The strange case of the traffic jam that wasn't, and selfish arseholes that were

[vifferman]

OK, so we went to Roundabouta (the city formerly known as Tauranga) in the weekend, to deliver the Vifferbabe's mother, and give the doggies some beachtime. We made the somewhat dubious decision to come back on Monday, but left early so as to not get stuck in traffic queues. All was going swimmingly until we neared Maramarua, where there was an illuminated sign warning of "Traffic Queues at Maramarua", or somesuch. Sure enough, traffic soon slowed to halt, and alternated between that and a sub-5km/hour crawl for the next few kms. We figured we'd just tough it out, unlike some impatient important arseholes who decided to leave SH2 at Maramarua Golf Course and take a side road, that rejoined SH2 further up. We figured doing the same would accomplish little (apart from lumping us into the Selfish Arseholes Brigade), as the queues most likely stretched all the way home.
However (BUT!) when we got past Maramarua, miraculously traffic was flowing at 100km/h.:eek5:
The sole and only reason for the traffic slowing to a crawl for those few kilometres was that west of Maramarua, the traffic on SH2 had to slow to let in the selfish arsholes who
had bypassed the queue caused by people slowing to let in the selfish arseholes back onto SH2!!!:mad:

If either EVERYONE had been selfish aresholes, or NO-ONE had been selfish arseholes and just stayed on SH2, there would have been NO TRAFFIC JAMS!! Perhaps NOT putting up a sign might have helped too, or blocking off the side roads. I dunno. Human nature, eh?

So, overall for the trip from Roundabouta to D'Auckland, the trip computer on the car said our average rate of forward progress was less than 60 km/h, courtesy of those very few slow kilometres through Maramarua.

[Moise]

Interesting perspective on this. If you come off at the golf course, then you follow the old SH2 and rejoin past Mangatawhiri where the 90 km/h limit restarts. So I'm not sure about your logic.

The traffic often slows before Maramarua and speeds up where the 2 lanes start, which makes sense. So it's pointless to take the old road, and it just causes another slow patch where people rejoin at Mangatawhiri, although some of that traffic comes through Miranda.

I suspect a few kms of road bypassing Maramarua would make a big difference, especially now there's a roundabout at the Thames turn off.

[Gremlin]

I laugh at those that jump off, take old SH2 north to the end, then realise you can't go right onto SH2 and have to do a u-turn :lol:

I never use SH2 on a public day like that, I head through Hunua and you have a clean run for the most part. Too complicated for most to know, but then I don't live on the North Shore either :nya:

[Akzle]

aucklanders complaining about traffic :facepalm:

guess what aucklander. You ARE traffic.

:crybaby: if only EVERYONE ELSE would do something different then MY life would be easier. :nya:

[vifferman]

I laugh at those that jump off, take old SH2 north to the end, then realise you can't go right onto SH2 and have to do a u-turn :lol:

I never use SH2 on a public day like that, I head through Hunua and you have a clean run for the most part. Too complicated for most to know, but then I don't live on the North Shore either :nya:
In hindsight (wonderful thing that, eh?) I shoulda gorn the Ohinewai route. Plus if we go via SH2, we usually leave it anyway to visit my sisters in Ararimu, but the turn-off for that was way past this Unfortunate Series of Events. And (plus! ALSO!!) if we didn't have The Doggies along for the ride, we could have just gorn on the venerable ole VFR. But I'm getting olde, and like the comforts of my LazeeBoiVW. :wacko:

[Mike.Gayner]

Every fucking long weekend Aucklanders queue up to leave Auckland at the same time, then queue up to get back in. And every year we have to hear then bitching about it despite the fact nothing has changed.

[sidecar bob]

I find that driving past the golf course & timing my long blast on the horn with someone as they tee off to be far more rewarding than driving behind the golf course.

[R650R]

This has always been the norm for this area in any busy holiday or fine weekend period.

Despite your elaborate detour conspiracy theory its more likely someone was getting a speed ticket on the bypass or having a piss stop and all the rubber neckers brake lights jammed it up.
Also people might have legitimately been using that road for an icecream stop at the castle café or coming back from Miranda hotpools or Kaiaua.

Yeah I'd be doing a gremlin and going back via sky high rd or kawakawa bay if up at those times.

[Gremlin]

Also people might have legitimately been using that road for an icecream stop at the castle café
That's long closed... tis a dead place now.


Yeah I'd be doing a gremlin
u wot? :crazy:

[iYRe]

Hang a right and go through bombay, old gt sth road.. or back through hunua, or go south west a bit and come back up sh22.

Lots of none SH2 choices.. and all involve nicer roads, and better scenery.

Probably not faster.. so grab a coffee, crank the sounds and enjoy (or ride a bike and enjoy them even more)

[Moise]

BTW I came back through Hunua and Clevedon Mon afternoon. Good ride, no more traffic than usual, which is stuff all.

[vifferman]

This has always been the norm for this area in any busy holiday or fine weekend period.

Despite your elaborate detour conspiracy theory its more likely someone was getting a speed ticket on the bypass or having a piss stop and all the rubber neckers brake lights jammed it up.
Also people might have legitimately been using that road for an icecream stop at the castle café or coming back from Miranda hotpools or Kaiaua.
Nup, that's not the point (and nor was it any of those things). The point is, that traffic was not moving between Maramarua, and this one point west of it, where the side road merges onto SH2. The sole reason for this (and it was incredibly obvious!) was that cars on SH2 were slowing to allow traffic on the side road on the left to merge, causing traffic behind to be doing between 0 and 5km/h.
After this point, traffic was instantly and miraculously able to travel at 90-100km/h. IF no-one had been leaving SH2 and taking this other road, or IF the traffic on SH2 had obeyed the road rules and not given way to traffic entering from the side road on the left, EVERYONE (and not just these self-important dicks) would have been able to travel at 90-100.
Furthermore, IF there had NOT been a sign warning of queues, people wouldn't have got anxious and looked for alternative routes, because traffic would have been zipping along.
It was one of the most mental things I've seen on the road (and an hour of my life I'd like to have back).
I wouldn't have bothered bleating on here about it if the whole self-perpetuating cycle of silliness hadn't been so ludicrous.

[eldog]

I wouldn't have bothered bleating on here about it if the whole self-perpetuating cycle of silliness hadn't been so ludicrous.

Heading south, every night at Manurewa and Takanini exactly the same, worse on Fridays.....

Most people don't know how to merge like a zip, they have to try and beat one more person in the queue....

It will never change, ever, that's the NZ way.... well the Akl way I suppose.

Surprisingly nowhere near as bad in Aussie.

I just travel as much as possible outside these times to avoid the hassles, OK I get home later but I can spend more time with rellies, friends or on the beach....

[Moise]

Nup, that's not the point (and nor was it any of those things). The point is, that traffic was not moving between Maramarua, and this one point west of it, where the side road merges onto SH2. The sole reason for this (and it was incredibly obvious!) was that cars on SH2 were slowing to allow traffic on the side road on the left to merge, causing traffic behind to be doing between 0 and 5km/h.
After this point, traffic was instantly and miraculously able to travel at 90-100km/h. IF no-one had been leaving SH2 and taking this other road, or IF the traffic on SH2 had obeyed the road rules and not given way to traffic entering from the side road on the left, EVERYONE (and not just these self-important dicks) would have been able to travel at 90-100.
Furthermore, IF there had NOT been a sign warning of queues, people wouldn't have got anxious and looked for alternative routes, because traffic would have been zipping along.
It was one of the most mental things I've seen on the road (and an hour of my life I'd like to have back).
I wouldn't have bothered bleating on here about it if the whole self-perpetuating cycle of silliness hadn't been so ludicrous.
I'm still puzzled where this side road is? Do you mean the one at Mangatawhiri after the new road?

[Tazz]

So, all these vehicles turning off to avoid this traffic jam, were inadvertently causing said traffic jam that they were turning off to avoid? Hmm.


http://cdn.memegenerator.net/images/240x240/984.jpg

:bleh:

[pzkpfw]

Same reason why at the beginning and end of holidays, around here (and probably elsewhere) they block the outside lane where the passing lanes are.

When the traffic is heavy (and passing is pretty pointless anyway), having the traffic split and rejoin actually slows it down more than if it all just moves along at whatever speed it can manage.

Another "trick" people use heading North out of Wellington is to turn off at Aotea, go up past the Police College and back on to SH1 at the Paramata roundabout, now having right-of-way over the "normal" SH1 traffic. On heavy weekends the cops also block that off, as it really screws with the flow (if enough cars do it, SH1 comes to a stand-still as nobody ever gets a gap to move forward, constantly giving way to their right).

The rat-runs do mess with the traffic planners hopes and dreams; which they've usually screwed up enough already (let alone limits from budgets and nimbys) .


(SH1 ought to be two lane all the damn way. And lose the daft idea that main roads need to go through towns.)

[jasonu]

Heading south, every night at Manurewa and Takanini exactly the same, worse on Fridays.....

Most people don't know how to merge like a zip, they have to try and beat one more person in the queue....

It will never change, ever, that's the NZ way.... well the Akl way I suppose.

Surprisingly nowhere near as bad in Aussie.

....

Or in America.
Generally drivers over here are more courteous and way less likely to try to beat one more person in the queue.