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Len

Traffic Report - tldr it's bad!

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The Northern Distributor Road was challenging this morning (around 4am), travelling eastwards I got as far as the the roundabout at the Northern end of Norwich Airport before getting stuck and having to spend about half an hour reversing back onto the main carriageway,I ended up having to drive about two miles back along the NDR the wrong way down the right hand carriageway to the next roundabout. I passed a couple of police Range Rovers who were parked up on the hill at the A140 interchange with their lights flashing (so perhaps things aren''t too clever around that area). The only vehicle I passed while driving the ''wrong way'' was a large lorry which rather unhelpfully slowed down and sounded its horn. I couldn''t slow down as I was going uphill and would have risked getting stuck again!I''m not sure about going Westwards on the NDR through the same junction, but I''d imagine the situation is similar. I managed to turn onto the Westbound carriageway after having come from Drayon on Drayton Lane in a Northerly direction, but conditions were slightly challenging.Reepham Road is passable with care between the junction with Fir Covet Road and North Drayton (and probably going on into Norwich). The first section of Fir Covet Lane in a Southerly direction off Reepham Road is passable, but the section after the junction with the NDR is a no-go (that''s the first place I got stuck!).Thorpe Marriott is clear between the westmost junction with the Reepham Road and Taverham, and so is the section of Fakenham Road between Fir Covet Road and Drayton (and presumably on to Norwich too).Sandy Lane in Taverham is completely clear, but I''d be minded to go via Norwich or Hellesdon if I were travelling to Costessey, rather than risk the direct route from Taverham. Likewise I''d avoid Ringland or Old Costessey if attempting to get to the A47/Southern Bypass.So my advice would be to avoid county lanes, be careful on

some of the b roads and stick to main routes. Avoid the Northern

Distributor around the airport until it has been cleared. Some parts of

even quite major routes seemed to be tricky, and possibly even uphill slip roads off the Northern and Southern Bypasses.Around the fields on more minor roads the high winds have caused

sticky patches to form (with the potential for drifts). I would step

down to second or third and ''plough'' your way through as if driving

through flood water, firmly gripping the wheel and maintaining as straight a course as possible. Keep to third or fourth

to maintain speed up hills, changing down early if you start to lose

speed.If you get stuck then try second gear for going forwards to avoid unproductive wheelspin in first. See if you can slowly rock your way back to safety switching gear quickly, trying to edge backwards, build momentum and retrace your tracks. It''s like making love to a beautiful woman, you need to keep to the rhythm instead of getting in a fluster.Small accurate steps are best to keep to your tracks and avoid getting stuck again. I had to get out of the car to see where I needed to go on quite a few occassions. It''s easy to overshoot and have to turn to get back on track while going forwards again.The more you try to force your way through a road which is impassable the longer you''ll spend reversing your way back. If in doubt stop, turn around and attempt to find another route.Try and keep your momentum at junctions and drive around roundabouts in say second gear. It''s better to slide around junctions in second, maintaining speed, than lose speed by attempting to remain in third. Use first as a last resort if you risk unnecessarily coming to a halt, but go easy on the throttle!Hope this helps,Len (RAC member for over 50 years).

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I would advise against any unnecessary road travel, particualry in the twilight hours. A quick look at Twitter shows lots of main roads blocked.Stay safe!

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Cornwall has closed. Please don''t attempt any journey to the Duchy as we have a light covering of snow which has thrown Radio Cornwall into panic and have advised everyone to stay in bed and read up on Celtic history.

You cannot get a loaf of bread or bottle of milk until you reach Bristol.

We do have the Pastie mountain to fall back on of course, and there will be relief drops of large steak by RNAS Culdrose Merlin helicopters.

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It''s a globalist plot Len,to stop us going to work and keeping the economy going. (Snow day, thank you George Soros[Y])

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[quote user="Herman"]It''s a globalist plot Len,to stop us going to work and keeping the economy going. (Snow day, thank you George Soros[Y])[/quote]You could be onto something there Herman. What next, a plague of locusts? I did say they had it in for Britain.

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Roads are blocked. Sanders Coaches have cancelled all services, but First Buses will serve main routes. Trains are affected too. Schools are shut.It''s probably best to take the day off work if travel is likely to be problematic. Perhaps take your kids sledging or help them build a snowman.

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[quote user="keelansgrandad"]Cornwall has closed. Please don''t attempt any journey to the Duchy as we have a light covering of snow which has thrown Radio Cornwall into panic and have advised everyone to stay in bed and read up on Celtic history.

You cannot get a loaf of bread or bottle of milk until you reach Bristol.

We do have the Pastie mountain to fall back on of course, and there will be relief drops of large steak by RNAS Culdrose Merlin helicopters.[/quote]Don''t worry, Storm Emma will blow the snow away[:S]Although it is our worst winter for a long time,the Canadians and Scandinavians are still laughing at us wimps[:D]

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Cumbria has all but shut down too. We''ve turned into a nation of pansies - I''m all for people keeping safe, but the way the country comes to a stop at a few inches of snow is a bit pathetic. People no longer even shovel snow away outside their houses because they are too lazy or scared of litigation if someone slips, so all the pavements are difficult to navigate and slippery as they ice over.  Not enough snow ploughs around - or enough gritters on the road - so transport comes to a stop.   The infra-structure isn''t there and companies/schools etc stop everything rather than try and keep going.  The culturseems to be if it gets slightly difficult, give up.....a bit like the football.  

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“People no longer even shovel snow away outside their houses”

We expect the “nanny” state to do everything for us, at no cost!

Country is going to the dogs.

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Who should we blame for the snow? Is it those who voted for Brexit? Is it Trump''s fault? Or is it all a cunning ploy by the Russians to bring the west to it''s knees?Frankly, I''m inclined to blame North Korea, more sanctions will solve the problem.

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Tried to get into poringland this morning and sat in traffic for over an hour before turning round and going home, snow had drifted in blocking the road off. It’s been a fun couple of days! Sat in traffic on the a11 yesterday for 3 hours before being able to turn round and go home. Should have just stayed at home to begin with!

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I can''t abide Michael Gove but did agree when he asked the PM why Britain cannot cope with snow?

I didn''t wait for an answer.

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Come on - the prize for over reaction must go to Greater Anglia - for cancelling trains because of a forecast - then running empty trains to keep the line from freezing!

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Any update yet about Saturday''s game ?  From relatives who live near Barnsley, roads in that area are pretty bad.

 

I recently came back from a trip to Finland.  Out there, all vehicles seem to have snow tyres and they''re otherwise kitted out in the knowledge/expectation that they''ll have months of this sort of weather every year.  So the question is, do you want to spend for all that kit for weather conditions we get for the odd week every year or two ?  So less money to spend on other stuff.

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[quote user="keelansgrandad"]I can''t abide Michael Gove but did agree when he asked the PM why Britain cannot cope with snow?

I didn''t wait for an answer.[/quote]Obviously because it''s packed full of ''snowflakes''.....

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“People no longer even shovel snow away outside their houses”Beware of doing this, it''s a claims culture and you can be done if someone slips on it, but if you leave it, it''s an act of nature and you get away with it.

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Michael Gove should ask an expert.

Which he clearly isn''t. For once, Lincoln is right. If it costs £x to protect services such as roads against disruption from bad weather, and the projected cost of the disruption is £y, then nothing will be done until y is more than X. In practice, a lot more probably, since the government would need to give more money to local government, and at the moment, they are taking it away, hence the headlines about councils running out of cash.

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[quote user="Len"]

........ See if you can slowly rock your way back to safety switching gear quickly, trying to edge backwards, build momentum and retrace your tracks. It''s like making love to a beautiful woman, you need to keep to the rhythm instead of getting in a fluster.Small accurate steps are best to keep to your tracks and avoid getting stuck again. I had to get out of the car to see where I needed to go on quite a few occassions. It''s easy to overshoot and have to turn to get back on track while going forwards again.The more you try to force your way through a road which is impassable the longer you''ll spend reversing your way back. If in doubt stop, turn around and attempt to find another route.....[/quote]Oo...er missus.Is this the script for the '' Confessions of a Driving Instructor '' remake ? [:D]

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It''s like making love to a beautiful woman

Swiss Tony?

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Len, if you turned around and went the wrong away along the carriageway, then you are first rate moron.

Should never do that,whatever the hour,without police authorisation, just so so dangerous.

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[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Len"]........ See if you can slowly rock your way back to safety switching gear quickly, trying to edge backwards, build momentum and retrace your tracks. It''s like making love to a beautiful woman, you need to keep to the rhythm instead of getting in a fluster.[/quote]Oo...er missus.Is this the script for the '' Confessions of a Driving Instructor '' remake ? [:D][/quote]Well it''s almost like a scene from that sort of film with people driving past and seemingly pretending not to notice.Putting something like a car mat under the (usually front) wheels can help gain traction, as can letting a bit of air out of the tyres. There are lots more tips in my post that could help avert a long wait.If anyone sees someone stuggling to manoeuver their vehicle out of a stuck situation then get out and at least see if they are okay. If in doubt then turn back, and if possible warn other motorists of the danger.Godspeed!

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[quote user="Les"]Len, if you turned around and went the wrong away along the carriageway, then you are first rate moron.

Should never do that,whatever the hour,without police authorisation, just so so dangerous.[/quote]Normally I''d agree with you. But it was an emergency, and the conditions were safe enough to do this, hence it was legal to attempt.There was almost nothing on the roads, and nothing was going faster than 40mph. Visability was more than good enough, and anyone could see a car approaching with its hazard lights flashing in that situation and just stick to the inside lane as if on a single carriageway.

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Legal. Very much doubt it.

Still moronic in my book.

You''re a lucky person not to be another road statistic.

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I clear the snow from the footpath outside my home, why not?

If there is packed snow or ice under the top layer then I am making it more slippery and so I put grit on it.

I''m careful where I put the shovelled snow too.

If people were that worried about footpaths so many selfish morons wouldn''t park on them.

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[quote user="Les"]Legal. Very much doubt it.

Still moronic in my book.

You''re a lucky person not to be another road statistic.[/quote]What part about the conditions don''t you understand? Nobody was going to be driving more than 40mph on that stretch so there wasn''t much risk at all.This is a prime example of the moronic health and safety culture. I suppose I should have just sat there and froze to death!

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Hope you''re not the same guy I saw reversing up a slip road on the A47 at Postwick a few weeks ago because they didn''the know where they were going?

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Cycled to work this morning. Piece of pie. Don’t know what everyone is so scared of....

Walking on the path.....now that was lively...

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