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Post by Crack-a-lackin on Oct 16, 2019 14:44:59 GMT
Peas who drive in London city centre...wow, I thought L.A. or Manhattan traffic was bad, but this is truly takes it to another level. So much chaos, pedestrians crossing whenever they want, short, curvy roads, giant buses everywhere. Those of you who drive this regularly, or even occasionally, I’m impressed with you. It probably appears worse to me because I’m used to driving on the other side of the road, but I’m just glad I’m taking public transportation and not having to attempt this.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 25, 2024 9:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2019 14:52:47 GMT
I don't make a habit of it but you just get used to it over time.It really helps if you know exactly where you're going though, as there's no time to hesitate  In addition to the manoeuvre most of those cars are stick gears not automatics.......we're a clever lot Are you in London at the moment? Sorry about the weather if you are  |
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wellway
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,759
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Oct 16, 2019 14:56:22 GMT
LoL.
I took my driving test in London, for one of my lessons before the test my instructor had me tackle Marble Arch. That was memorable!
A local won't necessarily find it as bad as you because they would be more familiar with the rules etc. Pedestrians don't get ticketed for jay walking, I don't think it is even a rule.
Notice any red lines on the side of some roads? They mean don't even think about parking here.
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RedSquirrelUK
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,729 
Location: The UK's beautiful West Country
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Post by RedSquirrelUK on Oct 16, 2019 14:57:25 GMT
I grew up just 6 miles south of the London boundary and avoided it wherever possible. I think most people do, if they can. I haven't driven in London for probably 25 years now.
I hope you manage to enjoy the sights without worrying about driving.
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Post by Crack-a-lackin on Oct 16, 2019 15:00:38 GMT
Are you in London at the moment? Sorry about the weather if you are I am in London but I don’t mind the weather at all. Here until Monday so we should have plenty of time to see the city and surrounding area. |
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Post by Crack-a-lackin on Oct 16, 2019 15:02:26 GMT
LoL. Notice any red lines on the side of some roads? They mean don't even think about parking here. Interesting. I’ll make sure to not try to hail a cab there 😊 |
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wellway
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,759
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Oct 16, 2019 15:02:46 GMT
You might be interested in this, London black cab drivers have to pass a test called The Knowledge. Info from wiki below.
The Knowledge
The London taxicab driver is required to be able to decide routes immediately in response to a passenger's request or traffic conditions, rather than stopping to look at a map, relying on satellite navigation or asking a controller by radio. Consequently, the "Knowledge of London" is the in-depth study of a number of pre-set London street routes and all places of interest that taxicab drivers in that city must complete to obtain a licence to operate a black cab. It was initiated in 1865, and has changed little since.
It is the world's most demanding training course for taxicab drivers, and applicants will usually need to pass at least twelve "appearances" (periodical one-on-one oral examinations undertaken throughout the qualification process), with the whole process usually averaging 34 months, to pass.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 25, 2024 9:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2019 15:02:53 GMT
My son’s girlfriend lives in Manchester ( btw wave hello to him next week). When she came to visit, I drove her around one of our round-abouts. Scared the crap out of her! All those cars and we were on the wrong side of the road! ( for basketdiva, the one by the mall! At rush time). |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 25, 2024 9:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2019 15:10:00 GMT
LoL. Notice any red lines on the side of some roads? They mean don't even think about parking here. Interesting. I’ll make sure to not try to hail a cab there 😊 Cabs can stop but anything else is prohibited. |
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Post by gar on Oct 16, 2019 15:15:34 GMT
You might be interested in this, London black cab drivers have to pass a test called The Knowledge. Info from wiki below. The Knowledge The London taxicab driver is required to be able to decide routes immediately in response to a passenger's request or traffic conditions, rather than stopping to look at a map, relying on satellite navigation or asking a controller by radio. Consequently, the "Knowledge of London" is the in-depth study of a number of pre-set London street routes and all places of interest that taxicab drivers in that city must complete to obtain a licence to operate a black cab. It was initiated in 1865, and has changed little since. It is the world's most demanding training course for taxicab drivers, and applicants will usually need to pass at least twelve "appearances" (periodical one-on-one oral examinations undertaken throughout the qualification process), with the whole process usually averaging 34 months, to pass. My BIL is a black cabbie. If you get in a cab with a driver called Chris who looks a bit like Bruce Willis, say hi 👋🏼 for me 😀 |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 25, 2024 9:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2019 15:19:42 GMT
My son’s girlfriend lives in Manchester ( btw wave hello to him next week). When she came to visit, I drove her around one of our round-abouts. Scared the crap out of her! All those cars and we were on the wrong side of the road! ( for basketdiva , the one by the mall! At rush time). Can't understand that she was scared of roundabout, there are plenty in Manchester and some of them are exceptionally busy. In fact there are roundabouts everywhere you go virtually in Britain. |
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Post by Crack-a-lackin on Oct 16, 2019 15:21:28 GMT
You might be interested in this, London black cab drivers have to pass a test called The Knowledge. Info from wiki below. The Knowledge The London taxicab driver is required to be able to decide routes immediately in response to a passenger's request or traffic conditions, rather than stopping to look at a map, relying on satellite navigation or asking a controller by radio. Consequently, the "Knowledge of London" is the in-depth study of a number of pre-set London street routes and all places of interest that taxicab drivers in that city must complete to obtain a licence to operate a black cab. It was initiated in 1865, and has changed little since. It is the world's most demanding training course for taxicab drivers, and applicants will usually need to pass at least twelve "appearances" (periodical one-on-one oral examinations undertaken throughout the qualification process), with the whole process usually averaging 34 months, to pass. Oh, that’s right! I saw that on Amazing Race 😊 That’s really intense...should ask them more questions. |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 25, 2024 9:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2019 15:22:06 GMT
You might be interested in this, London black cab drivers have to pass a test called The Knowledge. Info from wiki below. The Knowledge The London taxicab driver is required to be able to decide routes immediately in response to a passenger's request or traffic conditions, rather than stopping to look at a map, relying on satellite navigation or asking a controller by radio. Consequently, the "Knowledge of London" is the in-depth study of a number of pre-set London street routes and all places of interest that taxicab drivers in that city must complete to obtain a licence to operate a black cab. It was initiated in 1865, and has changed little since. It is the world's most demanding training course for taxicab drivers, and applicants will usually need to pass at least twelve "appearances" (periodical one-on-one oral examinations undertaken throughout the qualification process), with the whole process usually averaging 34 months, to pass. My BIL is a black cabbie. If you get in a cab with a driver called Chris who looks a bit like Bruce Willis, say hi 👋🏼 for me 😀 That would be quite an achievement to get the one amongst the 21,000 |
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Post by Crack-a-lackin on Oct 16, 2019 15:24:23 GMT
My BIL is a black cabbie. If you get in a cab with a driver called Chris who looks a bit like Bruce Willis, say hi 👋🏼 for me 😀 That would be quite an achievement to get the one amongst the 21,000 Probably more than one named Chris, too, but I’ll be on the lookout! I do like the black cabs...very comfortable and clean. |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 25, 2024 9:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2019 15:25:59 GMT
That would be quite an achievement to get the one amongst the 21,000 Probably more than one named Chris, too, but I’ll be on the lookout! I do like the black cabs...very comfortable and clean. and safe |
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Post by auntkelly on Oct 16, 2019 15:31:33 GMT
Isn't there a hefty daily fee for driving a private car in central London?
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wellway
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,759
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Oct 16, 2019 15:50:58 GMT
Isn't there a hefty daily fee for driving a private car in central London? It's called the congestion charge. £11.50 per day if you drive into the zone between 07.00 and 18.00, Mon to Fri. There is also emission levels that vehicles have to adhere to called the ultra low emission zone. tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 25, 2024 9:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2019 16:42:56 GMT
My son’s girlfriend lives in Manchester ( btw wave hello to him next week). When she came to visit, I drove her around one of our round-abouts. Scared the crap out of her! All those cars and we were on the wrong side of the road! ( for basketdiva , the one by the mall! At rush time). Can't understand that she was scared of roundabout, there are plenty in Manchester and some of them are exceptionally busy. In fact there are roundabouts everywhere you go virtually in Britain. Because the cars were on the wrong side. And the idiots don’t drive them well here. |
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Post by malibou on Oct 16, 2019 20:09:59 GMT
We were in London last week, and decided to wait to pick up our car until we were ready to head up north. We've made the mistake of driving in London before, never again.
Where else are you heading? We are currently way up near the Scottish border on the east side - Northumbria. We head to Norfolk on Sat for a week, then have another 4 days in London.
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Post by gar on Oct 16, 2019 20:27:23 GMT
My BIL is a black cabbie. If you get in a cab with a driver called Chris who looks a bit like Bruce Willis, say hi 👋🏼 for me 😀 That would be quite an achievement to get the one amongst the 21,000  Yeah, I should have added a winking smilie  |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 25, 2024 9:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2019 21:21:54 GMT
That would be quite an achievement to get the one amongst the 21,000 Yeah, I should have added a winking smilie I'll be looking more closely at them all from now on  |
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Post by Crack-a-lackin on Oct 17, 2019 5:34:55 GMT
We were in London last week, and decided to wait to pick up our car until we were ready to head up north. We've made the mistake of driving in London before, never again. Where else are you heading? We are currently way up near the Scottish border on the east side - Northumbria. We head to Norfolk on Sat for a week, then have another 4 days in London. We’re doing some touristy day trips...Windsor Castle and Stonehenge. I wanted to do a Downton Abbey tour but I was outvoted 😄 |
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Post by gar on Oct 17, 2019 6:32:29 GMT
We were in London last week, and decided to wait to pick up our car until we were ready to head up north. We've made the mistake of driving in London before, never again. Where else are you heading? We are currently way up near the Scottish border on the east side - Northumbria. We head to Norfolk on Sat for a week, then have another 4 days in London. We’re doing some touristy day trips...Windsor Castle and Stonehenge. I wanted to do a Downton Abbey tour but I was outvoted 😄 I'm not that far from Windsor - hope you have a great day |
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Post by malibou on Oct 17, 2019 7:42:52 GMT
@crack-a-lackin, I got outdated on Downton Abbey tour as well. Boys! They just don't know what they are missing.
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wellway
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,759
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Oct 17, 2019 8:04:51 GMT
@crack-a-lackin, I got outdated on Downton Abbey tour as well. Boys! They just don't know what they are missing. You both should have sold it as Highclere Castle with it's link to Egypt and the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Opps, oh look it's also Downton Abbey, what a surprise! |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 25, 2024 9:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2019 9:43:44 GMT
We were in London last week, and decided to wait to pick up our car until we were ready to head up north. We've made the mistake of driving in London before, never again. Where else are you heading? We are currently way up near the Scottish border on the east side - Northumbria. We head to Norfolk on Sat for a week, then have another 4 days in London. We’re doing some touristy day trips...Windsor Castle and Stonehenge. I wanted to do a Downton Abbey tour but I was outvoted 😄 In addition to what wellway mentioned there's an American connection at Highclere too. They had a few planes that crashed there during WW2. There's more details here on Lady Carnarvon's blog |
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Post by malibou on Oct 18, 2019 8:51:33 GMT
@crack-a-lackin, I got outdated on Downton Abbey tour as well. Boys! They just don't know what they are missing. You both should have sold it as Highclere Castle with it's link to Egypt and the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Opps, oh look it's also Downton Abbey, what a surprise! You are absolutely correct, that would have worked, and will work next time around. Thank you. |
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