seem like they build em like they use to ?

All the stuff on the pacific highway in nsw seems fairly well done. big thick concrete slab, sometimes with tar on top, sometimes without.

EDManual · 14-11-2011, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheInterceptor

x2...

Also I drive to the conditions. I am not blind, and will do the limit or under when its needed. Otherwise, why do 40 for a few km when there is nothing there? (apart from the problem of being caught). And you cant tell me I could hit someone or something, as there is no one to hit. Road workers cant appear from a deserted outback highway?!

aussie muscle · 14-11-2011, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Nate

I used to be mad about how they left the speed signs up when no one was working at night,

or leaving it up over the 4 day long weekend...

vanman_75 · 14-11-2011, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveJH

All the stuff on the pacific highway in nsw seems fairly well done. big thick concrete slab, sometimes with tar on top, sometimes without.

Lol yer I see the roads nsw gets :( I mean qld north of bundy seems like its patch repatch resurface patch repatch ,

b0son · 14-11-2011, 10:10 PM

I slow down regardless of whether they're working or not (as pointed out, road conditions are seldom great and dont warrant maintaining the normal speed). That said, I will rarely do 40kmh ... I think its a ridiculous speed. Do we slow to 40kmh if there are pedestrians on the footpath? The vast majority of road works I drive past have ample space between workers and cars, if not barricades of some sort. I think they're being a bit precious TBH.

J.C. · 15-11-2011, 12:13 AM

School zones and road work signage.
There for a reason. To protect the lives.
Personally, I generally travel slightly under the posted limits within these areas, especially it the road is gravelled and/or wet.

In a blink of an eye, our pride and joys that we drive can become lethal weapons. Handle with care.

Windsor220 · 15-11-2011, 12:21 AM

I'll admit I rarely slow down to the posted limit for roadworks. The reason is Perth roads are forever being worked on and most of the time there isnt any actual work being done. The Kwinana freeway is a good example of this.

EL97 · 15-11-2011, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Windsor220

I'll admit I rarely slow down to the posted limit for roadworks. The reason is Perth roads are forever being worked on and most of the time there isnt any actual work being done. The Kwinana freeway is a good example of this.

I agree, Kwinana freeway is horrendous, especially around the cockburn area, heading north. Sometimes I'm tempted to just hop out the car and walk to perth.

Mad_Pom · 15-11-2011, 01:25 AM

I do slow down for road works, but what really ****** me off is when you are over taken (at speed) by road works vans, tip trucks, etc. We slow down to protect them, but it would seem that they don't hold the same reguard for each other. Really fricken annoying

2011G6E · 15-11-2011, 03:58 AM

I'm sure they'll listen and cancel it if you contest the inevitable speeding ticket in roadworks when you use the excuse "nothing looked to be going on"...

It's a speed sign...one of the few that's there for a very good reason. "There's plenty of room between the workers and traffic so they're being precious"? When you went past there was "plenty of room". In areas marked as 40 I usually see plenty of workers wandering about, as well as, perhaps more importantly, large and unweildy machinery operating within a couple of meters of the passing traffic. No room for error there, so why make it worse by letting the traffic go faster with less time to react if something goes wrong?