Three Lane Roads - the MOST DANGEROUS game of chicken?

Way back when, three lane roads were seen as a way to improve capacity and get things moving. What nobody banked on was the head-on collisions and appalling reputation they got. So what happened to these and what do three lane roads look like today?

[@richardwalker_]

The old A604 between Cambridge and Huntingdon over the course of the old Roman Road used to be a 3-lane road, before it was upgraded (twice) and renumbered (twice). It was terrible then and only just about copes with the amount of traffic now its three lanes in both directions. How many other roads have 100% more capacity (and still struggle)?

[@OkenWS]

Old S2+1s which used to be S3s (often visible by the seams in the road still creating a 'middle lane' despite other lining or hatching) and still carry a lot of traffic, are usually a hallmark of all the places we're still to this day struggling to finance capacity upgrades, or of course like Wales have made the political decision that cars are end stage technology.

[@DadgeCity]

The single-carriageway section of the A452 by the NEC was one of these till not too long ago.

[@johnrockley9472]

Great content. Let's hope 'Smart Motorways' are history soon too!

[@BrynBuck]

Unfortunately the expense of sorting this one out will be astronomical as it's either widen properly or go back to three lanes. Neither is politically acceptable it seems.

[@nowster]

I wonder if the link road between A38 and M5 near Wellington is still S3. Not been that way since 2002. You can occasionally see bumps of the old markings in thinner resurfacing on lesser used former trunk roads like the A6 in Cumbria and the A50 in Cheshire.

[@BrynBuck]

It got converted to 2+1 about 10 years ago.

[@jcooper_]

I just checked and the old layout is still on old street view from 2008 and 2009 - all I can say is wow. It's the gentle but relentless curve that road is on that shocks me. With such little visibility ahead, that middle lane must've been absolute suicide.

[@siwynjones]

Somebody posted a period photo of one of these the other day on Facebook, and I couldn’t believe it when folk chimed in to say it was still there. It’s the A39 between Minehead and Porlock. It’s not an area I’ve ever explored, but with that, the 1:4 Porlock Hill and its tolled bypass, I may have to remedy that this summer.

[@andrewtaylor5984]

Much of the A39 between Minehead and Barnstaple is extremely narrow and in many places there is barely room for anything larger than two cars to pass.

[@siwynjones]

@@andrewtaylor5984 Sounds fab for a motorbike trip.

[@Sim0nTrains]

Never heard of the chicken road before but now has ben curious if the A51 between Rugeley and Lichfield via Longton was a chicken lane as some of the layout is 2 plus 1 road configuration. Interesting video Bryn

[@nigelh4617]

I think that it may have been, although my memory of it back then is a bit foggy. It's part of my daily commute, sadly.

[@BrynBuck]

Definitely was - the A51 used to be a major road to avoid Birmingham before the M6 was finished there in 1972.

[@Batters56]

The a303 ilminster bypass was notorious for this and still sees regular bad crashes and will do Until it is dualled…. If they ever get round to it.

[@CaseyJonesNumber1]

Ah yes, the infamous A38 "Death Alley", particularly that between Gloucester and Bristol! (Plus other parts, north of Gloucester and south of Bristol), its danger was always being commented on in local newspapers. Most of it between Gloucester and Bristol was 'upgraded' to 3 lanes in the 1960s, awaiting the construction of the M5. Just a couple of short 3-lane stretches still exist (as 2+1 now) on hills, the rest having reverted to 2 wide lanes (or narrower with centre hatching) in the late 1970s, when the M5 was completed. But there's still evidence of the old 3-lanes in many places, in plugged cat's eyes holes, some of which are now 'unplugged', which show that these stretches have not been properly resurfaced in approaching 50 years!

[@andrewtaylor5984]

And most of the green signs on the A38 have been replaced by white ones. There are still three-lane sections near the Somerset/Devon border.

[@tomwinch9107]

I recall a 3 lane road near King's Lynn in about 87 - that's the only one I've been on (as a passenger) ... it could have been the A149 Hardwick Road (into town from the A10 / A47 junction, north west of the train bridge. That's 3 lanes but has long broken lines on one side to give priority to the other 2 lanes. The other road I suspect was a 3 lane (though might be to new) is the A303 Ilminster bypass. I've only known it as a 2+1 road (driven it since at least 98), but it was a 50 limit (as I discussed what the speed limit would be for the 6.5 tonne truck with a 1.75 tonne trailer with the transport manager of the company I worked for - back then the limit for single carriageway roads for a vehicle over 7.5 tonnes was 40)

[@BrynBuck]

Ilminster was wide 2 lanes remarked to 2+1 because of overtaking problems but the A149 was a notorious example of an uncontrolled three lane road.

[@Nathan_A_RF]

Still amazing how some S3s still exist in places. Locally to me a few years ago (nearly 10 now, wow doesn't time fly) a new road opened connecting Bexhill and Hastings. This was for whatever reason constructed as a massive WS2 - and some of the people who drive on there treat it as an S3. Still waiting for it to be demarcated as a 2+1...

[@niallh8129]

Is that a chicken lane between the old A601(M) and A6070 in Carnforth or should it have a double white line down one of the lanes? Great video as always!

[@BrynBuck]

It is indeed a chicken lane. There used to be more on the A6 until about 25 years ago. Other examples in Lancashire have all gone meaning this is the last one left. The A59, A677, A678, old A56 etc all had lengths at some point just to name a few.

[@oldtechnobodycaresabout]

I remember my parents telling me tales of when the A20 was like this! That was converted ages ago now

[@solentbum]

I heard them referred to as 'Coroners Corridors' by Traffic Policemen in Hampshire. esp. the sections around Basingstoke.

[@BrynBuck]

The A677 leaving Blackburn used to have a three lane stretch also known as Coroner's Corridor!

[@grahvis]

One lane for going, one lane for coming and one lane for dying.

[@andymerrett]

The irony of the Dull Men's Club getting heated.

[@wteff8586]

...is quickly absolved by the epiphany that it's not the club that's dull but the men

[@andrewtaylor5984]

They only became really dangerous after a change in the law in 1961. The original purpose was to allow people to overtake lorries hauling a trailer or over a certain weight limit which were restricted to 20 m.p.h.. Even buses and coaches were restricted to 30 m.p.h.. Of course, there was less traffic on the roads at the time. I can cite at least one instance where a road is just as dangerous after being dualled, and another road which is two-lane, three-lane, and four-lane in the space of a few miles, with few warnings, and several blind summits. I am not going to name these two examples.

[@AddieDirectsTV]

Wait. The third lane was a general travel lane?! The US has these. But the center lane is specifically for turns.

[@kaitlyn__L]

I can see turning arrows in at least some of the historical footage. I get the impression the idea was to use them for turns and overtakes but people just started getting used to chancing it, as it was technically at their discretion. But then, I'd never heard of them being used anywhere but America until this video!

[@AaronOfMpls]

These "s**cide lanes" used to exist in parts of the US back then, too. As far as I know they're all long gone for 40-50+ years now; every state/county/municipality either re-striped them 2+1 to give one side priority, or crosshatched them out, or rebuilt them out of existence. The closest thing left is the two-way center turn lanes in cities/suburbs/small towns. These are _far_ less of a head-on collision risk, since traffic speeds are slower and the traffic volume using the lane is much lower. They're on slower streets/roads to begin with, plus their users are slowing down even more to turn across traffic. And they only serve low-traffic driveways and low-traffic side streets; if a cross street or driveway gets too much turning traffic, then that part of the lane gets striped as a normal turn lane for one side only, to keep oncoming traffic out.

[@freebrickproductions]

I have to wonder how many of them have since been converted to center turn lanes as well.

[@Rail_Focus]

Chicken lanes sound absolutely crazy!

[@pmberry]

Long tracts of the A629 as it runs between South and West Yorkshire is S2 but with lane-wide hatching down the middle. This does suggest an inexpensive conversion from a "un-aliving" lane at some point in the past. Since the hatching is bound by broken lines on both sides, you are allowed to use it to overtake (Highway Code states "where necessary" - Rule 130) but its presence generally discourages you from doing so. Clever bit of psychology there. *I would use the colloquial term but let's get this past the censor.

[@QuantumPulsar]

Great video, very interesting. Hypothetically, could the rightmost lane be used to overtake overtaking traffic on the chicken lane when there's no oncoming traffic (maybe as a turkey lane lol) as there's no separation of directions? Also does the A38(M) not count as it has lane control signals?

[@BrynBuck]

@QuantumPulsar the Highway Code always said you should not (note not MUST NOT) use the right most lane - so theoretically yeah!

[@officialmcdeath]

My mother used to tell me hair-raising tales of older versions of the A3 around Guildford and 3-lane roads featured prominently \m/

[@rogue265]

Australia has a lot of these... We call them suicide lanes. Though if you note the line markings always tell you which side of the road has priority. As you can't share links... have a look at these lat/longs to see what i mean: 32°54'27.1"S 137°58'56.6"E

[@aleccoates9094]

I can't say I've heard about these before. I've seen alternating central lanes like on the A38(M), but a central lane with both directions live? What were they smoking...

[@shaun30-3-mg9zs]

Hi Bryn, There is a few of these WS2 around, A483/A5 Chirk by-pass between Oswestry, Llangollen & Wrexham. The A5 west of Betws-y-Coed and the A487 off the A55 south of Bangor to Caernarfon to the Caernarfon By-pass through to Pen-y-Groes for 14 miles. To be honest i'm not a fan of these WS2 roads for just adding an extra lane make these roads a dual carriageway, because in 10 or so years time these roads will come congested and will needed to be up graded. The proof is in the pudding the A5/A483 Is in desperate need to become a dual carriageway linking Oswestry to Wrexham at Chirk and the junctions need to be grade separated. thank's for your view on these WS2 roads, take care

[@siwynjones]

I actively avoid the A5 between Chirk and Shrewsbury if I can, and use the A41. The extensive WS2 is surely as dangerous as the old S3, and it’s just stress I don’t need. Maybe if they made them alternating S2+1 folk would be less reckless. The whole route is crying out for dualling and GSJs, but I can’t see it happening even if the economy picks up.

[@shaun30-3-mg9zs]

@@siwynjones It is in desperate need of a dual carriageway at Chirk and Oswestry I couldn't understand why this road is made as a single carriageway in the 90's as the A483 at Wrexham was made a a dual carriageway back in the early 1970's with GSJs . does not make sense you would think that traffic will increase in time and not reduce, have a good one

[@seprishere]

Is the sort of "wide single" with two wide lanes that much better than three lanes? I have seen that on the A5, I don't know if it still is.

[@MrGreatplum]

I think that when I first was at uni in Exeter in 1999, the ilminster bypass on the a303 was like this and then it was quickly remedied to s2+1 (if that’s the right terminology!)

[@BrynBuck]

It was a wide two lane, remarked as 2+1 later, it had problems with people blasting down the middle regardless so the formal remarking did a lot of good.

[@MrGreatplum]

@ - that’s right, I remember now - it was crazy! (It probably felt like 3 lanes at the time!)

[@jasonw4601]

Can you do a video on the A1 in Northumberland? A major trunk road with high volumes of traffic that the UK government don't think is a trunk route worthy of their funding

[@ukroadsandtransport]

I really want to know the other term for a chicken road, also the A465 is my favourite road and I go there in 3 weeks for my birthday to film an update of course

[@WelshMullet]

In modern parlance, an self unaliving road :P

[@AaronOfMpls]

I think it starts with s- and ends with -uicide.

[@petershillito]

If it's the one I'm thinking of, I think it's "[single word that refers to unaliving oneself] lane". Never heard "chicken lane" before, but also never come across one of these roads before either, only ones with double white lines for the 2+1 configuration. The only reason I know the term is because of a road that has a lane that changes direction depending on peak traffic flow that I can't quite place (I thought it was the A38(M) in Birmingham, but that always has a closed lane to separate traffic so wouldn't really apply).

[@ukroadsandtransport]

​@@AaronOfMpls oooh ok

[@Andrewjg_89]

I understand what 3 lane roads are which is similar to motorways that have 3 lanes with hard shoulder both ways and major A roads that have been widened to 3 lanes both ways. And have dual carriageway roads is ideal to carry more extra traffic.

[@BrynBuck]

There are many differences between a dual three lane road and a three lane single carriageway - as you say particularly the capacity and safety! But not all three lane single carriageways need a replacement with a three lane dual carriageway.

[@Andrewjg_89]

⁠Totally agree 👍

[@ReubenAshwell]

I've heard of the chicken road, I'm not sure I fancy driving in that middle lane on them.

[@kaitlyn__L]

I've often been astounded at how prevalent 3-lane roads "with a centre turning lane" are in America, I'd assumed they were invented there. I'm surprised, though I shouldn't be, that they used to be everywhere and were since deprecated by other designs! Like, I don't know which specific variant this is but I've definitely seen those hatched white lines show up to make space for a very brief turning lane for one very specific rural turn, then more hatched lines, then back to two again. That's always made sense to me. Simply having 3 lanes with some painted arrows in, and trusting people to only use them when turning and at an appropriate speed, always seemed very bizarre. Especially in the USA! Given how drivers there are well-known for abusing turning lanes for overtakes (or, usually, undertakes), running red lights at 20 over the limit, and many other things to the point there's an entire cultural lexicon about it AND how to "drive defensively" in anticipation of it. I suppose one could argue the recent trend in America to fill-in non-turning space in turning lanes with trees, bollards, or concrete islands could be considered to fulfil the same function as the turn lanes I mentioned. But the difference is they're often urban, with a turning every quarter of a mile, leading to giant strip malls and supermarkets. While here, I mainly see them used in rural but still trunk-ish roads.