Britain is built for cars

[confusedcyclist]

The roads were certainly not built for these lorries that cannot turn right from the correct lane. Sounds like lorries are being sent onto roads they should never be on, creating danger for those using transport modes more suited to those roads.

And yet modern society is dependent on them. Literally everything bought in retail and manufacturing gets somewhere on the back of HGVs. Modern society isn't possible without them. Even tap water and electrical energy is dependent on them. See http://energyskeptic.com/2017/when-trucks-stop-running-civilization-stops-running/

 

[Globalti]

Our problem is the sheer density of the population, which means lots of short routes. France has roughly the same population spread over double the space. To compliment that spread, the visionary Napoleon saw the need for straight routes connecting towns and cities as well as properly engineered highways crossing mountain passes for defensive purposes so France has a superior road network to Britain's half-baked pot pourri of overgrown packhorse trails. In fact most of the world does because pack horses determined our roads centuries ago.

Did you know that Holloway in that London is named after the hollow way, a massive V groove worn in the ground by millions of hooves of ponies bringing goods into and out of the city?

 

[mjr]

Our problem is the sheer density of the population, which means lots of short routes. France has roughly the same population spread over double the space. To compliment that spread, the visionary Napoleon saw the need for straight routes connecting towns and cities as well as properly engineered highways crossing mountain passes for defensive purposes so France has a superior road network to Britain's half-baked pot pourri of overgrown packhorse trails. In fact most of the world does because pack horses determined our roads centuries ago.

The major rivers and the Roman roads and a few of the packhorse trails (Icknield Way comes to mind) could make a network almost as good as the Napoleonic roads (many of which now seem to exist as long-bypassed back roads running straight between places no longer important) except that modern highways engineers have stolen some (Watling Street?), sliced-and-diced some (Ermine Street) and mostly ignored others (Camlet Way).

 

[rogerzilla]

Also, Ermin Way runs between Gloucester (ok, useful), Cirencester (a bit marginal), skirts the edge of Swindon (ok) and finishes at...er...Silchester (not very useful at all).

 

[Globalti]

"Yeah we're going to concrete over all those old Roman roads..." I can hear about a dozen conservation and historic Britain societies absolutely doing their nuts!

 

[mjr]

"Yeah we're going to concrete over all those old Roman roads..." I can hear about a dozen conservation and historic Britain societies absolutely doing their nuts!

Most of them have been continuously-used roads so I suspect almost all have been tarmacked over at some point in the last 120ish years. Maybe not the exact old road, but near enough to be useful.

We're now getting to the point where several of them have been mostly replaced by modern quasi-motorways and the historic route could be good mostly-on-road cycling if we could build cycle lanes alongside the remaining few parts and bypass braindead bypass block-offs like M11 J8 that blocks Stane Street and sends NCN Route 16 off on a 1.2 mile gravel detour around it the north.

I hope conservation societies would be delighted at the historic routes getting more publicity, popularity and visitors!

 

[Globalti]

You speak from the perspective of someone with brains, education, articulacy and imagination. Most of your fellow citizens do not possess these qualities, they just want to get to their destination with the minimum hassle and haven't a clue about the history of our roads.

 

[classic33]

Most of them have been continuously-used roads so I suspect almost all have been tarmacked over at some point in the last 120ish years. Maybe not the exact old road, but near enough to be useful.

We're now getting to the point where several of them have been mostly replaced by modern quasi-motorways and the historic route could be good mostly-on-road cycling if we could build cycle lanes alongside the remaining few parts and bypass braindead bypass block-offs like M11 J8 that blocks Stane Street and sends NCN Route 16 off on a 1.2 mile gravel detour around it the north.

I hope conservation societies would be delighted at the historic routes getting more publicity, popularity and visitors!

Neither the Roman Highway or the pack horse roads in the area have been tarmaced/concreted over.

 

[Edwardoka]

Rode a fair chunk of the Fosse Way a few years ago (mistakenly believing that as fosse meant ditch the way would be flat and being Roman that it wouldn't be suitable for cars)
I presumed they'd just paved over it since I didn't see anything remotely resembling a Roman road and this was before everyone had a smartphone so I just got on with it without ever knowing. Got me through the West Midlands without having to go through any cities so it wasn't all bad

 

[MontyVeda]

There are a few electric cars near me and you're right you can't hear them at all, I know you should look but I have seen people step out in front of electric cars in car parks numerous times, and its due to them no hearing a car so not looking.

One electric car driving guy who I didn't move over for very quickly was quite nice, at the traffic lights I said sorry I didn't hear him, he said they should put a speaker on them to make some noise, I said if I'm in front of him in the future please just a little toot on the horn to let me know he is there, which he now does every time.

People just need to learn to use their eyes as well as their ears... Stop, Look and Listen, in that order.

I oppose putting 'noise' on electric vehicles.

 

[Rusty Nails]

People just need to learn to use their eyes as well as their ears... Stop, Look and Listen, in that order.

I oppose putting 'noise' on electric vehicles.

Cigarette packets clicking on the wheels is a cheap alternative.

(other card alternatives are available for the more health conscious among us).

 

[I like Skol]

[QUOTE 5454895, member: 9609"](I will be amazed if anyone has the foggiest what I'm going on about)[/QUOTE]
I do

You're not the only cycling petrolhead!

 

[mjr]

Visually impaired people have been campaigning for additional noise. For obvious reasons. I'm not visually impaired and am not well informed on the subject so I have no opinion.

I feel the underlying problem there is that visually impaired people have no trust in motorists not to run them over, or on the legal system to give motorists sufficient incentive not to run them over. This changeover really does highlight how messed up things have become.

 

[Johnno260]

People just need to learn to use their eyes as well as their ears... Stop, Look and Listen, in that order.

I oppose putting 'noise' on electric vehicles.

Yup always look as well, it's just some seem pre-programmed to not look if they don't hear something.

On the bike I struggle to hear them, but my hearing isn't the greatest, I just check over my shoulder more regularly now, but this time of year lights make it easier.

 

[MontyVeda]

Visually impaired people have been campaigning for additional noise. For obvious reasons. I'm not visually impaired and am not well informed on the subject so I have no opinion.

Are they also campaigning for our bicycles to be noisier too?