Can I credibly put this to the Minister for Transport?
Discussion
I'll start with the rant (in as short a spiel as possible). Please don't respond about my rant, just about the solution if you could:
I live on the south coast, near Bournemouth to be precise. I'm fed up with old people, nervous immigrant / tourist drivers and those on the 'economy drive' clogging up the main commuter routes across the counties. The old people (majority of old people) are either too scared of the high speed pace of life around them to make confident manoeuvres, are driving such low power cars (due to cost and convenience) that anything above 50mph is a miracle, or are too blind or incapable to actually drive in a safe manner. Its not their fault I know, but there are alternatives.
The immigrant or tourist drivers clearly have a very different concept of driving to those of UK learning, and many I am sure are driving on our roads with no license, even from their own country. This is probably illegal, but who's actually checking whilst they are here for a couple of weeks on foreign plates?
Economy drivers: The ones sat at 40 or 50mph on an NS road, sometimes in a regular car, but more often than not these days in one of these s
t economy boxes from Honda, Nissan or A-another generic hair-dryer engined stter. Are they completely oblivious to the 'real' world around? Old people also fall into this category due to low pension yield and the motability scheme that dishes these st boxes out.
So, the problem with these people:
Nothing wrong with THEM so to speak. The problem is in the cars they are driving, attitude to those not looking to hug trees, and the environments in which choose to drive.
These weak powered, too small and flimsy town cars are too slow for NS roads in my opinion. They cannot overtake safely above 50mph and struggle on hills, holding everyone up behind. They are too small to be safe around lorries and SUVs and are easily missed in a blind spot (lorry). At speeds above 50mph they are not even that green. My inlaws 2011 Honda CRV, 2.0 petrol auto only gets 27mpg on the motorway sat at 70. My C63 can get 24mpg sat at 80!! Around town the CRV will get 40mpg or so but that's not where its being used. Ok, its not small and flimsy but it not suitable for the main road either in my opinion. You can pretty much guarantee what age group these cars are driven by too.
I see more and more lorries in the middle lane of a 3-lane motorway / outside lane of a dual-carriageway struggling to overtake said slow driver doing 40 or 50 in a 70. The lorry can only get to 56mph if its lucky so the overtake is often slow / painful and in turn creates frustration in the car drivers behind. The commute home from Bournemouth at night is always stifled by the procession of either lorries overtaking biddies / eco-drivers doing 50mph or biddies / eco-drivers overtaking each other in a never ending game of infuriating cat and mouse. Having these people drive like this only causes others to drive more aggressively or faster to avoid being stuck behind another in a long line of slow coaches. Increased risk to all road users.
Immigrants and tourists cannot help it i suppose as they have no real knowledge of the UK road network when they arrive, but there is an alternative.
......
How many of you have been sat on the inside lane of a 2/3 lane road at 70mph, following another driver doing the same speed, only to have them quickly move to lane 2 to avoid another car doing 40 or 50mph, causing you to make an even sharper manoeuvre because you've had less time to react? Ive done it myself and i could probably criticise some of my own driving in these situations (motoring along and not really thinking about it). But, there is more of a case against that car doing 40 or 50 in my opinion.
Ive seen old people on the Bournemouth spur road being taken away in ambulances because another car has driven into the back of them whilst pootling home after a day at the garden centre. OAP was probably doing 40 or 50mph and the other car 70mph or 80mph if they were lucky. OAP was going so slowly that the other driver didn't have enough time to react / wasn't expecting it when he /she came up on the OAP at 30mph or so. Problem is, the car driver who hit the OAP from behind will be the one at fault by law, not the person doing way below the speed limit. The driver who hit the OAP would not have been driving dangerously, neither would the victim have been, but there is an issue there where maybe the driver in front was going too slow for the environment.
.......
This is what i propose:
Any person can apply for a 50% reduction in car tax: If they agree to avoid main motorways and any dual-carriageway that has a service road or trunk road running parallel to it. This will remove those who don't like the high speed pace of life and will assist those looking to save a few quid in motoring.
Town cars and cars with performance below a certain level (much like mopeds on motorways) are automatically banned from motorways and dual-carriageways where a service or trunk road runs parallel. This will remove those who drive cars with no ability to make safe manoeuvres at road speed. It'll also force other groups of drivers who probably shouldn't be on the road at all off the more dangerous stretches of UK roads. Those above 70 years of age in my opinion should do regular driving tests (free) anyway as many over 70s are not fit to drive on todays roads, but maybe instead of them all being being banned if beyond a safe limit, any borderline cases get a pass for minor roads and around town. But not those sat in the outside lane of the M25 doing 20mph because they are scared stiff of driving or cannot see what lane they are in / remember who they are.
Immigrant drivers should not be allowed on any main motorway or dual-carriageway that doesn't have a trunk or service road without first completing a UK driving test or having been assessed and passed fit for UK driving. This would remove those not fit for purpose (vehicle and driver) and would scupper those who have no license at all. This can be enforced at borders / customs / hire centres / tolls etc.
Its a big change to make to the system, but I think it is enforceable and would no doubt save time for regular commuters, but more importantly save lives and reduce the number of more serious road accidents. Less risks being taken and generally people getting home / to work in a better mood.
Eddie
I live on the south coast, near Bournemouth to be precise. I'm fed up with old people, nervous immigrant / tourist drivers and those on the 'economy drive' clogging up the main commuter routes across the counties. The old people (majority of old people) are either too scared of the high speed pace of life around them to make confident manoeuvres, are driving such low power cars (due to cost and convenience) that anything above 50mph is a miracle, or are too blind or incapable to actually drive in a safe manner. Its not their fault I know, but there are alternatives.
The immigrant or tourist drivers clearly have a very different concept of driving to those of UK learning, and many I am sure are driving on our roads with no license, even from their own country. This is probably illegal, but who's actually checking whilst they are here for a couple of weeks on foreign plates?
Economy drivers: The ones sat at 40 or 50mph on an NS road, sometimes in a regular car, but more often than not these days in one of these s
t economy boxes from Honda, Nissan or A-another generic hair-dryer engined stter. Are they completely oblivious to the 'real' world around? Old people also fall into this category due to low pension yield and the motability scheme that dishes these st boxes out. So, the problem with these people:
Nothing wrong with THEM so to speak. The problem is in the cars they are driving, attitude to those not looking to hug trees, and the environments in which choose to drive.
These weak powered, too small and flimsy town cars are too slow for NS roads in my opinion. They cannot overtake safely above 50mph and struggle on hills, holding everyone up behind. They are too small to be safe around lorries and SUVs and are easily missed in a blind spot (lorry). At speeds above 50mph they are not even that green. My inlaws 2011 Honda CRV, 2.0 petrol auto only gets 27mpg on the motorway sat at 70. My C63 can get 24mpg sat at 80!! Around town the CRV will get 40mpg or so but that's not where its being used. Ok, its not small and flimsy but it not suitable for the main road either in my opinion. You can pretty much guarantee what age group these cars are driven by too.
I see more and more lorries in the middle lane of a 3-lane motorway / outside lane of a dual-carriageway struggling to overtake said slow driver doing 40 or 50 in a 70. The lorry can only get to 56mph if its lucky so the overtake is often slow / painful and in turn creates frustration in the car drivers behind. The commute home from Bournemouth at night is always stifled by the procession of either lorries overtaking biddies / eco-drivers doing 50mph or biddies / eco-drivers overtaking each other in a never ending game of infuriating cat and mouse. Having these people drive like this only causes others to drive more aggressively or faster to avoid being stuck behind another in a long line of slow coaches. Increased risk to all road users.
Immigrants and tourists cannot help it i suppose as they have no real knowledge of the UK road network when they arrive, but there is an alternative.
......
How many of you have been sat on the inside lane of a 2/3 lane road at 70mph, following another driver doing the same speed, only to have them quickly move to lane 2 to avoid another car doing 40 or 50mph, causing you to make an even sharper manoeuvre because you've had less time to react? Ive done it myself and i could probably criticise some of my own driving in these situations (motoring along and not really thinking about it). But, there is more of a case against that car doing 40 or 50 in my opinion.
Ive seen old people on the Bournemouth spur road being taken away in ambulances because another car has driven into the back of them whilst pootling home after a day at the garden centre. OAP was probably doing 40 or 50mph and the other car 70mph or 80mph if they were lucky. OAP was going so slowly that the other driver didn't have enough time to react / wasn't expecting it when he /she came up on the OAP at 30mph or so. Problem is, the car driver who hit the OAP from behind will be the one at fault by law, not the person doing way below the speed limit. The driver who hit the OAP would not have been driving dangerously, neither would the victim have been, but there is an issue there where maybe the driver in front was going too slow for the environment.
.......
This is what i propose:
Any person can apply for a 50% reduction in car tax: If they agree to avoid main motorways and any dual-carriageway that has a service road or trunk road running parallel to it. This will remove those who don't like the high speed pace of life and will assist those looking to save a few quid in motoring.
Town cars and cars with performance below a certain level (much like mopeds on motorways) are automatically banned from motorways and dual-carriageways where a service or trunk road runs parallel. This will remove those who drive cars with no ability to make safe manoeuvres at road speed. It'll also force other groups of drivers who probably shouldn't be on the road at all off the more dangerous stretches of UK roads. Those above 70 years of age in my opinion should do regular driving tests (free) anyway as many over 70s are not fit to drive on todays roads, but maybe instead of them all being being banned if beyond a safe limit, any borderline cases get a pass for minor roads and around town. But not those sat in the outside lane of the M25 doing 20mph because they are scared stiff of driving or cannot see what lane they are in / remember who they are.
Immigrant drivers should not be allowed on any main motorway or dual-carriageway that doesn't have a trunk or service road without first completing a UK driving test or having been assessed and passed fit for UK driving. This would remove those not fit for purpose (vehicle and driver) and would scupper those who have no license at all. This can be enforced at borders / customs / hire centres / tolls etc.
Its a big change to make to the system, but I think it is enforceable and would no doubt save time for regular commuters, but more importantly save lives and reduce the number of more serious road accidents. Less risks being taken and generally people getting home / to work in a better mood.
Eddie
Allyc85 said:
If you do find a way of presenting this to someone can you film it so we can see you get laughed out the room?! How the hell do you think your idea would realisicaly be enforced? 
Window stickers. Much like the toll passes that you get abroad.Cars paying the regular level of road tax, cars suitable for purpose and those choosing to use the main roads could have a 'CARD A' in the window.
Those who chose not to use the main roads, or drive cars designed for the towns could have 'CARD B' in the window.
There are already millions of cameras monitoring our road networks so it would mean factoring in some sort of software or detection equipment capable of picking up which window sticker is which. Might be expensive, but......... Those in breach of the rule get the usual 3 points and a fine or just a fine. Whichever suits.
S10GTA said:
ecain63 said:
S10GTA said:
What a load of twaddle.
Care to expand?ecain63 said:
Window stickers. Much like the toll passes that you get abroad.
Cars paying the regular level of road tax, cars suitable for purpose and those choosing to use the main roads could have a 'CARD A' in the window.
Those who chose not to use the main roads, or drive cars designed for the towns could have 'CARD B' in the window.
There are already millions of cameras monitoring our road networks so it would mean factoring in some sort of software or detection equipment capable of picking up which window sticker is which. Might be expensive, but......... Those in breach of the rule get the usual 3 points and a fine or just a fine. Whichever suits.
I will have what ever you are smoking, it must be good sCars paying the regular level of road tax, cars suitable for purpose and those choosing to use the main roads could have a 'CARD A' in the window.
Those who chose not to use the main roads, or drive cars designed for the towns could have 'CARD B' in the window.
There are already millions of cameras monitoring our road networks so it would mean factoring in some sort of software or detection equipment capable of picking up which window sticker is which. Might be expensive, but......... Those in breach of the rule get the usual 3 points and a fine or just a fine. Whichever suits.
t! The cost to setup would be many, many millions of pounds and stopping imigrants driving certain roads is just plain racist. Sorry, but give up
Ok. To put it into a Q&A.
1. Should cars with limited performance / ability at NS road speeds be allowed on NS roads?
2. Is it right that people are allowed to drive at 50mph on the main motorways and dual carriageways, causing HGV's etc to overtake?
3. Is it right that foreign driver can jump straight into our high speed road network when they only have experience of roads in India or similar where the risk assessment of getting from A to B is down to 'Gods Will'.
4. Should OAPs, frail or nervous types and those who are medically unsound be allowed to drive as per normal when they have an adverse effect on the people on the road around them? Human rights should stretch beyond the driver and to the other road users too.
5. Should HGV drivers or the like be forcerd to make risky manoeuvres on the road to avoid being stuck behind those adverse to doing more than 40mph or 50mph?? If the answer is 'suck it up and wait', then what about the other drivers behind?
1. Should cars with limited performance / ability at NS road speeds be allowed on NS roads?
2. Is it right that people are allowed to drive at 50mph on the main motorways and dual carriageways, causing HGV's etc to overtake?
3. Is it right that foreign driver can jump straight into our high speed road network when they only have experience of roads in India or similar where the risk assessment of getting from A to B is down to 'Gods Will'.
4. Should OAPs, frail or nervous types and those who are medically unsound be allowed to drive as per normal when they have an adverse effect on the people on the road around them? Human rights should stretch beyond the driver and to the other road users too.
5. Should HGV drivers or the like be forcerd to make risky manoeuvres on the road to avoid being stuck behind those adverse to doing more than 40mph or 50mph?? If the answer is 'suck it up and wait', then what about the other drivers behind?
Edited by ecain63 on Monday 5th August 21:00
If you're causing other vehicles to deviate from their lane due to you being excessively slow by choice then yes. You chose to drive a slow car and therefore are creating a hazard. Why should hgvs have to go around you into the outside lane of a dual carriageway in order to get from A to B? You could use available trunk and service roads, probably still getting to your destination at about the same time and in turn would not be causing anyone an inconvenience.
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