The A14

Came to Kettering in 1990. Travelled regularly to Birmingham (my original home) before and after A14 opened. Whatever faults it may have, there is no way I would go back to the old journey!

The A14 has quite a few drawbacks in my opinion, not because of the motorway itself but because rules on using it were not well thought out considering it is or was a two lane road. At junctions where traffic is joining the A14' most drivers assume they have the right of way and race onto the motorway hoping oncoming traffic will avoid them. The problem is that some sliproads are nearly parallel to the motorway lanes and incoming traffic cannot be seen until the last moment. It is then up to you to either brake (hoping the driver behind you has good reflexes) or put your foot down to give him space to get in. The problem here is that the sliproad driver is also putting his foot down to claim a space. Very dangerous especially at high speed.Solution. At every sliproad junction a notice must be displayed saying " Slow down/prepare to stop".

Second point. Lorries overtaking lorries when it may take a mile or two to succeed. Quite common to see another lorry pull out to overtake before the first lorry has managed to complete it. Now we have two lorries trying to overtake a slower one. This causes traffic back ups and frustration. This  leads to anger then just a short step to taking dangerous risks. Solution. On two lane stretches vehicles over a certain weight must keep to the inside lane only to include cars. 50mph limit for lorries. Apart from hill climbs, any lorry which can't maintain 50mph shouldn't be on a motorway. There is no reason for another lorry to overtake if the one in front is doing 50.  This would leave the second lane free for cars which can also use spaces in the first lane.