Category - General

I saw this story in The Press and Journal (a Scottish newspaper).

Scottish councillors have told transport bosses to pull their fingers out and start fixing some of the roads in Aberdeen.

Although clearly a very local issue in this instance, every newspaper across the land could easily generate the same story by talking to local residents and highlighting the appalling condition of many roads at the moment. The bad weather over the last two winters is the obvious primary cause, but that shouldn’t excuse those in charge from fixing things.

I had a pupil on test this afternoon, and the private roads around Colwick MPTC are in a very poor condition – so bad that the potholes are quite capable of causing serious damage. And in West Bridgford later I had to gingerly negotiate a sunken drain with massive pothole on Albert Road, just near the mini-roundabout.

In the meantime, Nottingham City Council is more concerned about farting with the road layouts to make driving more difficult. At present it is busy making Bath Street even more dangerous by making the pavement as wide as possible on the corner donw near the roundabout at the Bingo Hall. Apparently, this is an EU-funded programme called “connecting the Eastside” or something similar.

When you consider exactly what the “Eastside” is, you can’t help thinking that a very high wall would be better than what they are trying to do at the moment.

A story from the Plymouth Herald suggests that there is statistical evidence that drivers slowing down merely for the cameras does result in fewer accidents and deaths.

It’s not rocket science, really.

Devon and Cornwall roads still claim at least one life every week. However, this is 40% down since the cameras were introduced – though the story makes it clear that the reduction is not entirely due to cameras.

Yet government cutbacks mean that cameras across the country are going to have to be taken out.

The Herald says:

The Government’s view, expressed through the Department of Transport, is a mealy-mouthed abdication of that responsibility, on this issue. While it says it would “expect road safety to remain a priority” it has removed the ring-fencing on grants so that local authorities can make up their own mind where they spend the funds they raise.

It isn’t getting much right, is it? This “government” of ours?

This story in the Daily Mirror makes worrying reading. It appears that the Mickey Mouse government we currently have has forced cuts which mean that blood and urine samples taken from those who have failed roadside breath tests may not be tested in time for the results to hold up in court.

They need to be tested within 14 days, and although the Police think that they will be experts are warning that they may not.

Beyond 14 days and the results are not conclusive – anyone just below the limit could read higher, and those well above could end up reading lower. This is due to chemical changes which take place in the samples.

Think of the implications if the charge is death by dangerous driving.

From a local newspaper covering Basingstoke comes a story about parents-cum-vigilantes patrolling school drop-off points and hassling those who park illegally or dangerously there.

On the one hand, you have to applaud them – parking illegally, dangerously, or just inconsiderately outside schools is a major problem throughout the country.

But you can’t help detect a certain amount of hypocrisy – fuelled by the spin given to the story by the newspaper – when you consider that 99.9% of the offenders in question are… PARENTS DROPPING OFF/PICKING UP THEIR OWN KIDS!

I’m sorry, but that’s the truth of it.

I see it every day. I’ve mentioned before the fiasco near Hollygirt School in Nottingham – it’s a private school, where the rules that normal people have to adhere to don’t apply. Just outside the school, on Cranmer Street, is a chicane system on a bend. It has signs at each end to tell you to give way to oncoming vehicles because you can’t see clearly.

The luvvies who send their kids to Hollygirt use the chicane for parking – and on both sides! Half on the pavement, half off. First thing in the morning it is lethal down there. And to make matters worse, there is a full-size Premier coach/school bus which parks there every afternoon to pick the little darlings up. And it will park wherever it can if someone is already in its usual place on the yellow lines.

But let’s not just blame Hollygirt. Every school in the land has the same problem. Women in 4x4s they can hardly see over the steering wheels of parking on bends and blocking junctions.People stopping on the zig-zags because they obviously don’t apply to them picking up their kids, do they? School buses doing whatever they damn well want, wherever they want, for as long as they want (I’ve seen one double decker around here which has dropped a kid off at a junction in a village, then reversed out minor-to-major so it didn’t have to waste time turning around somewhere safe).

At some point, a school bus blocking the road ceases to be the safe haven it is intended to be, and becomes an annoying obstacle other drivers will try to get round – which then puts the kids in greater danger than ever.

So as I say, it sounds great in theory – but I wonder how many of the vigilantes are guilty of the crimes they are now standing up against?

I saw this story about a Romanian (dead link), who had been banned from driving and then turned up for his theory test too drunk even to walk!

Cristina Tanasa, a spokeswoman for the local police, said: “The candidate was tested with the breathalyser and it turned out he had 1.11 mg/l alcohol in the exhaled air.

“The exam organizers noticed him having difficulties walking and decided to give him the alcohol test. He was asked to leave the exam room immediately.”

He’ll be allowed to sit it again.

My quick maths says he was around 4x over the UK limit (though this was in Zimbabwe, not the UK)!

This story in What Car? suggests that Tesco is moving into selling used cars.

No details are know – so it is a little bit of speculation at the moment – but they have registered the tescocars.com domain name. It is thought that sales will be purely online.

Tesco already sells insurance and tyres, so this wouldn’t be a complete surprise if it happened.