Dartford Crossing
 

In order to attend next Sunday's Halfway House meet I've been on line to buy a return ticket for the Dartford Crossing.

This involves a 60p price rise since last visit "to cover cost of removing toll booths and speed up the crossing".

All well and good but apparently ongoing work in removing the toll booths will result in longer delays than usual.

IMHO they should have delayed the price rise until they could deliver the faster crossing time, or better still, kept the promise that it would be free once the tolls had recovered the cost of building it.

Our drivers at work go over it everyday, all of them come back looking defeated for the same reason, they don't have to pay for it but the sheer stupidity of it is the hardest part of their day! Oh and they do some hard work when the lorry stops!

I was there last week, the variable speed traps are the possibly the stupidest invention this decade!!! I couldn't face doing that on a daily basis give the m62 anyday. The mersey tunnel also stated it would be free once it was paid for, thats just a con that all councils use to get you to start paying for something then realise its a cash cows (speed camera's are a good example, the government have no objective analytic data that they save lives but they are in certain roads very profitable e.g there are 2 speed cameras leaving warrington but none entering why is that???

Rant over.... night chaps :Snow:

The Dartford crossing is now privately owned so will never be 'totally free' however during the night there is no charge.
As for the 'smart motorway' taking away the hard shoulder at busy times is an accident waiting to happen, the lanes seem to have become narrower too. The roads are overloaded.
As for the worst stretch of road I would say M6 between junction 4 to 19.

I will be travelling to Dartford on Saturday but will be going through Blackwall tunnel.

The toll crossing is actually still government owned BUT the government sold a ten year licence to operate the crossing to SANEF the company who operate the French motorways.

It should have had the toll booths removed in about 2003 but Dartford borough council had to take legal action to even get the money that was promised to refurb the local station in greenhithe that was promised as part of the bridge building plan! that only got done a couple of years ago.

If you will use the toll more than once or twice a year you are better off opening an account, it is cheaper. or if you live near it get the local residents discount.

There is serious talk about tolling the Blackwall soon as well..
to 'Manage traffic floews effectively'

And to help pay for the new lower thames crossing going in near it (which will also be a toll Crossing!!)

Well this was well publicised .................................... NOT. First that Iheard of this was on forums and as it happens there is a trip south planned for January so that would mena using the crossing.

So would have arrived not knowing anything about this "scam" with no way to pay their extortion. So would have been stymied. Before some chime in:-

1) Nope the phone is just that no gizmos and it's for emergency use only

2) Sadly my extension lead for the PC does not reach that far! Only computer I have is the desktop.

So waht does one do then????

Perhpas like the motorcyles did some years back all turn up with no way way to pay with no booths and bring the thing to a halt. The biker had the money but it took eack one a long time to remove water proof clothing to get at the coins hence motorcycles didn't pay.

It's publicised on the road in concern... you can pay after much like the congestion charge... as for your idea of avoiding payment, it is automated so they will just send the fine to the registered keeper...