Speeding BMW and Audi drivers. Potholes everywhere. Driving on British roads is not for the faint-hearted. I wish I was back in Hong Kong riding MTR trains
- Driving on British roads can be a pleasure but too often it is not, thanks to speeding drivers – BMW and Audi owners are the worst – and a pandemic of potholes
- In 28 years in Hong Kong I never needed a car, thanks to the city’s cheap and efficient public transport system. There are times I wish I was back on the MTR
Owning a car in Hong Kong is a luxury enjoyed by a privileged few. For most residents, there is no need to incur the expense of buying, running and parking a vehicle.
The city’s public transport system is cheap and efficient. It is easy to get around. I was never tempted to buy a car during my 28 years in the city.
But since moving to a village in the English countryside last year, driving has become part of my life again. The public transport options are limited to an occasional bus.
Driving in Britain can be a pleasure. A trip down to the coast on a sunny day is a joy. I have the freedom to drive down to Cornwall, up to Scotland or even, via the channel tunnel, across to France.
But hitting the road here is not for the faint-hearted. It is probably the most dangerous thing I do. Perfectly reasonable people seem to undergo a personality change when they get behind the wheel.
For some, the speed limit is a minimum requirement. BMW and Audi drivers are, in my experience, the worst offenders.
After 28 years enjoying Hong Kong’s public transport, my return to UK travel
Some drivers risk life and limb to overtake. It is not as if this makes much difference to their journey time. They usually end up stuck behind a bus.
Traffic accidents are a regular occurrence. Almost 30,000 people were killed or seriously injured in the year to June 2023, with speed a factor in more than a third of such collisions. My younger son is learning to drive. I will be anxious when he passes his test.
But dangerous drivers are not the only menace. Britain is facing a “pothole pandemic”. There are estimated to be more than a million of these gaping holes in the road.
The cold, wet weather and increasingly heavy traffic are the prime causes and cash-strapped councils lack the funds to repair them. They have become one of the biggest causes of breakdowns, damaging tyres, wheels, steering and suspensions. Repair centres have been overwhelmed.
Driving routinely involves trying to safely weave around these craters, but this is not always possible. Journeys are punctuated with jarring pothole encounters. It is even worse in the rain, as they fill up with water and become invisible.
The government has promised more than £8 billion (US$10.2 billion) for local authorities to tackle the problem. But that is unlikely to be enough. And the work will cause the inconvenience of more road closures and temporary traffic lights.
Britain’s transport minister says self-driving cars could be on the roads here by 2026. Let’s hope they prove safer than the average motorist – and can navigate the potholes. Sometimes I wish I was back on Hong Kong’s MTR.
