Secrets of the Motorway - A38M

#driving #infrastructure #birmingham #cars
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Urban inner city motorway built in the 1960s.. yeh ok, I'm in. The A38M... a small yet significant motorway pretty much in the middle of Birmingham. Therefore it promises interesting features and indeed the A38M is quite unique in that is offers something you wont find on any other motorway.. You'll have to watch the video to find out of course.
There's also some serious discussion about condiments, missing sliproads and a steam engine. Which sounds much more like a typical Secrets of the Motorway episode.
In this series I aim to explore what our motorway network is hiding. As we drive along at 70mph..ish...we simply just wouldn't be aware of what we're missing. This series will uncover some of the hidden secrets our motorways have to offer.

[@GeoWizard]

I drive on this road a lot and it is surprisingly safe, until you factor in Birmingham drivers. A few weeks ago I witnessed a taxi pull a U-Turn right over the central lane 😂

[@linamishima]

My parents have witnessed a full on road rage battle between a van and a Birmingham driver. The biggest risk of accident is some pair of twazzocks deciding that their respective journeys are the most important and escalating from cutting each other up to side swiping and shunting

[@antonycharnock2993]

Surprisingly it was a taxi....

[@tahrey]

​@@linamishima If that was in the roadworks on the M5 northbound past Oldbury about seven years ago, that may have been me and some absolute arse in a Renault Master hi-cube thing (they're on the shitlist along with silver Corrollas/Avensi and any Toyota minicab - they universally seem to be driven by either psychopaths or wannabe X-wing pilots). Needed to pull out ahead of the on-slip gradually coming up ahead (because it was just a give-way going straight into the left lane) and he decided it would be a very fun game to stop me from doing it... accelerating and braking in concert with me and there wasn't enough space to get up enough speed. Eventually figured that if I booted it as far as I dared then pulled full ABS emergency stop once he followed suit I could swerve into the gap that would be behind the van at the last second and end the stupidity. I was off by, what, maybe an inch? And my bumper still bears the scars. (We did come off at J1 to assess the damage and he tried to make a song and dance about his very slightly bent - and rather dangerously sharp and sticky-out - rear lightbar, to which all I could do was motion at my bumper, point at the dashcam, and suggest we swap insurance details so he could then go tell his boss that the van got very slightly dinged because he was playing silly bastards in heavy traffic. Funnily enough his details turned out to be fake and nobody ever contacted me about the incident) There seems to be a smattering of that kind of murder-suicidal gimp out on the road these days, more commonly come across them when going to overtake a slow moving car on a single carriageway road and suddenly find that my needle is going up but I don't seem to be accelerating past them. Nor that my brakes seem to work even though the needle goes back down. And it's why I now have front and back cameras because that proves I didn't get past, and the even worse behaviour if I do manage to get past due to e.g. a tractor hoving in view with them unable to pull around it until I've gone by it...

[@tahrey]

Well, that's Brummie minicabs for you. You learn to leave a fifty metre exclusion zone if at all possible. Most of the other drivers are OK, apart from the aforementioned force-users and van nutters, and the universal boy racer (to whose dangerous acts the council's main defence seems to be ... lowering 40mph speed limits down to 30 for the everyday folk. Yeah, that'll show 'em... now when they go past at 100 they'll be speeding by 70mph instead of 60! Yeah!) That said there does seem to be a noticeable increase in general traffic speed when coming back into the area having taken a trip elsewhere...

[@solarfish]

@GeoWizard pleasantly unsurprised to see you here

[@gamerfreakUK]

I do love the random cameos from behind, and Jon's polite startles.

[@whoarewe7515]

There brilliant. 🤣

[@johnclements6614]

Even when they are horsing around they are good.

[@PrograError]

it'd be funnier if he got startled into the water

[@gbhxu]

I think that the videos are all a cover for Jon looking for dogging areas

[@whoarewe7515]

@@gbhxu 😂

[@JayForeman]

Found myself actually punching the air at your choice of song over the end credits. I love your videos!!

[@ActualJarrrk]

Literally about to click and watch your transatlantic cable video... Love your videos too! Also, Auto Shenanigans x Map Men when?

[@antonycharnock2993]

Brum! For those not in the know! kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWWufaltrrSZia8

[@evilutionltd]

Jon is the unspoken 3rd Map Man!

[@EdgyNumber1]

@@ActualJarrrk Yeah Jay, you really should do the trunk routes to the Greater London borders episodes as you started with Geoff Marshall on the A1. 👍

[@ChakatSandwalker]

It has taken far too many years for me to realise Brum was named for Birmingham, and I've just learned the car's name (and 'Brummie') comes from the local name 'Brummagem'.

[@srpacific]

They really need one of those RoadZipper machines for that central lane. Very easy and relatively inexpensive way to make it safer for traffic, and to allow the speed limit to increase to 60 maybe

[@egbront1506]

Most of the time, you are doing well to hit 50mph at peak times. More likely to be crawling.

[@enisra_bowman]

@@egbront1506 ye, but it would make it at least safer, but well, in typical politician cliché one cost money, the other cost life and money is more important >_>

[@6yjjk]

Absolutely! I think this every time I have to drive that way.

[@Michael_Brock]

Exactly what I referred above. Must remember that road zipper.

[@leopold7562]

No need. We can drive properly in Britain

[@peterj.francisdunleadebarr4367]

I sat on that bench about 6 years ago and also 'admired' the 'view'. Its probably the grimmest 'park' in the UK. You're probably the first person to sit there since I was there.

[@Barcrest]

At the time it was built people probably did sit there and watch the traffic. After all people would go to service stations for a day out to watch the traffic.

[@stevewilson8467]

Any time I see footage of Birmingham's central dual carriageways the SuperPrix springs to mind. BTCC through Brum!

[@Technaudio]

He's done a video about that.

[@frombrum]

BTCC is track touring cars, the RAC rally use to go through sutton park but i don't think they close any roads in the eighties better to have a series of drag races - like the illegal one on the bypass

[@IshmaelSimpson]

The clean air zone comment nearly floored me. This man is peak humour!

[@JaidenJimenez86]

One of the leaders (idk if it was the mayor), wants the expressway closed on Sundays so people can walk/bike on it. Who tf wants to do that?!

[@MartinvonBargen]

Wonderful with the fella on the bike. Monty Python meets the Open University!

[@progamerevshorts9703]

You’ve been on KZbin for a long time

[@samhall6719]

So refreshing to see someone talking about one of my favourite things in life. The British road signs and road and the Motorway network is a passion of mine that I’ve had for around 15 years. I have a photographic memory which allows me to remember all the motorways and roads, the junctions and the names of the service stations all from memory without looking at a map or using the internet. Keep up the great work! 🤙🔥

[@AutoShenanigans]

Nice one mate, thanks for watching!

[@MrLOFTYBOBBY]

The central red lane was not like it is now , there used to be a drainage channel running down the middle of it, and it had to be covered over due to a death of a motorcyclist when he hit a cover sticking up. So your right it is the most dangerous motorway .

[@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne]

Am I correct in thinking the red lane is banned for motorcyclists? it's been many years since I drove along there.

[@ryanmitcham5522]

Er the central drainage channel is still clearly visible in the video, along with signage prohibiting motorcyclists from the centre lane (see at 6:00) because of the drainage channel.

[@hearingthesmells2500]

That’s true.. guy went into a manhole after the cover came of in the middle lane on motorcycle 💀

[@MotionPlays]

The drainage tunnel is literally still there and it’s still forbidden for motorcycles to use the central lane

[@alanzyoutube]

There are very few accidents on the A38(M) and there have been hardly any head-on's.

[@MrKpsuk84]

8:12 Brum! Any British child of the 90s should instantly remember the classic TV show about a small yellow car 🚕😃

[@frankileith9362]

This was doing my head in all night and today trying to remember what kids programme that music was from thank you so much for relieving the torment 😂

[@philtucker1224]

Wow that “shared” middle lane idea seams really unusual in the respect that there is no actual wall between the two directions of traffic. It’s actually like almost every single main road throughout the whole of Great Britain whilst remaining unique.

[@tobortine]

When I lived in Birmingham we referred to the A38M as the "Aston Distress Way" because at rush hour it slowed to a crawl making it relatively safe.

[@DigitalDiabloUK]

I was just thinking of the optimism of a 50mph limit 😂

[@lukesdad5218]

@@DigitalDiabloUK It's regarded as a minimum speed by most of the users.

[@JaidenJimenez86]

I thought it was called that just because it went through Aston.

[@smiler3418]

I have lived in Birmingham all my life and live over the road from spaghetti and have never Hurd it be called the Aston distress way 😂😂

[@tobortine]

​@@JaidenJimenez86 That made me chuckle, I guess you could be right 😁

[@adrianthorneycroft6702]

Honestly, I feel like the A38 could be worthy of it's own mini-series being the monster of a road it is... There's gotta be a lot of interesting stuff in the areas around it given its length.

[@linamishima]

I absolutely agree, I’ve driven it from Sheffield to Gloucester once for a laugh (I was going that way anyway), it’s an interesting road

[@adrianthorneycroft6702]

@@linamishimaYou've done well to do it from Sheffield given it starts about 30 miles south 😂 I get what you mean though. Haven't driven quite that far on it, certainly never made it to the A38M, but I used to go down to Wolves just about every weekend a few years back (so I wouldn't peel off at Lichfield/Swinfen like the A38 does). A38 has always been my chosen route down that way. Bit of a pain given it's mostly 2 lanes down that way, but certainly better than tempting the M6 to throw an issue.

[@andyyouell5037]

Thanks Jon. As always, this is way more interesting than it should be ....and you do it with fantastic production and delivery.

[@AutoShenanigans]

Nice one, thanks for watching mate!

[@emmaharris856]

You forgot to mention that at Spaghetti junction there is a supporting column that is placed in such a position to allow a horse drawn barge to be pulled along the canal without it being unhitched.

[@spuriouspodge7416]

Ah, the Sunday treat is here. Lovely.

[@tdyerwestfield]

Makes me appreciate the M5 and M6 around Birmingham a lot more after seeing what the A38M is like.

[@SteveDull]

Jon, just want to say how great you were on Upndowns 25 hr talkathon for Sophie's Legacy. Fair play for giving up your day - and diesel- travelling down and back for just for an hour (ok extended) spot. You're a star! 👍👏👏👏👏

[@BaguetteBeardBass]

Jons reaction when they hit 10k was fantastic as well

[@SteveDull]

@@BaguetteBeardBass Haha yeah, with an impressive emergency stop!

[@AutoShenanigans]

hehehe.. thanks for watching, and it's all for a good cause, I was pleased to be invited.

[@duncanshepherd4284]

You are right about Vinegar Bridge. It did pass over where the unused bridge is and in the mid 70s it leaked covering cars with neat malt vinegar. HP was forced to pay for numerous cars to be repaired. I was a police officer working that day and we closed the road out of city until the engineers shut the pipeline.

[@keystonedriving8180]

Tidal flow is an A38 thing. As the A38 enters Cornwall it passes over the Tamar Bridge, which was built with 3 lanes having a tidal flow in the centre lane. When the Saltash tunnel was built it was built with 3 lanes to permit the tidal flow arrangements to continue. The tunnel is built on a curve with a significant gradient, just to liven things up a bit! The bridge and tunnel have always had a 30mph limit and there haven't been many incidents on/in them. Oh, and you have a toll plaza at the Plymouth end of the bridge for Eastbound traffic only, Westbound is free.

[@philsharp758]

When the Severn Bridges had tolls it amused me that you paid to get into Wales and could leave fee of charge, whereas at Saltash, it was free to get into Cornwall but you had to pay to get out.

[@misterflibble9799]

There's a short section of tidal flow in Cardiff too.

[@tahrey]

It's a shame they haven't done it on the "old" A38 (IE what is now the A5127) from Gravelly Hill up to Erdington. That's 3 lanes and could hugely benefit from full length tidal flow (at least when it was possible, before a particular and somewhat dumb pedestrian island was put in place as a cheaper alternative to a proper crossing and re-engineering the roads that face each other across it to prevent unwise attempts at anything but a left turn or, say, making them entry-only one-ways (which is now the only sensible direction to drive along them anyway). Instead it's more like the 2+1s being built around Wales, you enter it with a single lane your side and then halfway along it swaps and flares out (...though if you're heading into town it randomly drops back to one lane for about ten metres just to cause a whole load of unnecessary bottlenecking chaos). Better than nothing but it'd work a lot better if the whole length was dynamically dedicated to the direction of greatest demand.

[@regularguy3665]

Isn’t there a tidal section somewhere in Lincoln? Not exactly a big A road tho

[@tahrey]

@@regularguy3665 Well, now it's time for Google Maps

[@The_Dee_Jay]

I drove out of Birmingham on the A38M just yesterday afternoon. An Uber driver tried to squash my car when joining from a slip road (my fault for not instantly vanishing to make way for him) and then drove on through the traffic like it was a slalom course. Fun times.

[@darrylnoonan5282]

Bacon butty with HP sauce👍 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟,Jon's obviously a connoisseur.

[@aldo5428]

got to be black pudding/potato scone doubler with HP sauce do I hear yum yum wsa…

[@user-qn6yt3zx3w]

First time viewer here. I chuckled at the safety concerns. You should come over to North America and do some videos on the “designed for death” motorways we have here. Brummie born and bred, loved the anecdotes in the video. Subscribed

[@jaycee330]

I dunno, never seen an Interstate without hard shoulders (sometimes on both sides) like a UK motorway does.

[@user-qn6yt3zx3w]

@@jaycee330 hard shoulders aren’t the issue. It’s the super short on and off ramps; on ramps that join in the fast lane of the highway; off ramps located immediately after an on-ramp (beltway in DC repeats this beauty again and again); bend radii that make no sense for a “highway”; advertising causing distraction; barely fit for purpose signage and a complete disregard for safe distances between various features. Add to this, laws that allow passing in the slow lane and do little to encourage safe following distances and you literally have a beautifully designed system for ensuring accidents.

[@rogink]

@@user-qn6yt3zx3w That's interesting. On the continent they have much shorter slip roads. You barely get any warning and there is your turning!

[@smidsy4747]

Always nice to see somewhere local. For anyone who regularly uses the A38M you might have noticed hiw some of the concrete supprts stick out a distance from the underside of the roadway. This was so yiu could still drag boats by horse along the canal.

[@loswilko]

Hey Jon, another great video but one thing i would like to mention and surprised you didn't include. Oh 28th of december 1956 a 15,000 gallon vinegar vat exploded and caused a waist high wave flooding local roads and homes. my great grandfather, Earnest Goode and his brother both worked for HP sauce for their entire careers except for when some bloke with a dodgy moustache decided to invade Poland. When he started he was manning a horse and cart. Upon his retirement he was give a copy of The Road From Aston Cross which covers the history of the company. He was also given an Omega wrist watch, both are still proudly cherished by the family to this day.

[@hearingthesmells2500]

The roundabout with the engine is locally known as pump island

[@moosegoose3159]

No doubt a hotspot for escorts and prostitutes.

[@van_trippin5260]

It's all i know it as, didn't know it had a 'proper' name!

[@heavyhaulage1]

I was just scouring the comments to find someone saying this 😀

[@hanifali3406]

I've always heard it called Matalan roundabout

[@DJDexterityakaPsyDex]

This is part of my morning commute into Brum. If someone has a crash or breaks down, its absolute chaos.

[@tahrey]

Or in other words: no change from normal.

[@k.r.baylor8825]

There I was, watching from Virginia, USA, John's latest about some short motorway in the middle of Birmingham, thinking how prosaic this week's episode is turning out--and then he discusses the insanity of the "red tarmac" on the A38(M). And I thought the 1930s-era suicide highways of the US Routes system (2-lanes at speed in both directions only separated by a mid-highway _turn lane_ perfect for head-on collisions) were unique to extremely bad highway design. I have never seen a single-carriage motorway before and am amazed anyone would build one. It's kind of like the paternoster of highway designs, forgetting the stupid human element when it goes wrong. So another winning episode!

[@Stoobers]

I spent nearly 3 hours on the A38M trying to get off at Aston a couple of weeks ago.... two lane slip road, in to an unmarked roundabout (so everyone decided 4 lanes would be great here) in to a two lane junction which very quickly goes down to one lane. Wonderful planning :D

[@TheScottishSprayer]

Epic Brum! Theme tune. Best show of my childhood. I watched it with my 3 yr old last week. Your song choices are great Jon. The drama increases throughout each vid for me, waiting to hear your choice of theme tune. Whicked sweet awesome content.

[@aldo5428]

well it was hardly a surprise…

[@Anonymoususer_2023]

I love how the A38(M) Aston Expressway doesn’t have a hard shoulder but a hard shoulder in red in the middle of an expressway in Birmingham. That is only used if there is severe traffic on the M6 motorway or coming in and out of Birmingham City Centre.

[@martinalooksatthings]

The A38(M) will always have a place in my heart

[@alantheskinhead]

My father was born in a house overlooking what became the GHI in 1933. My Uncle George worked at the massive power station that became Star City Leisure Complex. Just up the road, my Auntie Vera worked at Fort Dunlop making tyres for planes. Whist my other Uncle Doug was quite famous or infamous as he worked for Birmingham City Council and was part of the planning team for Castle Vale Housing Estate. My mother was evacuated from London to Reading to Bristol and then to Deritend. Later on my father was at Aston Uni studying thermo electrics and electronics and ended up rebuilding the said power station earlier plus a few in Berlin post war. He invented no end of stuff but took no recognition as it would distract from his work. My dad said as a kid he could see Coventry burning and smell it from his bedroom window and when the bombs dropped near him they ran down to the river as they thought it was safer. He ended up designing the heavy electrics for the junction and even then commented that the motorway will need rebuilding due to poor quality concrete. And your absolutely right about the A38(M), my dad had an accident when a car veered over side and over the "Red Lane" and hit him head on. Fortunately he was going 20mph and so was the other, but the Mk3 Cortina didn't fair so well.

[@bomt6259]

i just love Auto Shagganigans

[@terryhearttea789]

Another entertaining episode. I luv the included interuptions and mistakes. Gives the clip character. I was wondering if you have done a video on the Swindon Magic Roundabout? I couldn't find it in your collection. I would like to see your take on it? Keep up the good work Jon:)

[@KM_Mountain]

Double it up and do the Hemel one in the same episode?

[@explorernate]

He could do High Wycombe’s one too whilst he’s at it. There are loads of these roundabout of roundabouts dotted about the country.

[@KM_Mountain]

@@explorernate I've only experienced those 2, I thought that was it. New thing every day 🙂Swindon seem to make more of it, I guess they don't have much else 🤣

[@PineappleSkip]

Looking forward to secrets of the magic roundabouts, featuring a random passer by as Florence and Jon as Zebidee :)

[@gazzaman28]

Loving that final drone shot, chefs kiss!

[@davidrobins1021]

Reminds me of the most dangerous-seeming road layout I've ever seen. Single carriageway, with three lanes, and 60 mph limit. One lane for traffic going north, one for traffic going south, and a shared middle lane for overtaking from either direction. If that's not a recipe for a head-on, I don't know what is.

[@kevm8965]

Ahh you didn't catch me with that one - it's the theme from Brum, classic!

[@malcolmcog]

Just watched this excellent video again, ridden my motorbikes and driven up and down the A38M since 1974, great to see it and the beam engine again ! I think there has only been one bad crash, a motorcyclist was killed in the 1980s.

[@ChrisJohnson-te3eg]

Hi Jon - Great video as always ! My Dads friend and our old next door neighbour is a railway and motoring artist. About 15 years ago he decided to do a series of paintings of the A38 M contraflow section. To do the initial sketches he needed to go up and down the carriageway so he enlisted the help of my Dad who, on one summer evening drove up and down the carriageway about 8 times in his 1 litre Fiesta while the sketches were done. The final paintings were really good and something you don't often see as a subject in art.

[@jfwfreo]

Many years ago Perth (Australia, not the one in the UK) used to have a system where they had a single "peak lane" that was open in the peak direction. But unlike the one on the A38(M) it had barriers to prevent anyone driving the wrong way down it. In the end the freeway in question was upgraded and got more lanes (and the peak lane got swallowed up by bus lanes and then later the bus lanes became a double-track railway)

[@ranulfdoswell]

There's a similar system on the Auckland harbour bridge in New Zealand, which is 4/4, 5/3 or 3/5 lane configurations, and has a massive truck thing that drives along it moving the barrier from one lane to another. Another fun fact is that this bridge was originally 2/2 lanes, and at the end of the 1960s, they added 2 more lanes on each side with some concrete sections bolted onto the side of the bridge, and these were made in Japan, which gave rise to the nickname "Nippon Clip-ons".

[@himagainstill]

I think it's Adelaide that had the ultimate tidal flow motorway. 10 miles of single carriageway that changed direction twice a day. On a weekday it was into the city in the morning, out of the city in the afternoon, with a couple of hours closure to turn all the signs round and sweep for safety.

[@ranulfdoswell]

@@himagainstill Oh Adelaide! Does it still have that crazy bus train thing, where the buses have tires on the side and they disengage the steering and let the bus bounce between the two concrete walls as the driver floors it? That was a fun experience when I was there in 1999.

[@diamondsam]

I ended up watching this video later than usual as I was out meeting with friends, in Birmingham, funny getting back and seeing a video on somewhere around where I just was

[@EdgyNumber1]

Brave man, Jon for hanging around some pretty sketchy areas. Aston is definitely not Bel Air.... Ozzy couldn't wait to get out of the place! Everyone down south, where I'm from, thinks Spaghetti Junction is a scary place to drive and they don't believe me when I say 'just turn left and follow the Expressway in.' Its easy to navigate in. A bit more complex out and heading north or eastbound but it is very, very clearly signposted. Stick to the speed limits and get into the correct lane early. Great video Jon. Crazy looking interchange with so many things threaded underneath it, including HS2. I think there was a BBC documentary or a serial documentary on the UK motorway, with an episode on this a while ago., which fills in a curiosity nicely. Worth watching.

[@KidarWolf]

Yeah eastbound is a little bit fiddly, but it's not too bad, if you follow the signs. My mom has tales of it before it had all the signs in place, but unsure how accurate those stories are!

[@EdgyNumber1]

@@KidarWolf There is a bit you can miss that can send you up to Gravelly Hill instead of M6 Eastbound but again, it's a case of paying attention and getting into the correct lane _early._

[@R08Tam]

I once had to change an off-side wheel on the A38M due to a puncture. It was great having to jack the car up with my bum sticking out into the traffic. Happy days.

[@MisterEightyFour]

I absolutely love the commitment to getting the name of whichever route you’re doing a simply egregious amount of times 😂

[@PaulFisher]

the phrase “A38 (M)” has lost all meaning for me

[@pauliesk.7102]

I've always understood that the machine on the island was the water pump used to fill the Birmingham canals when they were built. This being why (as in previous comments) we've always called it 'Pump Island'.

[@lifeintaiwan]

Really enjoyed this… no idea why it was recommended to me but your style is a great combination of professionalism, sarcasm and relaxed personable communication! Subscribed for the “camera up FFS” line!

[@barrypickles6546]

As well as the concrete walls, further up the motorway is raised, so it's either bouncing off the walls or a nasty drop. Cars used to run without a free lane untill numerous smashes forced a rethink.

[@ClydebridgeStation]

The drone shot of the site of the HP sauce factory, also showed a coach depot next to it. That's the depot of Central Coachways, which are owned by National Express. They bought the firm in the late 1980s, from, wait for it, the Birmingham Co-op! Yes, you read right! Set up many years previously as the coaching arm of the Birmingham Co-op, during the late 1980s, when the Co-op was downsizing, and societies merged, they sold it to National Express! There's very few examples of retailers owning a bus operation by the 1980s, although here in Fife, Toolans Grocery store in Kinglassie had a small coach business going, until both closed in the early 2000s.

[@aldo5428]

The Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Society operated Majestic Coaches here in central Scotland until I think about the mid 70s, our local depot, Barrhead now housing…

[@vincentharriman3283]

Central Coachways ceased to exist many years ago.

[@SpikeMatthews]

Loving the sauce/source gag, using a picture of HP sauce - especially since you talked about the factory a little later. I've lost count of the amount of times I've used - or avoided - the Aston Expressway. It's surprising how few accidents there are despite the lack of central reservation - but as a means of easing traffic during rush hour, it's still pants, performing a credible impression of the nearby M6.

[@stevehill4615]

Used to use the A38M frequently when going clubbing at weekends (before the congestion/LEZ charge), always enjoyed as you go over the flyover from the southbound M6 junction the view from the top of the city laid out in front of you at night as it always reminded me of Frank Zappa's song/video "city of tiny lights".

[@misterflibble9799]

People go on about how the tidal flow system must be so dangerous, but in reality, if you compare it to a typical country A-road: * The speed limit is lower * Visibility is much better (no risk of opposing traffic "coming round the bend") * Opposing traffic is separated by an entire lane's width (minimum 3m) I don't have incident stats to hand, but I think it's actually a pretty safe road.

[@stephenbunn2150]

It’s a very safe motorway, never had a problem on cars or motorbikes 😊

[@falkerhard]

Safe most of the time yes.

[@David_Crayford]

That looked incredibly busy. Lots of people wanting to go everywhere, and each doing so by burning a little fire in the front of their car. Quite mad, really.

[@barrypickles6546]

That is not busy or insane, busy and insane are during rush hour when the m6, a38m and adjoining roads are a carpark.

[@e36sam]

Funny you should mention the danger aspect. Birmingham has a massive street racing scene. There was a simply horrendous crash involving a stolen car, his competitor, and some poor fella in a taxi who died. Think it might have just been outside of the A38M though. Definitely had an incident back in 2015 where some enterprising chap drove the wrong way along the A38M though. To be honest, with the fact that a high percentage of driving licenses appear to be obtained from the bottom of a cereal box around there, I'm surprised there aren't more incidents.

[@JaidenJimenez86]

Oh wasn't it some young lad in the back of a taxi with his dad? Breaks your heart

[@angelsone-five7912]

Ha, I was going to suggest you cover this one just the other week. Been up and down here loads of times and see many accidents but never a head-on though.

[@Paul.swanseavilla]

As a villa fan this is my favourite motorway. And yes you can have a favourite motorway. My second favourite is m4 j45 area 😂🎉

[@user-lv7te3ll2n]

Hi Jon. It must be ten or even fifteen years since I travelled the A38M , and this episode was very interesting and very pleasing to watch. Thanks very much, please carry on with the series

[@AutoShenanigans]

Nice one, thanks for watching mate!

[@nigelh4617]

I still remember my first journey with my dad along the A38(M), after it opened. Very exciting. And I still miss the smell of HP fruity sauce, wafting into the car on a summer's day.

[@egbront1506]

I don't. I went to a school nearby and the smell of HP mixed with the Ansell's brewery practically next door was anything but nice. It was culinary smog.

[@PrograError]

@@egbront1506 i bet the students there are half drunk from those aromas...

[@egbront1506]

@@PrograError It wasn't a heady whiff, unfortunately. Individually, brown sauce and bitter are quite palatable depending upon your likes and dislikes. Mixed together it honked like some other brown substance. We just ran for cover when the brown mist descended.

[@GWorsfold]

@@egbront1506 "....we just ran for cover when the brown mist descended..." I didn't know that Birmingham suffered from Poonamis when the factory was open. 😁

[@faithlesshound5621]

Not far from there is the Old Custard Factory (Bird's, 1906 - 1964), nowadays a hipster hangout. In its time, did it have a similar effect on the neighbourhood?

[@kieranbott]

I'm on this road several times a month and never knew half of this stuff! I have always noticed those benches though and wondered why? Unless its where Suede wrote Picnic by the Motorway

[@shanemjn]

My dad used to work at the HP sauce factory, he was in tears when they demolished it

[@Batesandrw]

You are on my delivery 🚚 driver turf. Great video and informative again and nice to see aerial shots of where I deliver. 👍

[@Stealth360stealth]

'take a moment to appreciate the view' 4:24 haahhahaah

[@JaidenJimenez86]

I believe the A38 (not (M)) also has a tidal flow system over the Tamar Bridge. I've seen part the switch happen whilst coming down the hill toward the bridge one morning, it was like the red sea parting as soon as the extra lane added. Control is managed by overhead signs and dynamic cats eye LED's.

[@mikeydeakin1253]

Love this channel it makes my Sunday

[@petercurrell9344]

The amazing thing is it is used by a lot of double decker buses. It's strange to travel on the top deck on the motorway oven if it's for only 5 minutes.

[@sandwichbar8226]

Hello Jon, how the devil are you, have you had a good week? Enjoyed you on Kitch's mammoth stream the other day 👍

[@christopherjordan4812]

Definitely the most dangerous road is the A38(M) I’ve ever driven on. The standard of some of the Birmingham drivers made it even worse. I used to hate that road then going through the tunnels to get to Edgbaston made for a very eventful journey.😮

[@The_minas_the_man]

Phwicked sweet awesome ! amazing as always.

[@AutoShenanigans]

Nice one, thanks for watching!

[@scotbotvideos]

That lack of central reservation on the A38(M) is kinda reminiscent of the old A77 between Kilmarnock and Newton Mearns outside Glasgow. That was one helluva dangerous road.

[@medicallyunexplainedsymptoms]

The pipes carrying the vinegar over the A38M burst once - a former colleague of mine was part of the repair team in his younger days. Bet that smelled great!

[@greenhenryYT]

The best outro you've done. Close to perfection. Took me years to realise Brum was short for Brummie.

[@davidholden2658]

It's not really, both words are derived from Brummagem an old dialect name for Birmingham.

[@greenhenryYT]

@davidholden2658 you say "Royal Sutton Coldfield" don't you? I should've said Brum the car was a reference to Brummies. Genuinely thanks for the info.

[@MrDannyDetail]

I did know that Brum was another name for Birmingham, or for Brummie's, but it took me years to specifially realise that the little car called Brum was named that because he was supposed to be based in Birmingham. To be fair I'm not very far away from Bourton on the Water, which has a motor museum where Brum is actually kept, which originally featured in the first and last scene of every episode, along with it's real life owner, and which I visited as a kid at the time (and met the owner), so for me at the time the question of where it was supposed to be based was probably an open and shut case, as it was obviously set in Bourton on the Water as far as I was concerned.

[@greenhenryYT]

@MrDannyDetail great story that. I've nothing intellectual to contribute sorry, I just remember the crank handle spinning when he was happy!

[@bryansmith1920]

It's been a few years but I seem to remember the Main river bridge through Lincoln City was the same road layout, and it worked perfectly, but that was b4 mobile phones distracting young drivers from Due Care and Attention, And being a ex truckie with a depot in Birmingham, I drove all over Birmingham at night following M6 diversionary closures for road works,

[@stewartwestwood5534]

Only John can make a blot on the landscape sound interesting. H.P sauce facts were very good. Thank you.😊😊

[@zedainman]

Another fab one this week 😄 And a nice addition with the Brum theme tune at the end!

[@lightplane]

Love your sense of humor. A slight redesign. Lol.

[@danielmarshall4587]

Thank you yes, this week has been better than last week.

[@quantisedspace7047]

The central lane provides separation! That's a bit of a change from when that lane was reversible!

[@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne]

My favourite episode so far...

[@timhahn7358]

the bit about the hp sauce factory reminds me a lot of the Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee Wisconsin. factory is split in half, one side handles production of beer while the other side handles bottle production and shipping with a public road in the middle. they have a dual level conveyor belt system across the road, where empty bottles are sent from one side to the other on the top belt, and full bottles are sent back the opposite way on the bottom belt

[@-DC-]

Secrets of the A roads next you Legend 👊

[@glenjones6980]

I used to find the constant noise of the M6 when loading in the two car auctions sites close to this location really overwhelming. I guess you get used to it but an hour or two every week or so used to leave me feeling shattered. It's like having white noise pumped at you at high volume but weirdly I struggled to sleep in the truck without some traffic noise in the background.

[@godzillas6301]

The beasts ( ex wife ) grandad and nan lived at 6 back of 30 , slade road . If you look it up its a black door in the terrace and they lived upstairs but round the back . The noise never ever stopped . You did get used to it until until something really loud came along .

[@MichaelFlatman]

yeah even in the video clips here i find it surprising how much noise there is given the carriageway is sunk into the ground, perhaps someone could build a 'lid' to reduce noise, how much expense that'd cause i don't know.

[@godzillas6301]

@@MichaelFlatman The noise helps to drown out the crackle of burning cars and the daily gunshots .

[@ianhudson2193]

Nice to see my locale appearing in your world....😊

[@DM-it2ch]

You'd think the lack of a central reservation would be a recipe for disaster, but I used to use that road daily for about 5 years, and I never once saw an accident!!

[@richardhaywood4123]

Been on the a38m some years back,it didn't have a 50mph limit on it then. Love the mosaic tiles of the foot subway at the end. Also went over the a38m on the m6 last year on a works ata qualification.

[@mswin3585]

As always great video and grear outro soundtrack. Proper throwback 🙌

[@zogzoogler]

Brilliant vid, this was the vista for generations of students at Aston Uni

[@gazzaman28]

I know it's not a motorway per se, but please do one on the A4053 Coventry Ring Road. Thank you.

[@whyyoulidl]

Hey MNIJ, thanks for this. I have a lot of your vids to catch up on; if this one's anything to go by, I'm in for a treat. And Jay's in the house I see. You're on the up 👍

[@tahrey]

Nice one John, definitely hwicked fweet. I normally watch YT through my Roku box so can't comment on too many vids but I opened the browser special to respond. Not *quite* 100% perfect, but nobody can demand that, and it's certainly about the best run down of our belove-hated Distressway I've seen in a good long time. Much appreciated - not least that you are the first youtuber I've seen who says Gravelly Hill the right way (as in, a hill covered in gravel). Everyone else, plus at least one TV presenter (local news reporter imported from climes foreign?!) and, for a short curséd time, the announcements on the cross-city train line that's one of the two running under Spaghetti (...or was it a bus line?) says "Gravely". As in something that's very grave. FFS chaps. (I would have bet on you fluffing it given what is pretty much tradition in the SOTM videos at this point though! Can't remember, did that happen in the M6 vid and get people up in arms?) By the way, given that description, does that make the engine on Pump Island essentially the world's oldest surviving (and possibly biggest?) turbocharger? Its boiler would probably have run off the waste / exhaust heat from the furnace, and its actions forced more air into the furnace so it could burn fuel more quickly and achieve greater output... Also in further pedantry news: * Ahem. Walton Summit Motorway. A-HEM. (I'm not going to even explain, if you don't immediately know what I mean, Google will enlighten within seconds, likely through a Sabre or Pathetic Motorways link) * Nice to see the graffiti, but no shot of the Bansky-esque Kray Twins stencil that's been staring at thousands of commuters from one of the A-road on-slip pillars for a good many years? * To my memory the Vinegar Pipe (oo-er missus) didn't run over a bridge. It was a big silver box-duct construction that popped up over one of the parapets at some random point, rising a good few feet above what any bridge level would be, flew over the traffic and then went straight into the first or second floor of a building on the other side. What the bridges are for, I have no idea - it's quite possible they actually carried roads or served as pedestrian / factory vehicle access back and forth for a while but were closed off when the site was sold and likely broken up between multiple new owners. There's still at least one road which is bridged across without making any actual contact. * The system is pretty safe, the biggest risk (other than people making stupid lane changes without looking, which, whilst not unique, does seem to be a Distressway specialty) really is someone being a twonk and driving up the middle lane at the same time as an emergency vehicle on blues & twos comes the other way and neither of them can find a gap to dodge into. To my knowledge there's never been a head-on, at least not in that lane. The general risk (e.g. of a blowout or someone having a stroke and swerving all the way across into the main oncoming traffic) is about the same as any other heavily trafficked two-way road with a 50 limit, it's just that this one has six running lanes at any one time. (Vs, say, bits of the A556 that have four lanes at 60mph, and no dividing space whatsoever. Or the Walton Summit which is technically 70mph and only three lanes wide.) * That cyclist deserved what he got, the towpath based cycle routes around there are hideous to use and it's much more preferable to ride up the shared cycle/bus lanes on the A5127 instead. If he wants to persist in riding that way instead, then a momentary pause and a cameo in a documentary is the least of his problems, both practically and mentally.

[@djsmithe]

Sunday morning coffee with Jon. Who knew UK roads could be so interesting?

[@user-ws8uo9ke2n]

The theme tune! Love it.

[@noggintube]

I went to school in Aston and remember the smell of the HP factory when they were manufacturing. The area had a strong smell of very vinegary HP and you sort of just got used to it, but on hot days it could be pretty ripe.

[@lukesdad5218]

Add in the Ansells brewery and it was a culinary delight. My grandparents lived just off Aston Cross so I sampled the aroma each time I visited.

[@WanderingCactus]

That central red lane is bizarre, these kind of things aren't unknown here, but they typically have a moveable center barrier that they move for rush hour, I think you can find a video or three here, and it's pretty neat stuff.

[@vincentharriman3283]

No barrier. Overhead gantry signs indicate which lanes are open in each direction.

[@user-op8fg3ny3j]

An urbanist's nightmare: so many concrete flyovers

[@Mongolopolis8]

You mean a dream. I would love a city to look like this. With little shops and neon signs dangling underneath the concrete structures, the flyovers themself shielding the pedestrians from rain and the weather. Just like in Asia. To bad they didnt use Bangkoks beautiful brutalist hexagonal designs for the construction :)

[@user-op8fg3ny3j]

@@Mongolopolis8 was thinking more of the more modern urbanist's who are less car centric than the brutalist traditionals

[@gregs2284]

@@user-op8fg3ny3jI'm fine with the concrete flyovers -- just not all that traffic

[@jaycee330]

@@gregs2284 If someone finds flyovers scary, don't go to Dallas or Houston...

[@robinwells8879]

Or a road planners wettest dream!😂

[@shmavitz]

I drive this road at least twice every day and almost without fail will witness at least one pillock driving in the blocked lane when it is busy.

[@Theoriginalramjammer]

We have witnessed an Autoshenanigans rare event. A planned ring round actually finished. In yer face Glasgow..

[@funkyanimaltheearloffunkdo1871]

"At least we have a clean air zone" will be Britain's epitaph.

[@chrisl1797]

3:34 reminds me of the new bypass around Caernarfon, but at least the lanes are kept apart. There is also a section of road on the A59 bypass that works on the principle shown in the video. Three lanes, one in each direction and the one in the middle a free for all in either direction AT THE SAME TIME.