"smart" motorways

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Salisbury to Devon on the A303 is a nice scenic route. Not for those in a hurry.
It does flow very well around 1am. That's another story. (I think it's on the forum somewhere, no idea where.)

Done that journey quite often PB. We often combine the trip to visit one with the other. Up onto the A303 and keep going down to Ilminster then cut up to the M5 at Taunton west on it for a wee way and off at Tiverton to join the North Devon Link road across to Barnstaple. Then up those crazy narrow lanes to where sister in law lives.

The 303 is a very unpredictable drive I've found. Not too bad if we are going down it the week before Easter but often really clogged up, especially that section due north of Salibury, in the summer.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

You could fly to Exeter and hire a car. But last time I looked flights alone were on the HOW MUCH!!! side of silly money.

Mrs J has a very dear friend who lives in Germany and she goes maybe once or twice a year to spend best part of a week with her. By being careful and looking for the bargains she does that journey for not far short of half of what the flight to Exeter would cost! Then, to add insult to injury, there's the car hire on top. Just doesn't even come close to the cost of taking our own car.

 

[jimboy]

And I suspect that was in the 'bargain days before covid'

I recall Oxford to Dundee was £1400.. but you avoided the M6 toll

I flew to Bristol from Inverness to pick up my Coupe December 2019 for thirty five quid. Mind you they kept pestering me if I needed extra bits and pieces, at an extra cost of course.

 

[portland_bill]

I flew to Bristol from Inverness to pick up my Coupe December 2019 for thirty five quid. Mind you they kept pestering me if I needed extra bits and pieces, at an extra cost of course.

Like a seat, the option of an oxygen mask, seat belt, use of the loo?

 

[varesecrazy]

I know Inverness flights can be reasonable as we put our son on at Inverness to fly back to London City

£100 tops I suspect..

 

[StevenRB45]

By being careful and looking for the bargains she does that journey for not far short of half of what the flight to Exeter would cost! Then, to add insult to injury, there's the car hire on top. Just doesn't even come close to the cost of taking our own car.

Remember looking into this carefully a few years ago. We were on a cruise so 18 days of parking on the Dock at Southampton is about 220 quid then add on cost of 580 miles of unleaded and that the car really needed a few bits doing before I was happy undertaking 5 hours + each way of motor trip (one of the tyres wasn't quite round and I don't do buying one tyre), brakes were also getting towards end of life.

Even with all that taken into account driving ended up being cheaper. Unless you don't care about when you're going...have no luggage and want to take an indirect route public transport seems insanely expensive.

I was going to hire a Merc E class for out and back but they charged extra for one way trips naturally...even if I could have repatriated it back up north on my return journey.

 

[jimboy]

Like a seat, the option of an oxygen mask, seat belt, use of the loo?

I could pick my specific seat or I could take baggage with me or food served. This would have made it three figures. There were other things, like preferential treatment in the first class lounge at the airport. All of which was of no use to me...

 

[DaveMcT]

Don't worry we will soon have HS2 trains. They'll solve all af our travel problems. After that Boris wants to build the tunnel to Norther Ireland. What the odds that motorway upgrades to service it get forgotten.

 

[portland_bill]

Don't worry we will soon have HS2 trains. They'll solve all af our travel problems. After that Boris wants to build the tunnel to Norther Ireland. What the odds that motorway upgrades to service it get forgotten.

HS2 will be spoilt by having to stop at Birmingham. If it left London, and go to full speed, it wouldn't have enough distance left to stop at Birmingham, so it'll never go as fast as it should. Then from there further north, it'll still be slower than advertised, as its lost a lot of acceleration distance. It should by-pass Birmingham, as we all should.:devil:

 

[chris3234]

Don't worry we will soon have HS2 trains. They'll solve all af our travel problems. After that Boris wants to build the tunnel to Norther Ireland. What the odds that motorway upgrades to service it get forgotten.

I can see the benefits of a train tunnel there's especially for freight

Far more use then HS2 would ever be

 

[varesecrazy]

I only have 1 problem with rail travel..
COST

I live 3 minutes from a station and am based for work around 7 minutes from a station

Cost :£70
The car uses @£25 in fuel and is door to door +'all weather'

The £25 doesnt really change for passengers either


Thinking about 'dangerous'
multi-carriageway roads..

Anybody used the dual carriageways where vehicles are fed in on both sides..

We did a few of them in Northern France
Odd.. but not a disaster if properly engineered

So many UK sliproads are an afterthought...
Very poor visibility from carriageway or slip.road

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Thinking about 'dangerous'
multi-carriageway roads..

Anybody used the dual carriageways where vehicles are fed in on both sides..

We did a few of them in Northern France
Odd.. but not a disaster if properly engineered

So many UK sliproads are an afterthought...
Very poor visibility from carriageway or slip.road

I think the french design their roads on a Darwin based system.

The roads seem to work very well but if you don’t pay attention you can end up very quickly in a massive accident. The prime example of how they do this is when you follow a slip road off a motorway and as you loose sight of the make carriageway there is then a 90 degree or more bend in the slip road (while you’re still doing 70-80mph) and if you don’t turn there is a nice and comfortable stack of concrete blocks ready to “redirect” / “remodel” your car

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I think the french design their roads on a Darwin based system.

The roads seem to work very well but if you don’t pay attention you can end up very quickly in a massive accident. The prime example of how they do this is when you follow a slip road off a motorway and as you loose sight of the make carriageway there is then a 90 degree or more bend in the slip road (while you’re still doing 70-80mph) and if you don’t turn there is a nice and comfortable stack of concrete blocks ready to “redirect” / “remodel” your car

One of my earliest recollections of driving in France was back in the '60's/early '70's when the soon to be Mrs J and I took my Vitesse down to the Vandee on a camping holiday. I was in my very early 20's and just about knew that you drove on the right in France, I'd never heard of Priority a droite! : https://www.drive-france.com/faqs/get-your-priorities-right/

We were bowling along this country road having left Nantes behind us. It was a nice road with a good surface, a glorious sunny day and flattish countryside so visibility was good. We were bowling along at around 50mph approaching a small dirt road which was joining from the right. A tractor with a large well laden trailer was toiling up the slight slope on this road towards the hard top we were on. Not for one moment did I realize he had legal right of way and I was horrified when it became obvious he wasn't going to stop! I did manage not to collide with him by swerving violently, but the old Vitesse with it's swing axle rear suspension (it was a Mk1 1600cc) did what most cars with swing axle rear suspension do so well and spun out spectacularly in a cloud of tyre smoke and lots of tyre squeal! The old guy driving the tractor was very upset and spent some time explaining the Priority rule to Mrs J - who is fluent in French and German.

It's been some time since I've driven in France but I believe the law is still current so it's best to be aware.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I only have 1 problem with rail travel..
COST
Thinking about 'dangerous'
multi-carriageway roads..

Anybody used the dual carriageways where vehicles are fed in on both sides..

We did a few of them in Northern France
Odd.. but not a disaster if properly engineered

Cost of rail travel agreed. Our jaunts down to Devon or to see our daughter are silly prices when compared to both of us going in the car. It's also handy to have the car once there as both locations are rural - especially when in Devon.

I don't remember coming across any slip roads joining on the wrong side in France but in Germany I remember a cracker which was on a 6 lane bit of Autobahn with traffic joining both from the right and left and able to leave on the right and left too. It was like a scene from Dante's inferno with insane manoeuvres going on as local drivers tried to enter and leave on opposite sides whilst "through" traffic, Mercs, Porsches etc were barrelling straight on at a great rate of knots! This was many years ago but I think it was in the Cologne area?

Italy was always interesting too. I learned there that if another driver flashes his headlights at you it's not an invitation for you to proceed it means "I'm very definitely coming through"! In fact I find mostly, on the continent, that's the safest way to interpret a flash of the headlights - ie, I have priority.

In America I tend to just give way to everyone when safe to do so because the other driver is liable to have a big gun in the glovebox!

 

[portland_bill]

Rail, like buses, only really works if one train or bus will do the journey. Changing train or bus adds so much time it makes commutes silly, with the added jeopardy of missed connections if one is late.
When I left an office job in Oxford to become a driving instructor, this left my partner with a dilemma. Not being able to drive (long story, best for all of us that she didn't), she needed to use buses. Bus at the bottom of the road goes direct to Oxford bus station. All good so far, but whilst she worked in the hospitals, with good bus services, timings did not fit well, changing a 40 minute car commute into a 90-120 minute bus journey.
She looked at Swindon. Again the bus at the bottom of the road goes direct, but again, timings did not fit.
So she took early retirement, and filled a few years doing simpler local jobs.

I think the French 'priority a droite' is variable, with signs to show when it is in operation. I'm not sure whether the default 'is' or 'not', would have to review this if I travel there again.

M40 at its northern end, where it joins the M42 below Birmingham, slips in from the right if travelling East. This can be exciting when the traffic is flowing well. When busy, it slows a lot, and joining is a little less stressful, although if heading to the NEC one then needs to get across all 4 lanes quite soon, otherwise you'll be past the back of the queue.

I seem to remember a slip road off to the right on the M8 in Glasgow. Quite enjoyed that one.

 

[varesecrazy]

Vous n'avez priority..

From memory the general rule changes if in..or out.. of town

Flashing headlights..

I recall making progress in the outer lane of a dual carriageway at the bottom of a long climb

I realised that the Croma in the inside lane was rapidly approaching a crawling truck..
So with time and room to spare I eased off and flashed my headlights..
He piled on the brakes..!!

Wondering if I had not spotted a hazard.. I also braked..

After a second flash of the lights the Croma driver then changed down and floored it..
More Smoke than Poke from the TD motor..

But progress was made

Weve not toured France since they ditched the Franc..
Shame really.. we travelled all over and loved it.

 

[jackwhoo]

The French...

Realising the give way to the right rule was causing confusion to drivers from lesser parts of the world ie not France, they introduced a system where sometimes people joining from the right have priority and other times they don't.

This has ensured people from lesser nations remain confused and unsure while at the same time French drivers can occupy the high ground of "of course I am driving to the rules after all I'm French and am great friends with the mayor"

Fortunately the number of very old French drivers who still think they have priority entering a roundabout is reducing , Don't drop your guard though there are still some.

 

[portland_bill]

Always puzzled me their rule to give way to those entering the roundabout. Just fills the roundabout and prevents anyone from leaving. Then they wondered why they had so many jams.

 

[jackwhoo]

Always puzzled me their rule to give way to those entering the roundabout. Just fills the roundabout and prevents anyone from leaving. Then they wondered why they had so many jams.

Extra time to smoke another gauloise or gitane waiting for the jam to clear

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Rail, like buses, only really works if one train or bus will do the journey. Changing train or bus adds so much time it makes commutes silly, with the added jeopardy of missed connections if one is late.

I seem to remember a slip road off to the right on the M8 in Glasgow. Quite enjoyed that one.

Regarding trains, I don't use local rail services - just never had the need to and our local buses are excellent. We have done the Devon trip by rail a few times and to our daughter, near Salisbury, once. The journey to our daughter involved 2 changes and still landed us up with a fair car journey at the southern end. It took ages and we couldn't get seats, despite booking them, on one of the services because they cancelled a train and stuffed us all together on another - It was horrible!

We can get to Tiverton Parkway from Edinburgh on one train using the CrossCountry service. It's not quick though and very crowded all through the midlands especially, with so many people standing you can't get to the loo - which is a big problem for me. Of course that leaves us a good hour on the link road still to do so someone has to come and pick us up from the station. I would be much more inclined to use trains if all seats were booked and you couldn't get on without a booked seat.

For the last 15 years of my working life I went by bus most of the time but to do it on one service I had an 18 minute walk across the park at the far end. Very nice except on snowy days but it just wasn't worth going the more direct route because it involved a change which could not be reliably timed so I had to always catch the bus before the one which, in theory, got me to the interchange in time to catch the onward service I needed, so had to leave the house 20 minutes earlier than should have been necessary!

That right exit slip road in Glasgow I remember from way back when I did the stand at the Scottish Motor Show for the DAF garage I worked at all those years ago. It quite surprised me as I'd never seen one before in the UK. I manned the stand for 3 years and really looked forward to it. One year, and you're probably not going to believe this possible, someone managed to steal the steering wheel from one of the show cars. It was there at the start of the day when I was doing the prep - polishing and hoovering out etc - but gone by the lunch break! To this day I've no idea how it was done. Mind you back in those days it would have only involved removing the centre boss and undoing the big retaining nut - no air bags etc like now a days.