Car (or bike) Chat!

[Barry]

True the French autoroutes are boring to drive on, but because they are toll roads, there is less traffic on them than the motorways in the UK, so are marginally more enjoyable to use.

[Marco]

When I say "we", I mean the average British motorist, not necessarily me, you, or any other pedant who might have seized upon that tiny little word

Haha... So maintaining the pedantry, how do you know that as FACT? Do you have data to back up your rather sweeping assertion?

No-one I know would do that, or be in so much of a hurry, unless they were rushing home to a burning house with their wife and kids inside!

I too like driving in France, but have no issue with using the autoroutes. I've also used plenty of the lesser roads, but many of them are boring as shit (endless bloody miles of rapeseed fields punctuated by the occasional crumbling old neglected heap of a house with some wizened old dude sat out front. And legions of wind turbines is about as interesting as northern France gets, imo.

Indeed it can be in that area, but there are still little gems of villages to be found, often containing some fabulous family-run restaurants, and which would be missed when bypassed by a motorway - and as a foodie, you know how important that is to me [indeed is the main reason I'd be there in the first place]!

When I'm on holiday, I also like to just tootle along and be chilled out and relaxed, even stopping at a quaint little bar for refreshments, often found at the side of the road, which motorways don't lend themselves to. They're primarily for getting from A to B as quickly as possible, and that shouldn't really be the mindset when you're on holiday.

Marco.

[Marco]

I must admit that I am against so-called ‘smart’ motorways and particularly the removal of the hard shoulder, which seems preposterous. I despair of what’s going to become of the M27 down here once they finish ‘smartening’ it.

Before all this strange virus stuff happened in the world and Ursula was travelling the globe with work, I was a regular visitor to Heathrow to drop her off and collect her, so gained fair experience of the top of the M3, which was made ‘smart’ a year or two back.

On the first occasion after the upgrade, as I reached Farnborough, the overhead gantries said there was an incident in Lane 1 which was closed, so we all duly moved over and crawled along at the specified 50 mph. On arriving at the M25 junction a good 10 miles later, the restriction was lifted but nowhere had there been any sign of a blockage, a breakdown or a stranded vehicle.

The second time I came that way, same thing again. Closed lane, 50mph, we all moved out, nothing to be seen.

The third time I was getting wise to this so I stayed in the inside lane despite it being ‘closed’. The result? Yep, you guessed it - absolutely nothing to be seen.

If they’re all like this, then they don’t seem very ‘smart’ to me.

Hahahahaha... That's doesn't surprise me in the slightest! See what happens when you use your OWN brain and initiative? Instead of being led like a sheep, by technology, to 'behave' in a certain way!

Fuck that. LONG LIVE FREE-THINKING (and the ability to exercise it) in a car YOU control!!!



Marco.

[Barry]

I must admit that I am against so-called ‘smart’ motorways and particularly the removal of the hard shoulder, which seems preposterous. I despair of what’s going to become of the M27 down here once they finish ‘smartening’ it.

Before all this strange virus stuff happened in the world and Ursula was travelling the globe with work, I was a regular visitor to Heathrow to drop her off and collect her, so gained fair experience of the top of the M3, which was made ‘smart’ a year or two back.

On the first occasion after the upgrade, as I reached Farnborough, the overhead gantries said there was an incident in Lane 1 which was closed, so we all duly moved over and crawled along at the specified 50 mph. On arriving at the M25 junction a good 10 miles later, the restriction was lifted but nowhere had there been any sign of a blockage, a breakdown or a stranded vehicle.

The second time I came that way, same thing again. Closed lane, 50mph, we all moved out, nothing to be seen.

The third time I was getting wise to this so I stayed in the inside lane despite it being ‘closed’. The result? Yep, you guessed it - absolutely nothing to be seen.

If they’re all like this, then they don’t seem very ‘smart’ to me.

Annoying it might have been, but it could have been worse, much worse: you might have broken down, limped into the hard shoulder and not been noticed by the CCTV cameras, with the result that the lane was not closed and a 40 ton lorry run into the back of you!

To date over 50 people have been killed on the hard shoulder of so-called smart motorways. Use of the hard shoulder as a live lane is a daft and dangerous idea, and will remain so until the emergency breakdown zones are much closer together.

[Marco]

Indeed, and another valid reason why they're an epic fail on any genuinely useful level.

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

Haha... So maintaining the pedantry, how do you know that as FACT? Do you have data to back up your rather sweeping assertion?

No-one I know would do that, or be in as much of a hurry, unless they were rushing home to a burning house with their wife and kids inside!



Indeed it can be in that area, but there are still little gems of villages to be found, often containing some fabulous family-run restaurants, and which would be missed when bypassed by a motorway - and as a foodie, you know how important that is to me [indeed is the main reason I'd be there in the first place]!

I also like to just tootle along, when I'm on holiday, and be totally chilled out and relaxed, even stopping at a quaint little bar for refreshments, often found at the side of the road, which motorways don't lend themselves to. They're primarily for getting from A to B as quickly as possible, and that shouldn't be the mindset when you're on holiday.

Marco.

But if A is the place you've just enjoyed visiting, and B is the next place of interest, the autoroutes give you more time in the places you want to be. And I have a perfectly good holiday mindset, not dashing around everywhere. Neither is eating and drinking in a fabulous family run restaurant the main reason to be there in the first place for us.

Best holiday day I ever had was in Gorges du Tarn, where we hired canoes and went down the Tarn river. Taking our time, enjoying the warm clean waters of the river (by accident, twice), watching the Griffon vultures riding the thermals, and making a couple of stops at riverside bars for a cold beer and a bite. You should try that Marco, broaden your itinerary. Though I suspect you don't 'do' canoes

Oh and replying to your first question, I don't need data to back up what i see every day with my own two eyes (I use motorways daily) You may disagree, but as you don't use motorways much, if ever, your "facts" can only be what someone else has told you

I think we broadly agree though, that smart motorways are a bit shit.

[Marco]

But if A is the place you've just enjoyed visiting, and B is the next place of interest, the autoroutes give you more time in the places you want to be. And I have a perfectly good holiday mindset, not dashing around everywhere. Neither is eating and drinking in a fabulous family run restaurant the main reason to be there in the first place for us.

Lol, I didn't say you didn't. You'll have to get out of the unfortunate habit of assuming general remarks I make are aimed at you!

I totally understand and appreciate how you use motorways, which makes sense. We tend not to have a definitive 'B' (or for that matter 'A'). We have a destination to get to, yes, but not within any set time or date (within reason), so simply arrive when we arrive

Best holiday day I ever had was in Gorges du Tarn, where we hired canoes and went down the Tarn river. Taking our time, enjoying the warm clean waters of the river (by accident, twice), watching the Griffon vultures riding the thermals, and making a couple of stops at riverside bars for a cold beer and a bite. You should try that Marco, broaden your itinerary. Though I suspect you don't 'do' canoes

Sounds fab, but I'm not a great swimmer (can barely keep myself afloat), so canoes would freak me out, especially if it capsized

Could you enjoy the same from the serenity (and relative safety) of a hot-air balloon?

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

Lol, I didn't say you didn't. You'll have to get out of the unfortunate habit of assuming general remarks I make are aimed at you!

I totally understand and appreciate how you use motorways, which makes sense. We tend not to have a definitive 'B' (or for that matter 'A'). We have a destination to get to, yes, but not within any set time or date (within reason), so simply arrive when we arrive



Sounds fab, but I'm not a great swimmer (can barely keep myself afloat), so canoes would freak me out, especially if it capsized

Could you enjoy the same from the serenity (and relative safety) of a hot-air balloon?

Marco.

I Would love that, I've never been in one. Get up there with the vultures, get their view of the world. No bars and restaurants up there though, which is a shame. We did however find this viewpoint with a cafe/bar, a thousand feet or so above the road/river (it is a gorge), which was probably the next best thing. Called the "Point Sublime", next to the village of La Malene. Beautiful place. Plenty of google pics knocking about, but you know me, can't post 'em

[Beobloke]

Could you enjoy the same from the serenity (and relative safety) of a hot-air balloon?

Marco.

Safety? Hot air balloon? You’re having a laugh aren’t you?! There’s no way you’d get me up in one of them!

Personally love flying but I only like to do it when I can look out of a window and see a reassuring “Rolls Royce” logo on the engine beside me!

And a G&T in hand, obviously...

[Ali Tait]

Hopefully the SM's will be scrapped-

https://www.majlaw.co.uk/tools/news/...art-motorways/