- I'm pretty sure there are more speed cameras than speed signs.
- despite petrol being measured in litres, distance, width and height are measured in miles, feet, inches and yards. This causes problems when you're approaching a speed camera or low bridge and having to do conversions in your head. I.E. "40 miles is 65 k's, right? Right?!"; "are we under 14 feet high? We're about 9 aren't we? Duck just to be sure."
- single carriageway highways are 60 mph (95 kph), but there's no prior warning when you're approaching a sharp turn on a windy road apart from "SLOW" (or in Wales "ARAF/SLOW"). Consequently we slow the motorhome down to about 40kph at every turn. There's no difference in signage between a 5 degree bend and a 150 degree hairpin turn.
- all vaguely major roads are numbered. Consequently we're regularly saying "turn right at the B1782, not the B1783".
- North Wales isn't built for motorhomes. We were shouted and fist waved once and we clipped the mirror of a car towing a caravan going the other way. Also, it's easier to drive a few kilometres in the wrong direction to a roundabout rather than attempt a U-Turn in the motorhome.
- Scottish people are very polite on the roads, particularly in the Highlands. They'll blink their hazard lights in thanks if you pull over and let them overtake you. It's very rewarding.
- Welsh people do not blink their lights in thanks.
- the speed limit on most dual carriageways (including motorways) is 70mph (110kph), but some dual carriageways have regular roundabouts, meaning you're constantly speeding up to 110 then going back to 0.
- there are no utes (pickups for any American readers) in Britain. I've been keeping my eye out the whole time for them and haven't seen a single one.
- it's not uncommon to find a pair of elderly cyclists in the middle of the Welsh Highlands, miles from any town, in pouring rain. These people will not turn to look at the motorhome hurtling up behind them, but fearlessly continue to cycle on, uphill, in the middle of the single lane, until you find a spot to overtake them.
- parking facilities are not built for motorhomes. Most parking lots (including park & rides) have gates that limit the height of vehicles entering to 2 meters. We asked a caravan park owner why, and she replied "it's to keep out gypsies". This surprised us.
- people have no qualms about parking in the middle of a lane, turning a two way road into a one way road, only allowing one vehicle to pass at a time. It's completely legal too. People bend in their wing mirrors, so that buys you another 2 inches.
- distances on signs are unusually exact. I.E: "Salisbury - 4 1/4 miles" or "Parking - 270 yards"
I'm not sure what roads will be like on the continent, but I'm not sure they'll be much better. Looking forward to being back on the wide, long, straight, well signed roads back home.
We too experienced frustration at the lack of speed limit signs. We were constantly asking each other "Does anyone know the speed limit?" "Has anyone seen a sign since we joined this road?" And you are so right - we commented at the lack of signage re bends, road conditions and intersections etc. We loved the araf and in fact I drove everyone (but particularly Amber)crazy by calling it out each time we saw it. Only when you start doing that do you realize how much it is signed. I can't agree with you about the Welsh and the Scots. I came incredibly close to a crash when a mercedes driver on the eastern side of Loch Ness decided he should have more road than me.(arrogant prat - maybe it's just the car) Of course don't know his nationality but assume he was a jock since he was the sole occupant. Weslh drivers very courteous and flash lights to beckon us on.
ReplyDeleteDon't be too keen to come back to our lovely wide long roads. Our fatalities road toll was 1464 in 2008 whereas death toll for UK in 2010 was 1857. Do the maths for fatalities per person or per vehicle and you will see we don't stack up well (though we do stack up). And we don't have much ice and snow to contend with. It would be interesting to calculate the road toll per km travelled. And don't be too keen to get onto continental roads. UK is a long way in front of other European countries. I think they probably have fewer fatalities because of the narrow roads, not despite the narrow roads. Keep safe!! love yous. Incidentally Brazil has about 37000 road fatalities per year and USA 33000. You can see I stayed in a motel room in Wollongong by myself last night with nothing to do but surf the net. Woe is my social life.