The trees of Paris

"James Silverton" wrote in message ...
"Runge" wrote in message
...
A nice clean anglo saxon point of view

May Earl continue to post in his own way! His stuff is certainly more
entertaining and interesting than that of his critics.

One of the things I did not mention about trees is the problem
with those along the side of the road. Especially in the south
of France. When it is hot and one does not have air conditioning
it is a relief from the sun to drive along a road shaded by rows
of trees, usually the platanes. I find these tree line routes beautiful.
A real joy.

However, the safety problem is significant. If you should happen
to drive off the road you are bound to hit a tree. A significant
number of people are killed in France each year hitting trees.

One solution is to cut down the trees and a lot of road safety
people are saying this. Motorcyclists are apparently subject
to these kinds of accidents. One group of "motards", armed
with chain saws attacked a section of road this last year, cutting
down several dozen trees.

These kinds of dangers don't exist along the autoroutes. The
French "nationals" and "departmentals" have trees in close
proximity to the road.

However another danger the motards face are road guards.
They have complained that if they go down on a curve, they
get badly hurt ot killed by sliding under the road guards which
don't to down to ground level. Automobiles are not affected
by these guards in the same manner.

For the visitor driving in France, I would only suggest greater
care driving on the nationals and departmentals than on the
autoroutes Don`t exceed the 90 km speed limit and avoid
driving at night. My own feeling is that single vehicle tree
collisions occur mostly at night and by drivers under the
influence of something. The young are particularly
susceptable to these kinds of accidents. But they could
occur from fatique at the end of a long driving day
even in daylight hours.

Don't push youself. Enjoy driving along these roads.

Earl

"Earl" wrote in message
om...
"deletions
However, the safety problem is significant. If you should happen
to drive off the road you are bound to hit a tree. A significant
number of people are killed in France each year hitting trees.

One solution is to cut down the trees and a lot of road safety
people are saying this. Motorcyclists are apparently subject
to these kinds of accidents. One group of "motards", armed
with chain saws attacked a section of road this last year, cutting
down several dozen trees.

These kinds of dangers don't exist along the autoroutes. The
French "nationals" and "departmentals" have trees in close
proximity to the road.


I can still remember first seeing and admiring the narrow roads of
France with poplars (?) on both sides. It was a long time ago and one
did not expect to drive very fast tho' it was a bit disconcerting to
try to pass on such roads in a right-hand drive car and have to rely
on a passenger for guidance!

One of the less successful attempts to deal with the trees occurred in
the Valais region of Switzerland which also had the tree-lined roads
(probably French influence, I guess). They cut down the trees on one
side of the road and then widened it. It may have helped traffic
safety but it looked plain wrong.


--
James V. Silverton
Potomac, Maryland, USA