Traffic snarls

Back to traffic reality.

I know we often had to travel slowly at 30 kmh through the numerous road works on Australian and New Zealand roads, when we really wanted to drive faster on the nearly empty roads, regardless of the amount of  work going on.   I know we often cursed the poor maintenance on some of the highways in Australia.    And were terrified of the huge trucks, with trailers, travelling at 110 kmh on the express ways in NSW.   And of  course wary of doing more than the expected kmh in case we were given a speeding ticket (one was enough) in countries that have speed cameras, with film in them, everywhere.    

 But none of the above compares with the traffic snarls in England.    And we are currently experiencing them.   And it has hit us hard.      

Of course peak hours are the worst, and being pensioners we are not usually about on the roads before 9 a.m.   Normally that is.   And if I take Jackson and Isabel to school in Bickley, I leave home at 6.30 a.m. in order to avoid traffic problems.

The problem is that Walter is on jury service.    In Thamesmead.    Only half an hour away by car, if there is no traffic.   By public transport he has to take three buses to get there, which he does not want to do in the morning.  He may never get there. 

I am currently caring for sick grandchildren, two of them, but from different houses.   One of the parents has no car at the moment, the other parents have reduced down to one car.    Complexity.

In our efforts to economise we sold our second car before we went to Australia.    So we now have to share, and we are keeping calm about it too.   Just.

So it is drop off and pick up time.   Drop Walter off in Thamesmead.    Walter drop me off in Bromley.   We drop Lucy home.  Steve drop me home.  All in peak hour traffic.   And narrow roads.  

I had also forgotten about road repairs, road closures and diversions.   They seem to have multiplied in the last four months. I have never seen so many diversion signs.   So all remaining open roads are even more clogged with traffic.

The slip road took 20 minutes to leave the A2, and then we noticed the slip road on the other side was closed.    Must remember not to go that way, when leaving Bexleyheath.

Then we saw the traffic coming from Bexley Village.    Luckily we did not decide to take that route.

Crittalls Corner.    A very large roundabout under the A20.   Clogged.    I see another diversion sign.

Oh for the peace and quiet of the roads, down under.