Driving In London
Discussion
I have an occupation that gives me the enormous pleasure of working and driving in London on a daily basis.
I have no choice unfortunately due to the nature of my role ..I'm building the fibre optic network and need large pieces of equipment and cable drums etc.
I can be anywhere from Hackney to Heathrow and my entire life is spent in traffic filled roads sitting in awful queues etc.
My main issue seems to be the constant traffic jams of local residents that could easily look for alternative transport methods freeing the roads for users that have no choice to deliver essential goods and services.
Obviously school runs add a lot to this but we have an amazing rail/tube/bus network that cuts journey times easily.
If I lived in one of these traffic filled boroughs I seriously think the grief of driving and just crawling everywhere would stop me owning a vehicle.
I'm not asking for all residents to sell their cars but it seems a lot of unnecessary journeys occur where public transport options are better.
How much of a headache is it for the residents of Hackney Camden and Islington etc to sit in traffic every time you pop out in the car?
london will never be free flowing and I guess there will never be an easy journey through the capital with low traffic neighbourhoods and 20mph limits.
whats the answer guys.
I have no choice unfortunately due to the nature of my role ..I'm building the fibre optic network and need large pieces of equipment and cable drums etc.
I can be anywhere from Hackney to Heathrow and my entire life is spent in traffic filled roads sitting in awful queues etc.
My main issue seems to be the constant traffic jams of local residents that could easily look for alternative transport methods freeing the roads for users that have no choice to deliver essential goods and services.
Obviously school runs add a lot to this but we have an amazing rail/tube/bus network that cuts journey times easily.
If I lived in one of these traffic filled boroughs I seriously think the grief of driving and just crawling everywhere would stop me owning a vehicle.
I'm not asking for all residents to sell their cars but it seems a lot of unnecessary journeys occur where public transport options are better.
How much of a headache is it for the residents of Hackney Camden and Islington etc to sit in traffic every time you pop out in the car?
london will never be free flowing and I guess there will never be an easy journey through the capital with low traffic neighbourhoods and 20mph limits.
whats the answer guys.
Deanno1dad said:
I have an occupation that gives me the enormous pleasure of working and driving in London on a daily basis.
I have no choice unfortunately due to the nature of my role ..I'm building the fibre optic network and need large pieces of equipment and cable drums etc.
I can be anywhere from Hackney to Heathrow and my entire life is spent in traffic filled roads sitting in awful queues etc.
My main issue seems to be the constant traffic jams of local residents that could easily look for alternative transport methods freeing the roads for users that have no choice to deliver essential goods and services.
Obviously school runs add a lot to this but we have an amazing rail/tube/bus network that cuts journey times easily.
If I lived in one of these traffic filled boroughs I seriously think the grief of driving and just crawling everywhere would stop me owning a vehicle.
I'm not asking for all residents to sell their cars but it seems a lot of unnecessary journeys occur where public transport options are better.
How much of a headache is it for the residents of Hackney Camden and Islington etc to sit in traffic every time you pop out in the car?
london will never be free flowing and I guess there will never be an easy journey through the capital with low traffic neighbourhoods and 20mph limits.
whats the answer guys.
Ask Sadiq Khan, they love him down there and he has a very simple method for traffic management.I have no choice unfortunately due to the nature of my role ..I'm building the fibre optic network and need large pieces of equipment and cable drums etc.
I can be anywhere from Hackney to Heathrow and my entire life is spent in traffic filled roads sitting in awful queues etc.
My main issue seems to be the constant traffic jams of local residents that could easily look for alternative transport methods freeing the roads for users that have no choice to deliver essential goods and services.
Obviously school runs add a lot to this but we have an amazing rail/tube/bus network that cuts journey times easily.
If I lived in one of these traffic filled boroughs I seriously think the grief of driving and just crawling everywhere would stop me owning a vehicle.
I'm not asking for all residents to sell their cars but it seems a lot of unnecessary journeys occur where public transport options are better.
How much of a headache is it for the residents of Hackney Camden and Islington etc to sit in traffic every time you pop out in the car?
london will never be free flowing and I guess there will never be an easy journey through the capital with low traffic neighbourhoods and 20mph limits.
whats the answer guys.
1) There's a human tendency to see other drivers as unnecessarily clogging up the roads, getting in the way of those who 'really need' to be there. The parent in the car behind you is probably thinking "I have to be here now to get little Timmy to school on time, but why can't that guy in the telecoms van work off-peak to reduce traffic?"
2) Lots and lots of people in the areas you're talking about do indeed walk, cycle and use public transport. If everyone drove, things would be much worse. Traffic is a self-regulating system - if it got a bit better, then driving would become a quicker and more attractive option and more people would drive. If it gets worse, it persuades a few more people to travel at another time or by another means. So in busy areas at busy times it will always be just on the threshold of bearable.
3) The person who's driving in rush hour might be a nurse who'll be coming off shift at 4am in the morning, and need a quicker, safer, surer option that waiting for a night bus. Or they're picking someone up on the way to a destination less well served by public transport. Or they're doing the weekly shop and don't fancy carrying 30kg of shopping back in a couple of carrier bags to the bus stop. Just like you, everyone has their own reason why driving makes sense to them, despite the traffic.
the problem is, most journeys are viewed as essential to the person doing them. Im not sure many people go for a drive in London for the pleasure of it.
Some might argue that fiber optics isnt essential, others might, some might say the school run is, others might not.
the last time i drove in london was 30 years ago, and you couldnt make me drive there again for anything. But i dont live there.
As said, maybe you could work nights.
Some might argue that fiber optics isnt essential, others might, some might say the school run is, others might not.
the last time i drove in london was 30 years ago, and you couldnt make me drive there again for anything. But i dont live there.
As said, maybe you could work nights.
I used to live in Sutton in the late 90s and it seemed busy then, but thankfully my job took me away from there in 2000 when my employer moved from Victoria to Windsor.
My sister still lives there and whenever I'm there I find it so frustrating sitting at traffic lights and in queues to go a couple of miles in 20 minutes.
I can't imagine what it must be like in a more central part, but they do have the benefit of much better public transport than the outer Boroughs.
Sutton to Windsor by train would have taken the best part of 2 hours via Clapham Junction!
My sister still lives there and whenever I'm there I find it so frustrating sitting at traffic lights and in queues to go a couple of miles in 20 minutes.
I can't imagine what it must be like in a more central part, but they do have the benefit of much better public transport than the outer Boroughs.
Sutton to Windsor by train would have taken the best part of 2 hours via Clapham Junction!
You get used to it. You learn all the rat runs. I have a pretty good idea of the areas/junctions locally to avoid and do my best to avoid them.
I will drive out of my way to avoid the traffic.
There are certain journeys I won't do at certain times of the day and either won't go or will take a tube.
Generally I get around ok
I find the traffic in other cities (e.g. Bristol) worse when I visit, probably as I don't know how to avoid it
I will drive out of my way to avoid the traffic.
There are certain journeys I won't do at certain times of the day and either won't go or will take a tube.
Generally I get around ok
I find the traffic in other cities (e.g. Bristol) worse when I visit, probably as I don't know how to avoid it
For me, a car in London is generally for leaving / returning to London. So, weekends away.
For within London, it would take a lot of problems with tubes, trains for me to take my car in preference. Maybe v early morning? Pre-tube.
Tonight I got to a gig and back (Borough to Hackney https://earthackney.co.uk) without consciously thinking about transport. Tube and bus there - 30 mins. Bus home, 30 mins, plus 10 mins walk.
Oh, the citymapper app is one reason why public transport doesn't trouble me. That, and feeling that if it all goes to hell, I can get a cab. Also, being a bloke, and comfortable on night buses etc helps too.
For within London, it would take a lot of problems with tubes, trains for me to take my car in preference. Maybe v early morning? Pre-tube.
Tonight I got to a gig and back (Borough to Hackney https://earthackney.co.uk) without consciously thinking about transport. Tube and bus there - 30 mins. Bus home, 30 mins, plus 10 mins walk.
Oh, the citymapper app is one reason why public transport doesn't trouble me. That, and feeling that if it all goes to hell, I can get a cab. Also, being a bloke, and comfortable on night buses etc helps too.
London officially has the record of some of the worst traffic of any city on the planet. This isn't a new thing either. It's been crap for a really long time.
https://www.tomtom.com/newsroom/explainers-and-ins...
Oh and you do have a choice. If you don't want to waste hours of your life in urban traffic jams, find a different job!
https://www.tomtom.com/newsroom/explainers-and-ins...
Oh and you do have a choice. If you don't want to waste hours of your life in urban traffic jams, find a different job!
valiant said:
Gericho said:
Ask Sadiq Khan, they love him down there and he has a very simple method for traffic management.
Ahhh, I remember the days of no terrible traffic before Sadiq…Oh wait, it’s always been s
t since horses pulled carts around the city.But yes, all Kahn fault
Edited by Type R Tom on Tuesday 5th November 06:24
Deanno1dad said:
...
whats the answer guys.
Stop trying to control it. whats the answer guys.
The travel needs of 10 million people are too complex a problem to be solved by micromanagement. Especially by the sort of people who would want to do the managing. But sadly it seems that every idiot born is convinced that all would be well if everyone else just did as they told them. And every time their "solutions" make it worse they conclude that more control is the answer.
Did you ever travel your usual route after a night of torrential rain has taken out some traffic lights? Were the usual queues worse, or gone?
CABC said:
A lot of Uber drivers with no passengers circling.
Most actual Londoners don’t drive around London. There’s a lot of assumptions in the op.
When I was a van courier/taxi driver in London through the 80s, you could park up anywhere whilst waiting for a job and not be bothered by proper traffic wardens.Most actual Londoners don’t drive around London. There’s a lot of assumptions in the op.
But yes, now you have to circulate or risk a fine.
CraigyMc said:
If you're sitting in a vehicle in traffic, you are the traffic.
This. There has been an exponential rise in van traffic in London. Everywhere you go there are vans galore with trades and delivery people. Add in traffic controls, and Red Kens traffic light controls and it's a recipe for slow traffic.I think the biggest problem in London are the SDD - Snivelling Douche Drivers who make up 60-70% of road users. These Snivelling Douche Drivers are the ones making multiple lane changes every hundred metres just to get one car length ahead and in doing so they slow all lanes of traffic down. They are never in the correct lane and will "go up the outside, just to cut in".
vikingaero said:
This. There has been an exponential rise in van traffic in London. Everywhere you go there are vans galore with trades and delivery people. Add in traffic controls, and Red Kens traffic light controls and it's a recipe for slow traffic.
I think the biggest problem in London are the SDD - Snivelling Douche Drivers who make up 60-70% of road users. These Snivelling Douche Drivers are the ones making multiple lane changes every hundred metres just to get one car length ahead and in doing so they slow all lanes of traffic down. They are never in the correct lane and will "go up the outside, just to cut in".
They should prohibit vans for deliveries and just use drones to make deliveries. I think the biggest problem in London are the SDD - Snivelling Douche Drivers who make up 60-70% of road users. These Snivelling Douche Drivers are the ones making multiple lane changes every hundred metres just to get one car length ahead and in doing so they slow all lanes of traffic down. They are never in the correct lane and will "go up the outside, just to cut in".
Oh what delicious irony.
A man who is responsible for creating a significant proportion of the chaos is moaning about the chaos he's helped to create.
When they installed fibre in our village it was the worst organised, worst executed, most chaotic thing I have ever witnessed. Zero notice given to residents. Many places dug up 3 or more separate times (including outside our house). With proper planning and decent execution, it could have been finished in a quarter of the time.
A man who is responsible for creating a significant proportion of the chaos is moaning about the chaos he's helped to create.
When they installed fibre in our village it was the worst organised, worst executed, most chaotic thing I have ever witnessed. Zero notice given to residents. Many places dug up 3 or more separate times (including outside our house). With proper planning and decent execution, it could have been finished in a quarter of the time.
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