The war on motor traffic

[T00ts]

That will make two if us then, I am off to buy a Volvo T5 running 310 BHP just to let them know Khan can kiss my backside. While I scare the neighbours with backfiring and popping from the exhaust. I was going to buy an ST Focus but as my hooligan days are behind me, a Volvo seems more of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

  

[cromwell]

Long time since I worked in Germany but they did have an excellent system there,gas company want to do some upgrade the road authority contacts all the other interested people and asks if they need to do anything too,if they say no then come back in eighteen months and say we need tolaythis or that the answer is sod off.

[Sheepy]

You'll never make it through the Pearly Gates!!

That will make two if us then, I am off to buy a Volvo T5 running 310 BHP just to let them know Khan can kiss my backside. While I scare the neighbours with backfiring and popping from the exhaust. I was going to buy an ST Focus but as my hooligan days are behind me, a Volvo seems more of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

[T00ts]

Seen a few jackknifed cows recently.

  Just remember they are Sacred where you are - jackknifed or otherwise! 

[Nick]

Seen a few jackknifed cows recently. 

[T00ts]

It's the same here too. Roads blocked, Temp lights in place but rarely any workers. In Spain they used to always do road repairs overnight and occasionally I see it here but usually on a by-pass road that tends to be a bit busy. Cyclists - well. Yesterday I followed one up a hill at little more than walking pace. Half the county was stuck behind us. Using the full lane really didn't matter since the brow of the hill blinded me for oncoming and anyway the double solid lines weren't very obliging and to allow the mandatory 1.5yds passing space would have taken me well over. 

On the opposite side of the road is a footpath which was empty - it's a country road - he looked neither right nor left only just in front of his front wheel so he possibly didn't notice the path that he could have walked up with much less effort. The brow of that hill could well have seen him with a heart attack by the look of him.

[Borchester]

The roadworks situation is a nightmare everywhere. There are roadworlks all over the damned place here in Plymouth. Sections of road are coned off with temporary traffic lights and often no one is working there for many days on end.

And this does nothing at all for the environment. Stationary cars on the roads with their engines running for longer cannot be doing pollution levels or the planet any favours.

It is about time we started getting radical where roadworks are concerned to encourage minimum disruption for the shortest possible time by making it financially desirable to minimise the duration of roadworks. We should charge companies for every day roadworks remain in place. This would encourage them to get the work done in the shortest possible time, or remove them for a week if no one is going to be working there for a week.

Idiotic and selfish cyclists with obvious common sense issues often do not help. Here in Plymouth there is a steep uphill with one lane coned off for temporary traffic lights. A cyclist was waiting to cycle up the hill when the lights went green instead of using a bit of common sense and going up on the pavement. Of course being a cyclist going up a steep hill, when the lights went green he cycled up very slowly, followed by cars forced to go equally slowly. Of course the inevitable happened. The lights for traffic coming down the hill changed to green when the cyclist and cars following him were only halfway up. So a load of cars started coming down the hill on the only lane available to be blocked by those still coming up. Result total gridlock with the police having to be called  to sort it out. I heard about this. It apparently involved temporarily closing the road at both ends until the jam could be sorted out.

The solution is to make all cyclists wear trousers.

And to wear socks.

And tuck your trousers into your socks.

That tells everyone that you are a solid sort of chap with a sense of responsibility who has enough sense to give way to motorists because motors are a bloody sight bigger and hurt when they hit you.

The physics haven't changed but the costumes have. These days cyclists all seem to wear those self castrating pants and plastic skid lids which are bloody useless because whenever I have gone over the handlebars I ended up on my back side, not my head. But cyclists don't know that and think they are eco warriors out to reclaim the roads and ride with mad, set faces as though they are the before part of a hemorrhoid advert.

[johnofgwent]

The roadworks situation is a nightmare everywhere. There are roadworlks all over the damned place here in Plymouth. Sections of road are coned off with temporary traffic lights and often no one is working there for many days on end.

And this does nothing at all for the environment. Stationary cars on the roads with their engines running for longer cannot be doing pollution levels or the planet any favours.

It is about time we started getting radical where roadworks are concerned to encourage minimum disruption for the shortest possible time by making it financially desirable to minimise the duration of roadworks. We should charge companies for every day roadworks remain in place. This would encourage them to get the work done in the shortest possible time, or remove them for a week if no one is going to be working there for a week.

Idiotic and selfish cyclists with obvious common sense issues often do not help. Here in Plymouth there is a steep uphill with one lane coned off for temporary traffic lights. A cyclist was waiting to cycle up the hill when the lights went green instead of using a bit of common sense and going up on the pavement. Of course being a cyclist going up a steep hill, when the lights went green he cycled up very slowly, followed by cars forced to go equally slowly. Of course the inevitable happened. The lights for traffic coming down the hill changed to green when the cyclist and cars following him were only halfway up. So a load of cars started coming down the hill on the only lane available to be blocked by those still coming up. Result total gridlock with the police having to be called  to sort it out. I heard about this. It apparently involved temporarily closing the road at both ends until the jam could be sorted out.

I'd love to know what the police said to the cyclist, but I'm betting they'd long since f**ked off....

Round here they have a little more sense. Cyclists are specifically banned from riding through such sections, there are notices telling them to dismount and walk. 

I've yet to see one booked for not following these rules but I suspect it will happen soon....

[srb7677]

Just borrowed Mrs P's PHEV Outlander to get in a load of shopping from Stamford Hill Morrisons. Depending on traffic, it's usually a 5-7 min run there and now a 10-15 min run back, since Hackney's blocked many streets to through traffic. Add in 30-40 min actually shopping, and the shopping's max time should be no more than 65 min — though it's usually done in under 45 min.

Today, the whole job's taken 3 hrs !!!

Road works and temporary traffic signals*** on the A10, meant 15 min actually getting on the A10, 30 min travelling the quarter-mile to Morrisons, another 60 min in Morrisons because it no longer has chariots, but only small trolleys — so two shop-tours and check-out visits are needed. And to cap it all, the return journey of 1h 15 min.

The real cause of the delays is that nobody arranges traffic signals to only allow traffic to proceed if the way forward is clear. The result is that drivers launch their vehicles into all spaces that present themselves on the junctions even though there's no exit clear. Even temporary sin bins and cameras and signs would help.

***Nobody actually working on the roadworks, and the temporary traffic signals uncoordinated with the six other sets of traffic signals on the full route.

Hackney, Highways England and TfL must train their traffic planners well to disrupt traffic to this extent, but still encourage drivers to keep paying for the privilege. My only consolation is that I used not one drop of fuel over the whole trip, and I got to listen to almost all Amy's Back to Black...

The roadworks situation is a nightmare everywhere. There are roadworlks all over the damned place here in Plymouth. Sections of road are coned off with temporary traffic lights and often no one is working there for many days on end.

And this does nothing at all for the environment. Stationary cars on the roads with their engines running for longer cannot be doing pollution levels or the planet any favours.

It is about time we started getting radical where roadworks are concerned to encourage minimum disruption for the shortest possible time by making it financially desirable to minimise the duration of roadworks. We should charge companies for every day roadworks remain in place. This would encourage them to get the work done in the shortest possible time, or remove them for a week if no one is going to be working there for a week.

Idiotic and selfish cyclists with obvious common sense issues often do not help. Here in Plymouth there is a steep uphill with one lane coned off for temporary traffic lights. A cyclist was waiting to cycle up the hill when the lights went green instead of using a bit of common sense and going up on the pavement. Of course being a cyclist going up a steep hill, when the lights went green he cycled up very slowly, followed by cars forced to go equally slowly. Of course the inevitable happened. The lights for traffic coming down the hill changed to green when the cyclist and cars following him were only halfway up. So a load of cars started coming down the hill on the only lane available to be blocked by those still coming up. Result total gridlock with the police having to be called  to sort it out. I heard about this. It apparently involved temporarily closing the road at both ends until the jam could be sorted out.

[Nick]

Yes, but Mrs likes to shop in person

On ya go would be my response!!

[T00ts]

I will T00ts  , I make it up to her later with tales of long irons into the green , shaped drives and cheeky chips while she is doing the ironing and cleaning my sticks ready for tomorrow

   Oh dear it just gets worse and worse. Have you not heard of the brownie point system? Or more to the point show this to your wife. My husband played golf and was heavily into football and most other sports so to gain brownie points he did the ironing and did a fair share around the house and garden. He passed away in my debt and I vow to collect when we meet up!  

[Streetwalker]

You'll never make it through the Pearly Gates!!

I will T00ts  , I make it up to her later with tales of long irons into the green , shaped drives and cheeky chips while she is doing the ironing and cleaning my sticks ready for tomorrow 

[T00ts]

Everyone delivers these days , Ive trained the Mrs to shop online and do Croydon market early doors on a Saturday morning for the fruit and veg  while Im on the golf course .
Everyones a winner

   You'll never make it through the Pearly Gates!!

[Streetwalker]

Of course Mrs P like to shop in person. She is a girlie. They love that sort of thing. But it does not mean that you have to do the same.

And Majestic Wines deliver.

Everyone delivers these days , Ive trained the Mrs to shop online and do Croydon market early doors on a Saturday morning for the fruit and veg  while Im on the golf course .
Everyones a winner 

[Borchester]

Yes, but Mrs likes to shop in person, and insists I prod and sniff the fruit and veg — though she very occasionally calls on Ocado — and today I wanted to restock on sparkling water and scotch, neither of which is guaranteed to be what's ordered if you leave it to the store pickers...

Of course Mrs P like to shop in person. She is a girlie. They love that sort of thing. But it does not mean that you have to do the same.

And Majestic Wines deliver.