Tuesday 13th September 2016
America versus Europe: PH Blog
American-style motorways are turning us into driving dullards reckons Dan
I'll try and keep politics out of this but, as we turn our backs on the Continent and look hopefully across the Atlantic are we also rejecting a more European style of driving in favour of the Stateside model of plodding, multi-lane roads packed with disengaged drivers? I've ranted about '
smart' and managed motorways before and I must, as I said I would, press Highways England for an opportunity to visit a control room and see it from the other side. But as a consumer I have to say nothing about the remote control of our major roads fills me with joy.
Because even when the cones have been cleared and we're free once again to go beyond a SPECS controlled 50mph the mindset of camera-controlled cruising has set in. And I hate it. Indeed, when you have three, four or more lanes all travelling to within a few mph of each other I find it more stressful than when, shall we say, a natural hierarchy enables vehicles to move at different speeds. Why stressful? You only have to see the number of crashes caused on motorways by people caught in blindspots to appreciate a regime that forces people to drive alongside each other for prolonged periods adds to the risk. I will do all I can to avoid travelling alongside trucks on the motorway for that reason but when everyone is cowed into holding the same speed you can find yourself boxed into blindspots for miles.
I notice it on the M1 all the time. On the 'smart' sections controlled by HADECS cameras everyone trundles along, trembling at every gantry and so fixated on maintaining a steady speed any remaining grip on lane discipline is out of the window. Because what's the point. Meaning a huge phalanx of traffic, tightly bunched at 65mph and just one texting driver or random, unsighted lane swap from a pile-up. Even if that doesn't happen it's just a profoundly dispiriting way to travel.
I can almost hear the sigh of relief when the gantries disappear. It's not like it suddenly becomes an Autobahn with people doing a ton-plus in lane three. But here you get a sense of a more European* motorway mindset, one based on an understanding that those in the outside lane are seeking to make progress and everyone can get along with what they want to do. Kind of like our motorways used to be. Frankly I feel safer when there's an opportunity to manage your separation fore, aft and to the sides by managing your speed and lane choices with careful forward planning. To actually take some responsibility yourself rather than just trundle along half asleep.
I realise weight of traffic of course plays a part here. And rush-hour M25 is never going to be like a fast flowing Autobahn or blissfully quiet French Autoroute. If you never drove anywhere other than in or around our major population centres you'd think we're already at this point but there are sections of the network where the old-school rules prevail. Maybe it's the deep-rooted British obsession with class and people knowing their place; certainly it's something the Germans also appreciate with their culture of uberholprestige and a 'pecking order' of lane privilege. I have no love for snobs or 'fast lane' bully boys. But the Stateside alternative is even worse.
On heavily policed American roads speeds are strictly controlled by men with Ray-Bans and firearms and you'd have to be an idiot to attempt to stand out from the crowd. No wonder so many have seemed to give up on life and opt for something beige and hybrid powered. Here it's cameras and points. But the resulting mindset is the same and the grudging obedience just makes getting from A to B such a soul-destroying experience at times. Especially when the automated control means you can't pick your time and choose quieter moments to make a bit of progress; whether it's rush hour or 1am you're stuck in the same camera controlled groove. Cruise on. Switch off. Are we there yet?
And with no sense of engagement is it any wonder so many people are glued to their phones and reliant on their electronic driver 'aids' to warn them if they're drifting out of their lane or about to pile into the back of suddenly stationary traffic? Culturally we're too easily in thrall of influences from over the pond. This is one I reckon we could do without though.
[Photos: Highhways Agency via Flickr]
