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What are freeways like in big cities in other country's like such as shanghi, tel aviv, paris, dubai, rome, Tokyo etc. Usual amount of lanes? are they viaducts? Etc. Explain it thoroughly please thanks!
In Germany, you don't have freeways going through the center of a city. The Autobahn system bypasses cities, increasing speed. Large feeder roads connect urban centers with the Autobahn system. (note: In some areas, development has reached Autobahn corridors, but it's nothing like the "exit every mile" in the U.S.)
Local feeder roads are surface streets. In some congested areas, a few lanes will go underground for a few KMs, to be used as a bypass though major intersections.
Compared to U.S. freeways, off-/on-ramps are generally shorter, and lanes are narrower. Guardrails are common along the sides of the road.
Traffic. keeps right (same as the U.S.), and the left lane is strictly for passing. Certain sections, away from urban centers, have unrestricted speed limits (there's still an advised limit of 130km/h).
In some urban areas, the shoulder is used as an auxiliary lane during periods of congestion (these areas are clearly marked with signs).
Road signs across Europe are white text on a blue background (a U.K. road safety study found it was the most legible / identifiable color combination at speed). Signs and symbols are standardized across the EU nations.
Road signs across Europe are white text on a blue background (a U.K. road safety study found it was the most legible / identifiable color combination at speed). Signs and symbols are standardized across the EU nations.
I can't stand to look at blue signs. Safety be damned, green is so much easier on the eyes.
They are all pretty horrible compared to here, except Tel Aviv and Dubai.
I remember the freeway in most of Southern Italy being like a rural American freeway. But then I read a site that said it was a pretty low quality highway. I had okay memories of it, but could my memory be failing and do I believe the website?
I've driven in Spain, France, Italy, Ireland, Canada, and Australia. I've been a passenger for road trips in/through Belgium & Switzerland.
I drove extensively in Australia - Brisbane, Sydney, & Melbourne - having lived there for a while. Aside from being on the other side of the road the motorways are mostly the same, lane widths seem to be the same, ample shoulders where possible, 3-4 lanes in most places, similar signage and use of colors, use of jersey barriers in more built up areas, driver etiquette is similar. Roads are mostly at-grade except where they have to cross something. Speed limit is 80-100kph in urban areas, 110 in exurban areas, and 120 in rural areas - but these are few and far between as Australia doesn't have an interstate system - only urban freeways. Australian cities don't have freeways running through the CBD like US cities do. It's only recently that Brisbane and Sydney have built toll tunnels to connect two freeways on opposite sides of downtown. Melbourne tried to do similar but there was a major backlash.
I've driven a few times to both Toronto and Montreal. The roads are almost identical. Even the shields Quebec uses for their freeways look precisely like the US Interstate shield. The speed limit is usually 80-100kph depending on how busy the road normally is, how many on/off ramps there are. Roads run the gamut from at-grade, viaduct, to tunnel. Generally 2-4 lanes depending on suburban vs. urban. Montreal drivers can be crazy but not much different, IMO, from Boston drivers. Toronto is a lot more tame.
I drove from Barcelona down to Tarragona - aside from narrow lanes and narrower shoulders and the obvious change in signage - I found the experience to be the most US like in Europe. Speed limits ranged from 80 - 100kph but mostly 100kph. It was usually 2-3 lanes depending on whether or not it was urban or rural. The newer highway segments seemed to have slightly higher lane widths. Driving here and on the island of Mallorca I never felt out of my element like I have in other countries. It seemed to be very much the style of driving I'm accustomed to. Most of the roadway is at grade except bridges where needed and there are a few tunnels.
In France I drove from Perpignan up to Lyon. The roads are definitely bigger in France than in Spain - lanes are wider, there are usually more lanes, people drive a lot faster (I think the speed limit goes up to 130kph) and they feel a lot busier. More like driving one of the turnpikes in the Northeast US. Drivers are also a lot more aggressive. I felt intimidated - not to the point that I wanted to quit - just that I thought the other drivers were super a-holes. These were also mostly rural, interstate type roads. I didn't do much urban freeway driving (and there aren't that many outside of Paris anyway.
I drove in Italy for a week on a roadtrip - mostly in Sardinia. I don't recommend it. I saw two road deaths while I was there. People are just completely insane and after a few days I didn't want to drive anymore but I had to keep going so we could return the car. This was mostly rural, interstate type roads that were still being developed and would go from 4-lanes, down to 2, then back to 4 lanes. I get the impression that there's an EU standard to new motorways/autostradas because they're all very similar and these roads were being expanded to similar standards as in Spain & France.
^^My memories of Canada are similar. We once drove from somewhere north of Great Falls, MT to Vancouver. I do recall some parts of that highway not being of the same quality as interstates in the US. The price of gas was high, several times that of the US. I remember saying to my husband "What do they do with the gas tax here? They're not building much of a road system with it". To which he replied, "I think it all goes into the general socialism budget".
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thanks!
