M6 TOLL ROAD

[tamworthkamper]

Does anyone use this regulary as we used it the other day and were charged £9 to go from Tamworth to the M6 which is no more than 12 miles in our Compass 120 is it any wonder the traffic is still bad around Birmingham.

On the French tolls you get more distance for your money

I guess this is another prime example of rip of britian 8o|

[Minstrel]

LAst Autumn we strayed onto the toll road by accident. When we arrived at the first toll booth, we told them and they directed us the way to return onto the road we wanted and our toll was annulled. We thought that was pretty good, but the junction was not as obviously signposted as us southerners needed!

[handyman]

the same price as a 40 ton lorry *-) *-) *-)

[Usinmyknaus]

I avoid it on principal. I've already paid vast amounts of taxes for roads over the last umpteen years and I object strongly to paying again. It's just another rip-off tax.

 

Bob

[GJH]

tamworthkamper - 2008-03-02 10:40 PM

I guess this is another prime example of rip of britian 8o|

Not at all - just another example of the benefits of privatising public services :D

 

Graham

[GJH]

Usinmyknaus - 2008-03-03 7:56 AM

It's just another rip-off tax.

 

Bob

Not so Bob. The M6 toll road is privately owned by Midland Expressway Ltd - they get the income not the government. See HERE

 

Graham

[Tony Jones]

What really annoys me about it is the inconsistency. We used it ONCE in "Hannibal" (our old van), and on the approach saw signs with exactly the same symbols and icons for different classes of vehicle as used at Dartford Crossing (where we count as a car).

Only when we got to the toll booth did we find that on the M6T we're a truck - I still don't fully understand the criterion, but it's something to do with the height MEASURED AT THE FRONT AXLE. How is anyone supposed to know that, from the roadside signs?

Whatever the tolls are, and whoever gets them, surely it's not beyond the wit of the Highways Agency to come up with universal definitions for the various categories of vehicle?

Just think of the confusion at the moment, about not only about tolls but also driving licence classes, taxation categories ... EVERYTHING!

 

There's a silly little one-way flyover in Chelmsford called the "Army and Navy" (don't ask!), which has a sign ahead of it simply saying "Cars Only." That seemed pretty meaningless to me, and I guessed that the actual regulation or order it referred to must have a clear definition, so I made some enquiries at County Hall, and got an e-mail which defined it by weight (higher than Hannibal's). So I put a printout of the e-mail in the van, and started using the flyover. No-one's challenged me yet. But why don't they simply use a universally-understood sign for a weight limit?

 

Rant over.

 

Tony

 

[handyman]

when the toll started, lorrys were £16

 

Campervans, vans, and cars with trailers was £8

 

The lorrys didnt use it because it was too expensive, so they reduced the lorrys down to the £8 price.

[J9withdogs]

Very slightly off-topic, but our local council-owned car parks have a weight limit of 1525kg, which is stated in very small print in their t & c's.

 

That excludes many of today's big 4x4s, which in a rural area many people own.

 

Since the car parks are now patrolled by private money-grabbing companies, shoppers are getting fined!

 

They don't encourage people to come into the town, do they?

[donna miller]

There was a debate a few years ago about the M6 toll road.

 

As it is a privately owned road, can the police book you for speeding ?

 

 

[J9withdogs]

Yes and they do!

[GJH]

J9withdogs - 2008-03-03 9:23 AM

 

Very slightly off-topic, but our local council-owned car parks have a weight limit of 1525kg, which is stated in very small print in their t & c's.

 

That excludes many of today's big 4x4s, which in a rural area many people own.

There are quite a few councils with that limit but enforcement differs throughout the country.

 

The 1525 Kg comes from the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 which gave councils parking enforcement powers. The weight has since been amended in the legislation but not in the TROs of some councils.

 

It isn't only 4x4s which are affected, it also catches some larger cars made by the likes of BMW and Mercedes - and even some types of Ford Mondeo.

 

Graham

[bob b]

Looking at the Midland Express web site, it descibes the toll road as an "exciting development".......that much is certainly true, judging by the comments !!

[RoyH]

J9withdogs.

 

What town in Shropshire is that. I'll know to avoid it in my Kia Sportage. I often pass through parts of Salop on my way to north Wales to some friends, going on Wednesday actually.

 

[J9withdogs]

I live in Bridgnorth, which is a lovely market town on the River Severn.

 

Unfortunately we now have Park Right wardens patrolling (in pairs), generally behaving like Hitlers >:-(

[bjphillips]

Going slightly off topic,I commented some time ago in response to someone who was fined because his M/H body overhung the roadside parking bay lines in a town somewhere but didnt draw any replies.Having parked in Plymouth on the Hoe in a marked bay I was a bit worried I might get a ticket because my 7mtr M/H overhung quite a bit & as there was 2 parking attendants coming along I asked them if it was okay.They replied that it was perfectly ok as long as the wheels were within the lines each end & that was the law so it would seem that if thats true then a lot of people have been fined unecessarily.They assured me that was the instruction given to them by their boss!!!!!!!! *-)

[RoyH]

I know this thread is getting off topic but here is an interesting website about parking tickets. Have a look at the scams section. I believe now that cctv cameras are being used to see illegal parking and then the next thing you know you get the penalty notice

 

http://appealnow.com/index.php

 

Thanks for info about Bridgenorth I pass it by as I go J6 M5/A449 to Kidderminster and then to Shrewsbury via Bridgenorth. Nice town but I'll not stop there now.

[icdsun]

Hi

 

Why do you use it, if you live in Tamworth you can access the M6 North using the A5, M6 South using the A453+452

 

Never use it on principle as we pay enough to use roads already

 

Chris

[Bazza454]

Usinmyknaus - 2008-03-03 7:56 AM I avoid it on principal. I've already paid vast amounts of taxes for roads over the last umpteen years and I object strongly to paying again. It's just another rip-off tax. Bob

Agree entirely about the fact that we've already paid our taxes for road improvement/maintenance etc, BUT if it's a choice of sitting on the M6 for a couple of hours negotiating around Birmingham or paying a few quid to travel the 27 miles of the M6 Toll in around 20 minutes, then i'll choose the latter every time.

[GJH]

bjphillips - 2008-03-03 9:28 PM

 

Going slightly off topic,I commented some time ago in response to someone who was fined because his M/H body overhung the roadside parking bay lines in a town somewhere but didnt draw any replies.Having parked in Plymouth on the Hoe in a marked bay I was a bit worried I might get a ticket because my 7mtr M/H overhung quite a bit & as there was 2 parking attendants coming along I asked them if it was okay.They replied that it was perfectly ok as long as the wheels were within the lines each end & that was the law so it would seem that if thats true then a lot of people have been fined unecessarily.They assured me that was the instruction given to them by their boss!!!!!!!! *-)

This is another example of different interpretations by different authorities - I assume it would take a court case to decide which interpretation is correct but don't know of any which have taken place.

 

If in doubt, the only safe way is to check with attendants or the parking office for the place concerned.

 

Graham

[colin]

J9withdogs - 2008-03-03 9:15 PM

 

I live in Bridgnorth, which is a lovely market town on the River Severn.

 

Unfortunately we now have Park Right wardens patrolling (in pairs), generally behaving like Hitlers >:-(

Blimey, I've parked the VW in carpark at back of library several times, didn't know I'd be libel for fine, last time they had started using tickets with reg on so you couldn't pass on to another.

[Usinmyknaus]

IMHO if I 've already paid through the nose in taxes for a service and the Government gets a private company to provide it at more cost to me - that is an extra, rip-off tax by another name!

 

It seems that everywhere I turn there is an extra tax, or charge waiting to strike. They also go up by more than inflation every year. No wonder Brits are leaving the UK in droves every year.

 

Bob

[Dave Newell]

Before I started my own business I worked in Birmingham and travelled daily from Telford to Brum and back. Usually I stuck to the M6 route but on occasions when there was a big problem on the M6 I'd go onto the Toll road, yes it was dear but it was much quicker than sitting in a four hour jam.

 

I have to say that I personally think there are two root causes of congestion on the M6 in that area, one is the sheer volume of lorries using it instead of the Toll road and the other is the numpty muppets who try to do 85MPH at rush hour, jumping from lane to lane in the vain hope of getting somewhere a few seconds quicker. I used to join at 10A and stay in the left hand lane all the way to junction 10 where we would move over to the middle then right hand lane to clear the left hand lane for traffic joining. By just after J9 we could move back to the middle lane and by J8 we were back in the left hand lane and moving pretty well usually.

 

9 times out of 10 we would see the same cars alongside us at J8 as were along side us when we joined the M6 but they had been diving in and out of the lanes at the first sign that another lane was moving faster than the one they were in.

 

D.

[GJH]

Dave Newell - 2008-03-04 10:01 AM

9 times out of 10 we would see the same cars alongside us at J8 as were along side us when we joined the M6 but they had been diving in and out of the lanes at the first sign that another lane was moving faster than the one they were in.

And I bet you were a lot less stressed than the numpty muppets too Dave (lol)

 

Graham

[Dave Newell]

I think that's entirely possible Graham, mind you after four and a half years of it I just got fed up of doing a minimum 80 miles a day so I jacked the job and started on my own. Best move I ever made, I only travel 1.5 miles to work now (lol) .

 

D.