New research has revealed that three-in-ten British motorists are adding 16 miles to their journeys in order to avoid the hassle of narrow roads…
Avoiding Narrow Roads
New research, conducted by the RAC, has shed light on the literal lengths drivers will go to avoid narrow roads. Three-in-ten motorists are, on average, prepared to add 16 miles to their journeys in order to bypass them. For perspective, that’s more than half of a marathon. So determined are they to avoid driving on them that they’d even accept driving for an additional 25 minutes.
Over half of drivers (58%) have claimed that they find navigating narrow roads, especially in the countryside, stressful. This figure rises to 76% for narrower urban roads. Just over a quarter of urban drivers (27%) said they always stick to wider roads when behind the wheel; happily adding 23 miles to their journeys or 30 minutes to their time spent travelling. That’s 14 miles and ten minutes more than their rural counterparts. For these drivers, getting past other vehicles in tight spaces (62%) and fear of collisions (61%) are the main causes of stress.
Plan Your Journeys
Simon Williams, a breakdown spokesman for the RAC, has emphasised the importance of drivers planning their journeys. He said, “these figures show just how uncomfortable many drivers are using doing this, especially those who are used to wider city roads with much better visibility. For any driver less confident with tackling rural lanes the message has to be to plan a journey properly before setting out, and drive at the right speed according to the nature of the road, even if the official limit is 60mph”.
He continued, “we’d also advise not becoming too reliant on a car’s sat-nav. While ducking off a main road to shave off a few minutes might seem like a good idea, if you’re then faced with having to carefully negotiate a tractor and queue of vehicles coming the other way, any advantage is soon lost”.
Unfortunately, our cars are getting bigger and bigger; with the SUV segment continuing to dominate global markets. Meanwhile, our road infrastructure has failed to keep up. This only added to the problems caused by narrow roads. Nevertheless, no fleet wants drivers needlessly increasing journey times or consuming more fuel. Which is why proper training, and journey planning, are so important.
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