Semiserious observations -- London and Wales

I think there's rules and guidelines in place as regards to sirens in London. Sirens are only used when necessary. Emergency services run on blue lights only to jobs much more than in the US, to cut down on noise pollution. It can still be noisy at times but like any background noise, it doesn't really register once you've lived in a big city for a while.

Honking the horn is much more frowned upon too. It plays into the different driving culture in the UK. In the Highway Code, your horn should only be used to "warn others of your approach". Of course people do sometimes use the horn to reprimand each other, but it's not the first thing you do, unless you're already of a temperament where you do those sort of things.

Great trip report!

Nice trip report, Mike/Greg! I agree that the UK folks are very friendly and nice and accommodating. And kudos to Mary for her healthy lifestyle—it realy does make a difference!

And I know what you mean about getting lost. I'm good at following GPS directions, but sometimes I get confused and need help. I never had anyone refuse to help me. One woman in a Hasidic Jew community actually walked me and my grandkids a quarter of a mile to get to where we needed to go.

Where will your next trip be to?

Disagree about cowboy hats, there are many styles so one for every head and face. I am sick of wearing the style-less floppy wide-brimmed "old guy hat" for skin cancer protection. Flying with a cowboy hat is a commitment, though. Just did it 4 flights.

Of course people do sometimes use the horn to reprimand each other

I have started to do this more often, to counter the "I am the only person driving today so can make any maneuver I want and you are my political enemy anyway" mentality that has arisen post-covid. Wish I lived in a less angry country.

Enjoyed your semi serious observations.

I love London and try to go every year staying in a different neighborhood. So far over decades of visits and stays in hotels, airbnbs, Vrbos etc., neighborhoods have been Marylebone, Richmond, Paddington, Chelsea, Nottinghill, Hammersmith, St John’s Woods, Bethnal Green, Ealing, Chiswick, Camden Town, Russel Square and other neighborhoods I’m forgetting. Every trip have discovered something new: musuem, park, theatre, restaurant, street market, street art, coffee shop, etc. London and its environs never disappoint.

Suggestion for a wow factor…. the interior of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

As far as natural wonders in the US definitely visit Utah. Crater lake in Oregon. Yosemite. The Everglades. The Cascades. In my home state of California you can see Mt Whitney and the Mojave Desert in one day. Or drive from San Francisco to Yosemite in 4.5 hours.

Thanks for sharing and glad you enjoyed your time here! I agree, Snowdonia is spectacular.

back to GerryM's comment,

Honking the horn is much more frowned upon too. It plays into the different driving culture in the UK. In the Highway Code, your horn should only be used to "warn others of your approach". Of course people do sometimes use the horn to reprimand each other, but it's not the first thing you do, unless you're already of a temperament where you do those sort of things.

I'm in London with my car fairly often now and I definitely hear the "get on with it" blasts of the horn as a traffic light changes much more than I used to in London and suburbs. Often, but not exclusively, emanating from BMWs or Audis - a new generation.

I live out in the boonies 90 minutes or so north of London and it is very rare around here. Although on Monday morning I was at a roundabout traffic light here, third in the lane. The light changed and instantly the car ahead of me let off a blast. I looked at the registration number plate, and yup, it started "LL", a London reg plate.

I do expect that it is still much less than some other places in London, and because I am driving I am conscious of horns.

I'm about seven years since I owned a car so I've done zero driving in London since then. Any little bits of driving I've done is when I'm visiting in Scotland. I may be out of touch. What I did find is that you have to be a little more pushy in London than other places. Nosing out in traffic when you're making a right is biggest example. As ever with driving in the UK, it's a game of give and take; I have no problem letting a pushy person go when I can too.

I've noticed how much priority I have as a pedestrian in London compared to other places. Drivers are much more ready to let me cross in London than other places I think.

I've never been a horn tooter. It's rare that I would toot the horn in traffic. Usually the incident that would cause you to beep has already happened and there's no point, other than out of anger. I do enjoy a friendly toot when I'm driving away after dropping someone off. I was taught by my Dad to toot the horn on a blind bend on a single track road, but I'm not entirely convinced of the effectiveness of that.

GerryM, and Nigel: I was impressed with the courtesy of drivers in London allowing pedestrians to cross, a sharp contrast to our experiences in Washington DC, where last year they had neon green vested traffic officials of some sort stopping cars from driving into pedestrian right-of-ways. Never saw that one before.

Mardee, I'm amazed at truly kind-hearted people who will walk the extra mile for a complete stranger. Such incidents restore one's faith in humanity. Next up would be Denver and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Claudia, you seem to have a solid approach to London travel. Mix it up a bit so things don't get stale.

Toby: I meant that someone like Kevin Costner looks like he was born to wear a full-brimmed cowboy hat, whereas I just look silly in one. But yeah, I also prefer alternatives to the old man floppy hat.

CatVH, on occasion Royal and US Air Force fighter jets scream through the Snowdonia valleys on training missions. I'll bet that really tests the pilots' skills.

I wish we had more roundabouts in the states. They make traffic flow much more smoothly.

I think if you want to wear a cowboy hat in London, you need to be a brave, outgoing soul. You would need to be prepared for The Good, The Bad and the Ugly in people's reactions I think :)

Gerry, lol good one. Some of us were simply not made for cowboy hats, but yeah you would need the right stuff to make it work. I certainly don't have whatever "it" is.

Oh, and we might as well get rid of turn signals in the US. Just meander around the road because who cares about everyone else. They're all losers anyway.

think if you want to wear a cowboy hat in London, you need to be a brave, outgoing soul.

I can't image that among the kurtas and the hijabs that anyone in London would look twice at a cowboy hat.

I believe not stopping for pedestrians crossing in a crosswalk is a penalty vigorously enforced in the UK. California drivers are pretty good at always stopping for this situation.

I can't image that among the kurtas and the hijabs that anyone in London would look twice at a cowboy hat.

Definitely stand out a lot more in a cowboy hat. 100%.

Some pedestrians (in the UK) seem to think that they can just walk straight onto a pedestrian crossing and that the vehicles must stop. Well, yes and no: > If a pedestrian is already on the pedestrian crossing, vehicles must stop to let them cross. However, what should happen is that pedestrians approach the crossing and wait on the pavement for vehicles to stop and they should not expect drivers to suddenly jam on the brakes.

Clearly, if traffic is light, it is rather unreasonable to expect the a vehicle to stop when plenty of chances to cross the road are available. Forcing vehicles to a halt also increases fuel consumption and hence air pollution.

Vehicles must of course also stop at light controlled pedestrian crossing. What is very annoying is pedestrians pressing the button to indicate they wish to cross and they then see a gap in the traffic and cross before they have ‘clearance’. Shortly after the lights change forcing traffic to a halt to let the then non existent pedestrian(s) cross. School kids also like to press these pedestrian controlled crossing buttons - even the they have no intention of crossing - just for the hell of it.

I am sure that there is a correlation between those males who have hair shaved on the sides (short back & sides in the old days - similar to Hitler) and educational attainment.

What James is referring to in his first paragraph is a Zebra Crossing. I'll link to Wikipedia here so folks know what he's talking about -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_crossing

He's correct; don't just walk out. Look at the traffic to make sure it's stopping first. Acknowledge anyone who stops for you. I see what James is getting at by trying not to make drivers stop unnecessarily. The crossings are there to be used though.

Toby, I am not sure that not stopping at a Pedestrian/Zebra Crossing which has someone waiting to cross on it is a traffic offence. If the police saw it, I think you'd be more likely to get a talking to than a ticket. However, these days most traffic offences are enforced by cameras taking photos of registration numbers (ie licence plates) and sending a notice to the owner's home.

In general, i'd say that it's rare to see the police enforcing traffic laws. You do sometimes see police cars 'hiding' in small police-only areas next to the lanes of a motorway (highway) and I imagine if you sped past at high speed you'd probably get pulled over. But unless they can record your speed with a radar gun, or something similar, then they probably wouldn't prosecute.

Some pedestrians (in the UK) seem to think that they can just walk straight onto a pedestrian crossing and that the vehicles must stop.<<

Well, that's becoming far more common in the US, and almost always without a wave, nod of the head, or any type of "thanks" to the car that stopped and allowed the person to cross. That's just where society is these days.

not sure that not stopping at a Pedestrian/Zebra Crossing which has someone waiting to cross on it is a traffic offence

the new - last year - revision of the Highway Code - makes it so now. It used to be the traffic stopped after a foot came down onto the carriageway. Now if they appear to wish to cross - I forget the exact words - traffic must stop, and not only at one of the animal named crossings. Could be a fine line (see what I did there?). Sort of the 150 cm width to leave a bicycle (doesn't count if they are undertaking you at speed) or double that for a horse (oh, and for pity's sake slow to a crawl when passing or overtaking a horse)..

The Highway Code makes this distinction for Zebra Crossings (direct quotes):

MUST give way to pedestrians on a zebra crossing.

Should give way to pedestrians waiting to cross a zebra crossing.

Must is a legal requirement. Should is advice or recommendations - but acting against them can be taken into account say in court when assessing blame in an incident.

Leaving aside whatever the Highway Code says, wouldn't any pedestrian planning to cross the road take a moment or two to look at the traffic? Tufty taught us that years ago. It is wonderful to think "I'm in the right here", but not so much if you're being crushed under an Audi.

David Prowse would be turning in his grave if he saw some of the "jaywalking" I do just to cross the main road over to the shop. I have managed not to end up under and Audi (or a bus) so far, touch wood.

Tufty! That goes back a bit. As I recall, he was a Red Squirrel and they’re pretty much non existent in most of England. Perhaps it was poor road safety that wiped them our and the Grey Squirrels have been scapegoated.

David Prowse visited my primary school and we were all a bit upset that he came as the Green Cross Code man ( boring!) and not Darth Vader. :-)

From what I remember, Tufty's nemesis was Willy Weasel, who crossed the road without holding his mummy's hand and would be regularly knocked down.

We're derailing poor Greg's thread with all this childhood road safety stuff, but I still remember this PSA from Tufty. The fact that we're still talking about Tufty and The Green Cross Code Man nigh on 50 years later shows it must have made an impression.

https://youtu.be/-JgaId8o9Jo?si=9dZ4_zWi2h8b5SBm