It's not getting any better on our roads
09/13/2018
There are more and more means of transportation on our roads. In addition to the constantly growing number of cars, there are also more and more scooters, bicycles, electric bicycles, pedal scooters with and without electric motors and all kinds of other vehicles. The road surface area is not increasing, but rather decreasing, because more and more neighborhood streets are being "closed" to through traffic and calmed, so that the traffic density on the main axes of cities is increasing. At the same time, the density of traffic controls is increasing; depending on the city, you drive past a red light or speed camera every few hundred meters, and any violations can result in draconian penalties.
So the stress in big city traffic is high, because everyone wants to get to their destination as quickly as possible, and the traffic areas are used to the maximum by more or less fair and obliging maneuvers. So far so good when you're sitting in a modern car that monitors the environment all around you and helps you to survive difficult situations by means of a digital speedometer and cruise control, lane departure warning and collision warning systems.
But what if you are driving a 1948 MG TC, a 1956 Austin-Healey 100 or a 1968 Fiat 124? You can't expect too much tolerance from road users, it's easy to make a mistake, overlook an eBike or a scooter. Or the traffic lights turn red at lightning speed and you get flashed. There's a lot of stress and even more stress in an old car!
And it probably won't get any better, which is why many (older) drivers don't even take their pre-war cars out of the garage anymore and drive less and less. And the increasing fear of venturing into city traffic is not only restricting pre-war car owners. A simple solution to this dilemma is probably not in sight, especially if you can't avoid city traffic ...
