Brits are the biggest Slowpokes in the World:-)

[teamzr1]

London is the world's slowest city for drivers with traffic crawling at an average of just 10mph - because of its widespread 20mph speed limits, a study claimed today.
Drivers took 37 minutes and 20 seconds to cover just 6.2 miles (10km) in the city last year - a minute longer than in 2022, according to satellite navigation firm TomTom.

It comes amid London Mayor Sadiq Khan's extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone last year and Low Traffic Neighborhoods, which can land drivers with fines.
And TomTom claimed that the 20mph limits, which were also expanded last year, may have led to an increase in greenhouse gases due to the longer journey times.

The world's second-slowest city center is Dublin, with 6.2-mile trips typically taking 29 minutes and 30 seconds. It was followed by Toronto, Canada (29 minutes); Milan, Italy (28 minutes and 50 seconds); and Lima, Peru (28 minutes and 30 seconds).
Stephanie Leonard, TomTom's head of government and regulatory affairs, stated: 'London really is the slowest place in the world to drive a car.

 

[Roscobbc]

Quite possibly slower in London today than it was 100 plus years ago when it was mainly horse drawn traffic. And we've simply swapped one high level of breathable pollution for another.......

 

[Pitre]

I know this thread is titled with a smiley but in fairness this survey talks about London, not Britain
It's a bit like saying all Americans are mental because they may elect Trump...

 

[curious bystander]

Many people think Trump is a better bet than the present incumbant It is amazing that the USA can't come up with two better candidates, although you could argue it's no better in the UK

No more politics this is a car club

 

[Pitre]

No more politics this is a car club

Quite right. My apologies.

 

[teamzr1]

I know this thread is titled with a smiley but in fairness this survey talks about London, not Britain
It's a bit like saying all Americans are mental because they may elect Trump...

They did label it as country of world but aside from that forcing 20 MPH when roads are designed for higher speeds was a waste of the road design
But really this is about any government on purpose forcing as much crap onto the driving public just so they throw away their vehicles and go back to walking as transportation
Just think of the direction of world turns where all your clean air goes to

I guess I just do not understand speed limits of 20 MPH when I am used to 55-75 MPH plus speeds

 

[Pitre]

Provocative post = provocative response. No more politics.

 

[antijam]

Extract from Time magazine online:-
A nine-mile trip from the airport in Dhaka, the bustling capital of Bangladesh, to Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed Park, near downtown, can take as long as 55 minutes, according to Google Maps.
A trip of the same distance in Flint, Michigan, from the airport to the Sloan Museum of Discovery, takes about nine minutes."

....and where were the first Corvettes built? ----- Nine miles in nine minutes equates to 60mph - I guess the citizens of Flint just have that 'need for speed'......

 

[Nassau65]

Well, it took me two hours to do 12 miles yesterday. Central London EC4 back to Enfield. Left at 15:30 got home 17:45. I felt like Brian the snail.

 

[Roscobbc]

Well, it took me two hours to do 12 miles yesterday. Central London EC4 back to Enfield. Left at 15:30 got home 17:45. I felt like Brian the snail.

The very anthesis of driving a modern low emission vehicle - tha 2 hour 12 mile journey should at the worst taken an hour (allowing for congestion and obligatory 20 mph speed limits).........so you low pollution vehicle doubles the amount of particulates and noxious gages emitted due to poor traffic management!

 

[Nassau65]

Yep, sitting in nose to tail traffic at times going nowhere pumping out exhaust gases. All the cut throughs are now Low traffic neighbourhoods which you will be heavily fined if you enter. Not pleasant driving in London anymore I’m afraid.

 

[Roscobbc]

Yep, sitting in nose to tail traffic at times going nowhere pumping out exhaust gases. All the cut throughs are now Low traffic neighbourhoods which you will be heavily fined if you enter. Not pleasant driving in London anymore I’m afraid.

But that is exactly what is being tried to do to us all - make it difficult/expensive/unpleasant/time consuming to get anywhere. When working I would be in London 3/4 days a week - occasionally at weekends (a few years back virtually every weekend) - haven't driven in central London since Covid.
Last Saturday, late morning (for the first time in about 2/3 years) we used the Darford crossing to pop down to Sevenoaks to collect something for 'er indoors.
Later in the afternoon we returned via the Dartford crossing (this time Northbound) and there were signs-up noting an 'incident'.
All southbound traffic was being held, (and seemed to have been so for an hour or so previously). There was a large tarpaulin spead over what appeared to be a body in one of the traffic lanes about 1/2 mile past the tunnel exit. Seems as though a 31 year old man had fallen or jumped-off a footbridge crossing the motorway about .
I know police will have to wait for a forensic investigation team to arrive, and I'm really sorry for the next of kin, but this major road wasn't re-opened until later in the evening (perhaps after 8pm?). How can it take close to 8 hours to clear the scene?
The point I am getting to is that traffic management is so poor in the UK that it seems to me that just in this tiny corner of the UK every day there are multiple 'incidents', often involving commercial vehicles where the roads are closed - I repeat every day, often several times a day. Multiply it by the numbers of 'incidents' in other parts of the country and its surprising we manage to travel anywhere in the UK.
And BTW during the above 'incident' all southbound traffic was eventually being re-directed via the A13 and through the Blackwall Tunnel........raising the scenario where non-compliant vehicles would possibly be 'tagged' for ULEZ and LEZ charges.............you just couldn't make it all up could you?

 

[Invetterate]

They did label it as country of world but aside from that forcing 20 MPH when roads are designed for higher speeds was a waste of the road design
But really this is about any government on purpose forcing as much crap onto the driving public just so they throw away their vehicles and go back to walking as transportation
Just think of the direction of world turns where all your clean air goes to

I guess I just do not understand speed limits of 20 MPH when I am used to 55-75 MPH plus speeds

The 20mph limits are only in some parts of some towns and are not unreasonable in many cases due to traffic and pedestrian volumes. The US has 20 mph limits around schools does it not? This is a great idea as is the no passing of school buses when they are unloading children. Fantastic idea - but it slows down traffic precisely because it needs to. Perhaps best not to talk about safety in schools in America, though..... Britain is like most countries with different regions having different levels of population density. In the US you have both Montana and Manhattan, if you see what I mean and the same is true in the UK. The difference is that we have virtually the population of the two most populous states [California and Texas] in a country smaller than Michigan. It sure is pretty is many places though!!

 

[Roscobbc]

The 20mph limits are only in some parts of some towns and are not unreasonable in many cases due to traffic and pedestrian volumes. The US has 20 mph limits around schools does it not? This is a great idea as is the no passing of school buses when they are unloading children. Fantastic idea - but it slows down traffic precisely because it needs to. Perhaps best not to talk about safety in schools in America, though..... Britain is like most countries with different regions having different levels of population density. In the US you have both Montana and Manhattan, if you see what I mean and the same is true in the UK. The difference is that we have virtually the population of the two most populous states [California and Texas] in a country smaller than Michigan. It sure is pretty is many places though!!

Agree with Mark generally about 20 mph speed limits.........certainly in school zones and high streets where there is a high level of pedestrian activity........however just like the 24/7 exclusion for most other traffic we see operating in bus lanes - why? when the majority of buses don't run 24/7 - (except perhaps 'night buses')
The answer would surely be (as per American School Zones) for timed 'active' 20 mph zones operating under local control and/or CCTV monitoring.

 

[Invetterate]

Agree with Mark generally about 20 mph speed limits.........certainly in school zones and high streets where there is a high level of pedestrian activity........however just like the 24/7 exclusion for most other traffic we see operating in bus lanes - why? when the majority of buses don't run 24/7 - (except perhaps 'night buses')
The answer would surely be (as per American School Zones) for timed 'active' 20 mph zones operating under local control and/or CCTV monitoring.

Good points, Ross. Would also like to see the same thing that they have in France i.e. a mandatory reduction in motorway speed limit when it rains. Universal and indisputable - might stop at least some of the ridiculous number of tail-ending "accidents" we see jamming everything up!

 

[teamzr1]

The 20mph limits are only in some parts of some towns and are not unreasonable in many cases due to traffic and pedestrian volumes. The US has 20 mph limits around schools does it not? This is a great idea as is the no passing of school buses when they are unloading children. Fantastic idea - but it slows down traffic precisely because it needs to. Perhaps best not to talk about safety in schools in America, though..... Britain is like most countries with different regions having different levels of population density. In the US you have both Montana and Manhattan, if you see what I mean and the same is true in the UK. The difference is that we have virtually the population of the two most populous states [California and Texas] in a country smaller than Michigan. It sure is pretty is many places though!!

School zones in the USA are only 20 MPH when kids coming or leaving school, not 24/7
My point still was this 20 MPH in the UK s reported above by a UK paper is only to drive people like they are cattle
Many roads really can handle higher speeds than lead to believe

In Open Road Racing I did for many years went through cornet from 80 to 130 MPH and all other areas over 200 MPH
Here, some years ago in my 1994 ZR-1 at the Silverstate Classic out of Nevada, 100 Miles in many off camber corners
that going so fast cannot tell in video when I made turns

Pony Express 100 ORR also out of NV put on by 2 time Indy 500 winner Rodger Ward

 

[Nassau65]

I think it’s probably the same in all London Boroughs, just too many cars fighting for road space.
It’s certainly like that in the north/east /west boroughs unfortunately.