M8 ranked among UK's roads to hell

Published on Thursday 26 November 2009 21:40

DRIVERS have voted Scotland's busiest stretch of motorway as having some of the scariest junctions in Britain.

The M8 junction at either end of the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow were placed tenth worst in the league of terror

The M8 through Glasgow city centre, with its closely spaced sliproads on both sides of the main carriageway, was placed second only to Spaghetti Junction on the M6 in Birmingham in the league of terrifying intersections. The M8's junctions at either end of the Kingston Bridge over the Clyde, just to the south, were placed tenth worst.

A survey by breakdown firm Britannia Rescue, published today, shows that nearly one in 12 drivers completely avoids such junctions.

Motorists were also found to drive an average of 238 extra miles a year on detours as a result.

The poll of 3,225 drivers found that 2 per cent were so nervous that they avoided making right turns at all costs, while 14 per cent gave urban areas a miss.

One in four thought many junctions were badly designed.

More than 100,000 vehicles a day use the M8 in Glasgow city centre, which has four major junctions in a single mile and suffers lengthy rush-hour tailbacks.

Unusually, several slip roads leave the motorway from the right to avoid conflict with sliproads bringing traffic on to the M8 from the left. Other slip roads on to the motorway take drivers directly into the fast lane, while motorists have to contend with up to five lanes in each direction.

There is also no refuge for nervous drivers trying to play it safe by sticking to the slow lane, because this turns into a slip road off the motorway at several locations.

A retired doctor from Dundee who reluctantly uses the M8 to visit her daughter's family in Glasgow said she wished she could find an alternative route.

She said: "I try to come when it is not too busy, then grit my teeth and hope for the best. I do not know any other way to go."

David D Miller, who has an M8 layout website, said the 40-year-old motorway was poorly designed and incomplete.

He said: "It was designed at a time when people did not properly understand how motorways worked and everything was put too closely together.

"The road is taking far more traffic than was ever intended because it was due to be part of a larger motorway network. However, the M74 extension will improve the situation."

The Institute of Advanced Motorists advised drivers unfamiliar with the M8 to do their homework.

Policy and research director Neil Greig said: "There is no doubt the motorway layout through Glasgow can catch out the unwary and the timid. The combination of nearside and offside slip roads, volume of traffic, unique overhead signals and frequency of junctions demands absolute concentration to negotiate it safely.

"The best advice is to prepare in advance so you know the junction numbers you want or the final destination signs to follow."

Blackspots get combined traffic light and speed cameras

SCOTLAND'S first combined red traffic light and speed cameras are being installed at 13 accident blackspots across Glasgow.

Film cameras at the sites are being replaced with digital equipment to catch speeders when the lights are green or amber in addition to drivers who jump the lights on red.

However, concern has been raised because the use of speed cameras at the sites does not have to meet the crash history criteria for new cameras elsewhere.

Institute of Advanced Motorists spokesman Neil Greig said: "This new approach risks sending confusing messages to drivers already very sensitive to allegations of revenue raising and 'big brother' tactics when it comes to automatic enforcement."

However, Strathclyde Safety Camera Partnership manager Gladys Cadden said: "It is clear that speeding through a signalised junction constitutes an additional hazard to all road users, and we consider that it would be remiss of us to ignore legal evidence of offences committed in that way."