Author Topic: Horns Bridge Roundabout  (Read 3522 times)

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Umpire

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Horns Bridge Roundabout
« on: February 12, 2019, 07:46:17 PM »
Today for the third time in a month I almost got wiped out on this rooundabout.I came down from Hasland and joined the bypass just before the island and took the  middle lane  towards the Tesco roundabout.Just as I was about to pass the town centre exit this  idiot in the outside lane flew past me and went  towards the Lordsmill Street roundabout.As i said thats the third time I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
No wonder there are so many accidents there as you cannot legislate for lunatics.

Sorastro

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2019, 08:27:29 PM »
It is for that very reason I avoid all 3 roundabouts on that stretch of road if at all possible. If I need the West side of town I usually go through St. Augustines or Grangewood, East side, Piccadilly and Swadale, I only go on there if it's absolutely necessary. Going round those Islands is like being on the dodgems.  Also this is why I don't go anywhere without my dash cam on.
 Over the years since that dual carriageway from Whitt moor to Horns bridge was first opened I travelled that stretch on a daily basis {to and from work} I have seen stunts pulled on there that would make your hair curl.

The thing that I just don't understand is why "drivers" going round the islands suddenly decide they need that particular exit, so risk a pile up cutting across lanes of traffic {as in the previous post} if you miss your turn GO ROUND THE ISLAND AGAIN and get in the right lane, surely it's better to add another minute to your working day than risk six months in traction, {or worse!}
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Alsatian

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2019, 10:21:27 PM »
Yes, the exit to Lordsmill St from the roundabout seems to be a hot-spot, it's also happened to me on numerous occasions.

I also agree with your solution of going round the roundabout again if you miss your exit but, there's a fatal flaw in your thinking, people don't leave enough time for their journey! If I'm planning to be somewhere for a certain time, I always leave 10 minutes earlier than necessary in case of any delays, therefore going round again wouldn't be a problem. Not so, if like many people, you leave it till the last minute to start your journey.
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bransoj

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2019, 09:12:37 AM »
Forever hearing from folk that the roundabouts are bad and difficult to use when in reality its mainly bad driving that causes all the issues. If you read the signs and follow the markings on the road then they will work ok in general. I generally only use it to go either from town up the bypass to the M1 or vice versa and dont  have any issues. The issues i do see are people in the middle lane from town then going right up Derby Rd so cutting across traffic correctly in the right hand lane whilst also leading to people being blocked from the middle lane going up the bypass so they try silly things to go around the blockage. You can see from this link on Google Streetview its clearly marked up that the middle lane is for the A617 straight on and the right hand lane is for the A61S.

https://goo.gl/maps/vCZSm13qpKk

Remember this was posted by the Derbyshire Times facebook page quite a while ago...someone had resorted to a You Tube clip to try and explain to folk how the roundabout worked :-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKcJLwG0p9w

For me one of the worst ones is the Kwik Fit roundabout that struggles to cope with the traffic and folk just blocking exits which causes a build up of traffic or failing miserably to realise that if you come up to the roundabout from B&Q etc you can go left without stopping onto Markham Rd...seen a few incidents where folk have nearly rear ended people just stopping for no reason at all.

Alsatian

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2019, 11:02:00 AM »
All the above posts point to one thing.........

When you're driving plan your route in advance and concentrate 100% on driving ignoring distractions such as taking phone calls etc.

Or is that three things?!
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Sorastro

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #5 on: February 13, 2019, 11:36:29 AM »
Going round an island again, it's better to be late in this world than early in the next.

The trouble is bransoj unfortunately "bad" drivers are the elephant in the room, as with guns, guns don't kill people... people kill people. Everything in life works well when done properly. I've said it before and I'll say it again... we are basically STILL travelling on 1960's style roads. The road network in this country has not kept up with demand it's pathetic, the M1 for example, I was driving that stretch of road very soon after it opened round here and by the mid 70's it was classed THEN as not fit for purpose and here we are 40 years down the line and apart from an extra lane here and there nothings changed {apart from the traffic volume}.
I am not a pessimist, I just help them out when they're busy.

bransoj

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #6 on: February 13, 2019, 01:38:27 PM »
I'm on the M1 a fair bit these days due to working on Derby and sometimes come down that way....again a  lot of it is bad driving, folk just sitting in the wrong lane when not overtaking etc just holds up traffic. Coming down the other week and there was a 60mph limit which was working well and traffic moving until we came across a  bloke sat doing 55mph in lane 3 with nothing inside him for quite a way. I came up behind him, and whilst i probably shouldnt, i flashed him to try and make him realise but he didnt move and when i went past him he turned to shout abuse at me whilst holding his phone to his ear!

Not just when its busy either, number of times on quieter times i find myself moving from lane 1 to lane 3 and back to go past someone sat doing 60 in the middle lane. Not sure if its just because i am on there more but it seems worse since it went to 4 lanes, we sat for ages moaning about the roadworks to do the extra lane then just use 2/3 of them because some folk seem to think the inside lane shouldnt be used for whatever reason. At times if you wanted to you can actually make a lot more progress just by staying in the inside lane and going past folk as they stop start in the heavier traffic in the other lanes.

Sorastro

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #7 on: February 13, 2019, 08:57:41 PM »
From the mid 70's till 2000 I used the motorway frequently in the job I was doing. We were sent out daily with a set amount of work, this was classed as a days work basically set by people who had never done the job. Until the postal strikes of the early seventies this work was done by the post, so our company started using own vehicle deliveries and so was in it's infancy.
Obviously, depending on how you approached the days work, your working day could be 8 hours {or less} that's if you got your toe down and ran instead of walked, if you tackled it the time and motion way {officially the correct way} it was an absolute minimum of 9-10 hours sometimes more.
The vast majority of vehicles on the road between 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mon through Fri were delivery vehicles, 90% of which had the same mindset as us "get out there, get it done. get home" especially when the weather was bad, and that must still hold true to this day. That meant that for most of your day you were being "held up" on the roads. Although it was very frustrating I and others must have created the illusion of being "bad" drivers. I firmly believe it was the very people who used to hold us up {unintentionally mostly} that coined the phrase "WHITE VAN MAN"
This label was probably very apt for some, as not all white vans were driven by delivery drivers.
I am not a pessimist, I just help them out when they're busy.

Umpire

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #8 on: February 13, 2019, 09:19:25 PM »
I think that on the Horns Bridge Roundabout the biggest recipe for trouble is the road coming from the M1.There are many drivers who take the lane with the least number of cars in it wherever they are going.You have only got to watch them swapping lanes  as they approach it.Pure madness.

With regard to lane driving  on the M1 the other week I got on at J29 going south and this car was in lane 3 when it was not very busy.I built up was no doubt that it was on cruise control and was not going to move at any cost.Trouble is there are very motorway cars to apprehend people like that.

Fly

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #9 on: February 13, 2019, 10:50:32 PM »
The worst offenders on Horns Bridge roundabout are indeed those that come from the M1 in the right lane lane then cut across at the last minute to go into town. Similiar to those in the right lane at the bottom of Boythorpe Rd who want to go up Rutland Rd.
Many have nearly hit me, cos I don't hit the brakes to let them in  >: >;
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Sorastro

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #10 on: February 14, 2019, 12:25:32 PM »
The worst offenders on Horns Bridge roundabout are indeed those that come from the M1 in the right lane lane then cut across at the last minute to go into town. Similiar to those in the right lane at the bottom of Boythorpe Rd who want to go up Rutland Rd.
Many have nearly hit me, cos I don't hit the brakes to let them in  >: >;

One solution at horns bridge would be to slow down traffic coming from the M1 by placing a 30 M.P.H. restriction at least 1/4 mile before horns bridge {with speed cameras and better directional signage} as the reason drivers change lanes is that they hit horns bridge at break neck speed and haven't read the signs properly.
CLOSE the Hasland slip road onto the 617 at Whitehouses altogether, making the approach to horns bridge from the M1 only two lanes, and re open the OLD Hasland road at Whitehouses {past the old Houldsworths depot} for traffic from Hasland with lights at the bridge end to filter onto the island, the result would be:-
Old Hasland road traffic can then safely turn either right {Clay X} or left {town} without having to "merge" with speeding traffic.
The speed cameras would ensure drivers approach horns bridge at a comfortable safe speed enabling them to read the signs.
The two lanes on the 617 approaching horns bridge would then be clearly marked thus....
1st lane {old middle lane}....... to Clay Cross, B&Q and Markham road exit {A617 lane 1} .
2nd lane {old outer lane}.........to town centre exit {A617 lane 2}, A61 Dronfield, or back to M1. 
I think this system would drastically reduce lane changing. 
 
I am not a pessimist, I just help them out when they're busy.

smithy266

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #11 on: February 14, 2019, 03:22:19 PM »
Problem is that these schemes are designed by folks who have no idea....usually county council employees.

Old Cruser

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #12 on: February 14, 2019, 07:46:06 PM »
Problem is that these schemes are designed by folks who have no idea....usually county council employees.

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Tarzan

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #13 on: February 14, 2019, 07:53:51 PM »
I would like to nominate another  new contender for a badly designed & marked roundabout. That being the sainsburys roundabout, which has recently had another junction/ exit  added. Anyone who is familiar with this roundabout as it was prior to the new junction/ exit, will know that, when travelling up Rother way,  the right hand lane has always been used  to go to brimington, & the left hand lane to go to sainsburys.  Since the addition of the new exit, the signs show the left hand lane to turn left (sainsburys) & straight on ( the new housing development exit), & the right hand lane shows a right turn which can only be to brimington, as if you continue going right you could  go back down rother way in the direction you just came from. Many drivers seem to get confused & wrongly assume that the left lane, (marked left & straight on) is for  brimington It's even more fun & games when you get to the roundabout itself as the lane marking on the road must also be even more confusing for strangers to this  set up !

Fly

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Re: Horns Bridge Roundabout
« Reply #14 on: February 14, 2019, 10:50:40 PM »
Agreed Tarzan. The left lane should not be signed as straight on. At the end of the day, the only people who are going to use the new turning at present are the contractors, and they know where they need to turn. Utter stupidity  :-X
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