Driving in England

[tiggers]

The roads in Manchester are a bloody disgrace.

Try coming to Norfolk... Manchester's roads will seem like a veritable billiard table in comparison.

An extreme example, but this was Ten Mile Bank not a million miles from me in 2011... I daren't go there just in case they haven't fixed it properly.

 

[richardg]

I tend to not go to Italy much. The last time was September 22 and on the return journey the Gothard tunnel got closed just before I got there so I had to drive over the top where it was snowy.

Later today I will drive from Zürich to Aÿ and then tomorrow through the tunnel to the UK (Guildford). I suspect that it will be the UK part that will be least pleasant.

Apparently there will be some form of e-vignette introduced this year..

the bit i hate most is the dartford tunnel, not the queueing, but forgetting to buy the ticket online and getting the fine, seems unfair that you cannot pay as you cross

 

[lordsummit]

the bit i hate most is the dartford tunnel, not the queueing, but forgetting to buy the ticket online and getting the fine, seems unfair that you cannot pay as you cross

You’ve got until midnight the same day. Not too hard really.

 

[tiggers]

You’ve got until midnight the same day. Not too hard really.

Midnight the day after actually so it's really not too bad... other than there should be no charge whatsoever as it was meant to be abolished about 20 years ago.

 

[richardg]

afraid my head is a shed, i forget every time. been fined 160 once.

 

[richardg]

40 minutes trying to go south from Basel on Wednesday, 60 minutes at the Gotthard Pass. Decided to try to beat the weekend traffic going home and left Italy this morning instead of Sunday. Currently stuck in Gotthard traffic again for another hour.

It's the last time for me. Switzerland is the worst place I know for traffic jams. Either we go by train to the lakes of Italy or just go somewhere else. Shame!

 

[Ellenor]

Most roads in the uk were never designed to take the amount of traffic we have nowadays. Even when they're repaired properly they never last long before they start breaking up again. The same roads lasted a lot longer in the past from what I can remember. The councils need a lot more money to keep up with the wear and tear.

 

[stony]

Switzerland and the UK are a couple of the safest counties in the world for road deaths, with the UK usually being the best of the larger countries.

On the road quality - the UK roads aren't great in places (and getting worse based on my own subjective experience) but there are others that are worse. When we did a motorhome trip a few years back that covered about 5,000 miles across 10 European countries the worst 2 for road quality were Belgium and Portugal (although in both cases their motorways were pretty good). The individually worst roads we encountered on the trip were actually in Spain, however generally their roads seemed pretty good.

I've never been to Portugal but I can confirm that driving in Belgium, is not the most pleasant experience. I found drivers over there rather unfriendly.

 

[Snufkin]

I've never been to Portugal but I can confirm that driving in Belgium, is not the most pleasant experience. I found drivers over there rather unfriendly.

Belgium is a small country and I think drivers there suffer from agoraphobia if they are too far away from each other.

 

[paulfromcamden]

The roads in Lambeth are worse than many third world countries and we haven't had the street weeded for a year.

Massively OT but I sometimes walk through Pearman St in Lambeth where the residents tend to the curb side planters at the base of the trees. On several occasions I've sauntered past someone on their knees weeding or planting. Fantastic. It's only a little thing but it really brightens my day!

 

[RJohan]

Belgium is a small country and I think drivers there suffer from agoraphobia if they are too far away from each other.

Aha! That explains their inches behind tailgating behavior.

 

[foxwelljsly]

I avoid driving as much as possible now for both work and leisure here in Kent. Too much traffic and the roads are in atrocious condition and subject to random and uncoordinated closures. I have also yet to venture out on our local roads on my summer road bike for fear that they have become unnavigable on 25mm tyres.

As stated upthread, this is completely the fault of the government who have saddled local authorities with more and more responsibility and restricted their ability to pay for them by imposing a cap on council tax in case the blue-rinses throw a wobbler and vote for some actual full-on facsists at the next election.

 

[Colin L]

Yet another reason to live in rural Scotland. Aberdeenshire in my case. Lightly trafficked and policed. A delight to drive.

 

[richardg]

Yet another reason to live in rural Scotland. Aberdeenshire in my case. Lightly trafficked and policed. A delight to drive.

What are the other reasons?

 

[Barrymagrec]

I've never been to Portugal but I can confirm that driving in Belgium, is not the most pleasant experience. I found drivers over there rather unfriendly.

I`ve never found Belgium a particularly bad place to drive apart from their road signs, which carry only the slightest detectable amount of useful or correct information, quite the worst I remember and that includes the former Yugoslavia where most of the signs were in Cyrllic

 

[stevec67]

I've never been to Portugal but I can confirm that driving in Belgium, is not the most pleasant experience. I found drivers over there rather unfriendly.

Belgium's fine. So is France. Even Paris isn't too bad. The most chaotic I've seen in Europe is Naples. It's dreadful.

I avoid driving as much as possible now for both work and leisure here in Kent. Too much traffic and the roads are in atrocious condition and subject to random and uncoordinated closures. I have also yet to venture out on our local roads on my summer road bike for fear that they have become unnavigable on 25mm tyres.

As stated upthread, this is completely the fault of the government who have saddled local authorities with more and more responsibility and restricted their ability to pay for them by imposing a cap on council tax in case the blue-rinses throw a wobbler and vote for some actual full-on facsists at the next election.

My latest bike is a gravel bike with 700 x 38c tyres. I haven't braved the roads of Bradford yet, mostly because that's life threatening on any bike and a LWB Land Rover is a better choice. However the civilised bits of Yorkshire are fine, both on and off road. For touring I may fit 30 section CX tyres or similar.

 

[SteveG]

Yet another reason to live in rural Scotland. Aberdeenshire in my case. Lightly trafficked and policed. A delight to drive.

The more time I spend at the cottage in the Cairngorms the less tolerant I become of the traffic in Edinburgh!

 

[Minio]

Potholes depend on the local council. Here in North Norwich there are very few of them.
Our road has just been resurfaced even though not in bad condition beforehand.
You pays your council tax and get what you pay for.
Or else.

 

[stony]

Belgium's fine. So is France. Even Paris isn't too bad. The most chaotic I've seen in Europe is Naples. It's dreadful....

For me, the most difficult place in Europe to drive was Warsaw . People were mad and drove their cars to the limits, nobody cared about speed limits. Very crowded too. But I was told that it has changed a lot in last few years.
Outside of Europe Cairo was even worse, horns all the time, all traffic lights were off. Very crowded again, anxious drivers. and donkey riders in the middle of a road.
I wasn't brave enough to drive night time as they don't use lights when it's pitch-black .
After they make a turn they just flash with their lights to check the road in front of a car and switch it off. F... mad .

France is great and Paris is not so bad if you remember about their way doing roundabouts.

One of the most pleasant place to drive is Pembrokeshire

 

[Colin L]

The more time I spend at the cottage in the Cairngorms the less tolerant I become of the traffic in Edinburgh!

Just in the middle of 3 weeks in Malaysia, half in KL. The traffic is mental. Recently done the Edinburgh by-pass / Joppa / Dalkeith end, and whatever it by-passes, it isn’t traffic. Utter shite.

My intolerance for traffic increases by the year. So glad I’m not darn sarf..