Originally posted by oddoneout
View Post
-
Yes, I was talking about arriving back - so, South East
"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
-
....going OT....Spanish roads....thank goodness for the huge largesse of the EU in pouring money into Spain and making trips from Bilbao to Granada/ Cordoba....so so much easierbong chingComment
-
Hmm, I'd like to know where this fabled Brigadoon aka Scotland actually exists. From my extensive experience of its roads, on another planet, if the general state of them in 2022 is anything to go by. As anyone in charge of managing departmental budgets when an overall budget is being "squeezed", i.e. cut, will know, an all too easy target is, "maintenance", whether that be of university buildings (in my case) or of roads, whether at local or national level. Scotland is, alas, no more exempt from such an expedient if rather short-sighted approach than any other part of the UK. Whether it be Cornwall or North Ayrshire, Northumberland or Perth and Kinross, the general state of even 'A' roads is often woeful. The Facebook Group for my part of Perthshire has a sort of "pothole watch" where drivers are given warning of particularly bad examples. Woe betide anyone who drives on them with sporty thin rims and correspondingly thinner tyres.
I empathise with Nick - his comment about arriving back in Kent (or Sussex) and the shock of the state of the roads by comparison with France rang very true. Motorways are, in general, well-maintained, helped, of course, by the fact that there are tolls on many of them, which also explains why, away from main arteries like the Rhône Valley, they are often delightfully quiet. I can also confirm that signs warning of "les radars" are still very much in evidence (I note that the article dates from 2017). A good number of the dreaded cameras were set on fire during the "gilets jaunes" protests but they are gradually being replaced. I got done late last year in the Netherlands for a speed of 103kph on a motorway with a limit of 100kph - so that's another nice little earner. And the worst drivers in Western Europe? The Swiss - outside Switzerland - drive at crazy speeds but my award would go to the Belgians. Not that I'm prejudiced ...Comment
-
* mirrors Cornwall and DorsetOriginally posted by ardcarp View PostI have memories of driving through France (Calais to St Jean de Luz ) at the age of 17 with a friend. We had just left school and were up for an adventure in an ancient Morris Minor and an even more ancient tent. The road surfaces were terrible, especially at the the sides which were so uneven that the nearside wheels and suspension produced an almost constant violent wobble. Paris was fun, with strangely uniformed traffic police whirling truncheon-like objects and blowing whistles. It was general chaos, since nobody seemed to know what they meant.
Latterly Mrs A and I have driven in France a lot, and have been amazed at the huge improvement in road surfaces and especially at the very consistent signage, making knowing where and what to do at junctions far, far better than in the UK. Mind-you, they do seem to be obsessed with putting new rond-points everywhere, many of which our G-map app hadn't learned about. And orange headlights seem almost a thing of the past.
More recently we have tended to sail to France and so have not driven so much. But we treated ourselves to a short Brittany Ferries break last week, and noticed two things. 1. The French motorists' tendency to 'tailgate' you whether they wanted to overtake or not seemed markedly less. In other words, their driving seemed more civilised and safe. Mind you, this was in Brittany, and we deliberately avoided Routes Nationales where possible.* 2. A new (to us) road-sign had appeared everywhere;
We had no idea what the picture meant. We now know that they informed you that the warnings of speed-cameras, a relatively recent phenomenon in France anyway, had been removed. In other words they could be anywhere. I wonder how much it cost the government to post notices warning of of the possible presence or absence of speed- cameras countrywide?
*No autoroutes or péages in Brittany I gather.
The driving aspect of our short break was fantastic and pleasurable. Wonderful roads and very, very light traffic. How different from the UK. The delightful patron of our hotel had a few moans about life.....reduced guest numbers [nothing to do with Brexit, I suppose?] the difficulty of recruiting young staff, increased costs, and currently a shortage of petrol and diesel. We had been warned by a French friend to take a couple of spare cans of fuel, probably illegally.Comment
-
One more thing I noticed for the first time...this 'angles morts' (blind spot) warning on long vehicles.
It's stuck on the driver's door, so it's presumably to remind the driver each time he mounts his cab. Not much use for an overtaking car!Comment
-
I remember when in this country lorries of over a certain length were required to display two LONG VEHICLE signs at the back end. At some point this would appear to have been dropped, making it difficult for vehicles wishing to pass to gauge overtaking distance and therefore greater chance of meeting someone head on, which is especially hazardous for cyclists.Originally posted by ardcarp View PostOne more thing I noticed for the first time...this 'angles morts' (blind spot) warning on long vehicles.
It's stuck on the driver's door, so it's presumably to remind the driver each time he mounts his cab. Not much use for an overtaking car!Comment
-
This is true of the pendolino system, I believe designed in UK, intended to correct the centrifugal force when a high speed train corners. The British engineers couldn't make it work to their satisfaction, so the system was sold to the Italians, who have made it work well on their freccia ('arrow') trains; and I believe will be licensing it for the HS2. (It may also be fitted to white elephants.Originally posted by Serial_Apologist View Post
)
Comment
-
I always understood that the tilting train was successfully proved in Britain, but was declined by the Government on 'value-for-money' grounds: short-term thinking, in my view. They chose a 125mph diesel train (HST or Inter-City 125) instead of the 140 mph APT which would have involved an expensive raising of the track speed. The pendilono is capable of 140 mph but is restricted to 125 because the track won't allow a faster speed without expensive work.
But then railways themselves are an example of a good idea invented in Britain, taken up elsewhere and then neglected here. The 'Beeching' cuts, partly politically-motivated but also another example of short-term thinking, could be reversed for far less than the mounting cost of HS2.Comment
-
Fiat came up with the original pendolino idea it would seem https://www.railway-technology.com/p...ndolino-train/ and then acquired the APT version of it when the project stalled in the UK.Originally posted by kernelbogey View PostThis is true of the pendolino system, I believe designed in UK, intended to correct the centrifugal force when a high speed train corners. The British engineers couldn't make it work to their satisfaction, so the system was sold to the Italians, who have made it work well on their freccia ('arrow') trains; and I believe will be licensing it for the HS2. (It may also be fitted to white elephants. )Comment
-
Originally posted by ardcarp View PostI have memories of driving through France (Calais to St Jean de Luz ) at the age of 17 with a friend. We had just left school and were up for an adventure in an ancient Morris Minor and an even more ancient tent. The road surfaces were terrible, especially at the the sides which were so uneven that the nearside wheels and suspension produced an almost constant violent wobble. Paris was fun, with strangely uniformed traffic police whirling truncheon-like objects and blowing whistles. It was general chaos, since nobody seemed to know what they meant.
Latterly Mrs A and I have driven in France a lot, and have been amazed at the huge improvement in road surfaces and especially at the very consistent signage, making knowing where and what to do at junctions far, far better than in the UK. Mind-you, they do seem to be obsessed with putting new rond-points everywhere, many of which our G-map app hadn't learned about. And orange headlights seem almost a thing of the past.
More recently we have tended to sail to France and so have not driven so much. But we treated ourselves to a short Brittany Ferries break last week, and noticed two things. 1. The French motorists' tendency to 'tailgate' you whether they wanted to overtake or not seemed markedly less. In other words, their driving seemed more civilised and safe. Mind you, this was in Brittany, and we deliberately avoided Routes Nationales where possible.* 2. A new (to us) road-sign had appeared everywhere;
We had no idea what the picture meant. We now know that they informed you that the warnings of speed-cameras, a relatively recent phenomenon in France anyway, had been removed. In other words they could be anywhere. I wonder how much it cost the government to post notices warning of of the possible presence or absence of speed- cameras countrywide?
*No autoroutes or péages in Brittany I gather.
The driving aspect of our short break was fantastic and pleasurable. Wonderful roads and very, very light traffic. How different from the UK. The delightful patron of our hotel had a few moans about life.....reduced guest numbers [nothing to do with Brexit, I suppose?] the difficulty of recruiting young staff, increased costs, and currently a shortage of petrol and diesel. We had been warned by a French friend to take a couple of spare cans of fuel, probably illegally.
Strange, I was in France in early October and tailgating and speed camera signs in the South West and along the motorways to Calais were both clearly in evidence.
That's a very old article and the 2017 update confirms the continuing existence of speed camera signs.Comment
Comment