The British road network is :censored:
Discussion
Apologies for the Wail link, but I think it highlights a frightening and rather depressing picture of British roads in the 21st Century. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2954313/Ha...
My take is that there are simply too many cars on an overcrowded network, with stressed and angry "f
k you, me first!" people all trying to get somewhere as fast as possible. And it only takes a fairly minor event, such as the broken down lorry on the North Orbital Road this evening to bring large parts of the network (M25/M1 in this case) to a grinding halt.
I know we all love our cars and the freedom they give us, but I'm not sure how much longer this mayhem can go on without something giving. Is there a viable solution?
My take is that there are simply too many cars on an overcrowded network, with stressed and angry "f
k you, me first!" people all trying to get somewhere as fast as possible. And it only takes a fairly minor event, such as the broken down lorry on the North Orbital Road this evening to bring large parts of the network (M25/M1 in this case) to a grinding halt.I know we all love our cars and the freedom they give us, but I'm not sure how much longer this mayhem can go on without something giving. Is there a viable solution?
I commuted home from work today in the crowded South East (Basingstoke to Winchester) and was only stuck behind another car for the first couple of minutes. The most cars I saw was when I drove over a bridge and could look down on the M3.
There are thousands of miles of declassified roads all over the country that hardly anyone uses. Most still choose to sit on motorways and A roads.
There are thousands of miles of declassified roads all over the country that hardly anyone uses. Most still choose to sit on motorways and A roads.
Doesn't help when viable alternatives are so ridiculously expensive. For example, a colleague of mine commutes in from Bedford to London Bridge. Monthly train ticket cost? £500. That. Is. A. fking. Joke.
I guess there alot of people who would rather put up with the stress and drive similar distances into London rather than pay £500pm, hence the problem you mention.
Surely the main selling point of public transport is that its supposed to be cheaper?
king. Joke.I guess there alot of people who would rather put up with the stress and drive similar distances into London rather than pay £500pm, hence the problem you mention.
Surely the main selling point of public transport is that its supposed to be cheaper?
Swanny87 said:
Doesn't help when viable alternatives are so ridiculously expensive. For example, a colleague of mine commutes in from Bedford to London Bridge. Monthly train ticket cost? £500. That. Is. A. fking. Joke.
I guess there alot of people who would rather put up with the stress and drive similar distances into London rather than pay £500pm, hence the problem you mention.
Surely the main selling point of public transport is that its supposed to be cheaper?
So what would it cost him to drive to London Bridge? I make it north of 3,000 miles per month for a five-day week, so north of 35k miles per year allowing for annual holidays. At HMRC mileage rates, that's a bit over £900 per month. Plus, of course, the cost of parking. We'll assume he's driving something congestion charge-exempt, shall we? Or would you rather add another £250+/mo onto that tab to cover the charge?king. Joke.I guess there alot of people who would rather put up with the stress and drive similar distances into London rather than pay £500pm, hence the problem you mention.
Surely the main selling point of public transport is that its supposed to be cheaper?
And how long would it take him, getting in and out at normal commuting o'clock?
jogger1976 said:
Apologies for the Wail link, but I think it highlights a frightening and rather depressing picture of British roads in the 21st Century. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2954313/Ha...
My take is that there are simply too many cars on an overcrowded network, with stressed and angry "fk you, me first!" people all trying to get somewhere as fast as possible. And it only takes a fairly minor event, such as the broken down lorry on the North Orbital Road this evening to bring large parts of the network (M25/M1 in this case) to a grinding halt.
I know we all love our cars and the freedom they give us, but I'm not sure how much longer this mayhem can go on without something giving. Is there a viable solution?
A solution to what though? A solution to a problem we created, that didn't exist before? My take is that there are simply too many cars on an overcrowded network, with stressed and angry "f
k you, me first!" people all trying to get somewhere as fast as possible. And it only takes a fairly minor event, such as the broken down lorry on the North Orbital Road this evening to bring large parts of the network (M25/M1 in this case) to a grinding halt.I know we all love our cars and the freedom they give us, but I'm not sure how much longer this mayhem can go on without something giving. Is there a viable solution?
I'm not sure about the freedoms we have - a lot of it just seems to be a freedom to waste hours of our lives travelling further than we should.
With regard to the accidents in the link - the overwhelming majority of people travel the same routes at the same times in the same vehicles almost all of the time, and the moment they don't, such as a bank holiday weekend, there is chaos.
heebeegeetee said:
A solution to what though? A solution to a problem we created, that didn't exist before?
I'm not sure about the freedoms we have - a lot of it just seems to be a freedom to waste hours of our lives travelling further than we should.
With regard to the accidents in the link - the overwhelming majority of people travel the same routes at the same times in the same vehicles almost all of the time, and the moment they don't, such as a bank holiday weekend, there is chaos.
I'm not sure about the freedoms we have - a lot of it just seems to be a freedom to waste hours of our lives travelling further than we should.
With regard to the accidents in the link - the overwhelming majority of people travel the same routes at the same times in the same vehicles almost all of the time, and the moment they don't, such as a bank holiday weekend, there is chaos.
Mumsnet, the Greenpeace website and LaLa Land are over there. Meanwhile, in the real world. My "real world" is in the North of England and traffic is rarely a problem where I live . If you have to live in the South East or other busy area then I don't envy you the traffic. But let's not fall into the trap of saying the whole country is gridlocked - it isn't , far from it. The UK is a bigger place than many think - unless you think that it stops when you get to the Trent . Scotland especially can seem deserted - my personal record is something like an hour without seeing another car.
The Mail article is presumably targetted at those who have a morbid interest in car crashes; every crash can be a tragedy but I wonder what the ever objective rag was saying about road deaths in 1930 for example? Four times more than in 2013 and far far fewer cars on the road.
The Mail article is presumably targetted at those who have a morbid interest in car crashes; every crash can be a tragedy but I wonder what the ever objective rag was saying about road deaths in 1930 for example? Four times more than in 2013 and far far fewer cars on the road.
Edited by coppice on Friday 13th March 18:16
coppice said:
Scotland especially can seem deserted - my personal record is something like an hour without seeing another car.
The further north and west you go the better. My record: Ullapool to Durness - https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=A835&dadd...I saw 5 cars during that journey. The two I was travelling with and a mere 3 heading south.
TooMany2cvs said:
jogger1976 said:
Apologies for the Wail link, but I think it highlights a frightening and rather depressing picture of British... <fill in blank as appropriate>
There's a simple solution. Step away from the Wail.Don't read the Daily Mail, observe the situation for yourself. Do this every day wherever you may be and you will gain what's called 'perspective'.
Once you've gained this 'perspective', you'll realise that while some things are worth being 'frightened and depressed' by, these are few and far between. The things that the Daily Mail suggest you should be frightened and depressed by really aren't worth boiling your blood over.
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