Transport in The Isle of Man - Roads

Roads

The island has a total of 688 miles (1,107 km) of public roads, all of which are paved. Roads are named using a numbering scheme similar to those used in the numbering of roads in Great Britain and Northern Ireland; each road is assigned a letter, which represents the road's category, and a subsequent 1–2 digit number. A roads constitute the main roads of the island whilst roads labelled B to D will decrease in size and or quality. U roads are yet smaller. There is no national speed limit - that is to say, the majority of roads one may drive at any speed which is safe and appropriate. Careless and dangerous driving laws still apply of course, so one may not travel at absolutely any speed. Nevertheless, sight lines are such that there are parts of the network where someone in an appropriate vehicle could approach 300mph - but local speed limits are prevalent in a similar manner to the UK. Nevertheless, measured travel speeds are often relatively low. One potential reason for this is that locals are permitted to start driving at the age of sixteen, when they are limited to 50mph for two years (indeed all drivers are limited to 50mph in the first two years after passing their driving test) and some are not used to having to make progress in the same way that drivers using a larger road network like in the UK are (even an awful driver can get from anywhere in the island to anywhere else in ninety minutes). Set against that is a strong culture of motor sport enthusiasm (pinaccled in the TT, but there are a huge number of events throughout the year) and the better locals are well used to traversing country roads at speeds illegal in roads of such low quality anywhere else on earth. This leads to a very diverse level of both driving competence and speed. It is probably safe to say the typical driver is both highly competent and relatively slow, rarely exceeding 75mph (121 km/h). Nevertheless it should be noted that in a referendum in the 2000s the introduction of blanket speed limits was refused by the population, suggesting that a large number appreciate the freedom.

There is a comprehensive bus network, operated by Bus Vannin, a department of the Isle of Man Government, with most routes originating or terminating in Douglas.