Yep, on the stretch I do from Reading to London they introduced a bus lane as temporary test which took away a lane from cars and reduced everyone to 50 mph. There was a huge uproar about this due to the increased amount of time it was taking to commute. So much so they took away the bus lane after a few months. When the stats came out average travel time was actually quicker throughout with the 50 mph speed limit than before or after.
On another note I'm worried...literally that whole 40 miles is being converted into smart motorway with an advertised finish date of 2022 and the whole section now being roadworks. I'm guessing we're now talking about roadworks until 2028 until they make a decision.
The evolution of the car industry over the next 30 years is going to be pretty interesting. It seems inevitable that all cars will end up being driverless. But you have to wonder where that leaves the performance and exotic car market. As somebody who lives driving but also is incredibly busy, I can both see the advantages from a productivity standpoint of not having to drive anymore, but also the sadness of losing a great joy in life. I’ve always had Performance cars, but I know my next one will probably be my last. You have to wonder how car markers are going to bring about this cultural shift.
One thing that never gets talked about in these conversations is the untold value of data. A lot of newer vehicles, particularly Tesla, are constantly streaming data back. This is going to increase exponentially. A likely evolution is that many people will not own a car, they will car share, and have a vehicle show up at their house at a particular time and shuttle them to work. For those that do own vehicles, I know for a fact that internal development of these vehicles is focused around them having automated tasks while the user is not present. For example, your car will drive you to work, and then it will go off and pick up your dry cleaning, etc., and meet you back at it’s designated point. I say this because I have inside knowledge of what the strategic intent is. And those involved are most excited about the scope and detail of data collected as people’s cars perform more of their day to day tasks for them.
It’s always funny to me reading these threads about traffic and driving. I’ve lived in the US for 17 years now, and I can tell you that the traffic system out here is so much worse than back at home. Firstly, there is virtually no driving test. I got my license without having a single lesson. I truly had no clue how to drive, and I still passed. And that was in California which is stricter than many states. Consequently, when you are on the roads here, it’s obvious that no one has a clue what they are doing. On the motorways, you’ll have five lanes of cars all driving at the same speed but tons of space in front of them. No one moved over to let you pass, there is no such thing as a fast lane. You can “undertake” as freely as you can overtake. Hence you see cars just weaving from lane to lane. There is just no order at all.
