Trip to England

[Vanessa]

SGM - that's good to know about Bradford - we don't feel so bad now although it was terribly frustrating. the hotel fit into my "maximum points for maximum nights scheme" and was a decent stopping point on our way back south but I'm not sure we would ever go there again!!

A place to be avoided at all costs, in my opinion!

Glad you enjoyed your trip, though, Tanzanite.

[Madeleine]

Most mini-roundabouts are so small that it's too tight a turn to drive round them properly, so most people do drive pretty much straight over them

I had some wires come away from my headlight a few months ago, my mechanic fixed it pretty quickly, but the same thing happened to a friend too, and I'm sure it's going over all those speed humps that's done it! And as Vanessa says, it doesn't do the car's suspension any good either.

[sweetpotatoboy]

Many if not most UK city centres are an almost nightmare to drive in unless you know the routes like the back of your hand.
London obviously. But also.. Reading, Birmingham!! and most others I imagine. I steer clear of them by car if I possibly can.

[parthianbow]

I have to say I'm impressed by the ground you and your husband managed to cover, Tanzanite! I'm really glad that it was a good trip.

Given some of the previous posts, I also feel obliged to speak up in defence of sleeping policemen.

I say this as someone who used to speed in urban areas. Now, I live in a village without afore mentioned sleeping policemen. It is also a place where many drivers see fit to drive at speeds of up to 40+ mph. (How can I tell this? By the speed at which they pull away from me when I'm doing 30 mph.) Consequently, and as the father of 2 young children, I think that sleeping policemen are excellent. If I could, I would instal them all over our village.

A few sobering statistics:
95% of pedestrians die when hit by a car doing 40 mph.
If that vehicle is doing 35, it's still a scary 45%.
At 30 mph, it's just 15%.

*Stops writing, climbs off soapbox.*

[Michy]

Just curious by your use of "mph" -- do you use miles in Britain rather than kilometers?

[sweetpotatoboy]

Just curious by your use of "mph" -- do you use miles in Britain rather than kilometers?

Yes we do.

[Michy]

That's interesting, especially because Canada uses kph (I tried driving up there a couple of years ago and never could get a handle on how fast I was actually going!!). Do other commonwealth (or former commonwealth) countries use miles? Or kilometers?

[MLE (Emily Cotton)]

We have a couple of wide streets in our town that have inadvertently become much used as by-passes for commute and high school traffic. Since they are residential neighborhood streets, the speed is supposed to be 25 mph. Of course this was frequently exceeded.

After a couple of pedestrian (child) deaths, they solved the problem with speed humps (sleeping policemen, to you brits) and solar-powered flashing signs that give your speed and tell you to slow down! in big red letters when it is more than 5 mph over the limit. It appears to have worked even on the high school drivers who are the worst offenders.

One comment on the speed humps, though-- in ours, there is a flat spot right where the driver side tires go through, which reduces the 'whump' effect by about half and makes it easier on the car. But you have to be going slowly enough to guide your tire through the exact place.

[SGM]

One comment on the speed humps, though-- in ours, there is a flat spot right where the driver side tires go through, which reduces the 'whump' effect by about half and makes it easier on the car. But you have to be going slowly enough to guide your tire through the exact place.

There are many sleeping policemen in London which is probably understandable. But they are a nightmare when you are on the top of a double-decker bus with heavy shopping and trying to get down the stairs.

In my street they have adjusted the height of the humps at least three times, every time they get a little shallower, having disrupted travel down the road for three weeks whilst the adjustments are carried out.

They are slightly less noticeable on the single-decker "bendy buses" but as those are being phased out for the Route Master replacement...who knows.