England

Just came back from a week vacation in England. I had to use a
airline voucher which was soon expiring plus a hundred some dollars.
It was given to me by CO a year ago on the day we invaded Iraq.
Pentagon drafted so many jets from the carriers it threw their
schedules out of whack CO over booked and I volunteered to give up my
seat for the next flight for the $500 voucher. The rest of the family
actually paid close to $200 cheaper ($474 RT) for tickets just a week
prior to departure.

It was our first time to the UK. Didn't think much of England before
we went. It is an island. I thought we must go sometimes. Why not
now? So we did. But it was an eye opener. We actually enjoyed the
trip very much. It would have been much nicer weren't the depressed
greenbacks made everything so expensive. On top of the fact London is
one of the most expensive cities in the world we later learned and the
British economy is doing extremely well we also learned after the
trip.

Some random thoughts...

Is there speed limit on the motorways? I didn't see one. Although it
was not my first time driving on the wrong side of the road, I kept my
lead foot light on the pedal. The 1.4L little Vauxhall I rented
didn't help either. But it has more prep than I anticipated with 5
speed. The Brits whizzed by me one after another. The English
motorways are very well kept. Drivers are typically more sensible.
You rarely see anyone on crawl speed but hogs the passing lane like so
many of us do in the US.

Another thing I thought would never work in the US is the roundabout.
Almost all intersections in the countryside are roundabouts. In the
US it almost certainly means disaster. I think less traffic is the
reason. With gasoline prices 3 to 4 times that in the States, there
are less cars and people drive less. Drivers know to either slow down
or stop when approaching a roundabout depending on on-coming traffic
in the roundabout so no traffic signalling is required. While in the
States the last remaining few roundabouts are traffic nightmares and
soon be dismantled.

The cars on the road are on average in better shape than those on this
side of the pond. They may have a more strigent vehicle inspection
program is my guess. In the course of one week, we saw a Ferrari in
Widsor and a Lamborghini in London. Notably absent are the behemoth
SUV's so popular in the US.

There is so much history and they kept it up extrodinarily well.
Stonehenge alone is worth the trip. Here a house over 40 year old is
old. Over there many buildings go back centuries. I wonder which is
better. Here we have a consumer housing industry which makes
everything replaceable between 5 to 25 years. So a home owner has to
maintain his house year around. And it help drives the economy. Take
roofing for example, almost every roof in England is built of terra
cotta or slate tiles. I have not seen an asphalt shingle tiled roof
in England. The Brits naturally don't go over the roof after 20 years
like we do ours.

The use of close circuit TV on the streets of London surprises me.
The car rental company told me when I picked up my car if I ventured
into a congestion zone within the city proper of London, I have to pay
5 pounds of congestion charge and it is monitored by CCTV. I don't
think it will work here. There is tax for almost everything and
parking fee almost everywhere. VAT is 17.5%. On highway rest stops,
you pay parking after two hours.

Went to a family resturant in our town a week after coming home. When
our order came, we all smiled at one another. The portions are big,
the way we are used to in America, land of the plentiful. But is it
good for our health? Who cares. After diggin in, we all bagged the
leftovers for our two dogs. And when the bill came, we paid less in
dollars than a comparable resturant in England with sterlings.

It is a bad time to go to England and good to be home.

Yaofeng wrote:
Is there speed limit on the motorways?

70 mph!

lg Gernot

"Yaofeng" wrote in message
om...
....
Some random thoughts...

Is there speed limit on the motorways?

Yes - 70 mph for a car without a trailer.

I didn't see one.

The white circle with a black diagonal line through it means 'National speed
limit applies'.

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/signs04.shtml

The national speed limit varies according to the type of vehicle and class
of road.

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/09.shtml#103

On part of the M25, signs over the motorway can show lower limits, which
vary according to the traffic density.

In practice, a lot of cars will be exceeding the speed limit. The
Association of Chief Police Officers have issued guidelines that, if
speeding is the only offence, drivers should not normally be prosecuted
unless they are driving at the speed limit + 10% + 2mph or more. The speed
cameras are usually set in accordance with these guidelines.

.....
Drivers are typically more sensible.
You rarely see anyone on crawl speed but hogs the passing lane like so
many of us do in the US.

You were lucky. Outside lane dawdlers do exist.

Another thing I thought would never work in the US is the roundabout.
Almost all intersections in the countryside are roundabouts. In the
US it almost certainly means disaster. I think less traffic is the
reason.

Britain is one of the most densly populated countries in the world and has a
correspondingly high traffic density, particularly in the rural areas. The
French use roundabouts quite a lot and, a few years ago, adopted the British
system of giving priority to traffic in the roundabout, rather than the
previous priority from the right. They particularly like to put roundabouts
at the entry into towns, as they can be sure that traffic will then slow
down.

With gasoline prices 3 to 4 times that in the States, there
are less cars and people drive less. Drivers know to either slow down
or stop when approaching a roundabout depending on on-coming traffic
in the roundabout so no traffic signalling is required.

You will find exceptions to that, especially on roundabouts that give access
to motorways. Often the signals are part-time, working only during peak
times. Roundabouts only work within a certain range of traffic densities.

The cars on the road are on average in better shape than those on this
side of the pond. They may have a more strigent vehicle inspection
program is my guess.

We call it the MoT (Ministry of Transport) test.

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/carlgvow...mottesting.htm

In the course of one week, we saw a Ferrari in
Widsor and a Lamborghini in London. Notably absent are the behemoth
SUV's so popular in the US.

Our roads aren't big enough for a Hummer to fit on comfortably, but the
number of 4x4 vehicles has grown enormously over the past decade or so. I
like the view you get from them.

There is so much history and they kept it up extrodinarily well.

We have a system of listing old buildings and regulations covering their
maintenance. We also have conservation areas, where all the buildings inside
the area have some control exercised over them.

Stonehenge alone is worth the trip. Here a house over 40 year old is
old. Over there many buildings go back centuries. I wonder which is
better. Here we have a consumer housing industry which makes
everything replaceable between 5 to 25 years. So a home owner has to
maintain his house year around. And it help drives the economy. Take
roofing for example, almost every roof in England is built of terra
cotta or slate tiles.

In London, that is due to the regulations brought in after the Great Fire.

I have not seen an asphalt shingle tiled roof
in England. The Brits naturally don't go over the roof after 20 years
like we do ours.

Mine is coming up for renewal, as the tiles are becoming porous. The house
was built in 1931 and, having mostly lived in 19th century houses before, I
consider that fairly modern.

The use of close circuit TV on the streets of London surprises me.

The figures show that CCTV cuts crime where it is installed. It is less
clear whether it simply moves the crime elsewhere. There are strict
guidelines on its use in public places.

http://www.informationcommissioner.g...l.aspx?id=5739

Glad you enjoyed the trip.

Colin Bignell

Is there speed limit on the motorways?

70 mph!


Yeah but everyone ignores it..

Gernot Egger wrote in message
...
Yaofeng wrote:
Is there speed limit on the motorways?

70 mph!


Oh, is it? :-))

Surreyman

"Yaofeng" wrote in message
om...

It was our first time to the UK. Didn't think much of England before
we went. It is an island.

pedant mode England isn't an Island. It's just one country in Great
Britain, which is the name of the island.

I thought we must go sometimes. Why not
now? So we did. But it was an eye opener. We actually enjoyed the
trip very much. It would have been much nicer weren't the depressed
greenbacks made everything so expensive. On top of the fact London is
one of the most expensive cities in the world we later learned and the
British economy is doing extremely well we also learned after the
trip.

Wouldn't know about the economy! But your right, London is very expensive
compared with elsewhere in the UK. However for foreign tourists that is all
they are likely to see.

Some random thoughts...

Is there speed limit on the motorways? I didn't see one.

Yes. It's not explicity written on the roads, but the speed limit is 70mph
on dual carridgeways (divided highways) and 60mph on single carridgeways,
unless indicated otherwise. If there are street lights on a single
carridgeway road the limit is 30mph unless stated.

For the most part on motorways traffic ignores the 70mph limit and travels
around 80-85mph. Common belief is that police won't stop you and speed
cameras won't get you unless you are travelling 85 or more.

Although it
was not my first time driving on the wrong side of the road, I kept my
lead foot light on the pedal. The 1.4L little Vauxhall I rented
didn't help either.

Was it an Astra? The 1.4 model of that is rather sluggish, so I can see your
problem.

But it has more prep than I anticipated with 5
speed.

People are always saying that Vauxhalls are terrible cars but I think they
are quite decent cars.

The Brits whizzed by me one after another. The English
motorways are very well kept. Drivers are typically more sensible.
You rarely see anyone on crawl speed but hogs the passing lane like so
many of us do in the US.

Lane discipline is well kept to here which was I suprise when I went the
other way and drove in the United States. The biggest problem here is
drivers sitting in the middle lane no matter what speed are they are doing.
If you are dawdling in the outside lane you are more likely to get someone
flashing their lights at you than undertaking you (which is dangerous as
drivers do not expect it to happen)

Another thing I thought would never work in the US is the roundabout.
Almost all intersections in the countryside are roundabouts. In the
US it almost certainly means disaster. I think less traffic is the
reason. With gasoline prices 3 to 4 times that in the States, there
are less cars and people drive less.

I haven't got exact figures to hand, but you'll find the capacity of a
roundabout intersection is greater than the same one controlled by lights
and it allows quicker passage of traffic. Don't know about less cars, I
would guess that is the case.

Drivers know to either slow down
or stop when approaching a roundabout depending on on-coming traffic
in the roundabout so no traffic signalling is required. While in the
States the last remaining few roundabouts are traffic nightmares and
soon be dismantled.

Why do drivers not stick to the rules of roundabouts in the USA? They are
used all over Europe without problems.

The cars on the road are on average in better shape than those on this
side of the pond. They may have a more strigent vehicle inspection
program is my guess. In the course of one week, we saw a Ferrari in
Widsor and a Lamborghini in London. Notably absent are the behemoth
SUV's so popular in the US.

In general cars are much smaller in the UK. We don't tend to get the big
SUV's. Road space and fuel prices are the factors. We do have a very strict
vehicle inspection regime, called the MOT, all cars over 3 years old must
undergo a full check every year. Does the USA not have a similar scheme?

There is so much history and they kept it up extrodinarily well.
Stonehenge alone is worth the trip. Here a house over 40 year old is
old. Over there many buildings go back centuries. I wonder which is
better. Here we have a consumer housing industry which makes
everything replaceable between 5 to 25 years. So a home owner has to
maintain his house year around. And it help drives the economy. Take
roofing for example, almost every roof in England is built of terra
cotta or slate tiles. I have not seen an asphalt shingle tiled roof
in England. The Brits naturally don't go over the roof after 20 years
like we do ours.

I guess not. I live on an estate where the houses were built in 1936. They
are regared as relatively new is this area.

The use of close circuit TV on the streets of London surprises me.
The car rental company told me when I picked up my car if I ventured
into a congestion zone within the city proper of London, I have to pay
5 pounds of congestion charge and it is monitored by CCTV. I don't
think it will work here. There is tax for almost everything and
parking fee almost everywhere. VAT is 17.5%. On highway rest stops,
you pay parking after two hours.

London is the only city which has widespread congestion charging. You have
the same things in the USA, toll roads.
Why would you want to stay in a motorway service area for more than 2
hours?!

Went to a family resturant in our town a week after coming home. When
our order came, we all smiled at one another. The portions are big,
the way we are used to in America, land of the plentiful. But is it
good for our health? Who cares. After diggin in, we all bagged the
leftovers for our two dogs. And when the bill came, we paid less in
dollars than a comparable resturant in England with sterlings.

It is a bad time to go to England and good to be home.

I always found portions of everything in America to be too big. Much of the
time I just wanted a snack, but all I could get was a huge load of food and
drink I didn't want, oh well.

"Yaofeng" wrote in message
om...

It is a bad time to go to England and good to be home.

Most of us Scots would agree

;-)

Following up to Yaofeng

Is there speed limit on the motorways? I didn't see one. Although it
was not my first time driving on the wrong side of the road, I kept my
lead foot light on the pedal. The 1.4L little Vauxhall I rented
didn't help either. But it has more prep than I anticipated with 5
speed. The Brits whizzed by me one after another. The English
motorways are very well kept. Drivers are typically more sensible.
You rarely see anyone on crawl speed but hogs the passing lane like so
many of us do in the US.

Its 70mph but not observed unless police about. There are
generally no radar traps on motorways except in road works with
lower limits and where a variable speed limit is in force (M25).
Most people drive at 80, you would be unlikely to be stopped for
that, some drive up to 100. Very few faster.

Another thing I thought would never work in the US is the roundabout.
Almost all intersections in the countryside are roundabouts. In the
US it almost certainly means disaster. I think less traffic is the
reason. With gasoline prices 3 to 4 times that in the States, there
are less cars and people drive less. Drivers know to either slow down
or stop when approaching a roundabout depending on on-coming traffic
in the roundabout so no traffic signalling is required. While in the
States the last remaining few roundabouts are traffic nightmares and
soon be dismantled.

Yes, but if US drivers were trained in the rules they would work
(give way to the right)

The cars on the road are on average in better shape than those on this
side of the pond. They may have a more strigent vehicle inspection
program is my guess. In the course of one week, we saw a Ferrari in
Widsor and a Lamborghini in London. Notably absent are the behemoth
SUV's so popular in the US.

thats because of high fuel duty to discourage waste.

There is so much history and they kept it up extrodinarily well.
Stonehenge alone is worth the trip. Here a house over 40 year old is
old. Over there many buildings go back centuries. I wonder which is
better. Here we have a consumer housing industry which makes
everything replaceable between 5 to 25 years. So a home owner has to
maintain his house year around. And it help drives the economy. Take
roofing for example, almost every roof in England is built of terra
cotta or slate tiles. I have not seen an asphalt shingle tiled roof
in England. The Brits naturally don't go over the roof after 20 years
like we do ours.

The use of close circuit TV on the streets of London surprises me.
The car rental company told me when I picked up my car if I ventured
into a congestion zone within the city proper of London, I have to pay
5 pounds of congestion charge and it is monitored by CCTV. I don't
think it will work here.

thats a small area of Central London, it could be done anywhere
where there is good public transport.

There is tax for almost everything and parking fee almost everywhere. VAT is 17.5%. On highway rest stops,
you pay parking after two hours.

that 2 hour thing is just to deter people setting up camp

Went to a family resturant in our town a week after coming home. When
our order came, we all smiled at one another. The portions are big,
the way we are used to in America, land of the plentiful. But is it
good for our health?

Whats your impression of the ratio overwight people in the two
countries?

Who cares. After diggin in, we all bagged the
leftovers for our two dogs. And when the bill came, we paid less in
dollars than a comparable resturant in England with sterlings.

London aint cheap! Glad you enjoyed the trip.
--
Mike Reid
Virtual Thames walk "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk/thamesphoto.htm"

"Yaofeng" wrote in message
om...


Some random thoughts...

Is there speed limit on the motorways? I didn't see one.

In theory its 70mph in practice the police allow 10% leeway
so the defacto limit is closer to 80

snip


The cars on the road are on average in better shape than those on this
side of the pond. They may have a more strigent vehicle inspection
program is my guess.


Thats correct, all cars over 3 years old have a stringent annual inspection
that requires them to meet minimal standards of stering, brakes, bodywork,
emmissions, tyres etc


In the course of one week, we saw a Ferrari in
Widsor and a Lamborghini in London. Notably absent are the behemoth
SUV's so popular in the US.

There is so much history and they kept it up extrodinarily well.
Stonehenge alone is worth the trip. Here a house over 40 year old is
old. Over there many buildings go back centuries. I wonder which is
better. Here we have a consumer housing industry which makes
everything replaceable between 5 to 25 years. So a home owner has to
maintain his house year around. And it help drives the economy. Take
roofing for example, almost every roof in England is built of terra
cotta or slate tiles. I have not seen an asphalt shingle tiled roof
in England. The Brits naturally don't go over the roof after 20 years
like we do ours.


Some older houses have thatched roofs (woven straw) that need
rplacing every 25-40 years, asphalt shingles are definitely not
allowed but some flat roofs have felt coated with asphalt and
stone chippings

The use of close circuit TV on the streets of London surprises me.

It has been extremely effective in cutting crime.

The car rental company told me when I picked up my car if I ventured
into a congestion zone within the city proper of London, I have to pay
5 pounds of congestion charge and it is monitored by CCTV. I don't
think it will work here. There is tax for almost everything and
parking fee almost everywhere. VAT is 17.5%. On highway rest stops,
you pay parking after two hours.


Rarely enforced and intended to stop travellers setting up camp there.

Keith

"Gernot Egger" wrote in message
...
Yaofeng wrote:
Is there speed limit on the motorways?

70 mph!

lg Gernot



I always thought it was 90 mph :-)