The M1 is 65 years old tomorrow

[Every day a journey]

Any bizarre experiences on using it?

[brillomaster]

darn, was hoping you were talking about the BMW M1, but thats only 46 years old...

[stogbandard]

It’s one of my most frequently used motorways. I remember it as a kid back in the late 70’s and first drove it myself in 1990 weeks after passing my test from Yorkshire to London.

In the late 90s I’d hack up and down to London every week for work.

Living in Northants I now use it for my commute between J15 and J14. These days I prefer to use the A1 or A46/A1 heading north with a diversion via the M18 and M62 to avoid the fun at Wentbridge.

One thing that’s never changed is that south of J19 it becomes a hog fest. South of J14 I’ll only use it if I really have to and that’s worse than it’s ever been.

[coppice]

The first time I drove on the M1 was in July 1971 , shortly after passing my test. It was my first motorway of any sort, and we were driving to Silverstone for the Grand Prix in the very early hours . Three deserted lanes , southbound from Leeds and the cats eyes all lit up by full beam on Dad's Vitesse. Later, much later, on the same day , driving home , we were overtaken by a yellow GT40 at what is still the highest speed I have ever seen a car driven on the road.

Thousands of miles and half a century later , the first time remains the most memorable .

[Forester1965]

Hateful thing. Made more hateful by speed cameras. I grew up doing tens and tens of thousands of miles a year and now I'd rather boil my head than face day after day pounding our roads.

[dcb]

Forester1965 said:

Hateful thing. Made more hateful by speed cameras.

+1

The section from the southern end of the M6 to the M25 is
IMHO well worth avoiding. All 62 miles of it.

It almost certainly was more efficient in pre speed camera days
and even more efficient before the 70 mph limit came in in Dec 65.

These days, a rolling roadblock at best.

[dontlookdown]

Never really been a fan of the M1. Drive from S London to Yorks/Newcastle half a dozen times a year (have done for 30yrs) and generally use M11/A1 unless there is a good reason not to.

Back in the day it was a fast but boring road. Now with all the smart motorway carp it is just an unpleasant experience all round. Second only to the M25, M1 driving standards not quite that bad yet.

ETA I did once have a lorry blow over just as I was passing it in the middle lane. It was one of those curtain sided trailers, had the curtains down even though it was blowing a gale.

Missed me by what felt like inches but was probably a bit more;) Just north of the A38 junction, about 25 yrs ago. I generally give them a wider berth on a windy day now!

Edited by dontlookdown on Saturday 2nd November 08:58

[Fusion777]

Backbone of Britain! She may be suffering from aches and pains at her age, even requiring surgery, but we should keep investing in such vital infrastructure to ensure future prosperity.

Think any comparisons made with previous eras, particularly pre-1990 can’t be made, as the country and traffic levels have changed beyond recognition at times since then.

[interstellar]

I remember the unique experience of standing in the out side lane at Watford for an hour to see Diana’s hearse drive up to Northampton. Motorway was packed with pedestrians.

Strange experience unlikely to ever be repeated.

[Ambleton]

dcb said:

The section from the southern end of the M6 to the M25 is
IMHO well worth avoiding. All 62 miles of it.

I live in Northans and they've really buggered it up now.

They turned a perfectly functioning bit of road onto a 4 lane "smart" motorway in both directions with sporadically placed emergency pull ins.

It was probably open and fairly free flowing for about 18months. Now they've realised that smart motorways are more dangerous than they envisioned, they've cut it all down to a 50 and closed a lane so they can put in twice as many emergency zones. Both directions for miles and miles.

I imagine in a few years time they'll join them all up and we'll end up with a 4lane and a hard shoulder.

[Mr Tidy]

I've never liked the M1, especially the Southern end which just seems to get continuously more miserable!

If I'm going North I use the M40 and then the A43 or M42/A42 to get to the M1 if I need to be further East.

The M3 and M4 both have a lane closed and a 50 limit while they build some extra emergency reservations on those. Smart Motorways are just dangerous IMO.

[GolfDragon]

Not a fan of it to be honest.

When heading North from S Wales, there are two options. M6/M62/M60 or M42/M1/M62.

If traffic isn’t an issue I always go M6. When driving on the M1 I feel like the road never ends.

[Halmyre]

Fusion777 said:

Backbone of Britain! She may be suffering from aches and pains at her age, even requiring surgery, but we should keep investing in such vital infrastructure to ensure future prosperity.

Think any comparisons made with previous eras, particularly pre-1990 can’t be made, as the country and traffic levels have changed beyond recognition at times since then.

Backbone of Britain my arse. Even if you throw in the A1(M) it draws its last gap at Newcastle.

[InitialDave]

stogbandard said:

These days I prefer to use the A1 or A46/A1 heading north with a diversion via the M18 and M62 to avoid the fun at Wentbridge.

Not the worst decision, especially since the widening of more of the A46 to two lanes each way, but the queues at the Farndon roundabout for Newark can be diabolical.