About

Hello! Thanks for visiting Roads.org.uk, the biggest site on the internet dedicated to the UK road network and, in our humble opinion, the best. But what is Roads.org.uk? And who writes it? Don't worry, this page is here to answer all those questions.

What is it?

Roads.org.uk is a home for all manner of information on the roads of mainland Britain and sometimes also Northern Ireland. It was set up in August 2001 when I started thinking that there were no other sites on the internet that did this and that one was needed, to satisfy my own interests if nothing else.

While researching the site, and having one last look around before putting this site up, I stumbled across the original SABRE website and realised I was not alone. I found myself emailing SABRE's author, Brad, with those infamous words "I thought I was the only one", which have been uttered by the majority of people who have joined in the community since.

However, SABRE didn't cover everything I thought needed to be done so I put my own site online anyway, and before long found that there were a surprising number of people who wanted to read about this stuff.

Once upon a time the site was updated weekly. That doesn't happen any more, and in fact the site took an extended break between summer 2012 and autumn 2014. It's now returned in a slightly slimmed-down format with a less regular update schedule.

Didn't it used to be called "CBRD"?

Yes, from the site's launch in 2001 to the summer of 2018 this website was called CBRD, four letters that stood for "Chris's British Roads Directory". Its renaming was a relief for everyone concerned. There's a blog post explaining the changes and the reason for a change of name after 17 years online.

What does Roads.org.uk do?

It's here to provide information and entertainment to anyone interested in the road network of the UK. It has some fun stuff and quite a lot of serious research and information, presented in a bright, friendly and digestible way.

It's helped out all sorts of people over the years.

  • There have been numerous press enquiries, from publications such as The GuardianThe Daily TelegraphThe Independent and Local Transport Today to organizations like BBC Local Radio.
  • Both enquiries and information have come from within the industry, from contracting companies and local government to the RAC. The AA published material from the British Roads FAQ in some of its 2006 maps.
  • The site has helped out a Japanese highway research project and made a contribution to Turkish road safety.
  • It's a regular information source for some radio travel reports.
  • According to one source, it's widely read in the Transport Research Laboratory, and has been used and quoted in academic research and consultants' reports several times.

Highways England and Department for Transport have even been known to refer some queries here when they couldn't provide the answers themselves.

The site regularly provides research for homeworks and historical investigations, and has regular visitors from around the world. It is the biggest UK roads website on the internet.

Who is this Chris person?

Chris is no longer in his twenties and therefore not interested in discussing his age here in any meaningful detail. He is from Leeds and now lives in Hampshire. The Daily Telegraph describes him as "not at all geeky", which is nice of them, but perhaps a little wide of the mark. He is the sole person behind this website.

Your author among friends. He is the one in the centre foreground. Click to enlarge
Your author among friends. He is the one in the centre foreground. Click to enlarge

He passed his driving test in December 2006, having run this website about British roads for the previous five years. A few years later he finally got a car.

Chris is works in broadcasting, and spends his days deep underground surrounded by complex equipment and buttons that light up when you press them. He's not sure how he manages to get paid for enjoying himself in this way.

He writes about himself in the third person.

And finally...

A word of thanks to everyone who visits the site. Since August 2001, Roads.org.uk has picked up a number of regular visitors and contributors (the number of whom never fails to astound me). Whether you drop by every week without fail to see if there's a new update, or you just came here once, by accident, to find out what HATO stands for, thank you for taking an interest and giving me a reason to carry on.

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