First long drive in the uk today for twenty years.
Discussion
Having lived in Asia for about 20 years, currently back in the UK for a few weeks so thought I would share my experience having just driven from Yorkshire to East Sussex today.
Set off nice and early before 8am, quiet roads, still dark (can’t remember it being dark so late in the day), and headed south on the M1. Had to call into Hemel Hempstead on the way.
Luckily the car I was driving has speed limit signs on the dashboard (not sure what kind of witchcraft allows a car to know what the speed limit is!), but anyway .... oh my goodness what a change from 20 years ago:
Miles and miles of roadworks, miles and miles of motorways with no hard shoulder (I thought these dangerous motorways had been abolished), seemingly endless speed cameras (luckily the car beeped before all of them), because the biggest issue I had was the constantly changing speed limits.
Out of the hotel it was 30, then 40, then 60, then 30 then the M1 with its variable limits, then off the slip road for Hemel and onto 50, 40, 70, 30 and 40 all within about a mile.
What on earth is going on ?? Is this what the UK has become?? Over where I live there are limits (120 on motorway, 100 otherwise, 50 in built up areas), so why on earth does the UK need these constantly changing limits? It’s ridiculous ! For someone not familiar with the local roads it’s so dangerous as you spend all your time looking for speed limit signs and constantly going faster, slower, faster, slower, slower again .... etc etc.
Would it not be easier just to have 30 in built up, 60 on single carriageway and 70 on dual / motorway which is pretty much what it was when I grew up here?
How you guys drive like this every day is beyond me! Huge credit to you all for dealing with it !
Set off nice and early before 8am, quiet roads, still dark (can’t remember it being dark so late in the day), and headed south on the M1. Had to call into Hemel Hempstead on the way.
Luckily the car I was driving has speed limit signs on the dashboard (not sure what kind of witchcraft allows a car to know what the speed limit is!), but anyway .... oh my goodness what a change from 20 years ago:
Miles and miles of roadworks, miles and miles of motorways with no hard shoulder (I thought these dangerous motorways had been abolished), seemingly endless speed cameras (luckily the car beeped before all of them), because the biggest issue I had was the constantly changing speed limits.
Out of the hotel it was 30, then 40, then 60, then 30 then the M1 with its variable limits, then off the slip road for Hemel and onto 50, 40, 70, 30 and 40 all within about a mile.
What on earth is going on ?? Is this what the UK has become?? Over where I live there are limits (120 on motorway, 100 otherwise, 50 in built up areas), so why on earth does the UK need these constantly changing limits? It’s ridiculous ! For someone not familiar with the local roads it’s so dangerous as you spend all your time looking for speed limit signs and constantly going faster, slower, faster, slower, slower again .... etc etc.
Would it not be easier just to have 30 in built up, 60 on single carriageway and 70 on dual / motorway which is pretty much what it was when I grew up here?
How you guys drive like this every day is beyond me! Huge credit to you all for dealing with it !
livinginasia said:
Having lived in Asia for about 20 years, currently back in the UK for a few weeks so thought I would share my experience having just driven from Yorkshire to East Sussex today.
Set off nice and early before 8am, quiet roads, still dark (can’t remember it being dark so late in the day), and headed south on the M1. Had to call into Hemel Hempstead on the way.
Luckily the car I was driving has speed limit signs on the dashboard (not sure what kind of witchcraft allows a car to know what the speed limit is!), but anyway .... oh my goodness what a change from 20 years ago:
Miles and miles of roadworks, miles and miles of motorways with no hard shoulder (I thought these dangerous motorways had been abolished), seemingly endless speed cameras (luckily the car beeped before all of them), because the biggest issue I had was the constantly changing speed limits.
Out of the hotel it was 30, then 40, then 60, then 30 then the M1 with its variable limits, then off the slip road for Hemel and onto 50, 40, 70, 30 and 40 all within about a mile.
What on earth is going on ?? Is this what the UK has become?? Over where I live there are limits (120 on motorway, 100 otherwise, 50 in built up areas), so why on earth does the UK need these constantly changing limits? It’s ridiculous ! For someone not familiar with the local roads it’s so dangerous as you spend all your time looking for speed limit signs and constantly going faster, slower, faster, slower, slower again .... etc etc.
Would it not be easier just to have 30 in built up, 60 on single carriageway and 70 on dual / motorway which is pretty much what it was when I grew up here?
How you guys drive like this every day is beyond me! Huge credit to you all for dealing with it !
Yes, it has. But next time - depending on where you are coming from in Yorkshire - take the A1 and cross to the M1 at the Black Cat. You will have to deal with a few elephant races and a couple of miles of average speed cameras but in general, it's the sensible route to go for the discerning gentleman. Set off nice and early before 8am, quiet roads, still dark (can’t remember it being dark so late in the day), and headed south on the M1. Had to call into Hemel Hempstead on the way.
Luckily the car I was driving has speed limit signs on the dashboard (not sure what kind of witchcraft allows a car to know what the speed limit is!), but anyway .... oh my goodness what a change from 20 years ago:
Miles and miles of roadworks, miles and miles of motorways with no hard shoulder (I thought these dangerous motorways had been abolished), seemingly endless speed cameras (luckily the car beeped before all of them), because the biggest issue I had was the constantly changing speed limits.
Out of the hotel it was 30, then 40, then 60, then 30 then the M1 with its variable limits, then off the slip road for Hemel and onto 50, 40, 70, 30 and 40 all within about a mile.
What on earth is going on ?? Is this what the UK has become?? Over where I live there are limits (120 on motorway, 100 otherwise, 50 in built up areas), so why on earth does the UK need these constantly changing limits? It’s ridiculous ! For someone not familiar with the local roads it’s so dangerous as you spend all your time looking for speed limit signs and constantly going faster, slower, faster, slower, slower again .... etc etc.
Would it not be easier just to have 30 in built up, 60 on single carriageway and 70 on dual / motorway which is pretty much what it was when I grew up here?
How you guys drive like this every day is beyond me! Huge credit to you all for dealing with it !
NB as well the motorway speed cameras are dead easy to spot if you know how they work. They all have a helpful pole a couple of hundred yards in front, the exact nature of the thing on top depending on the installation.
ETA: My commiserations on visiting Hemel.
Somewhatfoolish said:
Yes, it has. But next time - depending on where you are coming from in Yorkshire - take the A1 and cross to the M1 at the Black Cat. You will have to deal with a few elephant races and a couple of miles of average speed cameras but in general, it's the sensible route to go for the discerning gentleman.
NB as well the motorway speed cameras are dead easy to spot if you know how they work. They all have a helpful pole a couple of hundred yards in front, the exact nature of the thing on top depending on the installation.
ETA: My commiserations on visiting Hemel.
Haha thank you! It was just a lightning fast trip to drop something off. And really appreciate the suggestion of the other route, will try that if I need to go there again.NB as well the motorway speed cameras are dead easy to spot if you know how they work. They all have a helpful pole a couple of hundred yards in front, the exact nature of the thing on top depending on the installation.
ETA: My commiserations on visiting Hemel.
I genuinely was surprised by the constantly changing limits abs cameras everywhere - I am sure all the mumsnet crowd will be along any minute but it honestly is counterproductive to make you focus so much on whether you are doing 50 or 60 or 70 rather than focussing on the road. Almost feels like a deliberate attempt to raise money from fines.
Sebring440 said:
What is it about people who live overseas, then come back here for a "holiday" and instantly complain about how s
t the place is?
Well, go back to your Utopia then.
I know where I'd rather live.
Essential travel and all that.
Me too , mind don’t think I’d want to come back , the OP does sadly remind me how st the place is?Well, go back to your Utopia then.
I know where I'd rather live.
Essential travel and all that.
t ,overcrowded and prescriptive this country has become..Sebring440 said:
What is it about people who live overseas, then come back here for a "holiday" and instantly complain about how st the place is?
Well, go back to your Utopia then.
I know where I'd rather live.
Essential travel and all that.
I knew someone wouldn’t be able to resist, so thank you for making my day.t the place is?Well, go back to your Utopia then.
I know where I'd rather live.
Essential travel and all that.
It was absolutely essential travel for work, and all perfectly legal. Living in a country with less than 10 cases per day for the last 9 months, we are well drilled on precautions and cleanliness, but thanks for your concern.
And don’t worry, I will be back to Utopia soon, with my 15% tax and lovely hot weather, haha.
But seriously - the roads have been made far more complicated than they need to be, nothing about Utopia. The UK is still an amazing place but it’s not perfect ......and this is an area where the UK has definitely got it wrong.
livinginasia said:
Haha thank you! It was just a lightning fast trip to drop something off. And really appreciate the suggestion of the other route, will try that if I need to go there again.
I genuinely was surprised by the constantly changing limits abs cameras everywhere - I am sure all the mumsnet crowd will be along any minute but it honestly is counterproductive to make you focus so much on whether you are doing 50 or 60 or 70 rather than focussing on the road. Almost feels like a deliberate attempt to raise money from fines.
Yes fines we don’t have a police force anymore it’s called the police service , seems to be like when a farmer hires a bull to service his cows , and the police are like traffic wardens now if you do something wrong , they don’t give you a bI genuinely was surprised by the constantly changing limits abs cameras everywhere - I am sure all the mumsnet crowd will be along any minute but it honestly is counterproductive to make you focus so much on whether you are doing 50 or 60 or 70 rather than focussing on the road. Almost feels like a deliberate attempt to raise money from fines.
king make you feel bad about your misdemeanour , just a fine now it’s about writing tickets and targets these days.. not scary like the old days When you had that sick feeling, you just feel pissed off about the fine and points ...
Sebring440 said:
What is it about people who live overseas, then come back here for a "holiday" and instantly complain about how st the place is?
Well, go back to your Utopia then.
I know where I'd rather live.
Essential travel and all that.
But he is correct though, driving in the UK these days is pretty crap TBFt the place is?Well, go back to your Utopia then.
I know where I'd rather live.
Essential travel and all that.
I made the same observations when I visited last year and was met with similar replies.
My point, and I’m sure the OP’s as well, was that I was looking forward to driving in the UK because I used to enjoy a good road trip. I don’t know if the trip from central London to the countryside East of Manchester is indicative of general driving in the UK, but it was miserable. As the OP mentions, constant speed limit changes mean spending too much time watching the dashboard.
The use of cruise control is very different in the Uk to the US. In the US, get on motorway and set it to 70mph and you can go for 2000 miles plus. Yes, that is higher than most State limits but you will not be touched. In the UK it is, set off and reach speed limit of first road press cruise control on, limit changes after 100m so accelerate to the new speed and set again. 200m later you have to drop your speed for another short section of road. Cameras at each change of limit. Cruise control was critical for maintains the strict limit. There’s little leeway because you will be holding up traffic if you are a couple of mph under.
I was so looking forward to getting into the countryside and having a bit of fun. Oh look, a speed camera when the nearest house is miles away.
I have observed the change in attitude to speeding in the ail through this forum. I saw the introduction of speed awareness courses and the massive push back at first. That seems to have reduced as people have accepted the situation.
I’m not saying the Uk sucks. I’m saying it used to be fun to drive almost every drive. Returning to the UK was a joy as it meant a break from day dreaming Americans randomly changing lane like they are playing frogger. Now, I’m happy to hand the keys back in at the airport.
Oh, and a bloody 2.0 diesel X3 should never have an M badge. (Yes, I’m old.)
My point, and I’m sure the OP’s as well, was that I was looking forward to driving in the UK because I used to enjoy a good road trip. I don’t know if the trip from central London to the countryside East of Manchester is indicative of general driving in the UK, but it was miserable. As the OP mentions, constant speed limit changes mean spending too much time watching the dashboard.
The use of cruise control is very different in the Uk to the US. In the US, get on motorway and set it to 70mph and you can go for 2000 miles plus. Yes, that is higher than most State limits but you will not be touched. In the UK it is, set off and reach speed limit of first road press cruise control on, limit changes after 100m so accelerate to the new speed and set again. 200m later you have to drop your speed for another short section of road. Cameras at each change of limit. Cruise control was critical for maintains the strict limit. There’s little leeway because you will be holding up traffic if you are a couple of mph under.
I was so looking forward to getting into the countryside and having a bit of fun. Oh look, a speed camera when the nearest house is miles away.
I have observed the change in attitude to speeding in the ail through this forum. I saw the introduction of speed awareness courses and the massive push back at first. That seems to have reduced as people have accepted the situation.
I’m not saying the Uk sucks. I’m saying it used to be fun to drive almost every drive. Returning to the UK was a joy as it meant a break from day dreaming Americans randomly changing lane like they are playing frogger. Now, I’m happy to hand the keys back in at the airport.
Oh, and a bloody 2.0 diesel X3 should never have an M badge. (Yes, I’m old.)
Edited by h0b0 on Sunday 6th December 00:26
Parkinsider, are you talking about driving standards or driving experience? I've lived in Asia for 25 years, driven and ridden over most os SE Asia, I'll give you driving standards are lower, but the driving experience, not worrying about cameras, people forgiving mistakes, no road rage, certainly less road works is way better in Asia, even Indonesia, once your out of Jakarta ridding and driving is enjoyable.
I only got my license about 7 years ago and in that time motorway driving went from boring to downright miserable. As the OP said I always feel like I'm spending so much time watching my speed and not enough time looking at the road. Not everyone has cruise.
I was last there about 3 years ago having been living in nz and now Canada and am happy to keep away, for a multitude of reasons. This being one (as a result of overcrowding). NZ and Canadian roads are blissful by comparison (though canadians don't understand lane discipline).
I was last there about 3 years ago having been living in nz and now Canada and am happy to keep away, for a multitude of reasons. This being one (as a result of overcrowding). NZ and Canadian roads are blissful by comparison (though canadians don't understand lane discipline).
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