Fred Duck Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 I've never been but might in a few weeks time - Junc 5 to Junc 8 heading West. Am I correct in that the van (2004 Ducatto/Bessacarr E410) will be classed as a 'Class 4' vehicle and, therefore, cost me only slightly less than an HGV? FD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John H Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Hi Fred, I accidentally got on the M6 Toll last Saturday in a low profile coachbuilt and was charged £9.00. My Tom Tom was supposed to warn me of toll roads but for some reason, on this occasion, it didn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Yes, it's very confusing. Last time I went that way, M6T used exactly the same symbols for different categories on its advance signs as (say) Dartford, but had a very different way of defining them! Whereas Dartford treats every motorhome as a "car," regardless of size, M6T uses an automatic device which measures the height of the vehicle at the point of the front axle. The threshold is something absurd like 1metre, which even some people-carriers will fall foul of. The only motorhomes which might get under it are those based on small vans or pickups with a "proper" bonnet - like the Romahome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmbeedee Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 We got caught earlier this year. M6 south was very congested so my wife suggested trying it out. Same price as an HGV, £9.40. I remonstrated with the attendant as we aren't one, but no good of course. We vowed never to use it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Duck Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 From what I read on their website, the maximum height, if you are to be considered a car, is 1.3m taken as a vertical line through the centre of the front wheels and this is 'measured' by some sort of sensor. The vast majority of vans will, like ours, exceed this. It's taxed as a car, every other toll I've come across treats it as a car, the ferries charge it as a car (18'-4" long) but the M6 Toll consider it an HGV and charge it as such. They won't be charging me, however, as I'll be going another way. £2 or £3 yes, £9+, no way. We often travel on the M42 to and from Herefordshire and have done for years and therefore pass the M6T. It always seems all but empty. Now I realise why. What a waste!! FD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvin Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 We live near the toll road, however, we use the A5 and pick up the A38, then follow the sign for the Belfy/M42. It takes us no longer towing a car behind our motorhome and we are £9 better off each way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 John H - 2009-09-10 8:45 AM Hi Fred, I accidentally got on the M6 Toll last Saturday in a low profile coachbuilt and was charged £9.00. My Tom Tom was supposed to warn me of toll roads but for some reason, on this occasion, it didn't. "Accidentally....." do you drive with your eyes close? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvin Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Signage for the M6 Toll road are less than clear, that is not an accident, at one stage it was rumoured that local road to be closed in order to force the locals onto the toll road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Melvin - 2009-09-11 2:11 PM Signage for the M6 Toll road are less than clear, that is not an accident, at one stage it was rumoured that local road to be closed in order to force the locals onto the toll road. I heard this one, and when i first travelled down to it, all I can assume is people are a bit thick, or dont go on motorways very often, or are getting a bit too much grey hair, as the signage perfectly clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RupertGS Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 handyman - 2009-09-11 4:37 PM Melvin - 2009-09-11 2:11 PM Signage for the M6 Toll road are less than clear, that is not an accident, at one stage it was rumoured that local road to be closed in order to force the locals onto the toll road. I heard this one, and when i first travelled down to it, all I can assume is people are a bit thick, or dont go on motorways very often, or are getting a bit too much grey hair, as the signage perfectly clear. People accuse me of being a bit blunt sometimes but I'm not sure that even I would write something like the above! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Coming off the M6 non toll in heavy traffic at speed it is very easy to find yourself in the wrong lane and I have nearly gone on the Toll road in error a couple of times from different directions but have worked it out in time and switched lanes - but it can be confusing unless you are familiar with the road layout and it does give the distinct impression that someone wants you to use the expensive (in a van) toll road rather than the free one. Maybe it's because the owners of the toll road paid for the junctions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 To my certain knowledge signage for the M6 toll road starts several miles before the junction (from both directions). Handyman may be a bit blunt in how he has expressed his opinion but I actually agree with him, you'd have to be blind or daft or just plain old "driving without due care and attention" to ACCIDENTALLY end up on the toll road. Amusingly about a week or two before it opened some prat managed to not only find his way onto the as yet not open toll road but then proceeded to run into a stationary 18 Tonne excavator! I kid you not! D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 as stated every so often in Private Eye, is the toll charge mess on the M6 is down to the government *-) They agreed to a private firm to finance and run the toll road, which you may accept, but didnt say what the charges should be. So, like any business would do, they found the way to get the most profit of the least cost. Higher charges = Less traffic but Less traffic = Less maintance costs. This all means that the toll has little effect on the costs or congestion on the old M6.....you couldnt make it up *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Same as Dartford crossing - tolls were only supposed to be until it was paid for, but then instead of abolishing them the Govt increased them - supposedly to counter congestion. But no-one who uses trhe crossing has any choice, so that could never work, and in any case the only cause of congestion is the toll booths - as proved the day they broke down and everything flowed so smoothly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John H Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 starvin marvin - 2009-09-11 12:23 PM John H - 2009-09-10 8:45 AM Hi Fred, I accidentally got on the M6 Toll last Saturday in a low profile coachbuilt and was charged £9.00. My Tom Tom was supposed to warn me of toll roads but for some reason, on this occasion, it didn't. "Accidentally....." do you drive with your eyes close? Do I drive with my eyes close?? Close to what??? Close together?? Close to the windscreen?? Or do you mean CLOSED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvin Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 John H dont take it personel, I too took some grief, like you people are only expressing their opinion, you dont have to agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwaviation Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I always thought that the sensible way forward was to charge traffic for routing through Brum and let transit traffic use the new bypass for free. Hey they could even call it a congestion charge :-D Pity the poor peeps who live in Birmingham who were promised an end to the daily chaos only to see it get worse with an unused bypass next door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 Always use the m6 toll road if heading south and not using the m5. we think it is worth the expense. we tow so it costs us more than £9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 John H - 2009-09-11 11:53 PM starvin marvin - 2009-09-11 12:23 PM John H - 2009-09-10 8:45 AM Hi Fred, I accidentally got on the M6 Toll last Saturday in a low profile coachbuilt and was charged £9.00. My Tom Tom was supposed to warn me of toll roads but for some reason, on this occasion, it didn't. "Accidentally....." do you drive with your eyes close? Do I drive with my eyes close?? Close to what??? Close together?? Close to the windscreen?? Or do you mean CLOSED Ha! so you managed to read the deliberate mistake then, but not the signs for the M6T. Thats interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 (lol) very good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhorsf Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Was round there yesterday the signs must be so big Stevie Wonder could see em :-D as the advert says SHOULD A GONE TO SPECSAVERS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 jhorsf - 2009-09-14 1:04 PM Was round there yesterday the signs must be so big Stevie Wonder could see em :-D the huge signs coupled with the huge white writing on the road, and all repeated 3 or 4 times before you hit the amazingly simple Y (or you could call it a slip road) junction *-) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAS Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Yes you can `acidentally` get lost on a dual carrigeway. We were on the A14 Saturday morning when a car in front of us indicated, pulled into a large layby & drove straight out again without stopping. I think he thought it was the slip road a bit furthur ahead even though it had a big blue `P`sign before it.......and as far as I could see he had his eyes wide open.... 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 There goes that "driving without due care and attention" guy again :D . D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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