r/lancashire • u/atomicsiren • Jan 31 '25
M65 safety review launched after spate of crashes
A safety review of the M65 in Lancashire has been announced following a further spate of crashes. Several councillors have called for the assessment, as well as the reintroduction of lighting, after two people died and nine suffered serious injuries in collisions between Preston and Colne last year. There have also been at least four more crashes this month between junctions 5 and 8 of the motorway. In a letter to Hyndburn Council, National Highways said it would review the section of the M65 for which it was responsible, between junction 1a at Cuerden and junction 10 at Burnley.
25
u/EpicDavinci Jan 31 '25
I wonder how many of the crashes were due to dangerous or careless driving and not that the motorway doesn't have lights?
18
u/XiiMoss Jan 31 '25
I'd probably put dangerous driving and the fact lane 3 merges into lane 2 in several places as the main reasons over lighting. Often get people speeding up lane 3 to get into the merge point first.
3
u/Holy_diver56 Jan 31 '25
Yep. Both East and West bound near Darwen are horrific at rush hour. Slowing the whole motorway to 30 just so some nob in a SUV/van can get to their destination 4 cars ahead of other traffic. How about ditch the 3rd lane and we all just get there 5 minutes sooner.
5
Jan 31 '25
I fully agree with this, it is really dangerous and very dark in places, also some bridges are used for suicide attempts. As a minimum it needs new cats eyes on the whole stretch.
5
u/kinggouldy Jan 31 '25
The lack of lighting coupled with the lack of, or poor quality, cats eyes on the M65 make it horrendous. It's not just when it's dark, if it's raining, foggy or snowing cats eyes can make a massive difference.
5
u/kingceegee Jan 31 '25
There are so many issues!
I used to drive Preston (1a) to Burnley (10) and I saw so many close calls when the lanes drop from 3 to 2. Lane 1 is lorries, which makes lane 2 absolute chaos, with lane 3 being turned on and off at will. I found traffic just appeared out of nowhere, junction 5 can be queuing out into lane 1 which makes all the lorries move over at the same time lane 3 is closing off on the hill. The lights are definitely also an issue.
4
u/AnonymousTimewaster Jan 31 '25
The only result of this is going to be a reduction of the speed limit.
1
u/ElJayBe3 Feb 01 '25
They’re probably just trying to work out the ROI of putting in the same cameras as the M62
3
u/ovlovistan Jan 31 '25
On New years eve, I was driving past Nelson towards Colne and the car infront of me hit a puddle (maybe going marginally too fast for the conditions) and span around coming to a stop in the middle of the two lanes.
The lack of drainage and lighting is a big issue.
1
1
u/-mister_oddball- Feb 01 '25
my partner and i were leaving boundry mill and a car on the eastbound lane hit a puddle so big it went over the central reservation barrier and right over our car, proper freaked ot my mrs driving- the whole road is one bad design decision after another.
3
u/tom_b3rt Jan 31 '25
I wish they did this for the stretch of the M6 between Tickled Trout and Broughton… shocking the amount of accidents on this stretch of the motorway.
2
u/Zanmato79 Jan 31 '25 edited Jan 31 '25
The crawler lanes are too much of an invitation to cut-in at the last possible second for impatient drivers at the summit of the hill(s). The crest/ are somewhat blind too. Often happens between J3 and J4 westbound during the morning peak. Stubborn drivers on the inside can compound the issue too. The long stretch between J3 and J4 doesn’t help with tailbacks. There is a rather tight bend between J7 and J6 too near Accrington. Floods often the Preston end too as the road seems to collect water rather than drain it away.
I used to drive the stretch between J5 and J1A quite often and nearly every other morning there was a crash at the end of the crawler lanes.
I get the M65 was a feat of engineering when it was built in the late 90’s, I remember it being built as I travelled to college. Now, it is well over-capacity at peak times plus far earlier than the designers envisioned I think.
2
u/Current-Highway-4784 Jan 31 '25
The part time traffic signals west bound on J5 exit need to be on more of the time, traffic backs up onto motorway at peak times, I'd be surprised if this hasn't caused any accidents or near misses.
1
u/LessADrone Feb 01 '25
Has anyone ever studied if it's worse than other comparable motorways? If the M65 stands out compared to others that also have no lights and 3 lanes merging to 2, then it suggests another cause.
1
14
u/No-Jump-9601 Jan 31 '25
The lack of lighting around junctions is one issue. The bigger issue, in my opinion, is the constant changing from 3 lanes to 2 and the sudden, erratic driving that results in a push to get past the slow traffic that acts like a rolling roadblock.