7:54 in the video. Door mirrors frequently in the road. 🙄

 

 

 

Boy does that bring back some memories.

I was stationed at a relatively rural base in East Anglia and drove on a lot of those narrow roads all the time.  It actually didn't take me very long to get used to driving on the left side of the road. 

Anyway, one day I was on one of these narrow country lanes and a small lorry came around the curve and was so close that his side mirror hit my side mirror and broke it off the car.  I pulled over further ahead when I could but he never came back.  I guess that might happen a lot on such narrow roads so no big deal.

I miss driving around the English countryside and then stopping in an old small town pub for a pint. 

Dave 

37 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

I was stationed at a relatively rural base in East Anglia and drove on a lot of those narrow roads all the time.

 

Yep, pretty narrow UK rural roads. Guernsey is even narrower though. We have to drive on pavements. See second video. 😁 Quite tricky, you have to watch out for pedestrians. All very narrow or single lane roads inland. Widest roads are in St Peter port and the Coast Road where its more like narrow UK roads. 

 

37 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

Anyway, one day I was on one of these narrow country lanes and a small lorry came around the curve and was so close that his side mirror hit my side mirror and broke it off the car.  I pulled over further ahead when I could but he never came back.  I guess that might happen a lot on such narrow roads so no big deal.

I miss driving around the English countryside and then stopping in an old small town pub for a pint. 

 

I was driving my daughters Fiat 500 Hybrid a while back, on my way to the airport to pick her up. Took a wrong turn and ended up down a narrow lane. It was single lane but two way like in the second video. A young guy in a BMW came the other way and we both had to suddenly brake. I edged over till I was almost touching the granite wall to my left. The guy preceded to drive past but didn't consider our door mirrors and whacked straight into it, then drove off. Katy wasn't happy, but luckily no damage to the mirror. 

 

37 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

It actually didn't take me very long to get used to driving on the left side of the road. 

 

To be honest Dave not sure how I'd get on driving on the right. I'm totally programmed for the left.

Where in East Anglia was that? 

Edited July 22, 20223 yr by martin-w

This is St Peter Port, the capital and you can see its more like UK roads. He drives form town to Jerbourg. 

At 1:55 he drives up the Val Des Terres where we hold hill climb events on a bank holiday. 

 

 

Edited July 22, 20223 yr by martin-w

Why do island nations drive on the left?

Noel

Not all do. Generally only those that were UK colonies at one time. Other than the US, howeer.

 

I will let one of our UK members fully explain but it is my understanding that early on Knights traveled on the left so their swords would be ready on there right side in case of a disagreement.

Historically it's the sword explanation but aparently it became law in 18th century London due to traffic congestion on London Bridge. So they past the ride on the left law. It was then adopted nationwide.

https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Why-do-the-British-drive-on-the-left/#:~:text=Traffic congestion in 18th century,adopted throughout the British Empire.

 

Edited July 22, 20223 yr by martin-w

All of that vegetation right up on the road...if that were here, it would be an absolute jungle in no time, overgrowing the road.

I guess many of those roads originate from the middle ages, hence the term "sunken road".  It's very neat.  We have a road here that is maybe 250 years old, originally called "El Camino Real", but that's nowhere near medieval.

What does "filter" mean?  This is on the pavement near an intersection in the first video.  Are they trying to say "merge" or something like that?

1 hour ago, 188AHC said:

Knights traveled on the left so their swords would be ready on there right side in case of a disagreement.

Same thing with samurai in Japan, apparently.

I wonder how the left handed warriors dealt with it? 😂

I drove on the left in Japan.  If I had to pass a slower vehicle I had to lean way over to the right to see oncoming traffic.

My son's girl friend lived in a rural area half way between Williams Arizona and the Grand Canyon.  She was on her way to work early in the morning.  She was hit head-on at the crest of a hill by a large rental SUV with a Japanese family driving on the wrong side of the road.  They were tourists on their way to the Grand Canyon.   Apparently the Japanese driver was driving as he was used to on a road that had virtually no traffic on it that early in the morning.

She was killed and the Japanese river and his family sustained minor to moderate injuries.

Noel

 

This thread reminds of how Joe Murphy of Murphy's Law fame was killed.

His car broke down while he was driving to work in Texas one morning.  

He got out and started walking back home so he could phone for a tow truck.

He was walking on the left side of the road facing traffic as he was supposed to when he got hit from behind by a British tourist.

Noel

13 hours ago, Mace said:

All of that vegetation right up on the road...if that were here, it would be an absolute jungle in no time, overgrowing the road.

I guess many of those roads originate from the middle ages, hence the term "sunken road".  It's very neat.  We have a road here that is maybe 250 years old, originally called "El Camino Real", but that's nowhere near medieval.

What does "filter" mean?  This is on the pavement near an intersection in the first video.  Are they trying to say "merge" or something like that?

 

Guernsey states are very proud of the filter system, most drivers I've spoken to aren't though. The first car that arives at the filter can go first and then each car takes it in turn. Problems arise when there's a filter at a crossroads or two cars arrive simultaneously and neither knows who goes first. Luckily, Guernsey drivers are quite polite, appreciate the confusion that can occur, and they let someone go first. 

Because my daughter and me are from the UK, with none of this filter weirdness, we think its bonkers but we have gotten used to it.

You are correct regarding the roads. Guernsey isn't UK, we are British Isles though, and the roads in the region date way back in history. Some UK roads date back to the Roman occupation, some 2000 years ago. In those days all you needed was a narrow dirt track to push a cart down. 

I'm sure you've heard of the Viking Ragnar, well his brothers son once ruled Guernsey. 

In Guernsey, unless we demolish 90% of people's houses, the road width is something we have to put up with. There were complaints some years ago, when big wide busses were introduced but people have gotten used to them now and just drive up onto the pavement to let them pass. £2 fixed price, anywhere on the island.

Not sure which undergrowth you mean, but most of what you see is either owned by the states or private property, so maintained by those parties.

Guernsey, Sark, Herm, Jersey and Alderney were occupied during the war of course so you find lots of German bunkers around the coast. One or two have been refurbished. In fact there was a house for sale a while ago that had a bunker on its grounds

 

 

Edited July 23, 20223 yr by martin-w