Back to British Roads.....

[gus-lopez]

I suppose it hasn't got anything to do with the sheer number of vehicles trying the use the road by any chance

Probably & far in excess of its design capacity + addition for 'future' exànsion. It should never have been a bridege due to having to shut for windspeed. Absolutely ludicrous. It also should have been built earlier & as soon as finished the next one started.

The bridge and tunnel are the only parts of the m25 where speeds limits are not ignored.

That's because they aren't part of the M25 but are the A282.
https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/m25

Travelling on a Friday is always going to be busier than a Thursday. Common sense would suggest missing rush hour around London but the DC tends to grind to a crawl after 1000hr so aim to be there for 0900.
Don’t travel on a Friday it is the busiest day or Monday mornings.
Don’t think that Highways England can take the blame for all of that.

Doesn't really matter what day or time as I've sat in 4+ mile queues at most times of the day.

BF to Portsmouth everytime for me, especially from SW France.

& suffer the shambles around southampton?

best bet is to go through late at night or very early.

That's ok as long as there are no road works shutting it in one direction so forcing everyone to go the opposite way & leading to 10mile queues at the crossing

 

[Northernraider]

It's not the traffic flow, it's the roads themselves, they're total shite compared to Europe, in fact coming back to the UK is like arriving in a third world country.

I keep seeing folk say that but I have to say I've found roads in Europe to be just as bad and some worse. I don't ever use toll roads and I've found some main roads to be rough as cattle tracks

 

[Allanm]

There are always going to be differences in travelling through rural northern France and congested southern England.
The motorways in France charge so this takes any local traffic off them. I won’t be alone on here in paying more into the French motorway system than in UK road tax.
The major toll left in the UK is the Dartford Crossing - every other toll system in Europe does not create a pinch point near a city. The bridge and tunnel are the only parts of the m25 where speeds limits are not ignored.
We forget Stompy and all the other activists who tried to stop the development of the motorways. Creating any extra capacity in the short term can only be done by creating smart motorways. Think Heathrow expansion and HS2. There is another planned lower Thames crossing but who knows what environmentalists will do.
Travelling on a Friday is always going to be busier than a Thursday. Common sense would suggest missing rush hour around London but the DC tends to grind to a crawl after 1000hr so aim to be there for 0900.
Don’t travel on a Friday it is the busiest day or Monday mornings.
Don’t think that Highways England can take the blame for all of that.

No tolls at all in Brittany and we travel all over France without using toll roads, all times of the year and can’t remember ever getting in a queue of traffic that delayed us more than a minute or two.
There are some rough roads, but they are mainly away from main routes.
compare that to the road to and from the Channel tunnel from Dover and the M20 towards Ashford and foreign tourists here must think their suspension collapsed while on the train!

 

[Northernraider]

I blame the Romans.....They built a lot of roads throughout Europe but we Scots kicked their arse so they didn't build many up our way.
That's why we have some lovely ones compared to those pothole infested carparks elsewhere

 

[Vic. Parsons.]

I blame the Romans.....They built a lot of roads throughout Europe but we Scots kicked their arse so they didn't build many up our way.
That's why we have some lovely ones compared to those pothole infested carparks elsewhere

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[Camdoon]

No tolls at all in Brittany and we travel all over France without using toll roads, all times of the year and can’t remember ever getting in a queue of traffic that delayed us more than a minute or two.
There are some rough roads, but they are mainly away from main routes.
compare that to the road to and from the Channel tunnel from Dover and the M20 towards Ashford and foreign tourists here must think their suspension collapsed while on the train!

Won't argue with that but comparing the SE of England on a Friday with rural France is apples to oranges. France has far less population/car/road density and development laws which lets things get done (e.g. rail networks).
It would have cost £100 to travel from the Ile de Re to Calais by motorway.
I've been subjected to major delays round Bordeaux (both times nipping through the same services to gain a few hundred yards); entering and leaving Spain on the Med; 1hr delay at the toll before Spain despite having a tag (you only travel on a Saturday once in August); Lyon; Cote d'Azure; Paris.
My point was rather than ranting at Highways England it would have been better not travelling on a Friday and going through Dartford before 1030hr.
Having a Dartford Crossing account, I was asked about the proposed new crossing and told them to get on with it asap.
(Foreign tourists, safe in the knowledge that Kent Police will not fine them for speeding, should stick to the 50mph limits to ensure their suspension does not collapse on the m20 )

 

[MyrtleGuru]

It's not the traffic flow, it's the roads themselves, they're total shite compared to Europe, in fact coming back to the UK is like arriving in a third world country.

Also bear in mind that in most European countries train travel is cheap and efficient, whereas in the UK it is exorbitantly expensive and slow. So, in the UK the roads are full of people who would be better served by trains, if they were affordable and practical.

The other thing to take into account is that England is very centralised on London, meaning that the south-east is overcrowded and very congested compared with the rest of the country -- compare with Germany's less centralised federal system -- and to get to the ferries/Chunnel you have to travel through this London/south-east mayhem. So it's not simply the roads that are the problem: it goes much deeper.

 

[Janiemou]

We arrive back after the summer on Monday ... via Newhaven and driving to Scotland. After months of driving in mainland Europe, we're dreading what we will find. We tend to forget how bad the UK is, and every time we return we find it has become a little worse than before. We drive from Greece to Glasgow twice a year, and the UK section is by far the worst. We haven't experienced a single traffic jam over the whole journey, and road works, with their orange lines, seem to speed the traffic up rather than slow it down. Don't our transport experts ever travel abroad?

 

[BillM]

I prefer to avoid toll roads in France... where practicable....I suppose at heart I am simply saying driving in France is often still a pleasure, compared to driving in Britain. And I still maintain that incompetent road management by Highways England is endemic in the UK.

They are being prosecuted by relatives of victims killed after breakdowns on “smart” motorways with inadequate provision for emergencies. “Smart” motorways make it difficult for emergency vehicles to reach incidents. Their overhead signage is often misleading when not confusing. I have repeatedly been forced to travel for tens of miles on Motorways at reduced speeds because of non existent “incidents”. These are just some of the policies developed and adopted by Highways England driven by no doubt impeccably qualified but serially misguided academics and researchers.

 

[Camdoon]

I prefer to avoid toll roads in France... where practicable....I suppose at heart I am simply saying driving in France is often still a pleasure, compared to driving in Britain. And I still maintain that incompetent road management by Highways England is endemic in the UK.

They are being prosecuted by relatives of victims killed after breakdowns on “smart” motorways with inadequate provision for emergencies. “Smart” motorways make it difficult for emergency vehicles to reach incidents. Their overhead signage is often misleading when not confusing. I have repeatedly been forced to travel for tens of miles on Motorways at reduced speeds because of non existent “incidents”. These are just some of the policies developed and adopted by Highways England driven by no doubt impeccably qualified but serially misguided academics and researchers.

Environmentalists would stop any motorways being built as it was difficult in the 80's and they are far stronger now.
So how would you improve traffic flow in the South East?

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[Camdoon]

Doesn't really matter what day or time as I've sat in 4+ mile queues at most times of the day.

Agree that you can get queues at any time of the day but after 11100hr on a Friday you are guaranteed a hold up.

 

[BillM]

Environmentalists would stop any motorways being built as it was difficult in the 80's and they are far stronger now.
So how would you improve traffic flow in the South East?

I would have invested far more in road surface maintenance; I would scrap highways agency patrols and invest far, far more back into proper road traffic policing with a primary responsibility to keep traffic flowing; I would ensure roadworks contractors were mandated to work 24/7 (unless near housing obviously) and to demonstrate how disruption will be minimised by effective traffic management schemes. I could go on. How on earth the A14 improvement works have been allowed to take year after year with such pitifully slow progress should probably be the subject of a public enquiry. Presumably contractors are working down to the lowest possible price rather than fastest completion....

 

[PeteH]

As you can see we live in France and have each year added up our toll charges for our cars, motorbike and van and they come to way less than the road tax cost would be for them in the U.K.

WE have (a few) tolled roads and bridges. BUT we ALSO get fleeced by VED!!.

Environmentalists would stop any motorways being built as it was difficult in the 80's and they are far stronger now.
So how would you improve traffic flow in the South East?

Shoot the environmentalists?. Send the stupid "striking" Schoolkids back to school? with a flea in their ears and massive fines for the parents?. Use the "White Elephant" cash from HS2, to improve the existing rail network?. NOT spend billoins to shave 20 min off a Journey to the Outskirts of Birmingham. Traffic Stationary is MORE polluting that traffic MOVING. But hell, that would require Common sense.!

 

[Camdoon]

I would have invested far more in road surface maintenance;
They have a budget
I would scrap highways agency patrols and invest far, far more back into proper road traffic policing with a primary responsibility to keep traffic flowing;
Not Highway England's decision. There is a balance between keeping traffic flowing and ensuring lessons are learnt from accidents. Presumably that's why UK roads are safer than French ones.
I would ensure roadworks contractors were mandated to work 24/7 (unless near housing obviously) and to demonstrate how disruption will be minimised by effective traffic management schemes.
Working 24/7 will cost a lot more money and all roadworks have a traffic management plan.
I could go on. How on earth the A14 improvement works have been allowed to take year after year with such pitifully slow progress should probably be the subject of a public enquiry.
This is the major upgrade to the busiest stretch of A class road in the country with very little alternative local road infrastructure. The A14 is a continuation of the M6, crosses the A1 then leads onto the M11 and also the Suffolk ports. The A14 east and west of the A1 is being re-routed for over 20 miles. It is due to cost £1.5bn. The project is on schedule.
Presumably contractors are working down to the lowest possible price rather than fastest completion....
With any project there has to be a balance between cost and the timeframe.

 

[Camdoon]

MHF commands and the Government delivers.

New A14 Huntingdon bypass to open a year early | ITV News

A new 12-mile bypass around Huntingdon on the A14 is to open in December, a year ahead of schedule. | ITV News Anglia

www.itv.com

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[Khizzie]

It's not the traffic flow, it's the roads themselves, they're total shite compared to Europe, in fact coming back to the UK is like arriving in a third world country.

I agree, when I come back to the UK after several months of living /touring France I am totally dismayed at the amount of roadworks, bad, inconsiderate driving, disgusting rubbish in the towns and roadsides. And we are supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world..

 

[maison]

On another thread earlier today, someone mentioned a 6hr drive to cover the 300 miles to the ferry.
Is it really possible to average 50mph on a longish journey in the UK these days?

We live 253 miles from the Channel Tunnel all of which, except for the first 13 are on Motorways.

We always allowed 7 hours for the journey and, on a couple of occasions, only just made it. You can no longer expect a trouble free journey in the UK.

Like many others on here we used to cross to France and stay at the Cité d’Europe. Now, in order to reduce pressure when driving, we travel to the P&R at Canterbury, have a nice meal in the Pub and cross the following morning. If delayed, there is no worry re missing the train etc. We find it much more relaxing.

 

[busby]

There are always going to be differences in travelling through rural northern France and congested southern England.
The motorways in France charge so this takes any local traffic off them. I won’t be alone on here in paying more into the French motorway system than in UK road tax.
The major toll left in the UK is the Dartford Crossing - every other toll system in Europe does not create a pinch point near a city. The bridge and tunnel are the only parts of the m25 where speeds limits are not ignored.
We forget Stompy and all the other activists who tried to stop the development of the motorways. Creating any extra capacity in the short term can only be done by creating smart motorways. Think Heathrow expansion and HS2. There is another planned lower Thames crossing but who knows what environmentalists will do.
Travelling on a Friday is always going to be busier than a Thursday. Common sense would suggest missing rush hour around London but the DC tends to grind to a crawl after 1000hr so aim to be there for 0900.
Don’t travel on a Friday it is the busiest day or Monday mornings.
Don’t think that Highways England can take the blame for all of that.

Agree,,I never travel on a Friday if I can avoid it and on the odd occasion I have I didn't use Motorways. I never pay tolls in France and still very seldom see congestion.BUSBY.

 

[busby]

I agree, when I come back to the UK after several months of living /touring France I am totally dismayed at the amount of roadworks, bad, inconsiderate driving, disgusting rubbish in the towns and roadsides. And we are supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world..

Richest probably but a nation of litter louts with no pride in our own country.BUSBY??

 

[busby]

MHF commands and the Government delivers.

New A14 Huntingdon bypass to open a year early | ITV News

A new 12-mile bypass around Huntingdon on the A14 is to open in December, a year ahead of schedule. | ITV News Anglia

www.itv.com

A14 should have been a motorway years ago..BUSBY.

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[Khizzie]

Richest probably but a nation of litter louts with no pride in our own country.BUSBY??

Not only no pride or respect for our country but also no pride or respect in themselves ...