I have just driven back from England, having borrowed my daughter’s car for the journey, and I must say the journey whilst can never be described as pleasant, at least it was simple and trouble free.
Having spent the previous two weeks ploughing up and down the motorways and A roads of the United Kingdom, the contrast was very marked. In the UK the motorways seem to be endlessly being dug up (or “improved”) resulting in cones everywhere with the attendant traffic jams. Most of the time there seems to be no work going on in the coned off area, and it is only after you have travelled a couple of miles you see a handful of men making minor repairs. The Health and Safety culture seems to have gone mad, as we are told it is necessary to cone off large areas for the protection of the work force.
Heaven forbid someone should have a minor shunt, as the police will close down the motorway for hours to record every last piece of debris from the road traffic collision (no one is allowed to have an accident anymore). Only yesterday the centre of Bangor was brought to a standstill and the bus station closed for hours on end when a car collided with a stationary van (and it made the BBC News web site as a significant news item).
As it was coming to the end of the holiday season there were plenty of caravans on the move, again causing frustration to other drivers, especially on the motorways where they are limited to 50mph, and so are considered fair game by the HGV drivers who can legally go up to 60mph. Endless tailbacks result, which are the fault of neither parties, but the overly cautious blanket speed limits imposed by the powers that be.
Once arriving at your destination, another problem arises, where to park? The roads have sprouted so many signs and lines prohibiting parking, waiting or loading, even if you find a designated parking place and have paid the exorbitant prices charged, don’t be a second late as they patrolled by uniformed little tyrants armed with technology to record and photograph any misdemeanour, and fines to give out no doubt with targets to fulfil.
So to be let loose on the uncluttered motorways of Europe, where road works are done with the minimum of disruption to drivers, accidents are cleared off the carriageways promptly, and speed limits applied to different vehicles sensibly and in appropriate places, was a joy. It led me to consider why the roads in the UK had got so unfriendly and I concluded that too many people are trying to use the roads especially the motorways because they are free at the point of use, and seem less expensive than trains etc. So when you have to put money into the toll booths in Europe, just remember that you get what you pay for, and some of the money goes towards subsidising public transport.
Heaven forbid someone should have a minor shunt, as the police will close down the motorway for hours to record every last piece of debris from the road traffic collision (no one is allowed to have an accident anymore). Only yesterday the centre of Bangor was brought to a standstill and the bus station closed for hours on end when a car collided with a stationary van (and it made the BBC News web site as a significant news item).
As it was coming to the end of the holiday season there were plenty of caravans on the move, again causing frustration to other drivers, especially on the motorways where they are limited to 50mph, and so are considered fair game by the HGV drivers who can legally go up to 60mph. Endless tailbacks result, which are the fault of neither parties, but the overly cautious blanket speed limits imposed by the powers that be.
Once arriving at your destination, another problem arises, where to park? The roads have sprouted so many signs and lines prohibiting parking, waiting or loading, even if you find a designated parking place and have paid the exorbitant prices charged, don’t be a second late as they patrolled by uniformed little tyrants armed with technology to record and photograph any misdemeanour, and fines to give out no doubt with targets to fulfil.
So to be let loose on the uncluttered motorways of Europe, where road works are done with the minimum of disruption to drivers, accidents are cleared off the carriageways promptly, and speed limits applied to different vehicles sensibly and in appropriate places, was a joy. It led me to consider why the roads in the UK had got so unfriendly and I concluded that too many people are trying to use the roads especially the motorways because they are free at the point of use, and seem less expensive than trains etc. So when you have to put money into the toll booths in Europe, just remember that you get what you pay for, and some of the money goes towards subsidising public transport.
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