ReallyReallyGoodMeat

A conundrum at work..

what's the difference between a motorway and an a-road? Initially I thought it was the number of lanes but of course there are motorways with only 2 lanes.

Is it to do with the junctions? Like how Motorways will always have slip roads to junctions whereas A-roads have turnoffs?

Please solve this for me.

SJ_Skyline

One has blue signs and the other has green signs!

HTH

Some A roads have slip roads, I would say that the difference is in what vehicles are allowed on the road, no pedestrians, <50cc bikes, push bikes and farm vehicles are allowed on the Motorway whereas they are allowed on A roads.

King RA

motorways have a hard shoulder.

ChefDude

some A roads have hard shoulders

davegtt

Think you'll find they're NOT allowed on Motorways

fast bloke

you can't turn right from a motorway - you can from a dual carriageway/a road

OllyK

The joys of google define:

A motorway (Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth nations) is both a type of road and a classification. Motorways may also be regarded as highways designed to carry a large volume of traffic where a normal road would not suffice or would be unsafe, usually between cities. In the UK they are predominantly dual-carriageway roads, usually with three lanes in each direction although four-lane and two-lane carriageways are also common, and all have grade-separated access.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorway

pacenote

Motorways have different design requirements to A roads eg horizontal alignment, vertical alignment , entry and exit points, number of lanes etc.

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

Motorways start with M as in M1, M2, M3 and A roads start with A as in A1 etc. But saying that there are also B roads that start with B as in B1000

HTH

King RA

All motorways have hard shoulders.

SJ_Skyline

But not in France where the Motorways start with A as in A1, A2, A3 and A roads with N as in N1 etc.

OllyK

Except the M1 near Junction 21

ReallyReallyGoodMeat

I think what ChefDude was saying is that just because a road has a hard-shoulder doesn't make it a motorway as an a-road can have a hardshoulder.

Thanks for the replys guys, though I must admit I'm still none the wiser!

davegtt

Think its something to do with volume of traffic that passes on that road.

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

That is a strong and true possibility but he was not talking about France

SJ_Skyline

Wurzel,

I beg to differ - the original post was ambiguous in that it didn't specify which country!

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

Again you are correct I bow out gracefully

ChefDude

how about...

we need to differentiate as some drivers are not allowed on Motorways - learners, etc.

no roundabouts or junctions - if you don't take an exit that is.

generally the speed limit is static.

Brendan Hughes

I'd say it has more to do with legal restrictions than what it looks like. As above, no cyclists, scooters, etc.

SteveScooby

iTrader: (2)

here you go:

http://www.cbrd.co.uk/roadsfaq/

Drunken Bungle Whore

A bit off topic - but have you ever thought how easy it would make it to navigate if only they painted motorways blue, main roads red, B roads yellow etc.

How hard can it be to add a little colouring to the tarmac mix....?