Leaving Plenty of Time

[triquet]

And off we go, Oxford to Brighton. Leave plenty of time for a 1700 arrival time just in case the M25 is screwed up. Sod's law kicks in and the M25 is clear as a bell and end up sailing down past Gatwick with hods of time to spare.

What do do? Not really enough time for a coffee stop. Slow down ... and annoy people? Actually ease off a bit down to 65 and relax? What do you do? I'm a terror for leaving a huge margin for journeys and fret if I have to rush ...

[jont]

Find some other roads to go and play on?

Often on long trips I'll allow time to go cross-country - I find far more consistency about how long it takes to get somewhere than playing traffic-jam roulette on the motorway.

[TR4ffic]

Relax and enjoy the drive to my destination then, if I've got time, have a coffee or whatever before the allotted time/appointment.

I hate being late and anyone with a military background will know that if you're not 5 mins early, you're late..! I once set off on a 30 mile journey to a job interview and arrived 50 mins early ...but it was down the M6 and you never know..!

Beware the unplanned coffee break en route if you're running early... Sods Law says there'll be an almighty holdup just after setting off again..!

[triquet]

Beware the unplanned coffee break en route if you're running early... Sods Law says there'll be an almighty holdup just after setting off again..!

Yes, got caught on that one going down to the ferry at Poole. We were running an hour early, stopped for coffee and then got stuck in the roundabout hell between Ringwood and Poole ... it says 12 miles on the signposts but I am sure they lie ...

[sussex2]

And off we go, Oxford to Brighton. Leave plenty of time for a 1700 arrival time just in case the M25 is screwed up. Sod's law kicks in and the M25 is clear as a bell and end up sailing down past Gatwick with hods of time to spare.

What do do? Not really enough time for a coffee stop. Slow down ... and annoy people? Actually ease off a bit down to 65 and relax? What do you do? I'm a terror for leaving a huge margin for journeys and fret if I have to rush ...

Take the pretty roads?
I often drive from Shoreham sur Mer to Heathrow and go across country then bypass Guildford and join Europes largest car park at the A30 junction.
I rarely time journeys but there are some excellent roads with good scenery and if held up there is generally a way around; until arriving at the largest car park that is.

[fungus]

Yes, got caught on that one going down to the ferry at Poole. We were running an hour early, stopped for coffee and then got stuck in the roundabout hell between Ringwood and Poole ... it says 12 miles on the signposts but I am sure they lie ...

Would that be the Canford Bottom roundabout that is now a hamburger junction on the A31 East of Wimborne Minster, or the series of roundabouts on the A348 between Ferndown and Poole? Either way, both roads are pretty appaling.

[Gromit37]

Yesterday I drove from Nottingham to Bewdley to visit West Mids Safari Park. Approximately 75 miles. I allowed 2 hours ( an extra 25-30mins) for the journey, but as we had to be there for 9.15am we ran in to terrible traffic on the M1, A42/M42 etc. The upshot was we were 10 mins late. Fortunately it did not affect the itiniary once there. It was one of the most unpleasant and stressful journeys I have undertaken in a long time. You come to realise how terrible our road systems are. Idiotic car drivers, lorries attempting to overtake lorries with a 1mph speed differntial, variable speed limits that seemed to create big holdups followed by long stretches of empty road. Motorway junctions that crawl so slowly you could probably throw a street party before your next crawl forward. For the sake of my sanity, next time I will avoid motorways and A roads and go cross country.

I am so glad I don't have to travel far by car these days unless I am driving for pleasure.

[TheInsanity1234]

To be quite frank, if I want to go somewhere, I'd aim to avoid going along major routes, simply because the journey times are much more reliable than motorway times.

[Gromit37]

To be quite frank, if I want to go somewhere, I'd aim to avoid going along major routes, simply because the journey times are much more reliable than motorway times.

Without wanting to sound rude, wanting to do something and being able to do it are two seperate things. I appreciate you are very young and less experienced when it comes to the practicalities of driving, but it isn't always the pleasurable pursuit that it might seem. I'm sure that when you have passed your driving test you'll soon see that it isn't all fun and can become a chore.

I rarely drive on motorways, and deliberately so. Especially at peak times. However, the practicalities of the situation do not always allow such decicions. In this case, my passenger has a physical problem that makes it difficult for her to be comfortable in the car. Driving down winding, undulating country roads, whilst fun for me, would be no fun for her. She certainly would not have enjoyed her day doped up to the eyeballs on even more painkillers and anti-inflamatories.

There are villages, towns and cities to negotiate. They generally have lower speed limits, and work and school runs make towns and villages congested too. Combine that with limited overtaking opportunites when stuck behind slower vehicles etc and time savings are certainly not guaranteed.

My complaint still stands. Our roads cannot cope with peak time traffic flows. That has a lot to do with expecting the majority of the populous to travel to work and drop kids at school at similar times in a country with an ever expanding population, many of whom need or want to travel by car. 73.8 miles in two hours and 10 minutes on major motorway routes with no sign of broken down vehicles or accidents is pretty dire.

Rant over.

[TheInsanity1234]

Without wanting to sound rude, wanting to do something and being able to do it are two seperate things. I appreciate you are very young and less experienced when it comes to the practicalities of driving, but it isn't always the pleasurable pursuit that it might seem. I'm sure that when you have passed your driving test you'll soon see that it isn't all fun and can become a chore.

I rarely drive on motorways, and deliberately so. Especially at peak times. However, the practicalities of the situation do not always allow such decicions. In this case, my passenger has a physical problem that makes it difficult for her to be comfortable in the car. Driving down winding, undulating country roads, whilst fun for me, would be no fun for her. She certainly would not have enjoyed her day doped up to the eyeballs on even more painkillers and anti-inflamatories.

There are villages, towns and cities to negotiate. They generally have lower speed limits, and work and school runs make towns and villages congested too. Combine that with limited overtaking opportunites when stuck behind slower vehicles etc and time savings are certainly not guaranteed.

My complaint still stands. Our roads cannot cope with peak time traffic flows. That has a lot to do with expecting the majority of the populous to travel to work and drop kids at school at similar times in a country with an ever expanding population, many of whom need or want to travel by car. 73.8 miles in two hours and 10 minutes on major motorway routes with no sign of broken down vehicles or accidents is pretty dire.

Rant over.

I appreciate that it's not always a pleasurable task, and I appreciate that it's not always practical.

That's why I said I'd aim to avoid major routes. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to do it every single journey. And I also appreciate that motorways can be amazingly quick when they're not busy. For instance, the journey from my house here in Berkshire to my friend's house in Essex is merely a 2 1/2 hour journey when we go along the M4, M25 and the A127 whilst clear. This would not be possible if we were to drive along the small winding routes alongside the M4, then tried to circulate the centre of London, then tried to drive to Southend without once using the A127 or the A13.

But apart from that, your rant is entirely true and I can definitely relate to it.

[Gromit37]

Sorry about the rant. Can't help myself sometimes. It wasn't a dig at you.

Most of my driving at the moment is either for fun, or just to go shopping. I can't say I'm looking forward to joining the rat race again if it means coping with rush hour traffic. It would drive me mad

[TheInsanity1234]

Sorry about the rant. Can't help myself sometimes. It wasn't a dig at you.

Nah, it's alright! We all need a rant every now and then

Most of my driving at the moment is either for fun, or just to go shopping. I can't say I'm looking forward to joining the rat race again if it means coping with rush hour traffic. It would drive me mad

Move out into the sticks and get a job where the commute can be done on a minimum of 3 different routes?

I know for sure the commute between here and my school is probably the best school run we've had in ages.

13-odd miles, happily done in 20 minutes on the back roads, and if it's chilly, then we're on a main road so we can easily get on to the M4 for safety.