Americans - US vs. UK ROADWAYS | Differences the GOOD and BAD! 🇺🇲 🇬🇧
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- čas přidán 11. 05. 2024
- Hello Beautiful Friends,
In this video, Chris & I go over the difference in the US and UK roadways. We truly love living in England and exploring new and cool places. We thought it would be nice to share with you all. I hope you have a wonderful day! We appreciate your kindness and continued support.
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Roundabouts are not only more efficient types of road traffic flow measures that reduce congestion, fuel consumption and pollution, they are also statistically considerably safer than traffic lights. The US state of Indiana has started to follow Britain and other European countries and decided to install 256 roundabouts. They have seen a 90% reduction in fatalities, 76% fewer injuries and a 30%-40% fall in the number of accidents involving pedestrians and an increase road capacity of up to 50%. A few years ago MythBusters also looked at roundabouts and also concluded they were superior to other traffic measures.
One of the reasons i've always believed this to be the case, and it makes logical sense - is simple.
If you put a roundabout at the end of a straight road... (a proper roundabout not a mini one). A person driving fast or "too fast" sees a big mass of green earth on the roundabout coming towards them. They see that if they go "straight ahead" they would drive straight over the roundabout and screw up their car causing serious damage, and as the road curves around the roundabout they naturally slow down.
On the other hand, 4 way "intersections" or "cross roads" as we call them, if you are flying up to a set of traffic lights, you can naturally proceed straight ahead with no deviation at all, if you were to fly through a red light at speed you wouldn't need to deviate slightly to remain on the roadway, but you'd fly through a junction possibly causing a collision, but as there's no deviation and apparent clear need to slow (if you miss the lights or don't see them) then it's easier to just fly straight through a red light.
It's quite hard to miss a big roundabout full of green grass, trees and advertising signs ahead of you which has a natural curve to the road meaning you have to go "around it".
This is such a problem at some cross roads that many cross roads have become "staggered".. so the two lanes going North to South or East to West don't directly line up and you couldn't fly straight through the give way or red light because you'd miss the road and go off it.
Roundabouts have more capacity than signalised junctions until they get very busy. A roundabout will become saturated at about 85% of the traffic flow of a signal controlled junction. Since most roads do not have high traffic flows for long, the length of time when the signalised junction is more efficient can be quite limited.
Ironically the UK has now started replacing roundabouts with traffic lights bizarrely
@@leontubrok I've yet to see any replaced. What we do get are traffic light controlled roundabouts off motorway junctions. Traffic lights are required due to the sheer volume of traffic, otherwise nobody would ever be able to join the roundabout.
@@thefiestaguy8831 And often those lights are only part time.
There have never, ever, been roundabouts on Motorways. A Roads yes. Motorways NO !!
There's one on the M271 and M12 and you could call the M25 one big roundabout! 🙈🤣🤣
M5 Junction 8, that's the Junction with the M50. The roundabout part of the junction is part of the M50 and motorway rules apply to it. I've currently doing some of the design work for emergency repairs there, because the embankment has collapsed on the southbound side of the M5.
Apart from entrances & exits. Plenty of roundabouts will have at least 2 blue motorway signs.
There's a roundabout near me where an A21 road joins the M25, there's a rounabout and one of the exits is a dual lane motorway. It isn't a dual carriageway because as soon as you join the road off the roundabout there's two large blue signs display M25.. Weird layout.
There are traffic islands often connecting one motorway to another, or at the ends of motorways, that are essentially roundabouts with traffic lights.
Haha🤣the horse & cart line did make me chuckle😜potholes have nothing to do with the age of our roads at all. They've all been resurfaced a zillion times since old n' days😂it's more to do with councils & government wasting a lot of tax payers cash on virtue signalling projects, and trying to discourage people from using the roads, or forcing us to drive a Scalextric cars🤮they'll never succeed 🇬🇧🤣we've tasted the freedom of the open road for too long now😋
Also salt in the winter
They are pricing people off the road.
Wow! You sure have a few agendas going on there, haven't you? 🤣
I am so glad you enjoyed the comment and absolutely love sharing with you guys. We understand that road conditions and everything really depends on money. Thank you for your comment and time watching. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
The potholes are not because the roads are older. They're simply because local councils are in financial trouble because of the very poor economy, and so are not adequately maintaining the roads because they're unwilling to spend the money needed to do so. It's a major national issue, such that the UK population is really starting to complain about and it has strong media attention. In the past, in better economic times, the UK had extremely well-maintained roads.
Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
In the late 1940's a law was passed which severely restricted the amount of signs of all kinds to stop "clutter" in the countryside and urban areas".
Interesting fact. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
But I do think that some local authorities do more usefull signage than others.
On thing that is notable as a Brit when travelling to the USA is the number of billboards advertising just about everything, whether it's lawyers, car dealers, food outlets, medication, often in an extremely colourful way, both literally and metaphorically.
We do have billboards of course, but not on nothing like the scale there is in at least some parts of the USA. I suppose with all those long road journeys in the country, then something needs to fill those huge distances. Bill Bryson recalls, fondly I think, from his mid-western childhood those billboards on the long family holiday drives, although it was the local and quirky ones that he thought offered the best characterisation of the USA of his youth, which would have been in the 1950s and early 60s. His was a childhood of that semi-mythological era of mom-and-pop stores, small towns, picket fences before everything was so commercialised.
I should add that one thing that I found really unnerving on highways in the USA was the overtaking on both sides. I know that some states do have some sort of lane discipline policy, but it's not exactly evident. It's not perfect in the UK, but the USA is a whole different level. You really do have to be very aware of it. I should add my experience was in Florida, so I don't know how typical that is.
On the subject of lane discipline, and the UK Highway Code in general, there are two types of rules; there's the "must" ones, such as not going through a red light, which are offences in their own right, and the "should" rules, which are basically what you ought to be doing, but are not something you can get a ticket for but can be taken into account in a more general offence such as careless driving. The one about not lane hogging and keeping to the left is a "should rule". That is there is no specific offence you can be charged with, although if you starting weaving through traffic overtaking on the left and right regardless, it could result in a careless or even dangerous driving charge. Sit in the outside (right) lane of the motorway when the left is clear, you might get stopped by the police and warned. Following such rules is more of a cultural thing than a strictly legal one. In the USA it seems to me that state laws on driving are much more detailed, and you can get very specific tickets for very detailed offences. The Highway Code is 90% guidance and best practice, about 10% law.
Finally, it's said that UK roads are perceived as hazardous, because they aren't full of very straight, very wide roads. However, it's that very hazardous nature that makes people slow down due to their own perception of risk. That's common across Europe, and there are now steps being taken, and in some parts of the USA, to increase the perceived hazards as a better way of slowing people down than slapping on speed limit signs. That said, the count where I live is busily putting up 20mph limits in just about every village and town.
Thank you so much for sharing your insight and thoughts! It's definitely a lot safer driving over here than it is in the US, in my opinion. 🤍 Jess x
Let's not forget that with many roads in the UK the origin might be medieval, or perhaps Roman, or maybe Iron Age. It is clear that, before the realignments needed for motor traffic, most roads in Britain followed paths that were hundreds, maybe thousands, of years old. For example, the Watford Gap (a small mountain pass in Northamptonshire) carries the ancient Roman Watling Street (thousands of years old) which became the A5 and continuously improved from the Romans onwards, as a consequence UK roads follow some very interesting and old routes. Cool video, by the way. Thank you both 🤘👍
That is a point that needs to be considered. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
On a side note - your flower arrangement is a beaut! Me really likey! *suffering from flower envy - needs to buy some!*
I am so glad. You enjoy the flowers that makes me so happy! Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Glad you enjoyed them! Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Congratulations on reaching 4,000 subs, well deserved 👏 🙌
Thank you very much! We really appreciate all the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
We definitely have more pot holes than we usually had...as for adverts they are deemed more of a distraction and dangerous for driving, but also they are so ugly ...as for roads, my friend lives in San Antonio and the roads are never cleaned so she gets punctures all the time...😢
The potholes scare me here and in the US. Because some of them are extremely deep. Thank you so much for your time and support. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
It's so lovely to hear you're enjoying driving in the UK. The vast majority of UK drivers are patient and will give you time if you're not sure what you're doing, and putting your hand up as an apology if you've done something stupid works like a charm. A tip: If you've done something wrong and caused someone behind you to take evasive action, when able, switch on your hazard lights for a couple of seconds. This means sorry/thank you. It'll be appreciated. I live in Cornwall and in the summer the roads are overcrowded and a lot of people are driving too fast for the road conditions. They tear around our sharp bends never expecting to see a horse and rider just around the corner. They're also not used to meeting oncoming farm traffic on our narrow roads and they can't/won't reverse, even though they will have passed several passing places. Many times I've had to reverse for half a mile or more down a country lane for someone. It's part of the joy of living in Cornwall!
I have driven in California, and loved it. It was also the first time I'd driven an automatic, which was very nice but I found it hard to get used to. The car rental company at LAX messed up and didn't have the car I'd ordered, so had to downgrade us. Well, the "downgrade" car was the nicest car I had ever driven! Heated seats, just about every mod-con that was available at the time, in the 1990s. And the highways in the US are huge. There was a worrying time when I was in the wrong lane on the freeway and missed my exit. Because I didn't know what I was doing, I wasn't able to cross the lanes of fast-moving traffic, so missed the next exit too. When eventually we were able to leave the freeway, we ended up in a rough part of town that looked nothing like downtown LA. Our hire car stood out like a sore thumb. We were completely lost. I left the car to ask for directions and a gent politely told me I'd best get back into my car, as a crowd was starting to gather. We drove away not knowing where the hell we were going, but eventually got back on to the safety of the freeway. The contrast between rich and poor in LA was striking.
One final story... I had a bit of a moment in San Francisco while driving up an impossibly steep hill. We had to pause at the crest of the hill for other traffic. Our car was pointing at the sky and all we could see was the ocean. It felt like we were going to fall into it! Cars were sounding their horns because I'd paused. It terrified me. I really didn't enjoy driving in San Francisco.
That is all. Thanks for listening 😀
Glad to hear you had some good times driving in the US, even tough it wasn't in San Fran. Although we can see why. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
The Advertisement Boards beside UK roads are thought to be a distraction to drivers, drawing their eyes off the road, here in the UK so advertisers are not allowed to erect them, I believe. Drivers learn the background colours of 'official' roadside signs so they can disregard checking many of them and concentrate just on those that apply to their journey. It helps a lot.
Fabulous, thank yoi for sharing that insight with us. We appreciate your time watching and sharing. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
There doesn’t seem to be the finances around to maintain the upkeep of the roads, councils are getting less money and so minor roads are neglected plus the material and quality of repairs are not up to standard.
Finally as you can see I am from Wales, however during 26 years of military service I left the UK after three years training in the Royal Corp of Signals and eventually through marrying a German girl opted to stay in Germany for various reasons. I am a recent subscriber to your channel and find it really informative and love the way you don’t head only to the main tourist areas of the UK but branch off and look for places off the beaten track that really interest you and your wonderful family, I find it refreshing that you also try the local cuisine and are not the epitome of the very loud overbearing American tourist who cannot leave his culture and eating habits behind. (Fast food etc).
Your channel is definitely suited to servicemen and women due to be stationed here for a few years, also serious travellers wanting a true and in depth experience of the British culture and history along with your filming whilst on route to show off the spectacular countryside that most if not all Brits people take for granted. Keep up the good work 👍🏻
Thank you for the wonderful insight. You shared about the wonderful this country. Also, thank you so very much for the insight. On who is best suited for our channel. We really hope you stick around and enjoy what we share with everyone.
Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
A lot of Brits travel to Europe and hire a left hand drive car or take their standard right hand drive vehicles and visa versa for European visitors. It is never considered a problem. I personally have taken my UK car with a caravan and travelled over most of France and other parts of Europe, i have never found the transition a problem
Yes, just something to understand. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Before sat nav there were things called maps. People used to look at them and plan their journeys. They also learned geography that way. They did not need everything spoon fed to them on overcrowded road signs, and they actually enjoyed exploring. Believe it or not those maps are still available, and in the uk we have ordinance survey maps which are extremely detailed. You might like to check some of them out.
We keep a back up map just in case. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
I've been watching for a few weeks but hadn't subscribed, but you're so darn likeable I've subscribed today. Really enjoying your content. Keep doing what you're doing.
Glad to have you watching and subscribed! Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Hi Jess, Chris & Kiddo's 🥰 I always enjoy your comparison video's so the fact that you have been able to adjust to UK road signs and layouts deserves my biggest adoration of how you have adapted your driving skills to the differences between our countries. Wishing you many more safe miles ahead 🚙 and big congratulations on passing the 4K landmark. 😊 Thank you for my name at the end of your video which was a lovely surprise, 🥰 Have a lovely Wednesday my friends.
Sending you all my best wishes. ❤xx.
Friend, we're so glad to share our comparisons and all of our adventures. This adventure has made a huge impact on how Chris and I live and will once we have to return to the US. It's such a blessing to call this slice of heaven home, and we are creating fun memories as we explore and experience all we can. We're very thankful to have your love and support! Happy Wednesday as well! Cheers 🤍 Chris,Shane, Colette, and Jess xx
Driving a car is a privilege in the UK, because of this Pedestrians have right off way in most cases, drivers are expected and required to pay attention at all times, so unless someone runs out in front of you, it's generally deemed the drivers fault if they hit a pedestrian... the exceptions to this is dual carriage ways where you have to use crossings and motorways where no pedestrians have any legal access.
Great points. Thanks for you insight. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Potholes are mainly due to water seeping into cracks and freezing over winter causing it to crack more. They used to repair with hot tarmac (good) but now use cold set tarmac which is useless and needs frequent replacing
This is why it is so much more in the North in the US. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Stop Signs here are mainly for busy junctions or roads where you need to take more care to judge speed and distance of approaching vehicles,
Give Way are used so that you slow down enough to either stop or if the junction has a wide open view then you can proceed without coming to a complete stop.
Lovely absolutely. I love your insight and time sharing. We appreciate your time, friend. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Our driving test is quite hard to pass, so its value is respected. Hard to get easy to lose. We have lots of speed cameras, beware of them, they operate on a doppler system, so average your speed over a given distance. The potholes are a recent phenomenon, Country Councils are responsible for roads. Motorways, highway dept. Advertising on road sides require planning permission, most planning departments refuse it.
Thanks for all the points and considerations. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
yes we have old roads some we use are old roman roads 2000 years old. Here we do not have much if any advertising as it distracks the driver the A1M from london to newcastle is full of roundabouts and is also an old roman road.
Indeed. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Chris
The cameras on the moterways are only for speeding. Dangerous or selfish driving is not detected, e.g, tailgating, lane hogging etc etc.
If the police see you doing that sort of driving, they could issure a ticket.
Ok, good to know. Thank you for taking the time to share. We appreciate your time watching and leaving a comment. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Another great video - thanks for sharing your perspective. Another tip I would give to people coming here from the US and driving - don't hire your usual sized vehicle. Yes there are lots of SUV's on the roads, but these are being driven by people who are used to the road sizes here, especially the width, or lack of it! Much love to you and the family 🤗
Thank you so much. We absolutely love sharing and learning from you all. Thank you so much for your time watching and your continued support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & Chris x
Driving in the UK has to be a team sport because, if not, you wouldn't get anywhere. The thing I hadn't really noticed, because of familiarity, is parking on a road creating an obstacle, crazy really. I love the narrow roads because they lead to great places, but always thank drivers for letting you through.
I agree with you. It has to be a team sport. Absolutely.Appreciate your comment and time watching. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
take care guys love rhis channel
Old street roundabout in London, ran so much smoother before they put lights there
Interesting, would have been nice to experience that.
I was up at Lakenheath last week watching the daily sorties & training flights, never grts boring hearing the roar of the engines and the speeds! 😍
Great observations, just wish our councils & local Govt would take road maintenance seriously, potholes are an embarrassing part of our infrastructure.
Hope you find a decent car to take back to the US.
Brilliant post as always. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I am so glad you got to see the shorties. I hope you enjoyed the day. Love watching them take.
The potholes are very crazy and dangerous at times. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Great video as always, pleased that you still seem to be enjoying our temperate (and green) island...
I'm pretty sure that there are almost no roundabouts on UK motorways (there are many off the slip roads, but that's when you have exited the actual motorway) as the original concept for motorway design was to only have slip roads and filters - however, quite a few major A roads (eg the A1) that do have roundabouts, also have motorway-ised sections (eg A1M).
One big point that I think you missed are the accident statistics - I don't know the latest figures, but WHO (World Health Organisation) regularly used to produce global car fatal accident statistics (by country, by miles driven, etc) and the US used to have slightly more than double the number of car accident fatalities per mile driven compared to the UK.
Another big difference re: motorway driving is that when I was in the US and people had accidents on the motorway (however minor), they always seemed to stop their cars where the accident was (eg middle lane!), whereas we would usually try to pull over to the hard shoulder out of the way of the traffic (an American colleague told me that this was to do with insurance claims, but he was quite vague on the subject... I'd love to know the real reason).
Thanks for the comment, we are still enjoying the island. Cheers, Chris
Many of our side roads are in a terrible state full of potholes even though we pay high taxes for them
Lovely video. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
My view is we have an unwritten rule, if we let people out, and move back to the left after overtaking, everyone gets where they want to be! Nice video xx
Interesting on the unwritten rule. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Brilliant video. You have done amazing with your driving in the UK I think Chris took to it really quick and has become a natural Jess is close behind. Because a lot of Brits holiday in Europe which of course is a right hand drive country a lot of us are quite adept at driving both ways. I worked in Germany and also always drive when on holiday in Spain but when i drove in the US boy was that a different ball game, you undertake, overtake, tailgate, switch lanes willy nilly, turn on red signals. I was pulled over by a cop on a motorcyle, he said I'd run a stop sign (traffic light) i said i hadn't seen one and asked where it was situated, he said hanging over the street so I said what a bloody siilly place to put a traffic light who drives looking up, consequently i got a citation as you call it 😂 then he wanted to talk for half an hour about Man United because i told him I was from Manchester cheeky bugger still charged me 80 bucks. Love from Cheshire xx
Got to love the differences. Too bad he wrote you a ticket. But it is what it is sometimes. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Very interesting in hearing about your experiences both in the UK and in the USA.
Also, talking about roundabouts, have you been to the magic roundabout in Hempstead Herefordshire? I think you would find it an enjoyable experience as you can go around the roundabout in any direction.
Sounds like an experience for sure. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
In Britain we use the motorway junction number a lot. Unfortunately the US influence on sat navs doesn't show them clearly. Just look at Google maps. You have to zoom right in to see the junction number. Same with my BMW sat nav, really annoying.
Oh, we completely have to do that most of the time. I'm glad I know how to read a map and help Chris as his navigator. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Howdy, y'all! On the 2 occasions that I drove in the US, I tended to drive as I would here in the UK. Whilst I realise that some of the rules are applied differently, the basic principles are highly likely to be the same or at least very similar. Stop signs are few and far between, but as you have observed, the give way/yield signs are more common here. I have tried driving a British car on French roads. It's not easy, but with practice is 'doable'. You didn't mention the amber 'cats eyes', they usually precede a junction and are followed by green 'cats eyes'. They tend to provide advanced indication of the impending junction. It is rare to find a roundabout on a motorway, they're usually found on 'A' roads, though they can be at the very beginning of a motorway or an 'A' road that's to motorway standards. An example is where the A194 becomes A194(M). The starting point of the motorway section is at a roundabout. Any other roundabout that's linked to a motorway/dual carriageway is usually above or below the major road and forms part of the intersection.
There are plenty of differences and we plan on practicing on the UK spec vehicle we bring back. However, we are looking forward to that. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
The national speed limit applies sign doesn't state the speed allowed because it is different for different vehicles. For example on a single carriage A road it is 60 Mph for a car and 70Mph on a motorway. If the car is towing a caravan this is 10Mph lower, and it is also lower for larger vehicles and HGV's (Semi's) although these are limited to 90Kmh / 56 Mph - they have to convert when setting them (my son works for one of the major HGV manufacturers and let me know).
The pot holes are a national disgrace - in my local area there was huge amounts of resurfacing work done last month (no coincidence that the local elections were 7 May 2024 Honest !! ) - although the government has now said that instead of wasting money on a long expensive train track they can now spend it on roads and infrastructure in the North.
Driving on the side of the road the vehicle isn't designed for is a challenge (lots of us drive into France and the rest of Europe in our own cars) - just make sure that the front passenger is also a driver that you trust and use them to help (especially looking around parked vehicles etc)
Great points. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
They did make a specific regulation lane hogging a few years back with a £100 & 3 point prize. There was talk of policing it with cameras, but don't know if it was ever implemented.
Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
It's so easy to get caught out by a bus lane camera, even as a brit with +30yrs driving experience. They're ruthless. I once accidentally strayed into a bus lane for no more than 2-3 seconds and they got me. I didn't know the area very well and had just pulled out from a side street turning left and naturally stayed in the left hand lane(of 3) at first until the moment I saw the word BUS painted on the tarmac and pulled over into the next lane immediately.
Sometimes, it is what it is. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
the biggest problem in britain over road improvements and repaires it is the responsibilty of local government to do the work but the national government to pay for it
Indeed. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Hello , I suppose the advertising thing is because if your on a journey you already no what is at your destination or in the area. All towns have different types of foods so it seems pointless to have the food adverts at junctions also it can cause rubber necking people reading signs wich could cause a crash ? 🤔
Maybe, but in the US not every exit has a variety of foods. There can be miles between the exits which makes it more difficult. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
I'd suggest every newcomer, whether they intend to drive or not, look at and take in the British Highway Code books. Possibly if they intend to drive here, attempt the online training for new drivers. UK residents will, for the most part, have grown up with the way things work. Familiarity does, however, breed contempt. There's no substitute for driving carefully and slowly and not being pushed by others into reckless acts of lane swapping or speeding. It's great that you all enjoy driving here. Every country has its own ways with roads and traffic management. You'll experience it differently again in, for example, France. Thanks for sharing and keep producing sub great vlogs.
PS. Congratulations on attaining and exceeding 4,000 subscribers! 🎉🎉🎉🇺🇸+🇬🇧
Thank you so much for your insight. Really appreciate your time. Thank you for your support. We really appreciate it. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
doesn't matter which side of the road you drive as long as the steering wheel is closest to the centre line.
Correct, my friend. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
If a pothole damages your car?. Take photos of the hole, measure the width and depth if the hole, if possible, record location, get a report of the damage done, and apply to that local council to be compensated for the damage.
We have heard that. That is something very useful. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Chris is punching there !
Well, he said he agrees with you. Haha, im not sure about it. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Great about passing the 4000 mark. You deserve it. Roundabouts, both standard and mini, are a great thing in that you can time your arrival right and filter in without stopping. All those STOP signs would drive me crazy in the US. In London pedestrians cross everywhere without warning. The pot holes are outrageous as some are huge and deep. They should be a priority.
Thanks for the comment! We have learned to drive with the differences, as there are many. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Love the video.
You've probably noticed that drivers over here tend to put their hand up to thank you if you let them pass. Does this happen in the States?
Yes, and we absolutely love it. In the US, you see that more in smaller towns.Or in the southern part of the US. I absolutely love the kind gestures. Thank you for your time. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
You can't get caught lane hogging by a camera as far as I know but the police might pull you over for it. Sadly quite a few drivers don't return to lane 1 when they should. They are annoying and it makes driving less safe as they force you to change lanes multiple times to pass them or you could undertake, which is not recommended.
Thank you for that insight. We definitely appreciate your time watching and commenting. Cheers 🤍 Jess & Chris x
You are very tactful, guys. Potholes are a huge gripe here. Mostly it is aggravated by the change from freight being moved by rail and canal, to road. Particularly as the lorries have become bigger.
Have you been to Cambridge yet? I can't quite recall. I trained in Cambridge and with complete impunity, joined the hordes of cyclists around the city. As a driver now, I have to admit they add a certain frisson to driving there cos they really are all around you.
Thanks for the kind words. We have been there and plan to go again. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
We have number plates on the front and back of the car. And are designated to that car from its first registration. In the US one number plate. That isn’t easily seen be a camera.
The A1 isn’t a motorway, which is why it has many roundabouts. The M1 is a motorway and doesn’t have roundabouts.
In the US, some states require front & back license plates as well. Really appreciate your time watching and commenting. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
There are no roundabouts on motorways in the UK, what are you talking about?
Oh, but there are! M1/M62; M6/M58; M4/M49; (formerly a full roundabout: M4/M32)...and more.
@@CaseyJonesNumber1 what???
Thank you so much for the comment and time watching. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
8:00 The lines are white. The reflectors, or catseyes, can be coloured. I think the white lines were originally to do with reflectivity. I'd imagine US ones are yellow because there'll be more frost & snow.
The age of the road is no excuse for all the potholes. They've been totally resurfaced from when they were for horses & had loose gravel or cobbles. They never use to be as bad as they are now, though our climate doesn't help. It may not be that cold, but it's wet and every time it gets below freezing water that's got below the surface will freeze & lift it.
The white lining material used to include powdered glass which reflected light at night, but it was in a bituminous material that had to be applied hot. The stuff they use nowadays is like cheap emulsion paint and abrades within weeks of being applied. No doubt it's cheaper!
Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Watching online videos it seems that more and more places in the US are installing Roundabouts, mostly for cost, because having fewer traffic lights and white lines at the junctions saves the local council thousands of pounds in maintenance; and then the local residents find, to their surprise( after being hostile to the idea of roundabouts), that the traffic flows much better !
Middle lane hogging is a ticketing offence IF a police car happens to be there at the time but there are much fewer police cars on the roads these days which is why speed cameras are so prevalent here. Many people don’t even know that you’re supposed to move to the left lane after overtaking so hogging is all too common. Regarding Jaywalking the only place you mustn’t cross the road on foot is on Motorways or if there’s a specific sign on a road saying otherwise, which is very rare. Potholes are becoming worse because the local councils budgets are being stretched, not because of the age of the roads.
Regarding copyright on photos almost everything on Pinterest is available, I think, without problems.
Thanks for the insight. Great points. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
We knew about jaywalking when I lived in New Zealand in the 60s as a child but I forgot all about it back in London/England !! You pay a lot in your Council Tax and Road Tax pot holes are getting like sinkholes near me on the South coast
Indeed. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Hi guys! Potholes here were what I was concerned with when I saw you guys driving relatively fast through water covered roads!
Bye bye suspension!
As for pedestrians 'jay walking' as far as I know there is no such offence in the UK, on the contrary:
' If a pedestrian has started to cross a road at a junction and a driver wants to turn into that road the pedestrian has priority and the driver should give way (see Highway Code Rule 8)'
Good points. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Although you didn't mention traffic lights they do change differently from red to green and back. They go red, red and amber, green then amber, red. This is so you know if you are going to have to stop or go.
We have imprevious videos and we really enjoy how the lights change here. Thank you for your comment. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
I remember driving in the states heading into LA before mobiles got integrated into cars a woman with kids in the car was lane hoping whilst on her mobile you could see traffic building. She ran straight into the back of a truck thankfully all was ok thinking i better stay put as a witness Police never bothered the other thing that i really noticed a lot of vehicles not road worthy you can be driving along & bits of debris start falling off especially in the rural areas.
The US also needs help in the roadways, but they have come quite a ways. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
The county councils have their budget for spending set by the goverment for roads and other infastructure and are strapped for cash.
Thank you for sharing. We really appreciate your insight. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
I spent 12 hrs on a roundabout heading home from a Floyd gig in the 70's while hitching
Sounds like a great story behind that. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Well Said regarding advice about Not bringing US cars to the UK. It makes no sense whatsoever to do that.
Indeed. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
My local council has allocated £2M specifically for potholes in the current year. Compare that to the £125M that they are spending on social care and you see where the problem is.
Interesting numbers. Especially when you look at them side by side. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
I suspect if you look back to say 2008-2009 that would have had more, in real terms, for both!
+10% means for instance on a motorway its legal to go 77mph
Oh, thank you for your insight. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
@@DaydreamersBarn really enjoy your videos and you should really go to the Cotswolds and take in not only the beautiful countryside but also castles, museums and great country pubs! Advise Berkley castle, Cirencester roman museum and boughton on the water
Interesting video. There are no motorways actually on motorways, what you may be thinking of is that where two motorways connect, and the junction is a roundabout, motorway rules can still apply on the roundabout. Either that or you’re mixing it up with dual carriageways (green road signs, not blue as for motorways), which can, and do, have roundabouts despite the same 70mph speed limit. Re: stop signs, these are only used in the UK for junctions on to a busy road with no visibility of the oncoming traffic until the last moment (so it’s advisable to stop in all circumstances) otherwise you are just expected to give way. Re: jaywalking, on UK roads the pedestrian always has right of way and drivers are expected to drive appropriately for hazards on the road (e.g. people stepping out in populated areas) except obviously on roads where pedestrians are banned such as motorways and some dual carriage ways. Re: speeding, not only so do we have speed cameras but “average speed cameras” which measure your average speed over a distance (on motorways).
Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Potholes are because we are a very damp country, then dry, then wet, then cold and wet, then dry all in one day ha ha
Understandably. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
There are quite a few American car's in the UK were I live someone drives a Ford F50 and it's funny watching it going up and down the street or pulling out at tight junctions there's also I've noticed is the FBI type trucks also there's never been any roundabouts on the motorway also jaywalking isnt a thing here you can cross the road if it's safe to do so
We recommend not to, but we understand that some need to. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Totally agree about the pot holes. True roads do ware in strange places quicker than others. Always have always will but after 44 years on this planet of which 17 of them I didn't care the roads are the worst I have ever seen. Especially in Derbyshire were I live. In my area the council is cheaping out. Instead of resurfacing the road they are spraying tar and dropping grit on it. They then spend months sweeping the loose grit off the road with sweeper trucks.
EVERYONE! go to your local councils website and find the report a pothole section. On my council it brings a map up so you can pin point the hole and answer a few questions. It then gets a job number. Could be a waste of time but the more reports the more they will hopefully do. Another option that some people have done is to spray paint a giant penis next to the hole. Councils tend to frown at this sort of thing. I haven't said do it!! Just that it's been done.
Hopefully that will work with the councils. Only time will tell. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
How about drivers acknowledging each when they give way or let you come through ?
We were including that in the flow of traffic. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
In the UK it is illegal to have adverts on motorways. Many many UK drivers regularly drive their car in European and switching from the left to right is easy. We can press a button to change from mph to kph so no problem. Why are roundabouts a ploblem to Americans, as they are so EASY.
They are just not common is all. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Cameras on M, Way don't pick up lane hoggers. They just read licence plates for insurance tax etc and to check speed. Esp ave speed checks between road points
Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
It’s interesting that I have considered buying an old European sports car which would be Left hand drive. So safety is an issue, but the cars are cheaper as more of them. Would have to be a weekend car.
Nothing wrong with a weekend car. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
'Morning. First (apart from patreons) ;)
Thank you for your comment. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Hi Guys , we are constantly weaving in and out of cars that are parked along rds 😅, can sometimes feel like a workout for the arms 😅. ❤
It does indeed. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Also, many of them are parked facing the wrong way - you’re not meant to do it, but nobody seems to care.
The sketchiest thing for me when i first drove in Colorado in 96 was the fact that any lane on a Freeway is an overtaking lane. Being undertook and overtook at the same time by big rigs on a 5 lane motorway on my very first time driving there was probably one of the scariest things ever!. Took a lot of getting used to. There are no roundabouts on motorways in the UK only the off ramps. You must've been on a fast bit of dual-carriageway 🇬🇧
Thank you so much for taking the time to share. We really appreciate your kindness, time watching, and comment. Thank you. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
I don’t know what’s happened with potholes in the UK. It feels like it’s a problem that’s become very noticeable over the past 10-15 years, but don’t remember it being a big deal before then. My guess is local councils have less money to spend on it these days.
The majority of local government funding comes from central government. There has been a massive cut in the funding.
The Conservatives have been in power for the last 14. That’s a clue.
@johnclements6614 you need to take into account what council employees are getting paid, it'll make your eyes water😪plus what how they manage the budgets they are given, don't think it's all Torie governments fault mate🤔
@@ifindoubtbailout70 Council employees often get paid less than in the private sector. People I have worked with have looked at taking council jobs but did not want to take the pay cut, that was while Labour was in power.
I agree that the way they are forced to spend money or loose it before the end of the final year predates the current government. I have been on road construction projects where the council has paid us £100k more than they thought we were due in March then took it back in April. They told us why and we had no objection to earning a little bit of interest in our bank account for a month but it would be better for the country if they were allowed to keep it until they had to spend it.
@johnclements6614 local councils have never had soo much money coming in🤔most areas are paying ludicrous council tax, money that should be put back into the local services, which they are failing to do. The council bosses are paying themselves crazy wage packets considering they say they have no money🫤the civil service have never had it so good mate😉
Have you got into the driving etiquette hand gestures to say thanks for letting me, get in/come through/ get across? Flashing to let in hazards to say thanks, hazards to let know traffic ahead is slowing quickly get ready to break?
Brake.
Their hand gestures were "Waving" at people which you don't do! A simple hand up to say thank you is all that's needed. If a driver started waving at me i'd be confused..
Highway code 116 says hazards should only be used when stationary. Don't know when this habit of using hazards to say thank you started.
You can stop to let people in or out but don't gesture in any way. It has to be their decision because if an accident occurs you could also be liable.
We have figured it out. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
The potholes always have been an issue every time a Conservative government come into power unfortunately, and everyone has had enough of them.
No wonder Americans don’t walk as much as us in the UK if you aren’t able to cross roads where you want . Sounds a bonkers concept.
No roundabouts on motorways, only points when it ends or slip roads leading to roundabouts.
Driving in the UK heavily relies on good manners and common sense. And no, cameras do not pick up on drivers hogging the middle or fast lane. But the police men observing the practice might have something to say to those bad drivers.
Thanks for the video. It was very interesting
Thanks for the good points and kind words. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
There aren't many promotion signs and adverts along the sides of the roads like there are in the US, is due to the UK's much stricter road safety and advertising regulations. Too many promotions and advertising signs along the road are considered to be dangerously distracting to driver concentration and safety. They're also considered to be intrusive and unattractive within the environment. Practically every other country in Europe takes the same position.
That is interesting to see the differences. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Is the GPS lane thing due to the GPS being approximate? I remember reading somewhere the US military only provides civilian users with an approximate not fully accurate location.
Depends which system you are using, there are 31 GPS satellites operating in the world. When I turn on my car I can see it connecting to different satellites- normally nine. My phone Google maps usually is accurate to about 10 feet.
@@bordersw1239I just checked and apparently they did reduce the accuracy of gps for civilian uses but stopped in 2000
Got to love it. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Fixed large advertising signs in fields and open lands along the side of motorways is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN and against byways laws. You might see “advertising signs” on things like caravans or carts in fields but whilst it is still against the law, they are “movable” and so…. Are moved away to a newer spot on the land so the person who “owns” the advert’s placement cannot be prosecuted.
The large fixed signs are considered a big “driving distraction” and also spoil the layout and beauty of the natural landscapes, 👍🏻💯
The only signs you will see on motorways are direction signs and exit indicators - where they may be a sign showing distance and location of motorway services and the brown local information and visitor attractions signs.
Great points. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Did you know. The Satnav speed indicator is more accurate than your car's speedometer.
We did. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
That's what mirrors are for
Thanks,friend. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
'you fall back over to the left lane on a motorway' you should have added the words supposed to, middle lane hoggers on motorways are notorious in the UK and something people moan about a lot. No cameras don't spot you in the wrong lane.
Yes, you're correct. We should've added that. We appreciate your time watching and commenting. Cheers 🤍 Jess & Chris x
Hello 😀
Hello! Cheers 🤍 Jess x
There are no roundabouts ON Motorways. You will ONLY see a form of roundabout over the TOP of a motorway junction.
The roundabout at M73/M8 Baillieston Interchange is subject to motorway regulations. It is almost half a mile in circumference - I designed some of it in 1966. Everything then went completely metric on 1/1/1968, except for the distances on signs - and miles per gallon.
Thank you so much for your comment. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Huw Lloyd is correct. There are never roundabouts on Motorways. However motorway exit roads can sometimes lead to a roundabout at the end of the exit.
A few years ago the government gave the right to pedestrians to cross the road even though a vehicle has turned turned off into the pedestrian's road. The way they described it was meant to follow the EU rule but the way our government declared the rule was appallingly dangerous, I prefer to wait until the road is clear.
Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Potholes are a hot topic here at the moment. We're all moaning about it. It's council's prioritising their pockets rather than spending our council tax money properly. It's the salt/grit that kills the tarmac, thus producing weak spots n potholes. Welcome to political dept. UK
Great channel btw👍🏻
Glad you enjoy the channel. Cheers, Chris
To many signs can become a distraction, reading adverts instead of paying attention to road and traffic conditions can be dangerous.
That is true. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
I'm English, when I went to America for 2 weeks as a teenager I was doing a lot of travelling by car but as a passenger. Every single time I went to get in the car I went to open the driver's door 😂 my brain just could not make the switch easily. Finally on the very last day I finally went to the passenger side, the next day I came back home and my brain was like, "are you kidding me? Just learnt this thing now I have to forget it."
That is exactly it! Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Just wondering; do you have any plans for a holiday or visit to any other European countries? Would be a shame not to take advantage of the short flights
We are focused on the UK currently. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Talking about pot holes, the reason for that is the councils has been underfunded by this tory guvernment for the last 14 years along with a lot of other things like librarys etc etc
Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
The pothole problem has become WAY worse over the last few years. The main reason is the lack of investment in road maintenance due to a lack of money in the Local Councils' coffers. Why is that? Well, I don't want to get too political but the simple fact is that Central Government (Westminster) has been choking off grants to them for years. If the Councils haven't got the money then they cannot do the necessary work. Simple!
Well whatever the reason. It is unfortunate. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Great video guys . Jay walking does not exist in the uk. You can cross any road legally. Except for motorways . Your in big trouble if you get caught crossing a motorway . You will be taken to court and prosecuted.
Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
It's worth looking at the road death statistics UK vs US. UK 2.9 per 100,000 population, US average is 12.9. Florida, 17.1. The worst US state is Mississippi at 26.2.
The numbers narrow if you look at deaths per 1 billion vehicle km then it's 3.8 for the UK and 8.3 for the US, clearly a lot more miles driven in the US. Florida 10.7, But by any metric you're much safer in the UK
Interesting statistics. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
In Burma (Myanmar) they used to drive on the left then one day the country's dictator at the time irrationally decided that everyone must start driving on the right. So from then on and even today virtually every vehicle is RHD since almost all modern cars are second hand imports from Japan where they drive on the left. This is the sort of lunacy you might expect from dictatorships. So now, for example, in Burma when boarding and alighting buses you have to do so on the side of the traffic not the sidewalk!
Interesting. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
I have had several cars and campervans that were left and right hand drive. You just need to be a competent driver.
We do not disagree. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Mythbusters actually proved that roundabouts were more efficient than intersections. Where are roundabouts motorways here, only at the end of the off ramp surely. I have been driving here for 30 plus years and never seen a roundabouts on a motorway. On a dual carriageway yes, but motorway, no
We saw that one and we agree. Especially after being here and using them. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
I detest adverts on the side of the road, I think they're distracting for drivers . Oh, by the way, our roads have never been as full of potholes...we pay our road tax to have these all fixed, unfortunately, it has been the choice of our current government for ( at least) the last 10 years , not to spend that money where they should, sorry about that 😢 x
Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
not sure you are getting the authentic UK driving experience in East Anglia.. it is bit of a backwater! 🤐Where I live we have B road dual carriageways! At least all the signs are in yards, miles and mph! 😂
We will take what we can. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
I am sure you meant that roundabouts are on the Moterway way exit, after you take the slip road to the exit. State Side you have much more room any have slip roads all over the place. I found that confusing. Pot holes are a more recent nightmare. Started appearing more after the global financial crash starved councils and reduced staffing, old roads not an excuse, it’s poor maintenance. How do you get on with mini roundabouts the a bit like the us box junctions. Where first to arrive goes first. 😮That said give way to traffic from the right. You are not supposed to undertake on my motorways and dual carriageways unless slow moving traffic. Bus lanes can be a nightmare .
.i have never been stoped by the us police. Looking at some of video some seem very aggressive
Good points. Being stopped by the police typically is not an issue. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
I have always found us police very helpful! I think some of these videos set them up to provoke.
congrats on 4k, i live about 10 miles south of the air base & would like to request you turn down the volume on the F16's flying over my house, 😂 keep on dreaming & i hope you find the right car to take back to the US.
Thank you so very much for your wonderful love and support. It is really scary for me to see. The big american cars over here on some of the roads here. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x