Sydney roads suck!!!

[HLC]

crap sydney roads make it fun to drive lol always a new challenge around every corner!

[Conrad]

Originally Posted by charles_wif_xf

I was in Sydney for the weekend and I must say, their roads are absolutely shocking!!! Everything is one way, no right turn signs everywhere, very narrow lanes, extremely inconsistent lane marking (there is absolutely no logic to how the RTA marks lanes, a retarded monkey could do a better job). And people think hook turns are bad. At one point the GPS chucked a wobbly being taken around so much just trying to get anywhere. Oh yeah, also, everyone drives like cut cats; it's almost like the traffic light grand prix is the norm with everyone rushing.

That said, once out in the 'burbs, it's not too bad.

wow i've never seen a male sound so much like a female in all my life..

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by b2tf

If you get lost in Wagga you have absolutely ZERO credibility to comment on driving anywhere else in Australia.

Pffft. I'm a Sydney driver. And everyone else finds our city a challenge. Therefore we > rest of Australian drivers. :

[rodderz]

Driving to the airport from Sydney city is like driving down the Monaco grand prix track, concrete walls 5m high on both sides and signs every 5m saying turnoff to such and such in 10m! By the time you've read the "Woolloomooloo" sign you've missed 3 turn offs!

Having said that traffic in any built up city is probably my biggest pet hate. I'de rather drive an extra 20km just to have less traffic.

As for hook turns in Melbourne...I've only had to do one once in over 10 years!

[Abacus]

Originally Posted by Steffo

Pffft. I'm a Sydney driver. And everyone else finds our city a challenge. Therefore we > rest of Australian drivers. :

I've been driving in Sydney for 30 odd years, and I'll be the first to admit it's a sh1thole of a place to drive in. We have, easily, the worst roads of any major city on Australia. As the OP said, too much of the city's roads are made of 50 year old concrete slabs that have floated out of alignment, been patched, dug up, and patched again. Most of them are waaay to narrow, and "peak hour" goes from 6:30am to 10:00am in the morning, and 3:30pm to 7:30pm at night.

It's something you really have to take into account when you have your car lowered or go for large diameter/low profile tyres.

Then again, at least Sydney drivers know how to drive. I spent six months in Brisbane a few years ago - and that was a complete friggen nightmare. It's not that their roads are bad - they're actually very good. The drivers, however, are dreadful. They kind of meander at wildly varying, but slow, speeds all across the road without a care in the world and wouldn't know what a turning indicator was if it jumped up and bit them on the bum.

I guess that at the end of the day you get used to the driving environment you live in.

[charles_wif_xf]

Originally Posted by gz1

The heading is stating the bleeding obvious, and I live in Sydney.
As for RTA Careful with that comment, you are insulting retarded monkeys. And there is a very good reason that the RTA does not employ any retarded monkeys: the monkeys are over-qualified.

:

I got used to the drivers very quickly but the roads... Farrrrk, it is something everyone has to experience, to see how not to make roads and regulate the traffic using them.

[smee323]

Want to drive in a 3rd world country, come to Adelaide.
Coming from Canberra and having weeks of experience on Sydney and Melbourne roads, Adelaide is seriously bad.
No respect for clearways, indicators, merrging or any common driving practices on show in other states.
And who in their right mind sends 80+ carriage freight trains through the centre of a city and stops traffic flow for up to 10 minutes. I don't think some of the town planners even know what an overpass looks like.
+, it's taken them more than 3 years to build a by-pass that should have been finished 6 months ago. Still 6 months to go from what I hear. They need some good old QLD road building. Go 24 / 7 and just get it done.

[IDT]

I'm a born and bread Sydney boy and think the quality of the roads, lack of a plan is a joke. For a population as big as it has there is no excuse. Not even the age of the place. As for the drivers, yeah they are crap but if you want to see really really bad town planning and the worst driving in the country come to Perth. When you get close to the city center is crossover hell with people to scared to merge so they drive at ten k's an hour. Whats worse is people just have no idea who to give way to and if its raining everything just stops.

[Swordsman88]

Originally Posted by Abacus

Then again, at least Sydney drivers know how to drive. I spent six months in Brisbane a few years ago - and that was a complete friggen nightmare. It's not that their roads are bad - they're actually very good. The drivers, however, are dreadful. They kind of meander at wildly varying, but slow, speeds all across the road without a care in the world and wouldn't know what a turning indicator was if it jumped up and bit them on the bum.

I guess that at the end of the day you get used to the driving environment you live in.

As a brisbane resident i can confirm this for sure Abacus. It appears everyone has their own gripes of their capital's roads/traffic. The times i have been in sydney did seem to show really poor quality roads, especially surfaces, and melbourne while it seemed ok, getting my head around the presence of these train like things in the middle of the road was difficult! :

But in brisbane, sure the roads are generally ok but drivers here seriously don't seem to be 'at home' at all behind the wheel. I would say POOR LANE DISCIPLINE is the worse thing, total lack of awareness about other drivers and lack of indication as you mentioned. Just last week i was almost pushed out of my lane by a young lady who seemed unable to keep her toyota yaris in her lane...seemed like more than enough room for my EF but?? Oh, and when it rains, rarely, well you're in for fun because these guys don't have a clue about what water does to stopping distances!

[chevypower]

Yep, gotta pay for every freeway, or drive on Paramatta Rd. Way, way, way too many fixed speed cameras (there shouldn't be any). Speed limits are too slow on the freeways that you have to pay to use!!!

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by chevypower

Yep, gotta pay for every freeway, or drive on Paramatta Rd. Way, way, way too many fixed speed cameras (there shouldn't be any). Speed limits are too slow on the freeways that you have to pay to use!!!

You can avoid paying on the M5 and M4.

M4 is pretty easy... heading citybound, if there's no traffic, get off on Church Street, right and then immediate left, Parramatta Road to Silverwater Road, left, then back on the M4 until Parramatta Road, Concord.

If there's traffic, get off James Ruse Drive, turn right into the industrial area, go up that big bridge thing... then take your first roundabout right. Follow it to the end and go right, then follow that right around to then end and go right. At the light you come to (Parramatta Road, before the 60km/h camera), turn left and then you're back on Parra Road at Auburn. Keep following to Silverwater road and yeah.

M5 is free from Hume Hwy to Heathcote Road... and from the city to Kingsgrove Road.

Most Sydneysiders would know this though... lol

[gz1]

Guys I think the original thread referred to the roads not the drivers. The drivers do vary considerably depending when and where, but the thing that really is bad in Sydney is the actual infrastructure. Bad to no maintenance, extremely poor planning, and almost zero regard for motorists are the rule. For e.g. blocking off established roads to force traffic through toll tunnels, both cross city and lane cove. Zero maintenance that allows a road to be washed away in rain causing the deaths of an entire family. Potholed roads that have caused damage to numerous vehicles even in this forum. Those are just a few of the problems that face Sydney residents thanks to the incredibly incompetent RTA.
Sure other states have some issues as well, however from my experience nowhere near as much as Sydney.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by gz1

Bad to no maintenance, extremely poor planning, and almost zero regard for motorists are the rule. For e.g. blocking off established roads to force traffic through toll tunnels, both cross city and lane cove. Zero maintenance that allows a road to be washed away in rain causing the deaths of an entire family. Potholed roads that have caused damage to numerous vehicles even in this forum. Those are just a few of the problems that face Sydney residents thanks to the incredibly incompetent RTA.
Sure other states have some issues as well, however from my experience nowhere near as much as Sydney.

No arguments here when it comes to cross city tunnel.

Even when they gave a free week of the cross city tunnel, I refused to use it even though it would have saved me time. I don't mind if you give me the option, but to close lanes in an attempt to funnel drivers into a toll road. Bzzzt. Never driven it and never will (and I get reimbursed for toll roads through work...!)

Lane Cove tunnel I use. But then that's because I'm coming straight off the M2. It doesn't feel like you're being forced to use it if you M7, M2, LCT.

Maintenance, yeah.. don't know how you tackle that though. Build the road right the first time I guess. Potholes stand for awhile until a crew comes along and fills it with some loose bitumen which gets kicked up into windscreens and washed away in the next big downpour.

I guess Sydney drivers and Sydney roads always keep you alert.. :P

[MRJUCY]

Originally Posted by Rodp

Lane Cove tunnel I use. But then that's because I'm coming straight off the M2. It doesn't feel like you're being forced to use it if you M7, M2, LCT.

The Lane Cove Tunnel is the one that makes me angrier & refuse to use.
We had Epping Road which was 3 lanes & 80km/h which they've reduced to 1 lane & 60km/h so you pay to use the 2 lane tunnel at 80km/h with speed cameras every 5 meters so we've ended up with the same amount of lanes & speed limit as we had before but paying for the privilege.

[gz1]

Originally Posted by MRJUCY

The Lane Cove Tunnel is the one that makes me angrier & refuse to use.
We had Epping Road which was 3 lanes & 80km/h which they've reduced to 1 lane & 60km/h so you pay to use the 2 lane tunnel at 80km/h with speed cameras every 5 meters so we've ended up with the same amount of lanes & speed limit as we had before but paying for the privilege.

Actually that is a very good point. With the closing of the two lanes on Epping Rd the number of lanes is exactly the same as before the tunnel. So what is the purpose of it?. Now try and tell me there were no backhanders involved.

[Jesk]

Originally Posted by smee323

Want to drive in a 3rd world country, come to Adelaide.
Coming from Canberra and having weeks of experience on Sydney and Melbourne roads, Adelaide is seriously bad.
No respect for clearways, indicators, merrging or any common driving practices on show in other states.
And who in their right mind sends 80+ carriage freight trains through the centre of a city and stops traffic flow for up to 10 minutes. I don't think some of the town planners even know what an overpass looks like.
+, it's taken them more than 3 years to build a by-pass that should have been finished 6 months ago. Still 6 months to go from what I hear. They need some good old QLD road building. Go 24 / 7 and just get it done.

too right, put a south aussie behind the wheel and you've just given a licence to kill! yes I'm a south aussie native too. BTW what's this hook turn you are talking about cos I've never been to melbuorne, and sydney was nuts but I was used to a town of only a couple of thousand

[LeadFoot81]

Originally Posted by charles_wif_xf

I was in Sydney for the weekend and I must say, their roads are absolutely shocking!!! Everything is one way, no right turn signs everywhere, very narrow lanes, extremely inconsistent lane marking (there is absolutely no logic to how the RTA marks lanes, a retarded monkey could do a better job). And people think hook turns are bad. At one point the GPS chucked a wobbly being taken around so much just trying to get anywhere. Oh yeah, also, everyone drives like cut cats; it's almost like the traffic light grand prix is the norm with everyone rushing.

That said, once out in the 'burbs, it's not too bad.

Agree with you 100% I was up in Sydney a month back and the roads were chaotic to say the least. 30 seconds after we pulled out of the rentacar place we almost got sideswiped by a bus, and a few mins in witnessed two cars narrowly avoid an accident.

Its like no thought whatsoever has gone into their roads, they just slap down roads all over the shop (my satnav chucked a wobbly as well) closely followed by the mrs! yikes!

[Keepleft]

Originally Posted by MRJUCY

The Lane Cove Tunnel is the one that makes me angrier & refuse to use.
We had Epping Road which was 3 lanes & 80km/h which they've reduced to 1 lane & 60km/h so you pay to use the 2 lane tunnel at 80km/h with speed cameras every 5 meters so we've ended up with the same amount of lanes & speed limit as we had before but paying for the privilege.

The 80km/h limit for a 'tunnel' is appropriate, the NSW tunnels do not bear a continuous breakdown shoulder on the left. Have my way in mandatory design, they will - even if it adds costs exceeding 100 million dollars per project.

To fix NSW infrustructure will mean a major political fight with government employees/agencies, it is a fight that will be very necessary. I am not all comfortable with inter relationships that develop between road adminstrative agencies and consultants/construction co's.

The state must return more of the road maintenance responsibility to itself.

[GasoLane]

What most people fail to realise is that unlike most other capital cities in Oz Sydenee's streets were not designed by people familiar with building roads.

So they just followed the original Aboriginal walking tracks and threw some tar on top. :

[irlewy86]

Originally Posted by Abacus

Then again, at least Sydney drivers know how to drive. I spent six months in Brisbane a few years ago - and that was a complete friggen nightmare. It's not that their roads are bad - they're actually very good. The drivers, however, are dreadful. They kind of meander at wildly varying, but slow, speeds all across the road without a care in the world and wouldn't know what a turning indicator was if it jumped up and bit them on the bum.

I guess that at the end of the day you get used to the driving environment you live in.

Considering most Brisbane drivers learnt to drive in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide its no surprise the situation.

[BlackLS]

Originally Posted by Steffo

You can avoid paying on the M5 and M4.

M5 is free from Hume Hwy to Heathcote Road... and from the city to Kingsgrove Road.

Most Sydneysiders would know this though... lol

City to King Georges Rd...

Unfortunatly the quickest way to the city from the South West in peak is the M5.

[StookEB]

A couple of months ago I drove from Bulahdelah (2-3 hours north of Sydney) to Bathurst. I stopped into Chatswood to pick up a mate, DAMM what a nightmare just getting to Chatswood was.
The drivers werent too bad really, its just that they dont care for anyone else.
THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT THEMSELVES.

Since I've never driven in Sydney myself before then I wasnt exactly sure of everything. I found directions to where I had to go (it was easy enough on paper) and sure enough I drove straight through Chatswood. I find a place to turn around but once again I got struck by my inexperience, I didnt realise that the right-hand lane went into the Lan Cove tunnell.

I cant read signs at long distances so that was one problem I had but the main problem was the lack of appropriate infustructure, it seems they can only come up with quick fixes not solutions.

Dont worry guys I visited the Optometrist after that and found I easily pass the driving eye sight test.

[motorcycles4eva]

all respect to the opinions posted... i've been out of ozz for 2 years now (originally from sydney) and currently in greece for work related reasons...i love reading any post from ozz cause i miss it!! you people think roads there suck?? ha!! try other not so lucky places.. where do i start.. the roads have no drainage system..when it rains and you're not going very slow you can be lucky enough to slide into the barrier or down an embankment.. when driving people will wait till you get closer to pull out without any indicator and tell you off cause you didn't give way..indicators??? what are they for???..you will also see father/mother/and even two kids on a bike at the same time, all wearing no safety gear, especially no helmet cause it will ruin the hair and it doesn't look cool!!! no camera's here.. you know where radar is cause it's there all the time.. if you're approaching a street and driving normal the fwit turning WILL pull out in front of you and you will see nigel mansels everywhere cause they're all pro's at driving..mind you have insurance cause 1% have a license.. if you are at the lights and waiting to turn,,as you start to turn others will join you and even push you out of the way... the highest road fatality's are where do you think???there are many many cars that are not road worthy and big rigs without breaks or safe tyres still pulling loads and tearing the streets... i know cause i make coffee for some...
should i write more??? i'm thinking of video taping fhis to prove it but i don't have a video cam....
the verdict for me right now?? no matter how crap the roads are in sydney.. i bloody miss it!!!! lol...