ADUK Archive

Yesterday for the first time in some 8 years I drove into and around central London, to meet and spend the day with some road enthusiasts, the driving experience was actually quite enjoyable.

In comparison to previous London driving experiences this time it was more relaxed and other traffic more polite, and not such an arrogant race.

Of course as it was a Saturday the traffic levels were have been much less than the normal Monday to Friday level, and no congestion change .

I think much of the relaxed and polite behaviour is down to the sheer level of camera enforcement of bus lanes, speed limits, and yellow box grids, as I could see that people were being quite careful not to speed, go in a bus lane or get stranded on a yellow grid.

Tower Bridge has a 20mph limit enforced by average speed cameras! The Rotherhithe Tunnel also has a 20mph limit but I'm not sure if it has cameras though.

It was not at all like the old days where the one-way systems around Aldgate were like racetracks. (during the weekends as they’re too congested during the week)

I know there have been various posts here about advice for driving in London, but would anyone do it for pleasure, a challenge, to test yourself and/or your nerves?

Maybe you think it's not right to drive in to London on environmental grounds?

Would be interested on the opinions of others?

I do it to earn a living. I find adopting a Zen like attitude to your driving helps greatly!

I've driven to and around London quite a lot, of course if you miss the racetrack feel then jump in a black cab, they know where all the speed cameras are and as time is money, they'll generally get you there at a respectable pace.

Fortunately, the tube being as good as it is means that I very rarely feel the need to drive through the city as there's very rarely anywhere to park when you arrive!

golf_driver wrote:Fortunately, the tube being as good as it is means that I very rarely feel the need to drive through the city as there's very rarely anywhere to park when you arrive!

These are my thoughts entirely and I've always opted not to drive in London as, imho, there is a much better alternative with far less hassle. The tube is reasonably priced, very frequently served, and has pretty much full coverage. I'd say it was reliable too, although my last experience there coincided with the lines served by Paddington underground being closed due to a signalling fault

Chris

I drove around London recently sightseeing for a couple of hours early on a Sunday morning. Practically had the roads to myself, and the Houses Of Parliament looked awesome as the sun came up (it was a beautiful clear day). Other than that I'd stay away in a car. Ride my bike around occasionally just for the hell of it and that's great fun.

There is, of course, the old proposed London street GP track. Definitely not one to try at rush hour, but a nice lap...

ScoobyChris wrote:The tube is reasonably priced, very frequently served, and has pretty much full coverage. I'd say it was reliable too, although my last experience there coincided with the lines served by Paddington underground being closed due to a signalling fault

Chris

Try the Metro systems elsewhere in Europe (Prague is a nice example) for cheaper fares, cleaner and newer trains, fewer delays and less crowding. The fact our Underground keeps running is a miracle, considering the traffic it carries, but it could hardly be called a good example to the rest of the world, nowadays ...

This is how reasonably priced it is: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/ja ... ortintheuk

I don't know of a metro system in the world that carries as many in such a short space of time. And those fares are *cash* fares.

Duh. Get with the programme. Save yourself 2 quid a journey and let the authorities track your every movement.

It's a tax on visitors too lazy to order an Oystercard.
Welcome to London. Now get out of it's way.

[quote="7db"]
It's a tax on visitors too lazy to order an Oystercard.
Welcome to London. Now get out of it's way.[/quote]

lol... love that. I also love my Oystercard, it is a very handy way of getting about. Yes it get crowded, but they're already pushing trains through every two minutes or so, I don't know what else they can do.

Ah, how I miss London... please move right down inside the carriage.

Fortunately, I'm there next week.

golf_driver wrote: don't know what else they can do.

[...]

Fortunately, I'm there next week.

More tunnels! The people who bash the underground system often forget that a large part of it is over one hundred years old and the rest of it is not much younger! The Metropolitan Railway opened in the 1860's and bits have been added on ever since. What we need is more tunnels, I tells ya!

Also what could help is re-opening some of the abandoned stations. In some cases, two stations (an abandoned one and an adjacent in-use one) could be made into one huge station, thus making it less crowded and giving better possibilities to put trains into queues whilst letting passengers board the queuing one.

There is a fascinating website here about derelict tube stations.

I enjoy driving, which is one explanation why I've never driven in London

Big Err wrote:I enjoy driving, which is one explanation why I've never driven in London

I enjoy driving and some of my best days have been driving in London - but I was in a 26 tonne truck