Traffic Calming - A Stealth Tax
Discussion
I think I'm in danger of starting a rant that'll set Ted off. It occurred to me the other day that "Traffic Calming Measures" are actually a well designed stealth tax. The political spin doctors and the safety Nazis get Joe Public to sign up to, ask their local councils for, or even demand traffic calming measures where they live on the supposition that it will slow down speeding drivers.
This works for the government as they can say that they are responding to public demands for increased safety measures. But the real benefit to the government is that we have to slow down, sit in traffic queues and accelerate away, possibly several times, to get through the calmed area. When is a car at it's least economical ? When it's moving off from stationary and driving slowly of course. And what does traffic calming do ? It forces you to increase fuel consumption. And what does increased fuel consumption mean ? More money to the Treasury via our high fuel taxes of course ! Oh yes, and increased pollution in urban areas too which will probably kill more people in the long term than were saved from being knocked down !
If we complain about the knock-on effects of traffic calming, then our political leaders can come back and say, "Well, you asked for us to implement it !!". Perhaps we'll have to get the Greens to study it and comment on how much extra pollution it causes, but what credence do they have ? They're the ones who wanted the increased pollution that comes as a result of fitting catalytic convertors !
This works for the government as they can say that they are responding to public demands for increased safety measures. But the real benefit to the government is that we have to slow down, sit in traffic queues and accelerate away, possibly several times, to get through the calmed area. When is a car at it's least economical ? When it's moving off from stationary and driving slowly of course. And what does traffic calming do ? It forces you to increase fuel consumption. And what does increased fuel consumption mean ? More money to the Treasury via our high fuel taxes of course ! Oh yes, and increased pollution in urban areas too which will probably kill more people in the long term than were saved from being knocked down !
If we complain about the knock-on effects of traffic calming, then our political leaders can come back and say, "Well, you asked for us to implement it !!". Perhaps we'll have to get the Greens to study it and comment on how much extra pollution it causes, but what credence do they have ? They're the ones who wanted the increased pollution that comes as a result of fitting catalytic convertors !
Just been talking to a friend of mine and he mentioned that there is now an auction tax. So any thing you buy from ebay for example (even if its second hand) is subject to a 4% tax.
So if you buyy something from the US on ebay, you pay import tax, auction tax and then vat on all the other taxes. Don't ya just love England.
So if you buyy something from the US on ebay, you pay import tax, auction tax and then vat on all the other taxes. Don't ya just love England.
Speed bumps are the worst, all that stop-start - they simply drive me onto other rat runs. Last night I was following a car into a speed bump zone and I thought, 'I know, I'll go down this other road, around the block and meet the original road at the roundabout' Zoomed around and got to the roundabout before the car I was originally following arrived. If they block one rat run off I'll take another. Sod 'em.
(Booker for the Wycombe locals).
Mind you, I have 4 huge speed tables to negotiate on my own road which are unavoidable. I drive half on the footpath otherwise I catch my zorst/splitter. Obviously I make as much noise as possible between the obstacles too.
(Booker for the Wycombe locals).
Mind you, I have 4 huge speed tables to negotiate on my own road which are unavoidable. I drive half on the footpath otherwise I catch my zorst/splitter. Obviously I make as much noise as possible between the obstacles too.
IMHO,
Rat runs are caused by the main roads being unable to cope with the volume of traffic, hence people try to avoid the hold-ups by using an alternative route.
(state the bleediing obvious, I say).
So surely the solution to rat-runs is to ensure the main routes, designed to take traffic volumes, should be clear of obstructions/delays to allow free movement of traffic?
So why do the local councils always want to block these damn roads?
Discuss.
maggit
Rat runs are caused by the main roads being unable to cope with the volume of traffic, hence people try to avoid the hold-ups by using an alternative route.
(state the bleediing obvious, I say).
So surely the solution to rat-runs is to ensure the main routes, designed to take traffic volumes, should be clear of obstructions/delays to allow free movement of traffic?
So why do the local councils always want to block these damn roads?
Discuss.
maggit
I expect that central government gets local government to set aside a large portion of the transport budget for "road safety" (or whatever the trendily spun name of the week is) schemes. This money then gets spent on unnecessary localised schemes instead of maintaining the existing road network properly. Hence we get rutted and bumpy roads with poor visibility due to overgrowth of vegetation that cause more deaths than the safety schemes supposedly save.
Defies logic!!,ever wondered why when coming up to a junction you cant see a naffing thing cos of all the bush's,,it would take little maintenance to cut these down,but rather than do this and make the junction safer they would rather waste money on speed bumps,,,Doh!!i must be missing something 
The overgrowth at junctions or in maidstone the big flower beds at junctions is another spin on road saftey-THEY ARE THERE TO SLOW YOU DOWN. All new roads are built to slow you down - look at the new widened M2/A229 junction - all built to slow people down.
The old hold up was due to a roundabout they put lights on. There idea of improving that - 3 roundabouts with lights and a 'T' junction with lights
B4 the 'improvement' Going out I had on the M2/20 I had to wait for 1 set and to get home 3 sets.
Now going out is 4 sets and a pedestrian set and to return is 5 sets and a pedestrian set. All timed so that you will wait at every set if you catch any red.
I was talking to someone in the Kent region of the club and they were telling me that they knew a road designer from a while back and he explained that when he designed roads (inc. the flyover at the Ele. & Castle - thats now got 1 lane syndrome as well) the idea was to keep the cars flowing as quick as pos. But now it is reversed and they try to slow cars as much as pos.
REMEMBER....SPEED KILLS
Massive pot holes mid-bend, brake testing at camera sites, no road markings, worn cats eyes, poor visability at junctions, the mis-use of hatching (remember the boy that cried wolf once too often)- with just about every road hatched now, how do you know when it is or isnt there for a real reason ???, moan, moan, moan.....
Did any one hear aboutthe Europe wide survey Direct line did ?? Well, despite having all these new cameras everywhere, the UK is now the 4th worst in Europe for accidents per head of population. So we have gone from being one of the best to one of the worst. Despite all these road safety schemes.
Also, they found 3/5 Germans loved driving where as only 2/5 Brits did.......I wonder why
The old hold up was due to a roundabout they put lights on. There idea of improving that - 3 roundabouts with lights and a 'T' junction with lights
B4 the 'improvement' Going out I had on the M2/20 I had to wait for 1 set and to get home 3 sets.
Now going out is 4 sets and a pedestrian set and to return is 5 sets and a pedestrian set. All timed so that you will wait at every set if you catch any red.
I was talking to someone in the Kent region of the club and they were telling me that they knew a road designer from a while back and he explained that when he designed roads (inc. the flyover at the Ele. & Castle - thats now got 1 lane syndrome as well) the idea was to keep the cars flowing as quick as pos. But now it is reversed and they try to slow cars as much as pos.
REMEMBER....SPEED KILLS
Massive pot holes mid-bend, brake testing at camera sites, no road markings, worn cats eyes, poor visability at junctions, the mis-use of hatching (remember the boy that cried wolf once too often)- with just about every road hatched now, how do you know when it is or isnt there for a real reason ???, moan, moan, moan.....
Did any one hear aboutthe Europe wide survey Direct line did ?? Well, despite having all these new cameras everywhere, the UK is now the 4th worst in Europe for accidents per head of population. So we have gone from being one of the best to one of the worst. Despite all these road safety schemes.
Also, they found 3/5 Germans loved driving where as only 2/5 Brits did.......I wonder why
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