To be panicking about driving in London?

[Getyourjab]

I don’t live in a city, but agreed to help a young family member move their end of course Uni stuff out of central London.
I’ve realised I’m feeling quite panicky and CD am dreading it - I used to drive in London occasionally but I last drove into central London 3 months ago after a break of maybe 3 years (another errand) and my sat nav and phone (google maps) kept trying to send me down closed roads and I ended up driving round and round for over an hour.

There is no one available to help - any suggestions?
What is the best navigation app for London at the moment, that includes all the many roadworks and new cycle paths etc? It doesn’t seem to be google maps….

Pull out and tell them to hire a man with a van

All the uber drivers use Ways (sp?)

Otherwise try Waze

Plan your route before you leave. Don’t panic when your out on the road and so what if you take a wrong turn. Not unusual for folks to get confused in the city. Get your family member on the maps to help

I live in London and use Waze, it's really good for being up to date with any issues or road closures.

The problem in London is bus lanes and cameras and lots of areas you can't stop safely. I don't think I would ever do it. If you've driven in London and know what it's like and you know you'll get lost then you'd better not do it. Just apologise. There's lots of drivers who'd be OK with this. I've not got enough experience of navigation to do it.

As a side thought can your friend help navigate or is she / he clueless?

Don't forget to check whether you'll be entering ULEZ and Congestion Charge zones.

Also, get your friend to work out where you can park.

I honestly think it’s really easy to drive in London because there is so much traffic that no one goes faster than about 20mph so you have loads of time to switch lanes / get inline etc etc

Agree with using waze but also, I find it strangely easier to drive in central London than around smaller towns or even villages on occasion. In central London you can easily push your way across lanes or push into queues or out of junctions because you have to in order to get anywhere and for that reason most other vehicles don’t seem to care if you make a move that elsewhere you’d get beeped at.

I normally just use google

The other thing about London is just drive slow. There can be this pressure you put on yourself to “keep up” with the flow but most people will get around you if they want to anyhow

Also one other thing in central London for me versus outside is that in London people are way more forgiving of you needing to take a random left/right/swerve across lanes versus outside of London where they seem to block anyone who isn’t quite where they need to be - so you can correct as you go along

And if you go wrong it doesn’t matter, just let it recalculate and go a different way

As pp say. Also most of Central London is 20mph now. If your car is older, you'll need to pay the Ulez charge and also the congestion charge if you're going into the centre of London (check these zones on the tfl website). I think I'd be inclined to go with hiring a man and a van if there's not a lot of stuff. Or if it's a considerable distance, man and van to a suburban point on the outskirts of London and take over from there. Bit more hassle but less stressful for you.

It’s so slow there’s very little chance of an accident, so the worst case scenario is unlikely.

The worst is you miss a lane or turn. Mentally prepare for this and accept it. You may drive in a circle, it’s not the end of the world.

Be more aware of pedestrians and bikes and drive conservatively. They may just walk out, again just roll with it. Be ready to stop or allow for stupid behaviour, regardless of who has right of way.

Oh I also agree about just slowly navigating to your lane. People give way and no one cares. Allow people to cut across you too. Just drove slowly and relax a bit. If a bus or anyone gets squeeze just stop, they will get round you if you get right to the parked cars. Don’t bother trying to squeeze yourself in gaps you aren’t comfortable with. Ditto if they go to the wrong side of the road, just stop and let them. People drive a bit differently. I forget this outside London and get beeped on roundabouts or junctions sometimes!

Where do you want to go? Perhaps some of us can give you a steer on the best routes so you can plan ahead. Then use Waze to refine your route.

Driving in central London is hellish nowadays. Years ago I'd often drive up there but I wouldn't contemplate it now. Too many road closures and nowhere to park...it's horrendous which I suspect was their plan all along.

Driving in London is surprisingly easy!

1. Use waze, not Google maps.
2. If you are nervous, use maps (satellite version) to follow your planned route so you know roughly when you need to be in which lane.
3. Do not venture into any bus lanes - there are cameras everywhere. But don’t worry because…
4. London drivers are generally quite good at letting people change lanes etc - traffic is slow and people are forgiving because they have been there and done that already

5.

I live in London and driving is a shitshow. Temp lights everywhere, road closures, LTN's everywhere now (instant £65 fine) and parking is a nightmare.

I'd suggest Waze, and also get your family member to find out where you will be able to park. I'd say take it slow but there's always traffic so you'll be fine!

I live in zone 1 and just use google maps. As everyone has said, traffic flow is so slow that you have plenty of time to look at your navigation, check signs ect. Just stay away from bus lanes, and keep looking at the signs and road markings, you’ll be fine. If you take a wrong turn it’s not the end of the world.

The beauty of London traffic is that everyone wants to keep it moving so people let others out, wave them on etc, I was pretty horrified when I moved out and realised just how bad/ selfish drivers in the country are- and how fast they drive! You don't get over 20mph in London so you have more time to make decisions BUT saying that if you feel nervous pull out because there are alternatives like companies who specialise in shifting uni gear and tbh by the time you've paid for petrol and congestion charge it'll probably be cheaper.

I live zone2/3 borders & would deffo recommend Waze. It’s kept up to date and also shows the speed limit in the area… not that much is above 20mph anyways, it’s a good 15 minute drive from my house to the nearest 40mph road!

Another top tip, drive carefully, like everyone else is an idiot…cos there are a lot of them about!

Fab advice from everyone, thank you.
I’ve downloaded Waze and will keep in mind other drivers shouldn’t get too stressed if I have to change lanes because I don’t know the roads.
I’ve sorted UKEZ/ congestion charge.

The family member will unfortunately be of little help navigating as they don’t drive and are used to the walking routes not car routes.

I felt stressed last time once I realised I couldn’t stop anywhere to check maps etc even for a minute due to all the bus lanes, cameras and random blocked off roads. I ended up in a huge estate with lots of newly ‘pedestrianised/ one way dead ends in south London (near Kennington/ Brixton I think) but my sat nav kept trying to send me back down the blocked off roads.

Anyway, I’ll try to forget the last experience and trust in the accuracy of waze and the tolerance of other drivers in London!

Don't forget to set 'avoid tolls' or whatever if you want to avoid congestion charge zone

You sound like you're on the right track, but honestly I find London driving so much less scary than going out of town. As others have said, you have time to react as you're only driving at 20 in most cases. If you get anxious, you can pull off onto a side street or go into a McDonalds/supermarket to take a minute - you could always add one as a waypoint if you think you might need a break