Is Birmingham the worst UK city to drive in?
Discussion
SiH said:
Oxford is the winner for me. Car drivers can "get tae f**k".
Having lived in/around and worked in Oxford for 20 years, I never understand this 'Oxford is anti-car' stereotype. You can't drive on a couple of roads in the city centre, most of which were laid out in medieval times, which kind of pre-dates the car. There are also some people on bikes you might need to look out for. Big wows.Highway Star said:
SiH said:
Oxford is the winner for me. Car drivers can "get tae f**k".
Having lived in/around and worked in Oxford for 20 years, I never understand this 'Oxford is anti-car' stereotype. You can't drive on a couple of roads in the city centre, most of which were laid out in medieval times, which kind of pre-dates the car. There are also some people on bikes you might need to look out for. Big wows.Big Wows.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=...
Aberdeen is worse.
Every road is riddled with potholes or very rough surfaced tar which means the ride is constantly horrible, Speedbumps are huge and are usually potholed too.
The school kids think they own the road and step out and casually walk in front of everyone.
Very few people indicate.
No one looks in there mirrors.
Every single set of traffic lights will greet you on red and will keep you waiting for ages, and the green light often only lasts for seconds
There are hardly any filter lanes or staggered lighting so if you ever need to turn right accross a junction you usually get round when the light has long been red and the traffic crossing the junction has gone green.
Because of the above, loads of people run red lights.
Inconsiderate parking aplenty.
No one lets you out of side roads, even if you are nudging out of a completely blind junction with no visability the cars on the road will not make allowances for you.
Most of the roads are closed most of the time (or at least it feels like that). If a road has been closed for months for whatever reason, when it re-opens it hasn't had any repairs done!!!
Its a lot like london, only no taxis, less bikes, a poor public transport infastructure, more Potholes and more traffic lights.
Every road is riddled with potholes or very rough surfaced tar which means the ride is constantly horrible, Speedbumps are huge and are usually potholed too.
The school kids think they own the road and step out and casually walk in front of everyone.
Very few people indicate.
No one looks in there mirrors.
Every single set of traffic lights will greet you on red and will keep you waiting for ages, and the green light often only lasts for seconds
There are hardly any filter lanes or staggered lighting so if you ever need to turn right accross a junction you usually get round when the light has long been red and the traffic crossing the junction has gone green.
Because of the above, loads of people run red lights.
Inconsiderate parking aplenty.
No one lets you out of side roads, even if you are nudging out of a completely blind junction with no visability the cars on the road will not make allowances for you.
Most of the roads are closed most of the time (or at least it feels like that). If a road has been closed for months for whatever reason, when it re-opens it hasn't had any repairs done!!!
Its a lot like london, only no taxis, less bikes, a poor public transport infastructure, more Potholes and more traffic lights.
Having moved from Richmond (west London) to Moseley (south Birmingham) about a year I must say there are noticeable differences.
In Birmingham there are few residential t-junctions cross-roads that don't have cars parked all over them. Nor do the good people of Birmingham seem to be able to understand when they are able to use a bus lane, so avoid using them altogether.
Another small observation, I feel a lot safer when cycling on roads in Birmingham and West Midlands than I do in most UK cities, most probably thanks to 'operation close pass'.
In Birmingham there are few residential t-junctions cross-roads that don't have cars parked all over them. Nor do the good people of Birmingham seem to be able to understand when they are able to use a bus lane, so avoid using them altogether.
Another small observation, I feel a lot safer when cycling on roads in Birmingham and West Midlands than I do in most UK cities, most probably thanks to 'operation close pass'.
TheFinners said:
I take it not many of you have had the pleasure of driving round the socialist bus lane worshipping utopia of Brighton & Hove?
Driving around Brighton is an absolute dream compared to Birmingham. Brighton can be a bit slow, esp the A23 in/out of town in rush hour but it's still pretty easy to drive in. Try living in a coastal town especially on the south coast where the living dead bumble at 20mph everywhere, are deaf & park by sound. Their cars are either old Rovers polished to within an inch of their chrome bumpers or brand new Jazz's driven by white or silver haired pensioners with more money in the bank than they know what to do with.
Sadly they hang onto their licences & cars for too long rather than join the 9.30am queues for the free bus services.
The saving grace is that they are white & locally born.
Sadly they hang onto their licences & cars for too long rather than join the 9.30am queues for the free bus services.
The saving grace is that they are white & locally born.
Lester H said:
Try Derby. And, yes if you are avoiding s
tholes, York.
Oh I did have to go through Derby a few times whilst I was commuting between Hertfordshire and Cheshire and they were doing work on the A50.tholes, York.Edited by Lester H on Thursday 26th January 22:32
Best one was when they closed the A50 due to improvement works and diverted people up the M1 to the A52......but when you got there, the A52 was closed too for improvement works
Why they couldn't have put this on the matrix signs before the M6 junction so anyone heading for the north west didn't end up doing circuits of f
king Derby - I will never know.MarshPhantom said:
Rowan Atkinson on "Oxford's insane transport policy" and refers to a blanket ban on cars in the City Centre.
Big Wows.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=...
In reality, it's a few streets. It's been the same for years. Everyone who lives there copes perfectly well; it's a small city with a compact centre. I can drive and park perfectly well in a street that within a five minute walk will have me in the city centre. And that is a city centre that as I said was laid out in medieval times, not specifically for Macca F1 driving comedians.Big Wows.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=...
But Rowan doesn't like it, he doesn't even live in the city (I know where he lives btw). And you live in South East London, so excuse me if I don't give it much credence.
Edited by Highway Star on Monday 30th January 22:06
I think the issues people are experiencing in here are not "ethnic minorities" but the realities of modern cities unable to cope with the amount of cars on the roads. You can't really compare Birmingham to a backwater like Stoke. It's the 2nd largest city in the UK.
Drive through rough non-ethnic areas of Birmingham like Kingstanding and you'll encounter the same problems with rude boy drivers.
Drive through rough non-ethnic areas of Birmingham like Kingstanding and you'll encounter the same problems with rude boy drivers.
Ransoman said:
Aberdeen is worse.
Every road is riddled with potholes or very rough surfaced tar which means the ride is constantly horrible, Speedbumps are huge and are usually potholed too.
The school kids think they own the road and step out and casually walk in front of everyone.
Very few people indicate.
No one looks in there mirrors.
Every single set of traffic lights will greet you on red and will keep you waiting for ages, and the green light often only lasts for seconds
There are hardly any filter lanes or staggered lighting so if you ever need to turn right accross a junction you usually get round when the light has long been red and the traffic crossing the junction has gone green.
Because of the above, loads of people run red lights.
Inconsiderate parking aplenty.
No one lets you out of side roads, even if you are nudging out of a completely blind junction with no visability the cars on the road will not make allowances for you.
Most of the roads are closed most of the time (or at least it feels like that). If a road has been closed for months for whatever reason, when it re-opens it hasn't had any repairs done!!!
Its a lot like london, only no taxis, less bikes, a poor public transport infastructure, more Potholes and more traffic lights.
I drive in Aberdeen everyday and after being in and driving in Luton in December it's really not bad at all. Every road is riddled with potholes or very rough surfaced tar which means the ride is constantly horrible, Speedbumps are huge and are usually potholed too.
The school kids think they own the road and step out and casually walk in front of everyone.
Very few people indicate.
No one looks in there mirrors.
Every single set of traffic lights will greet you on red and will keep you waiting for ages, and the green light often only lasts for seconds
There are hardly any filter lanes or staggered lighting so if you ever need to turn right accross a junction you usually get round when the light has long been red and the traffic crossing the junction has gone green.
Because of the above, loads of people run red lights.
Inconsiderate parking aplenty.
No one lets you out of side roads, even if you are nudging out of a completely blind junction with no visability the cars on the road will not make allowances for you.
Most of the roads are closed most of the time (or at least it feels like that). If a road has been closed for months for whatever reason, when it re-opens it hasn't had any repairs done!!!
Its a lot like london, only no taxis, less bikes, a poor public transport infastructure, more Potholes and more traffic lights.
Yes the infrastructure set up is shocking and the council are useless but it generally a safe place to drive.
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