Driving in the UK

[glockmail]

Just got back on Saturday. This is my second time driving in Europe, last year we did a similar trip in Ireland.

We rented a Ford Focus from Hertz, automatic, diesel. Bought the tank of fuel for 75 pounds (about $125 US) and didn't worry about filling the tank for the week that we drove the car. In fact I drove almost 600 miles and still had 85 miles to empty, according to the car's computer. I averaged over 42 miles per gallon, again according to the car's computer. Odd that it displays mpg when fuel is purchased in liters.

Some observations:

I saw exactly one pick-up truck, and no large SUVs, one Jeep Cherokee, and two Chrysler 300's. All right drive.
Almost everyone drives small cars. The Focus could be considered average size.
Automatics are rare, especially in small cars. I was sitting in a parking lot and a local guy asked me about mine, and how I liked it and such. He had some odd ideas on how they worked.
Most cars are diesel.
Fuel cost is about twice what we pay here, but that is countered by the fuel economy being about twice what is considered normal here.
Tractor-trailers are called "lorries". They have single wheel sets on each axle, not "duelies", and fabric sides. Most have tandem axle tractors, but the front wheel set is lifted up when not loaded. The rear wheel set of the trailer consists of three axles instead or two.
Lots of round-a-bouts instead of signalized intersections. They are faster. For big ones, they signalize them.
In multi-lane roads, drivers in the inside (passing) lane actually pass the cars in the other lanes and then move over. Trucks are never in the inner lane.
Speed limit signs are rare. I was lucky that my car had navigation, and that told me the speed limit of the road that we were on. The only signs are when there is a speed limit change, like approaching a village.
M roads are like our interstates, A roads are typically 2-lane, full width, open cross section with good sight distance. B roads are less than full width, no shoulder, terrible sight distance.
B roads vary in width, from narrow, to substandard, to 1-1/2 lanes that one car pulls over to let the other pass. (I drove single lane two way roads in Ireland.)
Local village streets may be one car width plus parking on one side yet it's two way. As far as I can tell, there is no way to know if the street is one way or not except for pavement arrows at the entrance. The center lines are dashed white for either.
A double yellow is against the shoulder, and means no parking.
Most parking lots are park-n-display. You park, find the coin-operated kiosk, get a ticket and put it on your dash. Bring exact change because they don't give it out (but they will take extra). If your smart, sell your unused time to someone about to purchase their ticket.

[Jeff]

Just got back on Saturday. This is my second time driving in Europe, last year we did a similar trip in Ireland.

We rented a Ford Focus from Hertz, automatic, diesel. Bought the tank of fuel for 75 pounds (about $125 US) and didn't worry about filling the tank for the week that we drove the car. In fact I drove almost 600 miles and still had 85 miles to empty, according to the car's computer. I averaged over 42 miles per gallon, again according to the car's computer. Odd that it displays mpg when fuel is purchased in liters.

Some observations:

I saw exactly one pick-up truck, and no large SUVs, one Jeep Cherokee, and two Chrysler 300's. All right drive.
Almost everyone drives small cars. The Focus could be considered average size.
Automatics are rare, especially in small cars. I was sitting in a parking lot and a local guy asked me about mine, and how I liked it and such. He had some odd ideas on how they worked.
Most cars are diesel.
Fuel cost is about twice what we pay here, but that is countered by the fuel economy being about twice what is considered normal here.
Tractor-trailers are called "lorries". They have single wheel sets on each axle, not "duelies", and fabric sides. Most have tandem axle tractors, but the front wheel set is lifted up when not loaded. The rear wheel set of the trailer consists of three axles instead or two.
Lots of round-a-bouts instead of signalized intersections. They are faster. For big ones, they signalize them.
In multi-lane roads, drivers in the inside (passing) lane actually pass the cars in the other lanes and then move over. Trucks are never in the inner lane.
Speed limit signs are rare. I was lucky that my car had navigation, and that told me the speed limit of the road that we were on. The only signs are when there is a speed limit change, like approaching a village.
M roads are like our interstates, A roads are typically 2-lane, full width, open cross section with good sight distance. B roads are less than full width, no shoulder, terrible sight distance.
B roads vary in width, from narrow, to substandard, to 1-1/2 lanes that one car pulls over to let the other pass. (I drove single lane two way roads in Ireland.)
Local village streets may be one car width plus parking on one side yet it's two way. As far as I can tell, there is no way to know if the street is one way or not except for pavement arrows at the entrance. The center lines are dashed white for either.
A double yellow is against the shoulder, and means no parking.
Most parking lots are park-n-display. You park, find the coin-operated kiosk, get a ticket and put it on your dash. Bring exact change because they don't give it out (but they will take extra). If your smart, sell your unused time to someone about to purchase their ticket.

Very interesting Glock, so how was the rest of your Vacation ?

[glockmail]

Very interesting Glock, so how was the rest of your Vacation ? My trip was awesome. I found authentic English ale to be very interesting, being warm and flat, and I made every effort to sample as much as I could. Some of the pubs have special taps labelled as "extra cold", meaning that they serve beer at the temperature that Americans have made fashionable. My wife found several good examples of brewed cider, and she especially likes the mixed fruit ciders that we've never seen anywhere else.

London was clean and easy to get around. We toured the Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, and several small museums. In Bath we saw the geothermal Roman Baths, the Royal Crescent and the Circus (both 18th century spec-built condos designed by the same architect), and the Building of Bath museum, that explains how these period building were constructed. We also visited Iron Bridge, the first cast iron bridge ever made, as well as the industrial village where the parts were cast.

No rain the entire week, and it was unseasonably warm.

[Jeff]

My trip was awesome. I found authentic English ale to be very interesting, being warm and flat, and I made every effort to sample as much as I could. Some of the pubs have special taps labelled as "extra cold", meaning that they serve beer at the temperature that Americans have made fashionable. My wife found several good examples of brewed cider, and she especially likes the mixed fruit ciders that we've never seen anywhere else.

London was clean and easy to get around. We toured the Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, and several small museums. In Bath we saw the geothermal Roman Baths, the Royal Crescent and the Circus (both 18th century spec-built condos designed by the same architect), and the Building of Bath museum, that explains how these period building were constructed. We also visited Iron Bridge, the first cast iron bridge ever made, as well as the industrial village where the parts were cast.

No rain the entire week, and it was unseasonably warm.

That is great Glock glad you had a good time, man warm beer that had to take some getting use to I am sure

[glockmail]

That is great Glock glad you had a good time, man warm beer that had to take some getting use to I am sure Yes the war ale took several pints to get used to, but I assure you that I was up for the task. :laugh:

Interesting about the taps, they are not under pressure so the barkeep shoves your glass right into a long nozzle and then pulls the tap toward her, pumping it out of a tank below. The nozzle gets completely buried in the filling glass so to keep it all sanitary each glass must be clean, not handled by the user.

At one pub I observed the barkeep pouring a draught Guiness correctly, and with a flourish making the shamrock head on the last fill, so partook in that beverage as well.

[Drummond]

Just got back on Saturday. This is my second time driving in Europe, last year we did a similar trip in Ireland.

We rented a Ford Focus from Hertz, automatic, diesel. Bought the tank of fuel for 75 pounds (about $125 US) and didn't worry about filling the tank for the week that we drove the car. In fact I drove almost 600 miles and still had 85 miles to empty, according to the car's computer. I averaged over 42 miles per gallon, again according to the car's computer. Odd that it displays mpg when fuel is purchased in liters.

Some observations:

I saw exactly one pick-up truck, and no large SUVs, one Jeep Cherokee, and two Chrysler 300's. All right drive.
Almost everyone drives small cars. The Focus could be considered average size.
Automatics are rare, especially in small cars. I was sitting in a parking lot and a local guy asked me about mine, and how I liked it and such. He had some odd ideas on how they worked.
Most cars are diesel.
Fuel cost is about twice what we pay here, but that is countered by the fuel economy being about twice what is considered normal here.
Tractor-trailers are called "lorries". They have single wheel sets on each axle, not "duelies", and fabric sides. Most have tandem axle tractors, but the front wheel set is lifted up when not loaded. The rear wheel set of the trailer consists of three axles instead or two.
Lots of round-a-bouts instead of signalized intersections. They are faster. For big ones, they signalize them.
In multi-lane roads, drivers in the inside (passing) lane actually pass the cars in the other lanes and then move over. Trucks are never in the inner lane.
Speed limit signs are rare. I was lucky that my car had navigation, and that told me the speed limit of the road that we were on. The only signs are when there is a speed limit change, like approaching a village.
M roads are like our interstates, A roads are typically 2-lane, full width, open cross section with good sight distance. B roads are less than full width, no shoulder, terrible sight distance.
B roads vary in width, from narrow, to substandard, to 1-1/2 lanes that one car pulls over to let the other pass. (I drove single lane two way roads in Ireland.)
Local village streets may be one car width plus parking on one side yet it's two way. As far as I can tell, there is no way to know if the street is one way or not except for pavement arrows at the entrance. The center lines are dashed white for either.
A double yellow is against the shoulder, and means no parking.
Most parking lots are park-n-display. You park, find the coin-operated kiosk, get a ticket and put it on your dash. Bring exact change because they don't give it out (but they will take extra). If your smart, sell your unused time to someone about to purchase their ticket.

Some very good and accurate observations, there, Glockmail. Conversely, your comparisons tell me a fair bit about American roads and their features.

One observation .. yes, there's been a big move to diesel cars and the like. But are they really a majority on UK roads these days ? I have a hard time believing that. Besides, hybrid cars are beginning to be sold now (though far from cheaply !) which depend on a mixture of standard fuel and battery power. Very few of them as yet, though I'm sure there will continue to be a developing sales pitch to get more on the road.

It's an interesting observation to say that all the vehicles you saw were right-hand drive. Of course, UK drivers drive on the other side of the road from America (or for that matter, in Continental Europe). But ... you'd imagine that there would have to be a few (.. at least ..) Left-hand drive cars and lorries out there. After all, consider the amount of trade the UK does with Europe ! Foreign truckers would, and should, be travelling here to deliver their goods to British businesses, surely ?

They do exist - I've seen them. And a few domestic-use Left-hand drive cars, invariably showing the EU logo somewhere. Rare perhaps, but they are here.

Yes, of course I know the M-roads. Where I live now is served by the M4. In London, the nearest would be the M25 (London local radio is designed to use the M25 as a natural signal boundary, though in practice it reaches much further). Where I currently live, traffic lights at the approach to the roundabout are actually turned off except for busy periods (this never happens in or near London, though). As you say, yes, quick navigation of them should be easy .. rush-hours notwithstanding, of course.

And, yes ... the trend to small cars was far better established, and far sooner, than was true of America. To us, large cars are synonymous with 'gas guzzling', and in my culture, there'd be considerable intolerance of cars not managing to be fuel-efficient. As you say, large SUV'S are rare if not nearly unknown here.

[Drummond]

By the way, you didn't mention two London tourist attractions I'd happily recommend to anybody !! One is the London Eye .. a massive Ferris wheel contraption, ideal for getting spectacular views of London. I used it once, a few years ago. Then (maybe it's still true) British Airways operated it, and actually called a trip on one of them 'flights'.

The other one concerns visits to two locations in Baker Street - Madame Tussauds Waxworks, and the London Planetarium. It's possible to buy a single ticket covering both venues. The Planetarium boasts (.. or it did ..) one of the finest projectors anywhere on the planet .. a Zeiss projector. They run educational / leisure programmes using it, to give highly lifelike views of astronomical displays, based around a setting of the night sky. It has to be seen to be fully appreciated. If you missed it this time around, I hope you include a visit there in any future plans.

[glockmail]

Some very good and accurate observations, there, Glockmail. Conversely, your comparisons tell me a fair bit about American roads and their features.

One observation .. yes, there's been a big move to diesel cars and the like. But are they really a majority on UK roads these days ? I have a hard time believing that. Besides, hybrid cars are beginning to be sold now (though far from cheaply !) which depend on a mixture of standard fuel and battery power. Very few of them as yet, though I'm sure there will continue to be a developing sales pitch to get more on the road.

It's an interesting observation to say that all the vehicles you saw were right-hand drive. Of course, UK drivers drive on the other side of the road from America (or for that matter, in Continental Europe). But ... you'd imagine that there would have to be a few (.. at least ..) Left-hand drive cars and lorries out there. After all, consider the amount of trade the UK does with Europe ! Foreign truckers would, and should, be travelling here to deliver their goods to British businesses, surely ?

They do exist - I've seen them. And a few domestic-use Left-hand drive cars, invariably showing the EU logo somewhere. Rare perhaps, but they are here.

Yes, of course I know the M-roads. Where I live now is served by the M4. In London, the nearest would be the M25 (London local radio is designed to use the M25 as a natural signal boundary, though in practice it reaches much further). Where I currently live, traffic lights at the approach to the roundabout are actually turned off except for busy periods (this never happens in or near London, though). As you say, yes, quick navigation of them should be easy .. rush-hours notwithstanding, of course.

And, yes ... the trend to small cars was far better established, and far sooner, than was true of America. To us, large cars are synonymous with 'gas guzzling', and in my culture, there'd be considerable intolerance of cars not managing to be fuel-efficient. As you say, large SUV'S are rare if not nearly unknown here.

I'm guessing on the majority diesel. It seems like a puff of smoke when accelerating quickly was the norm, a tell-tale sign of a diesel engine. Ours was quite peppy, loads of bottom end torque, and spool up very quickly. At 70 mph it would turn at about 2200 rpm.

I was referring to the three "American" cars I saw (Jeep and Chrysler) as all right-drive. Being in my little Focus I couldn't see into the cabs of the lorries very well.

[glockmail]

By the way, you didn't mention two London tourist attractions I'd happily recommend to anybody !! One is the London Eye .. a massive Ferris wheel contraption, ideal for getting spectacular views of London. I used it once, a few years ago. Then (maybe it's still true) British Airways operated it, and actually called a trip on one of them 'flights'.

The other one concerns visits to two locations in Baker Street - Madame Tussauds Waxworks, and the London Planetarium. It's possible to buy a single ticket covering both venues. The Planetarium boasts (.. or it did ..) one of the finest projectors anywhere on the planet .. a Zeiss projector. They run educational / leisure programmes using it, to give highly lifelike views of astronomical displays, based around a setting of the night sky. It has to be seen to be fully appreciated. If you missed it this time around, I hope you include a visit there in any future plans.

Not a fan of heights, so I nixed the Ferris wheel. And since we have planetariums here in the States, no reason to see yours. I did see William Herschel's house though, the discoverer of Uranus (no jokes please). :laugh:

[Gaffer]

So Glock, did you need to get a license while over there to drive? Or do they recognize US licenses?

[glockmail]

So Glock, did you need to get a license while over there to drive? Or do they recognize US licenses?A US driver's license is recognized throughout Europe, at least for the purpose of tourism.

[Abbey Marie]

By the way, you didn't mention two London tourist attractions I'd happily recommend to anybody !! One is the London Eye .. a massive Ferris wheel contraption, ideal for getting spectacular views of London. I used it once, a few years ago. Then (maybe it's still true) British Airways operated it, and actually called a trip on one of them 'flights'.

The other one concerns visits to two locations in Baker Street - Madame Tussauds Waxworks, and the London Planetarium. It's possible to buy a single ticket covering both venues. The Planetarium boasts (.. or it did ..) one of the finest projectors anywhere on the planet .. a Zeiss projector. They run educational / leisure programmes using it, to give highly lifelike views of astronomical displays, based around a setting of the night sky. It has to be seen to be fully appreciated. If you missed it this time around, I hope you include a visit there in any future plans.

Why Drummond, you mention Baker street, but not the Sherlock Holmes museum? It's a little gem!

[gabosaurus]

I have been to England and Europe a few times, but have never been brave enough to attempt to drive over there. I would rather have friends and relatives do the driving so I can look out the window. :laugh:

[Kathianne]

I've been reading on UK when I can, the darling daughter and hubby now have January as their move date. Now here'e something weird, she got a note from one of her recently married sorority sisters that her and her husband are also moving there for his job. They currently live in CA, is the UK going to be the 'new' US?

[jafar00]

How did you handle driving on the correct side of the road? :laugh:

[Noir]

I conform to your observation, driving a wee three door desial, i fill up £40 every payday and that does me for the month. And you were in Bath! I was only 20 mins down the traintracks as i spent most of lastweek in Bristol or thereabouts, tis a great little city.

[tailfins]

How did you handle driving on the correct side of the road? :laugh:

That part is easy. There are only two countries I don't want to drive in. The UK, because of all the electronic surveillance. The other is Cuba, because if you have a collision, you can't leave until all claims are settled, which could take up to 18 months. Brazil on the other hand is lots of fun. If you get busted at any speed in Brazil, they forget about the whole thing when R$100 ~ USD 50 changes hands. I hired a driver in Cuba for $70 per week plus fuel to cruise around in his beat up 1957 Bel Air.

[KitchenKitten99]

Most parking lots are park-n-display. You park, find the coin-operated kiosk, get a ticket and put it on your dash. Bring exact change because they don't give it out (but they will take extra).
We have those here in MN. I was very happy when I saw the Met Council changed all the old mechanical ones over to the pay-box type. Not that I had ever seen them before, but when I first encountered this new style, I was impressed by it and liked the fact I could use my debit card if I realized I had no cash, which I am often without.

[jafar00]

Brazil on the other hand is lots of fun. If you get busted at any speed in Brazil, they forget about the whole thing when R$100 ~ USD 50 changes hands.

That sounds just like Egypt too :)