Blog
Heavy Traffic
Sunday 31st August 2014
August has been a particularly busy month and the cars have been out and about every weekend. There have also been some weekday weddings which have kept me occupied. In fact, I took a car out to a wedding in Watford last Wednesday. I know Watford can be congested on a Saturday but I was amazed at the amount of traffic on the roads on a mid-week lunchtime. The reception was at the Bobsleigh Inn in Bovingdon, just outside Hemel Hempstead and I planned to go through central Watford and then head northwards to Hemel Hempstead along the old A41. Sadly, central Watford was gridlocked and surrounding roads were busy due to an accident on the M25 as well as roadworks at Kings Langley.
Central Watford was easily avoided by judicious use of short-cuts along side roads but the trek northwards was more of a challenge. After hearing of traffic chaos at Apsley, I decided to be really brave and take the new A41 dual carriageway. This is the main route from Watford to Aylesbury and is a very fast road. I felt exposed as we trundled along at 35 mph and the other cars were flying past at 80 mph plus but it was the big trucks that concerned me most, as we swayed about in their slipstreams. I wouldn't say we were in danger, but I did feel uncomfortable and vowed to stay on smaller roads in the future, if at all possible.
Despite all of this, I did enjoy the day. The bride and groom were friendly and there was a relaxed atmosphere to the whole day. I took the slow roads back home and even had time to pop in to visit my Dad at his residential home in Hemel on the way back.