I made a thread the other day (I say the other day but it was probably over two years ago) praising the 'Managed Motorway' sections that have been appearing in the UK over the last few years. You know what I'm talking about? The now call them 'Smart Motorways'.



The overhead gantries carry information for motorists and speed cameras make sure they stick to them. I was impressed by how well this technology seemed to have worked on the M62 around Leeds, where regular congestion had been managed even at rush hour. It was a thumbs up from here.

However my mood has changed since then. Last Saturday night I was whizzing down the motorway to London from the North West to see my girlfriend. I hadn't seen her for three weeks so I was quite errr....eager to get there as quickly as possible

As you may know the M42 is one of these 'Smart Motorways' and even though it was 11.30PM and I was the only car on the road, the active traffic management was in action. The speed limit flashed up at the gantries in the following sequence: 50>40>50>30>50, then two miles at 50mph. And what for? One car broken down in the hard shoulder being recovered.