Toll Roads or Not?

[derek500]

I was reading on one of the other forums about the merits of using toll roads and one of the posters said basically by not using toll roads "it's going to cost you a fortune in fuel going any other way". I find this hard to believe. As an example this August we travelled from our house just outside Valencia to Dunkerque without using toll roads. Total trip 1599kms and we used just under 10 litres per 100km. The total exact driving time was 22hrs 59min. I have just planned the route on www.autoroutes.fr and that comes up with 1710kms along with 123.73€ in tolls. A lot of my route was motorway/dual carriageways and I don't drive faster than 90km/hr. I suppose if I was in a hurry the toll roads would be good but then increasing my speed to 110-120kms/hr would see a see my litres/100kms increase.

[Terrytraveller]

Hi Derek, Depends how you drive and if you are in a hurry, I always use non peage because the drive is part & parcel of any holiday to me. The only drawback using the RN and D roads is the number of times you need to slow down for the 30mph areas, and the higher risk to your drivers licence if you don't. I have seen the national police taking down many motorists on several favourite places for them, usually just on the brow of a hill, you know - you increase speed going downhill to make the hill coming up in front of you, you have 50/60 mph on your speedo, suddenly the 30mph town sign is there, a policeman taking your picture, a dozen or so are in a layby flagging down and noting misfortunate motorists details. I have never been caught yet - but expect to be - one day, even though I try real hard to obey the road signs. The French are very good at obscuring the signs and warnings, behind tree's and bushes etc., you can easily round a bend to find a roundabout right in front of you, if you didn't know the road. Now - with SatNav, you know if a roundabout is coming up a mile away from it, and it warns you as you get closer, so you can use the engine to brake to a suitable speed, same goes for built up areas which are shown in grey on my SatNav display. Using this layback method of driving increases the miles I get out of every gallon of fuel, going on motorways whether peage or not usually means I put my foot down, reducing the number of miles I can get out of a gallon. Regards Terry

[chas]

I look forward to driving on French motorways, because of the quality of the road and facilities offered, but what do motorcaravanners think of the M6 toll in this country, is it not the biggist rip off around, considering the distance charged/travelled. chas

[Keith T]

We use a mixture in France, but where there are good dual carriageways for free - Brittany a good example - then we use these. Tools are reasonable priced on the whole, and you can cover a good mileage without much hassle. Also fuel consumption is better, as long as you keep the speed down a little! The oterh thing to avoid is fuel stations though, andw e always check and fill up before going on the toll roads. They are also far better for stopping to the ineviatble coffee or lunch breaks.

[Tony Jones]

M6 Toll a rip off? Just slightly! Living in Essex but "originating" in the Manchester area, I'm now quite used to the Dartford crossing, which counts my Hi-top SWB Transit as a car. So I was horrified to have it charged at over twice the car rate the first time I took it on the M6T. I queried this with an attendant, and was THEN handed a leaflet defining my vehicle as a higher class on the grounds of its "height at the point of the front axle"!!! Why isn't there a UK-wide definition of these groups, since the same "car/van/coach" etc symbols are used on the signs for all the toll-roads? And since there isn't, how on earth is anyone supposed to know BEFORE they use the road what class their vehicle is? Needless to say I only use the M6T when I'm in a "proper" car now. In the van, I've reverted to the A50 (it's over 20 years since I used the "old" M6 around Brimingham, for obvious reasons!) Tony

[Guest Frank Wilkinson]

Whether or not to use toll roads is very subjective. Last year they were a boon as on one occasion we wanted to get from one part of France to another and we managed in one day's travelling what would have taken two on normal roads. Yes it cost a few bob, but again, that's up to the individual's circumstances.

Having said that though, it is really nice not to be in a hurry and to take the scenic route. But not everyone is retired and can take the extra travelling time to get to their destination.

Horses for courses was never truer than in this debate!

[Don Madge]

[QUOTE]derek500 - 2006-11-21 10:30 AM I was reading on one of the other forums about the merits of using toll roads and one of the posters said basically by not using toll roads "it's going to cost you a fortune in fuel going any other way". I find this hard to believe. .[/QUOTE] Derek, If you travel long distance in Italy and don't use the Autostrada it can cost you a lot more than the toll. We travel from Lake Como to Brindisi with two night stops on the Autostrada and the toll is Euro 48. If you used the SS roads you would have to drive through Milan, Modena and Bologna. That does no even bear thinking about Don

[Brian Kirby]

I have been unable to detect any material reduction in fuel consumption in favour of dual carriageways (including motorways, or motorway type roads of whatever country) or single carriageways.  On dual carriageways you tend to go that bit quicker, so the fuel consumption rises on that count: on the other hand you slow down and or stop less often, so it falls on that count.  Overall, our 'van returns 25 mpg pretty much everywhere.

Progress on single carriageway roads is inevitably slower overall, so you do spend longer covering the same distance, meaning you need to factor in additional overnight stops.  However, since most of us take breaks of fairly fixed durations, that merely means that for a given number of nights away, some of your overnight locations will vary depending on how fast you travel.  If you've planned your route for interest, you'll gain advantage from your overnight stops, if you're only interested in the fastest A - B journey you'll see them as lost time.

That just leaves boredom, and the cost of any tolls.  Personally, I get bored on most dual carriageways.  You miss everything of interest and just drone on for hours on end.  Quick, clinical, but totally devoid of interest.  However, if you have to pay tolls, the costs can stack up quite quickly - especially in France. 

Therefore, I'd say tolls simply push up the overall cost of your holiday, with the only saving being in travelling time.  If you're pushed for time, it's probably worth paying them, if you're not, I can't see any advantage - except perhaps in Italy where the non dual carriageway roads, and especially the towns, can be so chaotic you'd risk expiring of old age before you'd arrive.  Anyway, as Don says, the autostradae ain't that dear (neither are they anything like so well maintained as the autoroutes or autobahnen).

As ever, yer pays yer money!

[colin]

[QUOTE]Tony Jones - 2006-11-21 3:27 PM M6 Toll a rip off? Just slightly! Living in Essex but "originating" in the Manchester area, I'm now quite used to the Dartford crossing, which counts my Hi-top SWB Transit as a car. So I was horrified to have it charged at over twice the car rate the first time I took it on the M6T. I queried this with an attendant, and was THEN handed a leaflet defining my vehicle as a higher class on the grounds of its "height at the point of the front axle"!!! Why isn't there a UK-wide definition of these groups, since the same "car/van/coach" etc symbols are used on the signs for all the toll-roads? And since there isn't, how on earth is anyone supposed to know BEFORE they use the road what class their vehicle is? Needless to say I only use the M6T when I'm in a "proper" car now. In the van, I've reverted to the A50 (it's over 20 years since I used the "old" M6 around Brimingham, for obvious reasons!) Tony[/QUOTE] Thats odd my T25 gets charged as van how do you get the smaller charge?