Unique roads, motorways and automatic traffic control in the United Kingdom

By Prof. Retd. Dr. Bipul Chandra Goswami

Many people from India, closer at home from Assam visit advanced counties, fully enjoy the remarkable progress and the facilities created in every city and counties for their societies. Back at home, those impressions gradually fade out from their memories more particularly for our leaders in our tiol environment. Such a rare opportunity came to me and my wife Meera, to visit the United Kingdom. Our daughter Panchi Goswami and Son - in -law Arun Mishra arranged the trip with meticulous planning that covered our visit to some important places and cities in England, Wales and Scotland including Scottish high, impromptu in a short notice. We stayed at Camberley, Surrey from July to October 2015. This has given us precisely the first hand opportunity to see and acquire the knowledge and experience about the marvelous roads not only in the cities but also in the counties as well as in the rural areas and villages. We visited mostly London Central and all around and other cities of the United Kingdom, including, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburg, Liverpool, city of Bath, Roman Bath, Stonehenge, Swansea, Wales and Scotland.

Memorably our attention immediately catch up the roads those are most carefully surveyed leveled and made uniformly wide as well as perfectly curved everywhere the roads, motorways and highways run through the entire network of the roadways systems. The frequency of road over-bridges and underways offer great mobility to the whole traffic flow at ease and uninterrupted. The technology, the quality of materials used in road surfacing, quick attention drawn for repairing work and the maintence performed are remarkably superb and unusually exact in deliverance. The repairing and road surfacing is a continuous process accomplished by the desigted authority from place to place wherever situations demand. This has made possible to expedite the work without hampering the traffic flow, which are streamlined through the next motorway of the multiple lanes through the digital speed control.

tiol highways, motorway and roads parallely constructed with two and three lanes both ways going forward and coming backward are diverted on various distances for chosen cities and towns through A- roads and B- roads. British roads network is a result of meticulous planning and development unmatched with our own tiol and state level planning and development. Three lanes motorways, the hassle free roadways and highways superbly specify speed limits of 40, 50, 60 and 70 miles per hour in the lanes to be followed par choice of each vehicle driver. It is noteworthy for everyone, everywhere in the roads and motorways in the cities, counties and villages to follow the vehicular speed limits. The speed limit of the vehicular traffic in the highways are digitally displayed or specified, automatically decreased or increased depending on the flow of traffic all throughout our journey. Considering the heavy or relaxed traffic flow, wherever circumstances demand speed limits are suitably adjusted, maintained and digitally controlled and monitored in highways and motorways display boards. This is a unique traffic control system in the United Kingdom, which allows a uniformly and automatically controlled traffic flow in their beelines in thousands without using horns. All types of traffic, private cars, taxis, buses, military vehicles, Large goods vehicles, Heavy goods vehicles, Long Cargo vehicles have variable numbers of wheels starting from 4 in cars and taxis to 10, 12, 20, 24, 28, 30 etc. depending on the loads carried by them, continue to move uninterrupted to their destitions and controlled speed limits of the individual tracks (lanes) throughout our visits in England, Wales and Scotland. We, however, could not make it to visit the Northern Ireland.

In the long distance travels and specific places and cities, route changes are well outlined through various sub-ways (A-roads and B-roads), clearly numbered from place to place till the destition is reached. Amaging thing to vitalize the instant regulation of traffic in the cities and countries are scientifically designed round about points with three or four (3-4) approach lanes from each round about to actual destitions are clearly codified in each lane. Advanced traffic magement systems (ATMS) is perfectly at work in all such operations. Concurrently, the most magnificent traffic flow can only be seen to be believed in real order, when all law abiding citizens driving their vehicles coming from the left or from any of the roundabout instantaneously stop at every round about without regulated by police, a situation (unthinkable in our state and the country), allowing the vehicles coming from their right to proceed first.

This is a well researched and unique traffic magement mechanism religiously followed by all vehicle drivers all throughout the United Kingdom. It is a praiseworthy step, widely promulgated by the law enforcing authority (a rare phenomenon to be seen in domestic India) as well as followed up by the highly sensitive law abiding. British Citizens unlike ours. In the true sense it has offered an unequivocal clarity to the traffic control system just like the continuous and free tural flow of water in any river system anywhere on the glove. Nowhere, in our itineraries, we suffered any road block during all our visits in hundred and thousands of miles. Three lanes motorways approaching the city of London Central and entering it usually swell to four (4), five (5) and Six (6) lanes or shrink from 6,5,4 to 3 lanes while going out from the unusually heavy traffic flow in the city. Similarly, such higher lane motorways going out from London Central reduces the lane numbers from 6-5-4 and 3 lanes at various points of diversions to the subways that effectively balance traffic flow. To our great satisfaction, it has been almost a very enjoyable visit for us to the worlds’ one of the most developed countries, Great Britain, consisting of England Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and learn first hand about the success story of the people there. Notably, nobility of the people, well mannered, participatory mindset of the law abiding citizens and honest law enforcing authority is quite laudable and well meaning. People are basically honest, sincere, hard working, health conscious, law abiding and cordial towards other fellows irrespective of their caste} community and tiolity, all that makes men and women perfect citizens of that great country attributing the greatness of a tion to grow and stabilize firmly, that lacks almost all such attributes and behaviours in our people. A sweet word of hello to an unfamiliar and less known face on the street, malls and supermarkets is a usual address of the people reflecting their culture. At road crossings high speed cars/vehicles stop immediately allowing pedestrians to cross the road is a humanist behavior. Offering help to disabled and disadvantaged ones is a most common scene of courtesy we have experienced which are really satisfying to one, and all. In trains, buses, airports, museums and castles, physically handicapped are offered help and services by the authority and common people alike is a common courtesy of the people but is a rare phenome we ever practice in our own country. The creditable approach of the people makes them a great tion. Our youth going abroad for higher education or employment opportunities, once out of the country feel dejected to come back for all such obvious reasons, rather they provide their expertise to the developed tions abroad for theirs’ well being. If we have to build up our tion, we must learn to be real human being in which we lack very much. Great Britain has a democratic government, like us, but planning, development and governce are superb offering the citizens an ideal social life. All modem facilities of decent roads, draige systems, transport and communications and market facilities of city centers, malls, supermarkets are created with best of the facilities towards all including car parking for disabled everywhere. Our planning, administration and transport departments hardly visualize creation of all such facilities for the physically challenged and kids and olds alike. Our high platform  city buses are a pointer to this. People are all supportive at every point of our journey and visit to places of interests. Well organized commercial malls, supermarkets both in cities and city centers of counties are mindboggling. All amenities are well organized in self sustained city centers with malls as well as supermarkets provide every conceivable daily requirements, supporting all citizens to make sense all of them exceedingly happy, hale and hearty, which generally is very difficult to dream about in our own country ever since we became free from the British Rule. It makes us suspect of our willingness, commitments and efficiencies to serve our own citizens rather normally deprive them everything they suppose to get and enjoy in life in a free tion. Should not it really bring us home some self appraisal, heart searching approach to resolutely conform our cynic behavior and do justice to our hard earned democracy? Following our Prime Minister rendra Mody’s well meaning expression of maximum governce and minimum government, we must reign supreme the saddle of power at Delhi and State Capitals. Remaining in an honest profession of teaching in the G.U. for the whole life it touches the sentiments for the sacrifices and hard work of our freedom fighters to lessen the sufferings of the people and enjoy real independence but that remain an unfulfilled dream.

Unfortutely our leaders of all hues political, administrative and social thinkers have been uble in their responsibilities to bring in a commendable contribution for a positive social change, much needed to day. As a parallel our political leaders should feel ashamed of their irresponsible way of mudslinging politics instead of their genuine responsibility of good self performance.

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