John Denver had a deep enjoy of the countryside – West Virginia, mountain momma, a night in the forest, and all that clobber.
No doubt component of the attraction is that the traffic in the Blue Ridge Mountains is light, the highways are effectively maintained, and the drivers are both courteous and punctilious in obeying the guidelines of the road.
I was certainly seeking forward to a modify of pace and temperament when I left London 4 years ago for a life in rural Kent. I couldn’t wait to escape the perils and stresses of urban driving.
Following all, what could be far better than trading in all that jostling for position and endless traffic jams for quiet country roads exactly where there’s no rush to get anyplace?
Oh how wrong I was.
In the country…
Country drivers are insane. They drive at speeds which wouldn’t be out of place in Formula A single, overtake exactly where there are blind corners, and take no account of typical country hazards, such as animals on the road.
Of course, it is a bit of a generalisation to condemn all nation drivers, but I have been genuinely staggered at just how dangerous some of the rural driving I’ve witnessed has been.
Perhaps there’s one thing about roads being quieter that makes folks think it is safer for them to go quicker. Country roads are also normally extremely familiar to the drivers who use them, which can lull them into a false sense of security that they are secure.
Dead reckoning
A challenging-hitting new campaign from Consider! highlights just how hazardous country driving can be.
Analysis from the road security campaign group reveals that 60% of people killed on Britain’s roads die on nation roads, with 3 men and women losing their lives each and every day on typical.
In reality, the number of folks killed on nation roads is practically 11 times larger than on motorways, and a single in 20 people has had a collision on a nation road.
Final year alone, there were 1,070 fatalities and 9,104 critical injuries on rural roads.
Trunk road
These shocking statistics make me quite relieved that my only nation accident so far has been reversing into a tree stump at the neighborhood station (ahem), but like most country drivers, there have absolutely been a couple of near misses.
Usually these take place when anything is slowing traffic down ahead. I’ve watched in horror as folks in front of me have more than-taken tractors at speed on blind bends, or have screeched to a halt suddenly when a rabbit runs in front of them.
According to Think! nearly a single in 2 drivers on nation roads have been shocked by an unexpected hazard, such as an animal, even though a third confess to taking a bend as well quick.
Stuck in a rut
Deer in particular can be a true problem on rural roads. The golden rule is that if one particular crosses in front of you, there will invariably be one or a lot more following behind, which often catches motorists out.
Our neighbour not too long ago wrote off his Mini following a collision with a deer which ran in front of him. He was extremely lucky to have escaped unscathed and admits that he was most likely going too fast.
Autumn is a time for distinct care as this is when deer mate – the rutting season – and the males in certain combine aggression and recklessness (the chemical formula of testosterone), which can lead to them inadvertently leaping into the path of cars.
Rural guidelines
Think! is urging country drivers to drive at a speed that permits them to stop in the distance they can see to be clear. It also advises motorists to give themselves time to react by braking before a bend, not on it, and to give cyclists and horse riders lots of space when overtaking.
As the campaign points out, the speed limit is just that – a limit, not a target. The national speed limit on single carriage roads is 60mph, but there will be times we all want to drive properly beneath that in order to drive properly for the situations.
Capital moves
If the campaign to make nation driving safer encourages even just a few motorists believe much more carefully about their rural driving habits, then I for a single will be very relieved.
Idyllic as country roads could appear, they definitely aren’t free from idiots, and, the next time I’m driving in London, I’ll make sure I sit back and enjoy the visitors getting at a standstill.
Country roads, take me home… in one particular piece, please!
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