Talk:Motorway
Nice article, but one comment/correction - contrary to what is claimed, British motorway speed limits (at least for cars) are no higher than those on any other unrestricted dual carriageway (70mph). I didn't edit, since I don't know the situation in Ireland.... Cambyses 06:03, 11 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Thanks, the absolute speed limits here in Ireland are 70mph for motorway, 60mph for National Primary Routes - even if dual-carriageway. (There is some consternation at this). Speed limits will be changing soon to km/h, with slight variations on existing limits, date to be announced sometime in September. All road signs in the country will be updated overnight!!!
I don't know the situation with speed limits in Britain, hence my error. If you can clarify the U.K. situation better, please do. I have amended the phrasing to say "generally" higher than ordinary roads. Also mentioned dual-carriageways being lower speeds in Ireland. Zoney 15:12, 11 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Merge flag
I'm not quite sure why the merge flag was put on here (to merge with Freeway as, SFAICT, there are enough different concepts involved that it seems sensible to keep them apart. Freeway is very much a US-only term, 'motorway' however is translated exactly within Europe (autostrad, autobahn, etc)). Disgree with merge therefore --VampWillow 22:24, 25 Jun 2004 (UTC)
- More Americano-centrism. I've been in the US. None of the various concepts there (freeway, expressway, etc.) entirely co-incide with the British/Irish Motorway. Also the article quite rightly focusses on the British/Irish road classification side of things. Merging? Crazy people. Bah! Zoney 19:04, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC)
- You missed the discussion (all on merge page!) and removal of the merge flag ... I did all the merging and separating out earlier today... I'll remove the bit you added about Europe and put it over into the correct articles if you don't mind. --VampWillow 19:31, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Inside/outside lanes
So there is apparently inconsistent usage about whether the near-median lanes are the inside or outside. So, I've avoided using that language in this article entirely, to avoid confusion. -- Beland 21:36, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- Not an option, inside and outside lanes are the terms in use. I'll attempt to better introduce them. zoney ♣ talk 22:15, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- Near-median lanes are always termed "outside" lanes, and the others "inside" lanes. In the US, I believe the situation is reversed (I may be wrong), but this article does not apply to the US. (see Freeway). zoney ♣ talk 22:21, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- I further clarified, since the first time I read this article, I ended up asking my English friends why on earth they would be required to pass on the shoulder side. Personally, I consider the outside lane to be the one closest to the edge (outside) of the roadway, but apparently some Californians consider it to be the other way around as well. Given the difference of opinion on this side of the Atlantic, are you sure that everyone in the UK uses the convention indicated? (Actually, the California driver's handbook says that lanes are officially numbered, lane 1 being the one closest to the median, and that's how the Highway Patrol and traffic reports generally call things, or Nth from the left/right.) -- Beland 05:18, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- Funnily enough, driving manuals in the UK identify the lane furthest from the central reservation as lane 1, and count up from there. Where traffic is forced onto the hard shoulder, they are on "Lane 0". Besides that, they are numbered from 1-5 (AFAIK, no motorway actually has more than 5 lanes in any one direction).
Feeder routes
I've clipped the following for the moment:
- Other times, the feeder routes are simply classified with the same number as the main motorway.
I'm not aware of any instances where this is actually the case for something longer than a slip road. The one exception I can think of is the infamous Heathrow spur to the M4 motorway at junction 4, however this doesn't lead inescapably to the motorway - Heathrow Airport is on one side and Hayes is on the other - you could feasibly drive the length of the spur from Hayes to the airport without being forced to join the M4. Chris 01:17, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)
- Interesting, I think that's the case I had remembered. If it doesn't join the M4, why is it a motorway? They just wanted to ban bikes from it? What's used however when there's a motorway parallel to a road, with a short connector road joining them? Is that designated as a separate highway? --SPUI (talk) 00:25, 4 Jan 2003 (UTC)