Dual Carriageways

[Liamblink182]

Thanks for all your opinions. I cycled it today and felt fairly confident however im a bit nervous about cycling on it when theres more traffic.

 

[gaz]

when i cycle on them i'm looking over my shoulder a lot more. you can see the bad overtakes coming and take action to avoid them!

 

[GrasB]

Genrally they're safe enough it's mostly confidence. I find you get less high speed close passes compared to a single lane single carriageway. Turning right on a high speed dual carriageway requires confidence & you'll need to be patient & signalling/manoeuvring much much earlier than you would otherwise.

iamanidiot, I'm not so sure about that really. My experience is you get far more aggravation from motorists on the 'old' road rather than the 'new' dual carriageway as a group riding even though far more motorists will pass you on the dual carriageway.

 

[iamanidiot]

Would you cycle on 40mph limit ones then?

Yes, and I do on a regular basis (though one lane is usually a bus lane) - I can cycle at ~30mph and a 10mph difference in speed is not too much of a problem. Also, I think slow moving traffic is more likely to be expected in 40mph duals.

 

[zimzum42]

I've cycled the A10 to Cambridge a few times, no problems except for a puncture once...

Not sure I'd ride some parts of the A1, quite a lot of trucks...

Clearly you have to look at each road as it comes, but most are fine, just don't go for the big ones that don't have a motorway nearby, they will be full of trucks...

 

[Cyclist33]

Have cycled from So'ton to Winchester several times in a previous life on various roads incl dual carriageways, never really minded it. As said earlier, the road surface is usually preety sweet. I get a bit freaked out by lorries roaring past at 60 on the outside lane but it's a good buzz when it happens. I have to concentrate pretty hard keep my focus though throughout.

Also used to commute on the A road from Oxford to Wallingford for a year - can't remember the road number (who cares?) but it was dual carriageway heaven. I lived in Sheffield for the last 3 years and count myself as the only commuter from our office who used the Parkway to get from work to town on a bike. Everyone seemed to think it was either illegal or crazy or both.

Did the A483 from Wrexham to Chester the other week. A nice road to get up some momentum on.

cyc

 

[XmisterIS]

The A27 from Portsmouth to Chichester is a national speed limit road with virtually no hard shoulder. Cars regularly go flying down there at 80 or 90 mph or more. The other day I saw a guy cycling along it! Nuts, insane, barking, cuckoo, lunatic, etc ... especially when there is a lovely rural route that goes via Emsworth, is a bit shorter than the A27 route and avoids all fast moving traffic!

 

[redddraggon]

Did the A483 from Wrexham to Chester the other week. A nice road to get up some momentum on.

Plenty of better roads to ride Wrexham to Chester than a quasi-Motorway

 

[gbb]

A47 and Peterborough Parkway is dualled (sometimes 3 lanes) with a national speed limit. For the most part the lanes are wide, almost motorway quality.
I do occasionally ride it but with caution. The hard shoulders are wide (6 ft), but there's a lot of debris so you find yourself nearer the traffic than you'd like.
Lorries do fairly fly past quite close....much closer than they would normally. Its the same mentality you see on cycle lanes...there's a white line and so long as he's his side...he's alright (maybe)

Exits and entries onto the DC are the problem. 70mph traffic, sometimes heavy, it can be difficult to cross those points safely. 2 cyclists killed at those points that i can remember, and one crippled.

So yes, i do very very occasionally ride them quite confidently...but dont unless absolutely neccessary. Why would i when there are plenty of safer alternatives. JMO.

 

[TWBNK]

Cyclecraft has some good advice for navigating entry and exit slips.

 

[on the road]

I sometimes ride on the A540 or sometimes the A41, I reckon dual carriageways are a lot safer then single carriageways due to the traffic all traveling in one direction.

 

[upsidedown]

The A491 between Stourbridge and Bromsgrove is quite nasty. Average speeds are 70 ish and for some reason it's reduced to 1 lane for a short section half way along. I see some fast riders on there but don't think i could hold the speed to make it safe.
It's more like a de-regulated motorway than a dual carriageway, as i guess a lot of the rural ones are.

 

[JoysOfSight]

So long as the traffic is not too heavy, I've never had any problems on 70mph grade-separated dual carriageway.

Think about it - traffic is going at 70-80mph+ instead of 60-70mph as I experience on the smaller roads by routine. However, there is no chance of someone coming around a corner behind you and slamming into you, the viewing conditions on dual carriageways are always vast. Secondly, there is a lane to overtake you on with no oncoming traffic.

There are also hardly any junctions, which is great news because we all know that the vast majority of accidents happen at junctions. If it's not blatantly clear to ride across the slip road then just ride up to the roundabout and down the other slip.

I totally understand that people don't feel safe doing it, but really, it's hard to think of a reason why it's actually less safe (are you going to survive a shunt by a van doing 60-70mph on an A road, but not one doing 85mph on a dual?)

 

[Origamist]

So long as the traffic is not too heavy, I've never had any problems on 70mph grade-separated dual carriageway.

Think about it - traffic is going at 70-80mph+ instead of 60-70mph as I experience on the smaller roads by routine. However, there is no chance of someone coming around a corner behind you and slamming into you, the viewing conditions on dual carriageways are always vast. Secondly, there is a lane to overtake you on with no oncoming traffic.

There are also hardly any junctions, which is great news because we all know that the vast majority of accidents happen at junctions. If it's not blatantly clear to ride across the slip road then just ride up to the roundabout and down the other slip.

I totally understand that people don't feel safe doing it, but really, it's hard to think of a reason why it's actually less safe (are you going to survive a shunt by a van doing 60-70mph on an A road, but not one doing 85mph on a dual?)

As someone who spent quite a few hours on the A38 also known as the Devon Expressway (70mph limit) I know where you're coming from. That said, I would not want to downplay the problem of sliproads and traffic moving at between 70mph and 90mph+.

Whilst sight lines are often better on dual carriageways, motorists tend not to see cyclists on trunk roads and this does not help matters when they do encounter cyclists riding at 20mph or so. It's also true that oncoming traffic is not a problem, but with a stream of overtaking traffic in the oustide lane you need to be constantly aware of what's going on behind you due to the huge speed differentials.

 

[upsidedown]

So long as the traffic is not too heavy, I've never had any problems on 70mph grade-separated dual carriageway.

Think about it - traffic is going at 70-80mph+ instead of 60-70mph as I experience on the smaller roads by routine. However, there is no chance of someone coming around a corner behind you and slamming into you, the viewing conditions on dual carriageways are always vast. Secondly, there is a lane to overtake you on with no oncoming traffic.

There are also hardly any junctions, which is great news because we all know that the vast majority of accidents happen at junctions. If it's not blatantly clear to ride across the slip road then just ride up to the roundabout and down the other slip.

I totally understand that people don't feel safe doing it, but really, it's hard to think of a reason why it's actually less safe (are you going to survive a shunt by a van doing 60-70mph on an A road, but not one doing 85mph on a dual?)

What you're saying makes complete sense, but it still feels wrong to be on there. The numerous old bunches of flowers tied to the barriers don't exactly fill me with confidence either.