Road hog SK07 AWJ on the Isle of Hoy
Many of the roads on the island of Hoy are single track, so it is
customary for slow moving vehicles to use the many passing places to allow faster vehicles to pass. Not so the above motor home (SK07 AWJ), which we followed most of the way from the village of Hoy to Lyness. Despite a number of requests to let us pass, the driver of SK07 AWJ stubbornly refused to pull off to let us through – a manouvere that would have taken only some 15 seconds. Instead the driver continued to crawl along. The roads of Hoy have little traffic, so it is highly likely that would have been the only time they needed to pull over.
You tell 'em, Jim! Then again, you should come to Nottingham, where oafish twats abound. We have zillions of roads with 30mph limits, but a good few with 40mph limits. The number of drivers who trundle along at about 28mph on the 40mph roads leaves me flabbergasted, especially the ones driving on the road that I live on, which is 30mph for a while, but then changes to 40mph. They even have signs with a big "40" on them, you know! But still they stick to 28mph. Problem is, there are bollards every 80-100 yards, so it is difficult to get by these morons, even on a powerful motorcycle. Grrrrrrr!!
ReplyDeletethat would really, really get me annoyed!
ReplyDeleteJim, I’m sorry to say that by and large, drivers of those large “camping cars” behave very badly all over Europe. I’m rather a sedate driver, toddling around in a 11-year-old Peugeot Partner (diesel engine) with 350.000 km on the clock (almost 220.000 miles). Still, the number of times I get annoyed by them. Add to that they’re mostly on holiday while I’m working and quite a few are Dutch (grrr, unacceptable).
ReplyDeleteVery often, it concerns retired people, which are in no hurry and enjoy a huge amount of free time. They could easily make our life a little bit easier, as in your case.
I have one more criticism: it is the form of tourism not ONE region wants to see. They spend very little money locally, eating in their cabin, drinking their own stuff. Only their refusals and hygienic by-products will they leave behind ! They spoil the sights at many places and park wherever they feel like it, even for overnight sleeping. They consume a lot of petrol, delivering volumes of smoke and fume into the environment by so doing.
Mind you, it makes sense for holiday-goers to areas with not that much accomodation and scarce traffic (as in the Scottish isles, Namibia and so on) but I think one should – not ban, I’m not fond of “forbidding” – restrict the use of those vehicles in continental Europe. Many scenic roads should be forbidden, some busy days as well and one should force them to park in specially designed areas as soon as the duration exceeds a few hours. Finally, they should be requested to pay a local tax, as a counterpart to what any other tourist spends in exchange for the pleasure of seeing the sights and enjoying the beauties of the places they visit (restaurants, hotels, B&B, baker, butcher ...).
To top the bill, not later than a few days ago, I spotted one picking very ripe muscat grapes from the vineyard of a colleague (I have none), for free of course !
Jim, I’m sorry to say that by and large, drivers of those large “camping cars” behave very badly all over Europe. I’m rather a sedate driver, toddling around in a 11-year-old Peugeot Partner (diesel engine) with 350.000 km on the clock (almost 220.000 miles). Still, the number of times I get annoyed by them. Add to that they’re mostly on holiday while I’m working and quite a few are Dutch (grrr, unacceptable).
ReplyDeleteVery often, it concerns retired people, which are in no hurry and enjoy a huge amount of free time. They could easily make our life a little bit easier, as in your case.
I have one more criticism: it is the form of tourism not ONE region wants to see. They spend very little money locally, eating in their cabin, drinking their own stuff. Only their refusals and hygienic by-products will they leave behind ! They spoil the sights at many places and park wherever they feel like it, even for overnight sleeping. They consume a lot of petrol, delivering volumes of smoke and fume into the environment by so doing.
Mind you, it makes sense for holiday-goers to areas with not that much accomodation and scarce traffic (as in the Scottish isles, Namibia and so on) but I think one should – not ban, I’m not fond of “forbidding” – restrict the use of those vehicles in continental Europe. Many scenic roads should be forbidden, some busy days as well and one should force them to park in specially designed areas as soon as the duration exceeds a few hours. Finally, they should be requested to pay a local tax, as a counterpart to what any other tourist spends in exchange for the pleasure of seeing the sights and enjoying the beauties of the places they visit (restaurants, hotels, B&B, baker, butcher ...).
To top the bill, not later than a few days ago, I spotted one picking very ripe muscat grapes from the vineyard of a colleague (I have none), for free of course !