Is Bristol the Worst Spot to Drive in the UK?

There are certain roads in the UK that most drivers avoid at all costs, most notably the M25 during rush hour! However, a recent survey conducted by the Alliance of British Drivers has revealed that Bristol is officially motorists’ most hated place to drive in the whole of the UK. The survey revealed that drivers are angered over the amount of traffic lights and bus lanes in the city which are causing a considerable amount of congestion.

Discussing the survey, Hugh Bladon from the Alliance said: “We were prompted to run this competition because of all the complaints we were receiving about the way in which councils treat motorists. The fact is that motorists are able to use the roads less and less. The kerbs are being built out which causes restrictions and we’;ve got all these bus lanes for buses which don’;t use them very of8. Councils seem very pleased to keep traffic stationary for as long as possible. The situation with traffic lights is terrible, for example. Motorists are unnecessarily kept waiting at them for [no] apparent reason.”

In order to improve the situation Bladon claims that Bristol City Council should remove ‘unnecessary’ traffic lights and make their roads more ‘driver-friendly’. He went on to claim that the traffic is so bad in Bristol that some motorists are leaving the city in order to find work and visit shopping centres. He added: “It’;s a daft way to go about things because people are going to Cribbs Causeway to shop instead of the city centre which is making businesses suffer.”

Responding to the Alliance of British Drivers’ survey and the fact that Bristol has now been named the “Worst Council for Mobility Choice”, a Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “Ultimately our aim isn’t to put people off driving and parking in the city, but to encourage more people to travel sustainably, particularly at busy times, be it through car sharing, cycling, walking or public transport. We recognise the importance of developing and improving public transport to achieve this and we hope to create a city where more people voluntarily travel by other means.”

Due to the UK population increasing dramatically over the past few years as well as the fact that there are now more people on the road than ever, a number of cities such as Bristol have been struggling to implement suitable traffic systems. As mentioned by Bristol City Council’s spokesperson, councils are responsible for reducing emissions in their constituencies as well as making the roads safe for other users such as cyclists and buses. Unfortunately, this often means that motorists will encounter more traffic systems on their routes and will therefore have to wait longer in traffic.

Do you think Bristol is the worst place in the UK for motorists? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or get in touch with us on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter!

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

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Is Bristol the Worst Spot to Drive in the UK?

Bristol Vehicles Returns From the Dead

Even by the higher requirements of eccentricity set by Britain’s tiny sports-automobile makers, Bristol was always in a class of its personal. This is the carmaker that created Morgan look like Mitsubishi.

Bristol’s former boss, Tony Crook, refused to let journalists drive its cars for a lot of years on the (possibly affordable) grounds that they “wouldn’t recognize them.” The firm final published production figures in 1981, when it constructed 104 vehicles, and the leisurely pace at which the company operated at in its later years was demonstrated when thieves stole many body presses from its Filton factory, and it took many days for the theft to be noticed.

So there was sadness, but small surprise, when the firm folded in 2011.

Now it is coming back. The Bristol brand was bought by a subsidiary of the Frazer-Nash engineering consultancy (itself evolved from an only slightly less-eccentric British sports-vehicle maker), which has now announced plans for an all-new Bristol model next year.

The way things utilized to be—Bristol 411

Go far enough back and Bristol started out as an aircraft organization. The poor news is that Bristol’s former recipe of lightweight aerodynamically efficient bodies propelled by huge American-sourced engines has been abandoned, for now at least. We’re told the new car undoubtedly won’t owe something to preceding models such as the Beaufighter, Blenheim or the spectacular Fighter—the final old Bristol, which used a Viper V-10 engine. As an alternative the new car—currently becoming developed in the UK below the codename of Project Pinnacle—will be a “range-extended electric grand tourer.” Beyond that, and a single teaser image that reveals little far more than some leather bonnet straps, we’ve got to use our imagination.

Frazer Nash’s involvement implies we should definitely take the project seriously. The business now specializes in engineering electric drivetrains—it put one particular beneath the Giugiaro Namir concept back in 2009—and has also developed a new electric London taxi that’s slightly significantly less ugly than Nissan’s NV-primarily based version. The fact that Bristol is both renovating its classic showroom in Kensington, London—one of Europe’s most pricey areas—and preparing to expand to one more unit on the same streets proves there’s some serious investment behind the prelaunch. The company also confirms that the new auto will be designed for each key marketplace, which includes the U.S.

Bristol Fighter had a Dodge V-10 engine but sold in tiny numbers

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“The brand’s reputation was broken throughout the last years below the old management,” Common Manager Julian Ramshaw told us. “It’s been by means of some tough occasions but we’re determined to construct it back up with Frazer Nash. We’re very conscious of how essential the brand’s heritage is and we’re working quite closely with the Owners’ Club.”

That leaves the burning question of what Bristol’s classic purchasers are going to think of a new vehicle that runs on this new-fangled electricity. Wouldn’t they rather just have a large V-8?

“If we made a automobile like that then there are individuals out there who would purchase it,” admits Ramshaw, cautiously. “but the luxury-automobile industry is changing and we want to be element of that alter.”

Bristol Vehicles Returns From the Dead