I'm afraid they're at it again, only worse this time. This unbelievable Government is throwing yet another huge blanket at a problem that is caused by a tiny percent of bad drivers. I refer of course to the National Speed Limit being reduced from 60mph, to 50mph.

 

What will this achieve? Well, it is bound to increase RTA's. Most accidents are caused by poor, aggressive or inattentive drivers. They are not caused by speeding drivers per se. Not even this ludicrous Government and it's pitiful array of Transport Ministers will argue that point. (see my Articles and News page)

 

As an Ex Traffic Cop and Road Safety Officer and Traffic Management Consultant, I can safely say that trying to reduce still further, inappropriately low speed limits will make the situation worse. Drivers caught in and endlessly winding mobile traffic jam by someone doing 40-44mph along rural roads will be frustrated when they see open roads reduced to a crawl. Result? Normally courteous and conservative drivers will now seek out the slightest passing opportunity and therefore increase risk of conflict. Overtaking will be seen as Anti-social.

 

Plus, we all know that over-taking on double white lines, on bends, approaching cross roads, junctions etc are the real causes of serious RTA's - including the drugged and drunken drivers.

 

In 1981,82 and 83 when I was Road Safety Officer there were between 3,100 and 3,400 deaths on the roads of Britain each year - nothing the Government did reduced that figure. Since we now have much better cars, clearer all-round vision, ABS brakes, better tyres and suspension, coupled with road-humps, more road signs, traffic lights and more Speed Cameras than you can count - what is the result? The same number of deaths - perhaps even more so.

 

Everything the Govt. does to slow us down has a net effect of more congestion, more frustration, even more public alienation (if that ere possible given this bunch!) The real fact is Speed alone is no problem. Every RTA involves speed i.e. if you travel faster than 0mph you are travelling at speed.

 

Nu Labour have made Speed a swear word. In my experience, poor, aggressive and dangerous driving is the problem. However there is no revenue raising technology to detect that is there? Ah hem, do we smell a rat here?

 

Tony BLiar said in 1999 that Labour would "not interfere with the current speed limits as they were appropriate" - OK stop laughing will you.

 

There is a serious case for raising limits on dual carriageways and Motorways. Even raising it on rural roads in a lot of areas.

 

The latest ruse is to achieve the stealth technology SPECCS etc, to get the infrastructure in place to monitor and charge you for every mile you drive. All average speed cameras have ANPR technology that can ID your car and Registered Keeper. Always look for the Trojan Horse - nothing is what it seems.

 

They say it's for Road Safety but as we all know even with 6000 fixed speed cameras out there, fatal RTAs keep occurring - thus proof that Speed Does Not Kill - INAPPROPRIATE Speed and bad driving kills.

 

Quite why the British drivers, the voting public allow these non-driving, hidden agenda, stealth taxation people to keep crushing the spirit of the motorists in the UK I will never understand.

 

In 5 years time I'll update this blog (which will be archived on my Articles and News page shortly) and I can be pretty confident that the net effect of NuLabours (and probably the copycat Tories if they go along with this scam) ridiculous draconian policy on speed, will be - yup more drivers disqualified, more RTAs bourne out of frustration and the casualty figures will be the same or worse.

 

Doomsday merchant? Me? No not a bit. I have seen what goes on behind closed doors.

 

Faceless wonders in Europe throw down a dictat to the puppy dog UK about RTA figures. NuLabour sit up and beg - and create unachievable targets to please the un elected 'hero's' in Brussels. They did this in 1997 when they set out to reduce Child fatalities by 50% and Adult fatalities by 40% - both targets missed completely because they used a big Hammer called the Speed Camera and every nail they hit just picked out the errant, and day to day drivers and hardly reduced a casualty.

 

The Government approach to Road Safety is like the Government approach to Airport Security - 'don't profile and target the real perpetrators and hit them hard, just blanket frisk everyone and lasergun everything that moves.'

 

For 30 years I saw how targetting crooks and rogue drivers really worked.

 

For the last 12 years I've seen how a One Size Fits All approach by NuLabour has caused grief, alienation, frustration amongst the driving public. Also it has ruined the one last bastion of freedom in this nation the freedom to take a drive as a past-time and for Social, Domestic and Pleasure purposes. Remember those quaint words? SD&P. I am so surprised that NuLabour hasn't officially replaced those words with Anti-Social, UnDesirable and Pleasureless driving. Well they've done that in all but name anyhow.

 

You see some of us don't NEED a car to get back and for to work - some of us enjoy a trip out and we drive appropriately. All we can look forward to now, despite increased technology - better roads etc is a much lower average speed, increase in stress levels and more man made obstructions on our journey. So much for progress.

 

Motto - "if you cannot set realistic targets - just keep throwing a bigger and heavier blanket over the situation until you get a result". Nu Labour 21st Century.

 

Ed's note: Yes I'm afraid I belong to the most persecuted and discriminated against group in Britain. White, male, married, Small Business owning, Christian believing, heterosexual, tax-paying motorist, er, with savings................

 

In many years of Internet useage I've never, ever had such cause to give vent to spleen as I have since 1997 - go figure.

 

Just popping out in the old TwinTurbo for a blatt - Oh no, Carbon Footprint, global warming, climate change, coast errosion, depletion of the natterjack toad......................

 

ps just read about the Traffic Cop in Merseyside who stopped a driver last week for, wait for it, 'Laughing too much at the wheel'. The driver was on handsfree phone and laughing at a friends conversation - I did tell you there would be an offence of Grinning with Intent didn't I? Trouble is I was joking. Beam Me Up! (seems it was a Tunnel Police Person - not a real bobby)

 

pps - before anyone rushes to judgement over this - after 15 years of Traffic Patrol I have probably dealt with more RTAs and fatalities than most people visiting my website - so I reckon I know the real causes of collisions and it ain't just speeding, Oh no...........

i think we should go more the Isle of Man way lower speed limits in built up areas yes but no national speed limit , saying that they do only have one dual carrigeway on the island

and that leads to a hospital!

 

I'm sure i remember hearing a few years back that labour debated raising the speed limit on dual carrigeways and motorways from 70 to 80 mph ! , but was soon dropped with help from the aa ,and rac etc

 

i'm also sure the Isle of Man has a policy that recent drivers or learners are not aloud to go above a certain speed or are'nt allowed to be on the rd after a certain time of night (something like that anyway):D

i think we should go more the Isle of Man way lower speed limits in built up areas yes but no national speed limit , saying that they do only have one dual carrigeway on the island

and that leads to a hospital!

 

I'm sure i remember hearing a few years back that labour debated raising the speed limit on dual carrigeways and motorways from 70 to 80 mph ! , but was soon dropped with help from the aa ,and rac etc

 

i'm also sure the Isle of Man has a policy that recent drivers or learners are not aloud to go above a certain speed or are'nt allowed to be on the rd after a certain time of night (something like that anyway):D

 

I see you're from Brunstrom country - condolances!

 

I think no other cars should be out when Zeds are on the road. Let's have bhp zones and times?

 

Anyway, back to the point - NuLabour couldn't touch the national speed limit if all motorists properly protested and actually let this ramshackle bunch of misfits know that the public are in favour of appropraite limits, which means higher in some places and lower only at the most vulnerable sites.

 

ps do you have any records by Girls Allowed?

I see you're from Brunstrom country - condolances!

 

I think no other cars should be out when Zeds are on the road. Let's have bhp zones and times?

 

Anyway, back to the point - NuLabour couldn't touch the national speed limit if all motorists properly protested and actually let this ramshackle bunch of misfits know that the public are in favour of appropraite limits, which means higher in some places and lower only at the most vulnerable sites.

 

ps do you have any records by Girls Allowed?

 

:rofl: Obviously mis-understood what i was getting at but never mind

 

in short >

 

no higher speed limit on dual carrigeways or motorways

 

keep lower speed limits enforced in built up areas i dont fancy seeing any car speeding round my street at ridiculous speeds just because there aint a sign to say 30 !

 

and no metallica, iron maiden and heavy techno are more my seen ;)

Edited March 14, 200916 yr by ck300z

no heavy techno

 

:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:

:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:

 

:confused: I either like it or i dont when it comes to a house or techno track :rofl:

There's a dual carriage down here that has always had a 70mph limit, it was suppose to have been upgraded to motorway status a few years ago, but instead of spending the money, they decided to call it the 'expressway' instead ! well just recently they have now stuck up national speed limit signs along it !:xxx:

peranaman that was informative and pleasure to read THANKS!:dance:

 

dan.:D

thanks for that Peranaman :bow: i know it can be a touchy subject for some, but i personally agree with every word said. the only way you'll ever completely stop RTAs from happening is to ban all forms of transport. and we know that's an impossible idea. accidents happen. sometimes they could have been avoided, sometimes there's no chance of avoiding them. both ways they can be very sad and tragic :(

but i mainly agree with the big boot, blanket bans that these amateurs impose on us at the slightest sniff of a problem. they were supposed to be the government for 'the people', but theyre more like an Idi Amin dictatorship sometimes - employing 'gangs' of wardens to stalk your house and slap fines on you if your bin lid isn't at the right angle. christ, Hitler never even thought of that!

 

...sorry I seem to have drifted a little.....

thanks for that Peranaman :bow: i know it can be a touchy subject for some, but i personally agree with every word said. the only way you'll ever completely stop RTAs from happening is to ban all forms of transport. ....................

 

Me also.

 

It's a pointless excercise and one which will only frustrate otherwise considerable drivers who do not want to be held up unnecessarily.

 

The problem will be that there are a core of drivers who always drive at 10-15mph below the speed limit, whatever it may be. These people already drive at 45-50mph on safe clear national speed limit roads; so with the advent of 50mph signs, those very people will simply not carry on at 45-50. They will slow down to 35-40mph causing further frustration.

 

Don't believe me? Well here in Bucks the speed limit on the A4010 between Wycombe and Aylesbury was always 60mph, with a few 40 zones as it skirted (not went through) villages. The traffic proceeded safely along the road at between 50 and 70mph; whilst most drivers would travel at the higher end (say 60-70mph) the slower types would pootle along at 50.

 

Last January the lovely council reduced the limit to 50mph; with the 40 zones reduced to 30. Now it takes ages to travel the 15 miles because very few people will go above 50 (there are no cameras, mind) even though many were happy to do 70 when it had a 60 limit. And the slower drivers now travel at 40 instead of 50; why? The twats thought it was safe to do 50 before, so why have they slowed to 40 now!!!!:mad:

 

It's nothing to do with road safety it's just to get us all out of our cars by making driving so unpleasant and slow; failing that they will wring cash from those who still drive, with increased taxes to use our pot-hole ridden roads or yet more speed cameras to enforce rediculously low limits.

 

MAkes you proud doesn't it:rolleyes:

 

Richard:rant:

I was about to not read that....so glad i did......everything - EVERYTHING you said i 100% agree with..... i feel like i need to do something about this?....... but how?

 

Imo the problem is kids under 20 who have 0 awareness of theirs and other peoples mortality and how easily people just die....

 

Im 23 now I’m still young but I’m not 17 anymore, your mindset changes completely – I think the real problem is insurance, I thing if we were all ‘3rd party only’ we’d all drive a hell of a lot better not just safer – I will always remember an idiotic old friend of mine back when I first passed my test, I had a mk2 fiesta and he had a Corsa B (lol) I was in the passenger seat of his car one day doing 90mph through a housing estate……….. I turned to him and said “mate do you not wanna chill out n slow down we’r gonna crash n kill sumone at this rate”…..

 

His repy…

 

Dunt matter im inured……

 

 

…I thought.. Explain that concept to the mother of the child you’ll mow down – never got in his car ever again obviously

 

Sadly I think a lot of people are like that and to a certain extent we all are not to that extreme but I think when we put our foot down even a little that come up in our minds.

With the population growing out of control coupled with the influx of thousands of immigrants the roads are fast becoming over filled with vehicles. As basic citizens we can see the problems this is causing so why cant the goverment?

 

What you said makes perfect sense peranaman (sorry dont know your real name) BUT! the problem will get worse. Much worse in fact I predict it will go beyond our imagination as it already has say since 1990 (ish). IMO the driving test should be a whole lot harder to pass. They should introduce retesting after 10 years and they should also take freight back to the railways. As for speed limits? I think they are OK as they are with maybe the Nat on motorways being up graded to 80MPH and with the intorduction of wet and dry weather speed limits. This is the case in France as I remember and although I am not 100% sure it seems to work over there?

 

vini

I agree entirely perenaman, the local law around here hate stopping people.All it does is give them reams of paperwork.

Sums it up that when my garage was broken into the only wpc on duty took ages to arrive + spent most of the time moaning about idiots hooning around in stolen cars + how speed cameras dont help that. :nono:

50mph is just another revunue generator :xxx:

Have you noticed that this is another infringement of our freedoms?

 

Stalin and Lenin brought in their regimes by use of:-

 

1. Restriction of movement

 

2. ID cards

 

3. Curfews.

 

NuLabour has done more to 'surveil' this nation than any other European country. It wants to track every person on every journey 24/7. It will try to do it by stealth, i.e. under the guise of Road Safety (erm, targetting speeding as the main cause of all the ills on the road) and WE pay for the whole shooting match by way of penalties - you couldn't make it up. They must have got this idea from Starbucks who get you to virtually make your own drink then clean up the whole shop before you leave!!

sorry another long one......................

 

Little Brother is far scarier than Big Brother - he just creeps along at the pace of a glacier and before you know it - your done!

 

Don't forget that when the government (we elected these people to represent us didn't we?) force us to fit the 'Black Box' in our vehicles they won't be just for charging for every mile. The box based on Sat Nav technology will record each road you travel along, your actual speed, average speed and whether you stop on yellow lines, overtake on white lines, stop on zig-zags etc etc. By the end of a single journey you could be faced with several speeding fines, road charging, tolls, Congestion Charging, breach of yellow lines and so on. Think I'm making it up? THE SPY IN YOUR CAR (But at least all the fines will go straight out on your Direct Debit that you'll have to voluntarily set-up for the Government coffers - thus gaining a discount for prompt payment!) Costs of up to £1.34 per mile are suggested.

 

Plus to deter us from using certain roads on Public Holidays or at big events - well the price per mile will just be increased hugely for that day - so you either don't travel or you pay again, and again.............. Not true I hear you say. Wasn't the London Congestion charge initially set to be £5?, then it went up to £8 - now KL wants £25 for Gas Guzzlers (that includes anything with emissions over say 190 not just the Chelsea Tractor) and the Green Party want it at £50 to force you off the road. Once the means of charging us is fitted and working - watch for relentless and exponential increases in the levy. The plans for all this are hatched in Brussels (by the un elected) and being swallowed hook, line and sinker by our elected government.

 

And don't think for a moment that you can anonymously drive from A to B and home again. If there's an RTA or any incident that occurred on your route the data transmitted to Government HQ will immediately show you were there or passing (or involved! not a bad thing) - so expect a knock at your door for interview. No use denying it they can put you within 3 feet of any incident anywhere in the UK and Europe. Now that's OK for an RTA or similar but when there is an incident involving assaults or worse in the vicinity of where you were driving - you will be pulled as a witness or for elimination purposes - but either way your details will be on file regarding the case - and all you were doing was driving back from Tesco's................

 

That trip to your 'Lodge', Club, church, Mosque or 'certain' hotel etc will be nicely logged and so will the details of every other car that was at the same place as you............................ Of course no-one is suggesting that the information will be interpreted by people in offices with tinted glass windows, I mean surely no-one is interested in where you go and who with are they? No, this scheme is obviously just for our 'benefit and to ease congestion around the country - and could be cheaper than current road tax'.................... Phew! that's OK then - isn't it?

 

Boy, if I only lived in a Democracy.........................................

 

Anyway, in the meantime sleep well, don't have nightmares will you - remember that the instance of state crimes against the motorist are still quite small despite what you've seen on Crime Watch UK tonight...........................

 

 

 

ONLINE POLL - Well the protest from the British public was just over 1.8 million against the Spy in Your Car. Blair and his cohorts dismissed our protest as 'ill-informed' and 'based on myths'. You know the Govt is desperate to tax us more when the largest petition in British history is dismissed with the swipe of a greasy, sticky hand.

 

Blair said when pressed on the spy and stealth tax issue 'It's definitely not" which rather tells me it definitely IS.

 

You just know that once the Spy is in your car it will be a 'point of no return'. Your every move and every mile and your average speed will be logged to cripple your motoring enjoyment. Yes it is still enjoyable.

The car is not just about getting to work is it? If that was the case I couldn't care about pay by the mile. I use my cars for 90% social domestic and pleasure. I don't want the government robbing me of my money each time we go out for a spin or to a Show etc etc.

 

The Govt says it will only charge to ease Congestion! Most of the Congestion I see is always around roadworks, LA controlled Traffic Light systems and Bus Lanes. Each time the traffic lights are switched off at our numerous roundabouts locally, the traffic flow immediately speeds up and there are no tailbacks..........

 

Did you know that ACPO - The Assoc of Chief Police Officers have already applied to be able to 'kill the engines' of vehicles that they want stopped? So what does that tell you about this system?

 

 

 

Far from being a passive money grubbing system, it will have the potential to:-

 

1. clock every mile you go and logged the route.

2. record your actual and average speed.

3. control your engine management system for the police in the first instance - then for the DVLA, then for Local Authorities, then for the Wheel Clampers and then, and then...................... ergo - if you have an unpaid fine, or your car is untaxed (yeah they still want your VEL money) or the police think you were involved in something - POP goes your engine and you will have no car to use.

4. Brussels wants to control your brakes from their super computer also.

 

But it's just to 'ease congestion' and you know how everyone is up in arms about, er, congestion? Didn't you know it's worse than AIDS and H5N1? - Well it must be given the frenzy to get a tax on our every last inch of free movement in the UK - and for UK read Europe - bang goes your drive to the Continent because you love to cruise down the Mosel and Rhine Valley or through Northern France on the way to Spain - that would cost you about £5,000 just for you weeks holiday.

 

Still let's be honest if you were a grey suited, chinless non-elected wonder could you come up with a better idea to take people's disposable income, monitor their every move, issue penalties by the bucket load AND get the mugs to pay for it themselves - a stroke of Orwellian genius yes?

 

You just know they will spout the good old Noble Cause and Fear Factor to steam-roller over your wishes - i.e. ID cards to combat Global Terror and Green Taxes because Global Warming (yeah right) then it'll be Spy Money Grubber devices to 'ease congestion'.

 

They always need Noble Cause to drive something through Parliament and to get the Greenies, Lefties and Liberals voting for it. Remember the "Speed Kills!" moral blackmail adverts? Well we all know that Speed per se doesn't kill or else every F1 driver, MotoGP rider and Superbike rider would of course be dead.

 

That seems to suggest that 'inappropriate speed might kill' but not that Speed Kills. There must be an element of speed in any RTA otherwise no-one would be moving, thus, speed is involved - but to bolster their flimsy argument they scream 'SPEED KILLS! See Noble Cause to justify GATSO, Laser, SPECS, and next will be the Cats Eye Camera's - all in the name of safety you understand.

 

The bottom line is all governments are running up such huge debts and overspending on dubious and ill-thoughout projects that they will do anything to bleed us dry of more disposable income. This is a cracking way to go about it. Be honest.

 

The two last bastions of freedom are 1. Cash and 2. travel.

 

They are out to slowly but surely kill off cash (cash is your ability to deal in the market place without your information being made known to numerous government and non-government organisations). This will happen through increased use of FDPOS (Financial Debit at Point Of Sale). Also internet banking and of course the good old Card and Chip. Don't get me started on micro-chip implants.........

 

Next will be the total surveillance of your movements and charging us for the privilege by use of Spy in Cab devices.

 

Once these are in place your freedom as such will just be a memory. The Govt this week said that 'we have nothing to fear and it's all about reducing congestion and it's not another stealth tax'. If you believe that you'll have ignore the 66 extra taxes that have been levied on us in the past few years. And when they renege on that statement you will have absolutely no recourse - you will just pay up and moan down the pub. When your freedom 'is gone - it's gone' - as they say down the street markets. And I would rather trust Del Boy with my motoring future.

 

Please don't take my word - use your own research and watch what is happening daily. You'd be really alarmed if you knew what they were planning that they haven't leaked yet!!

 

In the meantime enjoy what's left of your motoring freedoms.................