Dick Dasterdly

I think the speed and risk factor have a big bearing on the number of fatalities.
The Spanish are inclined to both drive faster in unsuitable conditions and also take more risks,...however I would qualify that by saying the difference is much less now than it used to be,..the Spanish now seemingly taking greater notice of the increasing number of speed checks etc.....(much the same in France also, now incidently).
One other noticable difference is that often on very busy rbts.in the UK the road numbers are more often clearly marked in white, within the appropriate lane, so there can be no dispute which is the correct lane.
Otherwise I would say that road markings in Spain are generally quite good,..although very occasionally on minor roads or small villages they can occasionally be missing altogether.

jojojojojo

I find Spanish roads appalling compared to British roads. In fact when I went back to the UK recently, the roads there were like computer generated games they were so clear! Cats eyes?? why dont Spanish roads have them? reflective white paint?! and as for sign posts and directional posts??? And what about the deep gutters on the verges. I've seen many a car thats obviously missed the road a tad and has ended up lying sideways, well and truly stuck - and written off!!!!!

Jo xxx

Fredbargate

jimenato

What was that last post about Fred?

jdr

Two lanes on the road changes to three, then back to two on the roundabout.

jimenato

This is the roundabout I had my problem on:



I was coming down from the north and going straight on. As you can see there is turn left. Why on earth would anyone want to negotiate a U turn in the rght hand lane? It's insane!

Here is the view of the exit

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&...12,184.38,,0,5

As you can see there are 3 exit lanes. I was just about where the camera car was when she cut across me - effectively cutting across those three lanes! Madness!! And yet she was in the right.

Fredbargate

jimenato I was aware of which island you were refering to, however with the garage + the refinery it would not be quite so clear to someone who does not know the area.

I was trying to show an island where the 3 int 2 is clearer

Fredbargate

There used to be only two exit lanes as the righthand one was hatched out to protect the exit sliproad from the garage.

No one took any notice of the hatching

Dick Dasterdly

Much like the exception I mention in post 42,...not quite a typical rbt,having a main flow of traffic going straight ahead and one minor exit road.
It could possibly be argued that the lady would have been better of on the inside lane until past the main straight ahead exit,but anyone not familiar with the rbt may be inclined to stick in the outside lane as per the priority law, for safety.
Likewise others very familiar with the straight ahead flow of most traffic, could mistakenly think they were ok on the inside.
However if the outside lane priority always applies as stated, the safest bet is to simply to always stick to it, until reaching the correct exit,whenever in any doubt.
No doubt better markings would also help.

Bri and Katee

I mentioned this one at Murcia Ikea earlier, I defy anyone to get the correct lane and not having to take avoiding action with other cars!

For Ikea from the A7 you enter from the road at top/left and you would need to make a left turn to exit at top/right.

Bri and Katee

Forgot to add, in that pic I have posted is the classic example of what we are all discussing.
Toward the bottom you can see a long white truck going for an exit from the inner lane. Just below him in the outer lane is a car on a collision course with the truck.

Spanish law as everyone is saying is that the car has priority over the truck because its in the right hand/outside lane! Yet in the UK it would be the other way around.

jimenato

That is the most stupid roundabout ever!!

This one in England is much more sensible....

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&...01937&t=k&z=19

Dick Dasterdly

Used to be some weird roads and rbts.in Tenerife.
One place in Las Am.where taking a left of the Prom would bring you onto the left side of the next st.with traffic coming the opposite way on the opposite side as inthe UK.
Driving towards another village on the East coast would suddenly be confronted with a lane of traffic on each side both coming from the opposite direction,..very unnerving.
Also the weird medi or semi circular,half rbts.,where to turn left you drove off to the right and waited in a queue to cross two lanes of contraflow traffic on what was originally,basically a simple T-junction.
Having said that,a simple T-junction close to my present location has been made into a dogs dinner,akin to spaghetti junction,with little islands,stop signs and white paint as far as the eye can see.
Even now after two years in use it still causes total confusion,even to regular users.
Reckon the Spanish road authorities have a special talent for making simple things difficult,and difficult things nigh-hand impossible.

Madridboy

Yes and I don't think he believed me......anyone got some statistics on accidents / deaths to compare between Spain & UK?

Cats eyes are not very nice in the rain when you're on a motorbike and they do have high visibility paint but seems to loose its' reflectiveness after a few days, guessing they're using a cheap inferior product......OH has a theory on this........it's so the town hall has regular work to do, hence regular payments and thus regular scamming by the town hall.

Dick Dasterdly

Apart from items in my last post, I think some things are done better than in the UK,such as pre-warning of the degree of difficulty of the next bend by the number of chevrons or arrows which are now often illuminated by solar power to make them even more noticable.
Having said that,unfortunately many drivers in Spain appear to believe that a car can travel as safely around a corner at the same speed as when travelling in a straight line.
One nice touch is the imitation workman at the roadside waving his red flag to warn of roadworks.
He looks very realistic until you get very close up and I think he does an excellent job considering his long hours and zero wage-bill.

Jeez,what happened there?
The site has gone berserk!