Belly, I have no problem with the lead-in zone at roadworks sites, be it one, two or three (100kmh down to 40, where appropriate) progressive reductions in speed.

But what about the end zone that I mentioned in my last post?

Sorry mate truly I am for laughing but end zone?
Yes indeed at the southern end of a roadwork site an end of work zone exists, for south bound traffic.
But for north bound? it is the start of the work site!
However it is evidence of the total failure of authority's to tell us about road works or to even enforce those rules they had a hand in making.
Now no way I could explain how a left of center activist a trade unionist, does not think public owner ship always works.
But the day in my union/worker/ hands on traffic controller roll I walked into the central office of the NSW RTA is pure humor.
20 lost people not one of them ever having worked out side an office intent on buggering up protective laws about road works, they almost did.
Today people such as these are blind to informing the public of the rising death toll at such sites.
Headline news will be made soon after needless death bought on by neglect in those offices.

Belly, there is no need for the end zone in one direction to be of the same length as the lead-in zone in the other direction, is there?

Main Roads departments apparently feel that there is an absolute necessity for the speed limit to be the same in both directions on the same piece of road. Consequently, they make the end zone the same length as the lead-in zone for traffic travelling in the opposite direction. That is; the same stretch of road that is the end zone for traffic going one way and the lead-in zone for traffic travelling in the opposite direction.

But why on earth?

Can you offer any insight as to why Main Roads has this ridiculous policy, which often leads to absurdly long slow zones heading out of roadworks sites, which in turn offends the sensibilities of most drivers, which in turn don’t observe the rules, which in turn are not policed, which in turn makes a complete mockery of the policy of matching the end zone to the lead-in zone on the other side of the same piece of road, which in turn corrodes the rule of law and the authority of Main Roads in a very blatant manner, which in turn reduces the safety for those working at roadworks sites and for the public passing through them, for as long as people can get away with brazenly infringing the law (uhhhh haaaa [deep breath])!!

Ludwig I will try I could have done better in my last post.
Given traffic forms very long lines after being stopped for very short times end zones for south bound traffic are traffic calming lines for north bound.
Both should be the same length.
Why?
At a work site is a constant fear motorists may, do get out of the car and walk around, kids cross the road without guidance , traffic if it begins to move south bound will always does isolate children even adults on the wrong side of the road.
In the middle of the road inches away from traffic doors open eyes closed people must not be confronted with speeding trucks just after the work zones .
Storage areas for waiting traffic, safe zones for waiting traffic that roadway is a dangerous place to return traffic to full speed rushing past stalled traffic would be very dumb.
Another issue not the last cars turn around in waiting traffic , around blind bends over hills to confront a truck at 100 klm in such conditions would kill many as parked cars surely would be involved.
Sorry but no other way exists end of roadworks is for one way the others? the start both end zones are also start zones.
Fact is road authority's have both the best and worst employees and if your dad was Foreman you are likely to be one too skills do not always count.
Public do not understand traffic control nore do some who implement it.

Thanks for that explanation Belly. It certainly makes sense to have a slow zone heading out of roadworks where there is still a hazard factor, such as queued traffic on the other side of the road waiting at a temporary stop sign or traffic light, or where the traffic volume is high enough to cause it to bank up at the roadworks site in question.

But this is only the case in a portion of instances. The majority of the time (at least in my part of the world), there is no queue nor a likelihood of one forming, and yet Main Roads still insist on having a very long slow end zone.

I’ll say again, this is where it gets very dangerous and downright infuriating; where the majority of drivers take no notice of the slow end zone when it is obvious that they have passed the actual roadworks area, and show no tolerance for drivers that continue to stick to the temporary slow speed limit, or even within 20 or 30kmh of it!

I dread this every time I go through a roadworks zone, especially on the open road…. and I’m out there on the Bruce and Flinders Highways and other roads a great deal of the time with my job and my passion for botanical exploration….and there are always roadworks happening on those roads.

Main Roads know of this problem. So surely, in the interests of safety, they must make sure that there are no silly long slow end zones where they don’t have to be.

Ludwig I understand and sometimes agree with you 22 years working in the field [shovel in hand]for the NSW RTA tells me you are partly right.
My unhappiness with my ex employer is not the ill will of a former employee but disappointment that it is the only job I know of that rewards failure with a promotion.
While some of the best thinkers and workers I ever knew work there the worst are likely to be giving them orders.
Insurance , that word describes why every road authority miss uses traffic control plans.
Why loose stones signs are in place for sometimes weeks and those stones are not swept on day two or even late on day one as good practice demands.
If those signs are in place you must really fight to get your broken windscreen replaced most give up.
That longer zone than needed?
Well insurance too end of line smashes happen often, and are a failure of the traffic plan, sometimes the needlessly long zone is laziness.
Seen the red men at work out all night?
no work? yellow yes they can be 24 hour signs but it breaks the law to have flagmen or workmen out without them being on the road.
My thread was to be about failure to educate motorists but failure to implement safe traffic control plans too some true shonks dreadfully unsafe are getting NSW government contracts to do this work based on costs not safety deaths are needless and some who over see these contracts base winners on who puts the most free grog in the back of the Ute.