Roads in the Isle of Man

There are a number of transport services around the Isle of Man, mostly consisting of paved roads, public transport, rail services, sea ports and an airport.

The island has a total of 688 miles (1,107 km) of public roads, all of which are paved. Roads are numbered using a numbering scheme similar to the numbering schemes of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; each road is assigned a letter, which represents the road's category, followed by a 1 or 2 digit number. A roads are the main roads of the island whilst roads labelled B, C, D or U decrease in size and or quality. (The C, D and U numbers are not marked on most maps.) There is no national speed limit - some roads may be driven at any speed which is safe and appropriate. Careless and dangerous driving laws still apply, so one may not drive at absolutely any speed, and there are local speed limits on many roads. Nevertheless, sight lines are such that there are parts of the network where someone in an appropriate vehicle could approach 200 miles per hour (322 km/h), although measured travel speeds (see table below) are often relatively low. Drivers are limited to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) in the first two years after passing their driving test (Isle of Man citizens are permitted to start driving at the age of sixteen) and some are not used to having to make progress in the same way as on a larger road network such as that in the UK: even a cautious driver can get from anywhere in the island to anywhere else in ninety minutes).

Set against this is a strong culture of motor sport enthusiasm (pinnacled in the TT, but there are many events during the year) and experienced residents are well used to traversing country roads at speeds illegal on roads of such relatively low quality anywhere else on Earth. This leads to a very diverse level of both driving competence and speed. In an official survey in 2006 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.

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