London Width Restrictions

[bad company]

I don’t know if this has been posted before but I found it shocking.

A few weeks ago I happened upon one of these in my BMW 3 series, I got through ok but it wasn’t comfortable. Yesterday I saw this one while walking in Hampstead, I watched an E Class Mercedes scrape a wing mirror and several others really struggle. Obviously there are some including emergency vehicles that simply won’t be able to pass through.

I assume the purpose is to slow the traffic but at what cost?

ETA. I have uploaded a photo but it seems to keep disappearing???

Edited by bad company on Sunday 27th August 09:38

[Gigamoons]

As a youngster growing up in the 90s, it was a right of passage to go through them foot to the floor

But I agree, modern cars are too wide.

[Nomme de Plum]

Door mirrors can be retracted before going through and I suspect the location is not a primary route so not for emergency vehicles. It is also dead straight so not too difficult for any competent driver.

[bad company]

EmailAddress said:

You could get a bus through there mate!

You wouldn’t get a LR Disco through.

[vixen1700]

Looking at that picture, it doesn't look that narrow at all.

Is it some sort of optical illusion picture?

What am I missing?

[bad company]

Agh yes, I forgot that the PH driving Gods could easily get through that at 60 mph with 1/2 inch space each side. No problem.

Here’s the problem:-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6140681/a...

[Nomme de Plum]

2m is quite wide for the vast majority of vehicles especially if mirrors retracted.

Looks like some of the larger SUVs would have mirrors above the restrictors in any case.

[bad company]

Nomme de Plum said:

2m is quite wide for the vast majority of vehicles especially if mirrors retracted.

Looks like some of the larger SUVs would have mirrors above the restrictors in any case.

6’ 6” is just under 2m.

Porsche Taycan width 2144mm.

[E63eeeeee...]

Presumably the intent is to stop larger vehicles going that way rather than to slow drivers down. It looks to me like a railway bridge or similar, so perhaps it's acting as a defacto weight limit. I'd expect there to have been warning signs further back so that people who can't safely drive through a 2m gap can go a different way.

[Auto810graphy]

Was behind a new 911 that tried and failed the Hammersmith Bridge restrictions earlier in the year. When they got out it looked like it might have been on a test drive.

[Nomme de Plum]

bad company said:

Agh yes, I forgot that the PH driving Gods could easily get through that at 60 mph with 1/2 inch space each side. No problem.

Here’s the problem:-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6140681/a...

Probably better to check manufacturers actual data rather than the DM. It says the Fiesta is 6"5" its actually 1.75m so way less. Ford Focus 6'7" is according to DM but actually 1.84m

[Gigamoons]

bad company said:

Agh yes, I forgot that the PH driving Gods could easily get through that at 60 mph with 1/2 inch space each side. No problem.

Here’s the problem:-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6140681/a...

Facts is facts, but what’s your point?

That cars are being purchased that aren’t compatible with the environment they’re being used in?

Or that the road infrastructure hasn’t been upgraded to accommodate modern cars?

[Nomme de Plum]

bad company said:

Nomme de Plum said:

2m is quite wide for the vast majority of vehicles especially if mirrors retracted.

Looks like some of the larger SUVs would have mirrors above the restrictors in any case.

6’ 6” is just under 2m.

Porsche Taycan width 2144mm.

That is with the mirrors it's 1966mm without. It seems a no brainer to retract mirrors if going though such a restriction.

[vixen1700]

bad company said:

Agh yes, I forgot that the PH driving Gods could easily get through that at 60 mph with 1/2 inch space each side. No problem.

Here’s the problem:-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6140681/a...

Sorry, didn't mean to sound flippant.

But compared to one width restriction near me (Wanstead) it does look quite wide.

[Hoofy]

Reminds me of the time I approached one in winter in a CLK55. The 30 zone roads seemed fine right up until the width restriction, and as I braked I could feel the car start to rotate, release the brakes and it straightened up, so I braced myself and rolled through them at 25mph without issue. Phew.

[Teddy Lop]

Why does it need 3 sets of bollards? What do the 2nd and 3rd pair achieve the first didn't?

It's as it the they want to inflict damage... see also width restrictions with offset approaches.

[Nomme de Plum]

These widths restrictors have been around for many decades and some narrower and deliberately built with a curve and very high kerbs to slow traffic.

Cars are bigger than in 50, 60, 70s. This is hardly new news is it?

If a driver is not confident enough then they can divert around which in itself indicates the restrictor is doing it's job.

[Another project]

I'm far from a driving god but I regularly have to drive my lwb nissan nv300 through those width restrictions, it's not that hard just drive slowly

[bad company]

From today’s Sunday Telegraph. Mostly referring to parking larger cars but just as relevant imo:-

Natalie Hitchins, Which? home products and services editor, said: “Cars are getting larger and larger, and while this might mean a more comfortable driving experience, it could be a problem when it comes to squeezing into a parking space.”

The research also revealed that 27 models are too wide for drivers to comfortably open their doors when parked between two other cars.

Vehicles were categorised as being “too wide” if their width left less than 8.7in between the car and the bay.

The Land Rover Discovery is 81in wide, leaving a narrow 6.5in space between the doors and the bay’s borders.

The Jaguar I-Pace is 79in, while the BMW X5’s width spans 78.7in, leaving motorists with 7.8in each side in a parking bay.

[Nomme de Plum]

Teddy Lop said:

Why does it need 3 sets of bollards? What do the 2nd and 3rd pair achieve the first didn't?

It's as it the they want to inflict damage... see also width restrictions with offset approaches.

It helps with aligning your vehicle in the middle but also suitably intimidating to slow traffic.