England

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

We had one last year for a London-Stonehenge jaunt and liked it a lot.

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

Euro-style roundabouts are very rare in the US. Folks here simply aren't
used to them. Me, I love them, and would like to see more as I believe they
do handle traffic better than stodgy intersections.

louis xiv wrote in message
...

"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

;-)


We(e) Scots, you mean! :-))

Surreyman

The Reids wrote:
Following up to Yaofeng

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)

If that's the rule in US roundabouts, I think we've identified why they
don't work.

Bjorn

"The Reids" wrote in message
news
Following up to Yaofeng

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)



That rule would really work well in the US (g). I don't know that they
are all being given up. There are a few around here that have been
constructed fairly recently, admittedly on roads with not a lot of
traffic, but they seem to work well enough.


--
James V. Silverton
Potomac, Maryland, USA

Colin Bignell wrote
| 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.

I can remember going up the side of Loch Lomond in Scotland and probably
2/3rds of vehicles were 4x4 - usually Land-Rovers.

| 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.

in the year 1666, for the info of the OP

Owain

"Owain" wrote in message
...
Colin Bignell wrote
| 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.

I can remember going up the side of Loch Lomond in Scotland and probably
2/3rds of vehicles were 4x4 - usually Land-Rovers.

Traditional Land Rovers, from the Series I to the Defender, are sufficiently
uncomfortable that you can be fairly sure that anyone driving one has a
genuine need to do so. However, there are a lot of 4x4s about that don't go
off road and wouldn't be much use if they did. Mine virtually never goes off
road these days. However, as I have occasional need to tow a 1.4 tonne
trailer, I do need something with lots of power and a fair bit of weight of
its own.


| 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.

in the year 1666, for the info of the OP

I think the Rebuilding Act, which required a fireproof building design, was
brought in the following year.

Colin Bignell

If that's the rule in US roundabouts, I think we've identified why they
don't work.

When I was a lad, there was no speed limit on the open roads. Jaguars
regularly did 130 on the Motorways. Many people, I suppose, are still living
in the past -- pehaps it is now built in to the British psyche.
rjf

The Reids muttered....

Following up to Yaofeng


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)

There are a few left in the US, one, formerly the intersection of major
hiways, now off the main road, just a few miles from my vantage point.
Having driven around the circle all my life, I notice that most locals do
well with the concept, but furriners (folks from more than 1000 miles up
the road) are discombobulated by it.

"Giving way to the right" will get your ass run plumb over here in the land
of driving on the right. It's give way left. The hardest switch for
'Merkins driving in the UK is learning to look right first at
intersections, having grown up checking the 9 o'oclock for bogeys.




thats because of high fuel duty to discourage waste.


Pretty well every attempt to survey the masses (of drivers) whether in the
US or abroad reveals that most folks see high fuel taxes as more successful
at raising government revenue than preventing waste. Especially since the
record hardly indicates much reduction in gasoline consumption during
decades of rising fuel taxes.

I will admit that my two big SUVs, one a 2001, the other a 2004, get much
better gas mileage than my 1979 "estate wagon", much smaller, ever did. If
a government were really interested in saving gas, a more sensible tax
would be on the projected miles per gallon basis for new cars when
purchased, a big stick rather than death by twigs.

TMO

On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 14:29:59 GMT, Bob Fusillo wrote:

When I was a lad, there was no speed limit on the open roads. Jaguars
regularly did 130 on the Motorways. Many people, I suppose, are still living
in the past -- pehaps it is now built in to the British psyche.
rjf

The motorway speed limit was introduced during the oil crisis wasn't it?
Officially to cut fuel consumption but never revoked (of course).
--
Tim C.