About England
Until recently England was generally thought of as a gentle, fabled land freeze-framed sometime in the 1930s, home of the post office, country pub and vicarage. It's now better known for vibrant cities with great nightlife and attractions, contrasted with green and pleasant countryside.
From Stonehenge and Tower Bridge to Eton and Oxford, England is loaded with cherished icons of a past era. But it also does modernity with a confidence and panache left over from its days in the never-setting sun. Fashion, fine dining, clubbing, shopping - England's rates with the world's best.
England is looking forward into the new century while trying to forget many of the developments of the previous 100 years. That period witnessed the fall of the empire, the loss of the trading base and the nation's inability to adjust to a diminished role in the modern world - from colonial empire to member of the EC. But while the Family may have taken a right Royal battering, many of the other august institutions at the cornerstone of British life have muddled their way through with a stiff upper lip and a strong sense of protocol.
Full country name: EnglandArea: 129,720 sq km
Population: 51 million
Capital City: London
People: Anglo-Saxons, Scots, Welsh, Irish, West Indians, Pakistanis, Indians
Language: English
Religion: Church of England, Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh.
Government: constitutional monarchy
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II
Head of Government: Prime Minister Tony Blair
GDP: US$1.25 trillion
Member of EU: Yes
A short dictionary for a tourist travelling in England:
Car rent =
Helpful Contact Numbers
police/ambulance/fire - 999
Driving restrictions
Given London's excellent public transport and congested traffic, I recommend that you do not drive there. Rush hours in London occur from 8.30am to 10am and from 5.30pm to 7pm. Avoid the M25 ring road or orbital that circles London; traffic will probably be snarled on this overburdened thoroughfare at all times except late evenings and Sunday mornings. If you want to know how to get from here to there in London, get a Mini London A-Z Street Atlas and Index; it's used religiously - especially by the residents. The Atlas illustrates and indexes every street, alleyway, tube line and tube stop in London. You can pick up an Atlas in one of the countless shops and bookstores in London.
A daily £5 charge has been introduced in a bid to reduce congestion in central London. See the London section for more detail on congestion charging.
Driving is on the left-hand side of the road. Seat belts must be worn by all vehicle occupants. The legal blood alcohol limit of drivers is 0,0
Flashing amber traffic lights warn that you must give priority to pedestrians on the crossing. Pedestrians on a striped crosswalk always have legal right-of-way. At intersections a dashed or double-dashed line across your path, or a triangle or a series of triangles pointed toward you on the roadway, indicate that you should give priority to the traffic on the other road. If a triangle or series of triangles points away from you, you have priority. There are very few Stop signs in the UK; instead priority rules and traffic signals control traffic. Generally, priority is given to vehicles on the right. Where priority is the prime control, vehicles entering priority roads are under no obligation to stop unless yielding to a vehicle on the priority road. This can alarm foreign drivers at first, as vehicles seem to come flying out of side roads and partially onto the priority road with little thought of stopping; but alas they do stop. As the above discussion suggests, vehicles on a roundabout have priority; vehicles entering a roundabout must give way. And roundabouts are, to put it mildly, legion. In fact roundabouts appear so frequently as to be almost comical; but they are the logical extension of the almost religious deference given to the priority-on-the-right rule, which allows for the admittedly sane and civilised minimisation of the number necessary road signs and full stops.
If there are two solid white lines along the centre of the road (or one solid and one broken white line with the solid white line nearest to you) you are forbidden to cross the line to overtake, but are allowed to turn right. However there are exceptions to this rule, such as passing a stationary vehicle, bicycle, horse and rider or vehicle carrying out road maintenance that is travelling at less than 10 mph.
If a right turn is forbidden, this will be marked explicitly with a no-right-turn sign, or a barrier will be placed along the centre of the road so that the turn is not possible.
When multiple lanes travel in one direction, you should pass or overtake using the lane toward the median or centre of the road. Refrain from passing on the other side, the outside. It's not a good idea to flash your headlights to indicate you want to pass, as this is likely to offend the driver ahead of you. Better just express a sense of urgency by using your indicator and hovering quite near behind the vehicle and somewhat toward the centre of the road-but without tailgating. You are supposed to slow to a crawl when passing a horse and rider along a country road; the rider should acknowledge your courtesy by waving thanks. Always give right of way to domestic animals.
Small country lanes are very often harrowingly narrow, with ancient hedgerows like thick walls of rock defining either side. Don't, however, shrink from driving such roads, as they can be avenues to beautiful scenery (though the hedges often maddeningly occlude the views) and fun to drive; but when doing so you must be almost constantly prepared to bring your vehicle to a crawl and negotiate some sort of compromise with the oncoming traffic.
It is illegal for a driver to use a mobile phone while driving.
Speed Limits
| Area | Limit |
| Expressways | 113 KM/H |
| Outside the City | 97 KM/H |
| In the City | 48 or 64 KM/H |
Parking
Pay-and-display machines are common. A single yellow line painted on the curb means parking in that spot is restricted during daylight hours. A red line or double yellow lines mean more complicated rules apply; look for signs on nearby lamp posts to get the specifics. Of course, you may not park on striped crosswalks; moreover, you cannot park in the zone that precedes a crosswalk, a zone marked by zigzag lines or by rows of studs. In London, wheel clamps are used on illegally parked vehicles: £38 release charge-plus £40 on the Red Route, £30 elsewhere in London, or £20 outside London proper.
Road Tolls
The M6 motorway has a toll, as do a handful of major bridges and tunnels.
