Author Topic: UK roads are a joke  (Read 4995 times)

Offline mkviken

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UK roads are a joke
« on: 31 July 2012, 20:33 »
Went for a little jaunt today in the GTI

been a while since its moved but decided to make the most of the dry weather before it changes again so went thru the A689/B6285 which is a nice driving road, relatively well surfaced etc.

i decided to come home thru Blanchland/derwent reservoir which used to be a nice road but over the past few years has become horrendous as its just not maintained properly. it national speed limit but over the years anything more than 30mph is torture.

My GTI is pretty damn good with the help of bilsteins - the damping and body control are superb but this road just takes the piss even out of a comfortable car/well dampened.

the thing is you can back off for poor road surfaces etc but even in the good surfaced areas a massive hump, bump or hole in the road would bite you in the arse. literally invisible even when pottering along due to the amount of chip pings etc.

the worst are the close together bumps - when the car has reacted to one bump you have no travel left in the strut and when you hit the 2nd bump you've got nothing left except bump stops.

you just don't have a chance on the roads these days. they're a frigging nightmare and a waste of our road tax.


how can the councils/government think its acceptable to let roads go to rat sh!t then pretend they're maintaining them by pouring tons of chippings down?


the last 3 times I've driven my car I've had to do a U turn in the road and divert due to not wanting to drive thru tons of freshly poured chippings and tar.


and i wonder why i don't really enjoy driving anymore.... :angry:



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Offline Ginge 35Edition

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Re: UK roads are a joke
« Reply #1 on: 31 July 2012, 20:39 »
Don't get me started I'm quandering wether to pursue Lafarge after one of their bellend drivers overtook me over some clippings and chipped my windscreen. They've accepted liability but I'm worried that if I start messing it may cause other issues. No paint damage fortunately!

Offline mkviken

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Re: UK roads are a joke
« Reply #2 on: 31 July 2012, 20:43 »
same happened to me last week but i was in the focus

just washed the damn thing, driving along the A1, some tit in a highway maintenance wagon decides he wants to be in the outside lane and pulls in front of me - i back right off immediately to try and stop stone chips but there is water dripping out the wagon - get to where I'm going and find the front end of the car covered in kind cement


so I'm back home washing the sh!te of the car for the 2nd time that day at about 9pm looking the right tool.
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Offline Chris.

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Re: UK roads are a joke
« Reply #3 on: 31 July 2012, 20:48 »
Know what road you mean.  Those roads up there are nice roads for a bit spirited drive.

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Offline mkviken

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Re: UK roads are a joke
« Reply #4 on: 31 July 2012, 21:03 »
yeah its a nice road - one of the few which is maintained really.

wolsingham - middleton in teesdale - alston used to be my favourite route but the road surface after high force is horrendous now.

also bellingham-kielder road is knackered now.


we are an endangered species i think

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Offline Chris.

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Re: UK roads are a joke
« Reply #5 on: 31 July 2012, 21:43 »
Yeah.  Try the one from Stanhope over to Middleton.  Over the tops.  Fun road.  Managed to cook a set of 1.4 brakes along that road :)

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Offline mkviken

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Re: UK roads are a joke
« Reply #6 on: 31 July 2012, 22:01 »
Yeah.  Try the one from Stanhope over to Middleton.  Over the tops.  Fun road.  Managed to cook a set of 1.4 brakes along that road :)

yeah thats a great road - the sheep are a bit mental along there though!


another good road is barnard castle- middleton in teesdale too. really nice tarmac and well sighted road. once you get to middleton turn back on yourself and do the road in reverse but come off for reeth. thats a great road and takes you to the lakes if you keep going!
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Offline andyr

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Re: UK roads are a joke
« Reply #7 on: 01 August 2012, 09:06 »
Bad roads are not just confined to the Midlands/North... Down here in Kent they're pretty dire if you leave the motorway behind!
I have to drive to Herne Bay on a regular basis and have decided that if I actually lived there the GTD would just have to go! The pot holes, dips, cracks and other traffic calming 'features' would make driving a logistic nightmare trying to plan alternative routes everywhere!
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Offline Gene Hunt.

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Re: UK roads are a joke
« Reply #8 on: 01 August 2012, 13:10 »
Getting bad in north yorks aswell. :cry:
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Offline Edi35

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Re: UK roads are a joke
« Reply #9 on: 01 August 2012, 14:39 »
Just take a trip to France and Germany and you will realise that all our roads are crap in comparison.
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