The UK’s Road Records

Local Buzz Marketing Latest news April 1, 2019congested roads, dangerous roads, Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire, longest roads, motorways, roads, UK

Without roads, there would be very little organisation and less safety in driving a vehicle. Additionally, they are highly important to businesses within the haulage, warehousing and delivering industry etc. As a haulage company in Cambridgeshire, we are interested more interested in roads than the average Joe.

That is why we have created this article which discusses some of the UK’s road records.

How Do Roads Affect Haulage?

This is essentially an obvious one – roads are built to create complete organisation and safety for the public, ensuring there are standard, allocated routes for vehicles to drive through towns, cities and countrysides etc. In terms of haulage, our HGV and other used vehicles rely on the roads to deliver goods to customers within the right time frame and of course, safely!

The Top 3 Longest Roads In The UK?

So, what and where are the longest roads in the UK? And how long are they?

3. A30 – this road leads from Land’s End, Cornwall all the way to London. It is approximately 457km, which is 284 miles!

2. A38 – this road leads from Bodmin, Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire! With a length of 498.6km (309.8 miles), you would be on this road for ever!

1. A1: Probably the most well-known road in the country, this leads from Central London to Central Edinburgh, which is an extraordinary distance of 396 miles (637km)!

The Top 3 Longest Motorways In The UK?

A motorway is a road that only allows motorised vehicles and permitted drivers onto it. Therefore, no pedestrians or cyclists can enter onto the motorway road. Here are the 3 longest motorways in the UK:

3. M4: This motorway runs from Chiswick, London to Post Abraham, Carmarthenshire. This is probably the only road in this blog that includes a little bit of Welsh region, the M4 travels from West London all the way down to South Wales, which is more or less the whole width of the lower UK! With a massive length of 191.9 miles, this motorway is particularly busy during the Summer peak season.

2. M1: Linking London to Yorkshire, the M1 remains one of the key road connections in the UK. With a length of 200 miles, this motorway begins at Staples Corner and makes it’s way through Milton Keynes, Leicester, Sheffield and Leeds.

1. M6: The longest motorway in the UK, the M6 has an outstanding stretch of 236 miles. Starting in Catthorpe in Leicestershire and ending in Dumfriesshire, this motorway is not only the longest, but it is also the oldest and probably most important connection in the UK.

The Top 3 Most Congested Roads In The UK?

Believe it or not, but road congestion is one of the most expensive road situations in the economy. Costing nearly £8bn annually, drivers are losing a lot of money each year from just sitting in traffic. So, what are the most congested roads in the UK?

3. A34: This road stretches from Highfield Road to Highgate Middleway, which are both in Birmingham. This road has been proven to waste approximately 44 hours a year, which is genuinely a significant amount of time and money.

2. Saltaire Road: Located in Leeds, this road links Harrogate Road to Bradford Road, where again, approximately 44 hours of time, money and petrol is wasted.

1. A406: From Chiswick Roundabout to Hanger Lane, in West London, is believed to be the most congested road in the UK, wasting an average of 61 hours a year.

As a haulage company in Cambridgeshire, who deal with deliveries and transport services, it should come as no surprise that we deal with traffic every once in a while! Make sure you keep safe & alert whilst sat in traffic.

Other Facts Of The Roads

The steepest sign-posted road in the UK is located in the Snowdonia National Park. The road is called Ffordd pen Llech and has a maximum gradient of 36.63% (we wouldn’t recommend cycling up here!).
On the 5th April, 1985, there was a huge traffic jam on the M1 that was 40 miles long!
Elgin Street in Bacup is not only the UK’s shortest road, but it is also the world’s shortest road! Measured at 5.2m in length.
The highest road in the UK is a private lane in Cumbria. With a 847m altitude, the road leads to an Air Traffic Control Installation, so it is put into good use! A permit is required to drive on it.
The A1123 is claimed as the bumpiest road in the UK! The road joins Haddenham to Earith and even after being closed for five weeks surface improvement, it’s still claimed to be a risky road.

How To Prepare For A Trip With These Roads?

It doesn’t necessarily have to involve one of the roads I have listed above, but any long, congested or potentially dangerous road should be taken with care, and there are plenty of ways you can do so:

Prepare a safety kit in your car incase anything goes wrong. This includes petrol, water, spare coat, oil or any other car essentials.
Clean your car! This might not necessarily make it safer, but it will put you in a much better mood, more motivated to drive safely and concentrate.
Be sure to check out our blog, ‘How To Enjoy A Long Journey’ for a complete guide on safely entertaining yourself during your drive.
Be aware of all dangerous or congested roads you may approach during your journey. You can find this out by plotting your journey into your Maps app before you leave. The majority of these apps show you any construction or temporary traffic going on nearby and on your route.

We are a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire…

Offering general haulage, hazardous freight, warehousing and transport services, Swannells Transport are a haulage company in Cambridgeshire here for all of your haulage needs. Get in contact with us today to start your journey!

Alternatively, for more information about us, like Swannells Transport’s Facebook Page for daily news and updates!

Thanks for reading.

Being Smart and Safe on a Motorway

Local Buzz Marketing Latest news September 3, 2018haulage, HGV, motorways, Safety 0 Comment

Every year, almost a quarter of injuries/accidents, caused by heavy goods vehicles, result in fatalities or serious injury – and given the nature of HGV crashes, it’s no wonder the government and the FTA (Freight Transport Association) have joined forces to offer efficient safety training for drivers who travel on smart motorways.

By ‘smart motorways’ we mean certain motorways that are designed to reduce congestion, by adding significant capacity to much-needed areas and improve the reliability of journey time. The 8 hour, single-day course covers both the history and future of smart motorways, including signals, driver behaviour, motorway laws and traffic officer roles etc. and as hauliers are the most frequent users of these types of motorways, and also one of the most dangerous vehicles on the road, this course would be ideal for any individual that works in the haulage industry.

Lorries and any other HGV’s are incredibly large and heavy, also making them incredibly dangerous – so it’s important you take precautions when driving them/close by one, for instance:

Driving an HGV:

Ensure you are healthy, both physically and mentally, enough to drive a large vehicle. Going onto the road in any vehicle unconfidently can potentially cause a major accident, so think about yourself in order to keep others safe.
Ensure you understand the laws of the road and haulage industry i.e. the highway code etc.
Inspect your vehicle before you leave. Make sure you have the right documents (and even your driving license), wheels are healthy, and that you have a spare one in case of an emergency, your vehicle isn’t breaking any weight restriction rules.
When on the road, you don’t attempt to overtake another vehicle, whether that is a haulage, commercial or basic vehicle, on the motorway. It can be highly dangerous and should only be done if completely necessary and observations are safe and clear in other directions.
When on the road, you don’t attempt to tailgate other vehicles, especially smaller ones. It can be rather intimidating for smaller vehicles to be closely followed by a much larger vehicle, decreasing their concentration and observation and thus increasing the chance of a severe accident caused.
Observe at all times! You need to constantly remind yourself that you are in a much bigger vehicle than others on these motorways, so you are therefore a lot more lethal. Observing everywhere ensures you are safe and decreases the chance of a potentially fatal accident.

Driving close to them:

Do not drive closely behind a large vehicle – if they have to break in case of an emergency it can cause very serious consequences for you and the passengers in your car, and they may not be able to see you.
If you plan on overtaking an HGV on a motorway, don’t mess about; stick to the speed limit but ensure the process is done quickly and safely, and avoid driving next to them for the longest time, as this can be quite intimidating.
Similar to the first rule, leave a time gap of a couple of seconds when driving behind an HGV, especially in particular weather conditions. This ensures you enough time to prepare in case of an emergency stop or action from the driver that causes you to react.
Be patient, it is a large, very heavy vehicle containing important goods… it’s their job, so think about each other’s safety, and don’t attempt to do anything that could possibly worry or confuse the driver.

Back to the topic of the available course, Malcolm Bingham, the Head of the Road Network Management Policy at the FTA believes that this course is ‘the right way forward’, that ‘providing drivers with true guidance on how to use the network and not adding confusion about which parts of the road they can use and when’. Any company or worker that wants their staff to sharpen up their skills on motorways or HGV’s, in general, should take this course into consideration, as the safety on the road is a huge problem that is overlooked.