On The Road

On The Road
The journal of the Association of British Drivers
www.abd.org.uk
Issue 84 – October/November 2007
New figures show speed kills Fuel tax hike
is fundamentally flawed
on the way?
T
he speed camera programme has been
thrown into disarray after the Government
admitted its casualty calculations could
be seriously flawed. The DfT justifies the use of
more than 6000 cameras across the country on
the grounds that they cut road deaths and serious
injuries. But now these figures have been called
into question and critics say this could undermine
the entire programme, which brings in more than
£100 million in fines every year. In what speed
camera critics are describing as an embarrassing
about-turn, the DfT is to re-evaluate the way it
works out the number of serious injuries reported
on the roads. It had relied on the figures gathered
by police rather than hospital admissions, but the
discrepancy between the two has forced officials
to look again.
According to the police, the number of serious
injuries between 1996 and 2004 fell from 79.7
per 100,000 to 54. The corresponding figures
from hospitals showed a rise from 88.8 to 90.1.
Whitehall had insisted the police figures were
robust and that there was no need to use the
hospital data. But shortly, the DfT will publish
its findings on whether it should use hospital
admissions figures as a basis for future policy.
"We have put our entire road safety programme
into a box marked speed cameras," said Kevin
Delaney, the Metropolitan Police's former head
of traffic. The figures were the justification for
the policy and if they are called into doubt the
whole thing is undermined."
Speed cameras have been a crucial part of the
Government's road safety strategy. It set itself
the target of cutting the number of people who
were killed and seriously injured in 2010 to
60% of the annual average between 1994-98.
However, the rate of decrease in fatality numbers
has dramatically slowed since the arrival of
speed cameras; fatality figures for 1966, 1976,
1986, 1996 and 2006 show reductions of 17.8%,
18.1%, 33.2% respectively, dropping right down
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to just 11.8% in the speed camera era.
As if all this isn't enough, the latest DfT
figures show for the first time that only one in
50 injury crashes involving drivers over the age
of 25 also involves exceeding a speed limit.
SafeSpeed's Paul Smith comments: "These new
figures complete the destruction of the case for
speed cameras. If the DfT had road safety at the
top of its priority list, these figures would have
been shouted from the rooftops and associated
with the immediate dismantling of the failed
speed camera programme. But at the top of the
DfT's priority list is the intention to conceal
the fact that they have got road safety policy
wrong. Clearly they would rather save face than
save lives.They haven't told the public about
the figures. It is shameful. It gets even worse
though, as within that 2% are the drunks, thrill
seekers and stolen cars, so for the rest of us the
possibility of being involved in an injury crash
while speeding are incredibly small. The tragedy
is that we have put huge national resources into
a problem that simply does not exist. Those
same resources could have been expended on
well-founded policies that would have saved
real British lives."
publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/
cmselect/cmtran/355/7032102.htm
s this issue of On The Road went to press,
motorists were facing the biggest rise in
fuel duty for nearly eight years. In his
budget earlier this year, Gordon Brown warned
that there would be a duty increase of 2.3 pence
per litre on 1 October. Because of spiralling oil
prices, the chancellor was put under pressure
to scrap plans for the increase, but with just
a few days to go before the introduction of the
increased taxes, there was no word on whether
or not they would be imposed. If introduced, the
record increase would push the average price of
a litre of unleaded to 97.5p, even though pump
prices are already 5p more expensive than this
time last year – ensuring a hefty VAT windfall
for the Treasury.
Paul Watters of the AA said: "Petrol prices
are already high and will now rise further.
With darker evenings and worsening weather
adding to fuel consumption from use of
wipers, heaters and lights, this could herald
a particularly miserable start to the winter
for motorists."
When the Chancellor set out in his March
budget a schedule of three fuel rises up until
April 2009, he failed to take into consideration
the volatility of oil prices. Then oil was $57
(£28.38) a barrel; today it's $82 (£40.82) in the
US. Impending duty rises add to a tax burden on
families with two cars that is nearly double the
hit from this year's average increase in council
tax. With the average family car using 1317 litres
of petrol a year, the 3.82p per litre impact of two
fuel duty rises – including one of 1.47p a litre in
December last year – boosts the annual cost of
petrol for a two-car family by more than £100.
The rise will take petrol to its highest price this
year - slightly above the June price of 97p. But
it will still fall short of pump prices in mid-2006
when the cost of a litre of unleaded surged to
98.5p. The last time the chancellor raised fuel
duty by more than 2p was in March 2000.
The ABD campaigns for:
•Improved road user training
•Real transport choices
•Investment in Britain's roads
•Honesty on transport issues
OTR84 – Page 1
soapbox
J
eremy Clarkson has been acquitted of failing
to name the driver in a speeding ticket case,
after Alfa Romeo loaned him a car caught by a
speed camera on the A40 last October. His solicitor,
Nick Freeman, argued the case was "fatally flawed"
as Alfa Romeo only had details of who the car was
loaned to, not who the driver was. The CPS caved
in immediately, saying it could offer no evidence to
determine who was driving. If that's the case, why
did they try to prosecute in the first place? And if
this is the case for Clarkson, should we assume
there isn't any evidence available in any of the
speeding cases brought before magistrates for this
particular camera?
If you're trying to contact your MP, just pay a visit to
www.faxyourmp.com – if you don't know who your
MP is, enter your postcode and it's worked out for you
wheels outside a nightclub in Reading, what will
happen? Will the police make it safe, cordon off
the area or tow it away? No, they'll slap a parking
ticket on it. I bet the residents of Reading can now
sleep easy in their beds, knowing this.
Does the ABD stand any chance of getting road
safety back on track when we're up against a
Government-funded propaganda machine with
no accountability? In Gloucestershire recently,
an advertising campaign claimed that "last
year, 800 deaths in 30mph limits were directly
caused by speeding". Assuming this really meant
2005 (the most recent figures available), the
claim doesn't withstand scrutiny. 990 people
In contrast to his recently-retired predecessor,
were killed on 30mph roads in 2005, and it's
Delia Cannings, the new North Yorks Chief
unlikely that 800 of these were directly caused
Constable, Grahame Maxwell, is a great
by speeding. The official causation figures show
advocate of speed cameras; he's being urged
that exceeding the speed limit was a contributory
to hold a consultation on whether fixed speed
factor in 12% of fatal accidents. So no more than
cameras should be operated. With Paul Garvin
120 of the deaths are likely to have had speeding
having simlarly retired from County Durham,
as a factor, and this does not mean they were
it's likely the new incumbent there will also be
‘directly caused'. So it sounds as though the
under similar pressure from the Home
800 deaths figure was plucked out of
Daft road
Office and ACPO to adopt more
the air on the assumption that no
users of the month:
scameras to avoid the embarrassment
one would question it – except
The armies of people
of the predominantly cameraone ABD member did...
free Durham amd North Yorks who walk in the road around
regularly being amongst the the country, who can't manage The scamerati in Essex
lowest for road casualties and to walk on the correct side. You'd have also been playing dirty.
per km casualty rates compared think it was obvious enough that Apparently, there are now speed
with their scamera-festooned you should face oncoming traps operating in Essex made
traffic – but clearly
counterparts. It's essential we try to
to look like broken-down cars,
not...
stop this plan; it'll involve sustained
including a silver and purple Mini
campaigning and considerable support will
along with several silver Vauxhall vans.
be needed. If you can help in any way, please
But remember, it's not about catching speeders, it's
contact Brian Gregory (details p16).
about deterring them in the first place. Well I don't
know about you, but the first thing I do when I see
It's not just environmentalism that's being used
a broken-down vehicle by the side of the road is
as a ploy to fleece drivers further; terrorism is also
to check I'm within the speed limit....
now routinely used. Reading parking attendants
have been told to issue £60 fines to people parking
At the risk of labouring a point, Kevin Ash
outside nightclubs in the early hours, because such
wrote an excellent piece in Motor Cycle News
venues are considered targets for terrorists. Anyone
recently, explaining how a retired police officer
who parks on pavements or in undesignated parking
was invited to speak at his daughter's school,
bays, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights,
about why scameras are a great idea:
will incur a fine. So if a terrorist parks a bomb on
What appalled me was his assertion
D
eputy Labour leader Harriet Harman
is facing fresh embarrassment after
being caught speeding – for the second
time in four years. However, of less concern
to me is that she got nicked; what riles is the
treatment she's received. Any other driver
is allowed only 28 days to pay a £60 fixed
penalty fine, yet Harman was allowed to pay
hers more than five months after the offence,
to avoid her case being heard in open court.
On this occasion, she was issued with a fixed
penalty notice after being caught on camera
doing 50mph in a temporary 40mph zone
through roadworks on the A14 near Ipswich
in early April. She "forgot" to pay the fine
within the allotted time and was due to have
her case heard recently by Ipswich magistrates.
However, the CPS withdrew the summons and
the court was later told that the matter had
Page 2 – OTR84
been settled. The official policy of the Suffolk
Safety Camera Partnership is that the option
of paying a fixed penalty is conditional and only
open to motorists for 28 days after a notice is
issued. If not, the partnership says that a court
summons is "automatic".
Despite this, a spokesman is quoted as claiming
that "this matter was dealt with by standard
procedure. If we can, we will deal with matters
by way of a fixed penalty even at the stage after a
summons has been sent. It is standard procedure
and the same for any member of the public. It
is done to save the court time." Harman could
have been fined up to £1,000 and received six
points had the case been heard by magistrates.
As it was, she got away with three points and the
fixed, £60 fine. Bear that in mind if you receive
a summons in the near future; a precedent has
now been set.
In this issue:
3-5
6
7
8-11
11
11
12-14
14
15
16
News
Flood defence
Gas bill
ABD Action
How to contact your MP
How you can help the ABD
Letters
Glossary of abbreviations
Information & member benefits
National & regional contacts
The next issue of On The Road goes to press on Monday 19 November.
The deadline for contributions is Monday 12 November.
that a speed camera is only ever erected
where there's a history of at least 10 road
accident fatalities. This is a raw, blatant and
extraordinary lie, yet it is being told to our
schoolchildren – by police, in school lesson
time – to justify Government policy, and it is
so extreme it is clearly also designed to shock
the kids into unquestioning acquiescence. We
did some maths which showed what carnage
would be needed to cause the 6500 existing
cameras to be installed, and how many total
deaths on our entire road network would be
likely if 65,000 deaths had occurred only at
camera sites - there’d be more dead people
than rabbits at the sides of the roads.
The Road Haulage Association wants the ASA
to look at a TfL advertisement for the London
Low Emission Zone. It claims the advertisement
is factually inaccurate and grossly misleading
in what it tells operators, as it tells people that
trucks over 12 tonnes must meet Euro 3 emissions
standards when in reality they have to meet the
particulate standard for Euro 3. The difference is at
least 30,000 trucks in the UK alone. A spokesman
said : "We're astonished that TfL should continue
to mislead with an advertisement, the inaccuracy
of which we pointed out more than a month ago.
TfL has apparently taken no notice whatever."
How can anybody be astonished at anything that
TfL does any more?
Chris Medd
Important: ABD subs
T
here's been a substantial run on ABD
finances because of our concerted
campaigns in Manchester and
Greenwich against congestion charging.
At the AGM, new subscription rates were
agreed. The membership rate for new
members will be £30. However, members get
a £5 discount if a standing order is used. The
same discount applies for those who receive
OTR electronically, thus keeping the basic
rate at £20. However, those who join using
old brochures will pay £20 and be asked to
increase their subscription upon renewal if
they do not wish to qualify for the discounts.
Current members' rates are unaffected but
they too are encouraged to increase their
subscriptions where appropriate.
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Tougher penalties due for dangerous drivers
M
otorists who use a hand-held mobile
phone or fiddle with sat-nav while
driving could be jailed for up to
two years. Prosecutors have said such drivers
could be charged with dangerous driving in a
dramatically tougher approach to such offences.
Those caught fiddling with an MP3 music
player or texting while at the wheel could also
face the charge. Prosecutions will be brought
whenever it is judged that using the equipment
posed a danger, such as forcing a car to swerve
or causing a distracted motorist to jump a red
light. Those who kill while using a mobile
phone will face 14 years behind bars under the
charge of causing death by dangerous driving.
Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald
said: "There is widespread public concern about
the use of mobile phones and other hand-held
electronic equipment while driving. We accept
that in cases where there is clear evidence that
danger has been caused by their use, such as
texting while driving, our policy should spell
out that the starting point for charging will be
dangerous driving."
The current offence of careless driving, which
applies to those who drive unsafely by using a
mobile or equipment such as a sat-nav, carries
only a £2500 fine or community order. More
commonly, drivers are punished for the simple
offence of using a mobile while driving which,
since February, carries a fine of £60 and three
points. The changes follow a CPS review of the
penalties for bad driving, which also suggests a
charge of manslaughter could be brought in some
cases against drivers who kill.
Paul Smith, of Safe Speed, said careless driving
– the current charge – is not an offence that most
drivers commit deliberately. Shifting it to a new
category of dangerous driving will therefore
have no deterrent effect, he claimed. Smith said
extreme care should be taken when deciding
to prosecute a driver. "You cannot say because
someone had a mobile phone they were driving
dangerously. There must be evidence they were
actually posing a danger to other people."
Parties battle to be most anti-car
T
he two major opposition parties are
locked in a battle to outdo each other
when it comes to introducing the most
severe anti-car policies. Of course the measures
all come with a green wrapping, but it's clear
that they're all just measures to raise taxes.
First came David Cameron's plan to
introduce parking charges at out-of-town
shopping developments, in a bid to breathe life
back into deserted town centres. No mention
of improving access to such areas, or reducing
parking charges of course...
The Lib Dems retaliated with proposals for a
complete ban on petrol-powered cars by 2040,
along with the introduction of road charging
for lorries throughout the UK.
Desperate not to be outdone, the Tories hit
back with proposals for heavy taxes on luxury
cars. First there would be a large tax on the
purchase price, followed by an increase in the
rate of road tax. However, just in case that
doesn't kill off the luxury market altogether,
Cameron also wants to introduce a sliding
scale for VAT, with the least efficient cars
having to pay more heavily than they do
now. Of course the really laughable thing is
that Cameron thinks these policies are all
vote winners.
More transport lunacy from PPG13
I
n the latest example of transport lunacy, the
inspector reporting to the secretary of state
for transport has recommended permission
should be refused for the much needed Thames
Gateway Bridge, because it "might encourage
people to travel". Under Planning Policy
Guidance 13 (PPG13), planners need to take
account of "the impact of the proposal on
traffic generation and overall travel patterns
having regard to the desirability of achieving
development that minimises the need to travel,
particularly by private car". The inspector is also
quoted as saying: "It was clear, for example,
that a disproportionate number of individual
motorists had responded to the consultation. The
results were then presented without adequate
warning of their shortcomings". TfL and Ken
www.abd.org.uk
Livingstone say the new crossing is crucial to
plans for an extra 160,000 houses and 42,000
jobs in the Thames Gateway region. Now the
public enquiry will be reopened.
ABD spokesman Nigel Humphries said: "This
whole situation is absurd. Ken Livingstone
is supporting both sides of the argument,
and an inspector quoting PPG13 reveals
that this planning guidance precludes any
transport infrastructure project. Furthermore,
the inspector's comments about private motorists
beggar belief, the implications being that if lots
of people object to something, their views can't
be taken into account because their numbers are
disproportionate!"
Inspectors report: persona.uk.com/
thamesgateway/decision/planning_report.pdf
news
in brief...
•London must become car-free if it is to
substantially cut CO2 emissions, according to
a new report by the London School of Hygiene
& Tropical Medicine and Oxford University. It
claims the Greater London Authority's target
to reduce CO2 emissions by 60% by 2025 is
unlikely to succeed without drastic measures.
The report says emissions could be cut by 72%
by 2030 if cars were banned from the city.
•Exclusion zones should be set up around
schools to force parents and children to walk
to class, according to the Institute for European
Environmental Policy. It blames over-use of cars
for fuelling the "twin crises" of global warming
and an obesity epidemic.
•The Office of Fair Trading has been asked to
investigate NCP's "extortionate" price increases
in Cardiff city centre. Drivers now pay 80p per
15 minutes, up to a £12 maximum, in one NCP
car park and retailers fear trade will suffer. Welsh
Conservative MEP Jonathan Evans said the
company's actions in Cardiff may be the "right
signal" for a UK-wide inquiry into the UK car
parking market.
•Bit of an own goal for Kensington &
Chelsea, which has bought itys Mayor
a new Bentley Continental
Flying Spur as his official car.
This, despite a key target for
the borough being to "Reduce
the environmental impact of
travel by council staff further."
•The Cyclists' Touring Club has set up a website
that allows potholes and other road dangers to
be logged – and drivers can use it too. Log your
complaint at www.fillthathole.org.uk
•The IAM Motoring Trust wants the Government
to hold an inquiry into motorway service areas, to
see whether they are supporting their road safety
objectives and serving consumers' interests. The
last inquiry took place in 1978.
•The EC is proposing a raft of costly measures
to appease the green lobby. The national debate
on whether climate change is happening and
what action is needed, if any, to tackle it will
soon be made irrelevant by the EU. The EC will
remove from national governments the power to
decide their own policies in this area.
•A frustrated driver clocked at 47mph in a 40mph
roadworks zone, on the M1 in the early hours of
the morning (when no one was working) has set
up www.hoottheroadworks.com. The website
lists roadworks nationwide, and their deadlines,
encouraging other motorists to hoot at workers
who haven't got their work finished on time.
•In December 2004, Mendoza Stewart's Bristol
411 was towed away and crushed by Lambeth
council officials – despite carrying a tax disc
and being tax-exempt anyway. Three years on,
despite the council admitting
liability, Mendoza is yet
to receive a penny in
compensation. Who says
our local authorities are
no longer accountable?
OTR84 – Page 3
news
in brief...
•A chief constable has admitted driving
at 72mph within a 60mph limit stretch of
the A9 road in his own force area. Northern
Constabulary's Chief Constable Ian Latimer said
he had made a "mistake" after receiving a notice
of intended prosecution.
•David Cameron was recently snapped cycling
through a red light, making headlines in the
process. However, a Tory spokesman is on record
as saying that "Cameron was riding extremely
carefully." Remember that defence the next time
you break a motoring law.
•A businessman who tried to avoid a driving
ban by fitting his car with a radar jammer,
has been banned from driving. John Eady
was banned for 12 months and fined £5000 at
Doncaster Crown Court after being found guilty
of perverting the course of justice.
•Fail to name who was driving your car if it
gets snapped by a speed camera, and you could
now end up with six points on your licence. The
most you could previously receive was three.
(opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/20072472.htm)
•The Commission for Integrated Transport
claims company cars should be fitted with
Intelligent Speed Adaptation, which would
be effective even if only a small proportion
of vehicles were fitted with them because
other traffic would get stuck behind them. It
is recommending that the UK's 4m company
cars should be targeted first, with the system
introduced to other vehicles at a later stage.
•Lancs County Council has been thwarted in its
attempts to put up more vehiucle-activated signs
– because there aren't enough people trained in
how to use a ladder. Health & Safety laws forbid
the authority to send people up ladders without
the proper training, risking a £5000 fine in the
process.
•600 road projects in Glos have been put on
hold while repairs are made to flood damaged
routes instead. About 200 roads need significant
restoration as a result of rain damage in July; the
county council has asked the government to help
pay for the £22m cost of fixing them.
•Passengers around Blackburn have had their
bus service into town scrapped because speed
humps are damaging the vehicles. The traffic
calming is damaging the suspension systems on
the buses, so they've had to be re-routed.
•The British Medical Association in Wales has
called for a cut in speed limits along designated
walk-to-school routes in Wales. It called on local
authorities and the Welsh Assembly Government
to identify routes and introduce 20mph limits.
•A US federal judge has dismissed a case
brought by a Californian environmentalist
against six leading carmakers over alleged
damage caused by cars' CO2 emissions. The
legal action, the first of its kind, demanded
millions of dollars in compensation from
General Motors, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Chrysler
and Nissan. But the judge ruled that the issue
of whether carmarkers were accountable was a
political, not legal, matter.
Page 4 – OTR84
If you have a cutting you'd like to have
included in OTR, please send it to Chris
Medd – contact details are on page 16.
Drivers fail eyesight checks
R
esults of one of the first roadside sight
checks to be carried out in the UK have
revealed that nearly one in 60 motorists
failed the test. In August, 300 drivers were
stopped by police near Abergavenny for the
two-minute check; they were asked to read four
number plates at different distances to see if
their eyesight was good enough. Five failed the
test. But health officials said this could mean
thousands of motorists in Wales are driving
around with poor vision. There are concerns
that many motorists are driving with poor sight
leading to accidents, deaths and serious injuries.
New drivers' sight is checked when they sit their
test, but it does not need to be examined again
until they are 70. Older drivers were among the
majority of those who failed the vision test and
three of the five who failed were not wearing
their prescription glasses.
Dr Chris Potter, public health director for
Newport and the National Public Health Service
for Wales said "Our survey showed that one in
60 drivers failed to meet the standard visual
requirements. When this is applied to the Welsh
population there could be more than 26,000
failing the eye test for driving".
New clamp rules due
More cameras on way
ouncils in England will be banned
from using wheel-clamping to raise
funds, under new proposals. A DfT
consultation says councils should "not seek to
make a surplus" from clamping parked cars. The
proposed guidance, which is part of a parking
regulations shake-up, puts a
priority on winning public
support. It says the
enforcement should
be "proportional" to
the contravention's
seriousness. Wheelclampers are being
urged to target
persistent offenders.
The guidance is issued
to councils outside London,
based on experience in the capital. It also
recommends a 15-minute period of grace for
cars parked after a meter has run out. The
proposals apply only to clampers working on
behalf of councils and not those operating on
private land, who are governed by voluntary
recommendations from a trade body.
rivers will be fined £120 for straying
into cycle lanes under plans to give
local authorities powers to install yet
another set of roadside enforcement cameras.
Even minor infringements, such as moving
briefly into a cycle lane to pass a vehicle
turning right, will result in a fixed penalty.
Drivers will not know that they have been
caught until the penalty notice arrives in
the post a few days later.
The powers are initially being proposed
for use by authorities in London but
would be introduced later across the
rest of the country. The cameras would
also monitor cycle boxes at traffic lights,
known as advanced stop lines. The new
powers are expected to be included in a
London local authorities Bill, due to be
published in November. In the year to March
2006, 12 London councils issued 389,000
penalties for stopping in yellow boxes and
other traffic offences. London authorities
carry out eight times the enforcement of
moving traffic offences as all the police in
Britain put together.
C
D
Fuel tax escalator to return?
A
ccording to a report from the Commission
for Integrated Transport (CfIT), a steady
increase in fuel price is essential to help
control CO2 emissions. It claims the price of
fuel can be a "significant and visible element of
overall costs of road transport", saying the new
climate change committee proposed by Labour
should advise the Government on where and
by how much fuel duty may need to increase.
CfIT also says:
•There should be greater adherence to the
70mph speed limit on the roads, with effective
enforcement of the limit possibly saving around
one million tonnes of carbon (MtC) a year.
•Principles of eco-driving, such as accelerating
smoothly, not braking sharply and not over using
air conditioning, might be incorporated into the
driving test.
•Road user charging will be "integral to our
management of vehicle emissions in the future"
but further analysis is needed on the potential to
design a scheme to deliver both congestion and
CO2 reductions.
•There should be a mandatory EU target that
new cars not emit more than 100g/km of CO2
by 2020.
•On the 70mph speed limit, CfIT says enforcing
speed limits is "in practice a contentious political
issue" but that a sophisticated approach "could
win wide public acceptance".
•CFiT also recommends reducing the motorway
speed limit to 60mph, to save 1.88 MtC a year
and "the recycling of part of the revenue from
speeding fines in some way to the benefit
of compliant drivers is a further option to
consider".
Conveniently, CFiT has ignored the fact that the
fuel tax escalator was designed to check traffic
growth, but failed to do so. It's a well-known fact
that price will not deter people from using their
cars; it's all about convenience – something that
the Government (and CFiT) know all too well.
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Young still drink-driving Roads 'in limbo"
Y
oung people are ignoring the dangers
of drink-driving, police have said
as the first results of an all-Wales
summer crackdown are released. Officers said
it was disappointing a high number of drivers
under 25 had provided a positive breath test
in the five-week period between June and
July. In north Wales, 31 of the 86 who tested
positive were aged between 17 and 25.
Some 400 drivers, of all ages, were over the
legal limit when 7970 tests were carried out
by the Welsh forces. Results collected by the
North Wales, Dyfed-Powys and South Wales
forces showed 98 of the 295 drivers aged
between 17 and 25 provided a positive breath
test. The number of people, of all ages, found
to be over the limit was highest in Gwent
where 105 of the 1,857 people stopped gave a
positive breath test - 5.6% of the total.
V
ital traffic plans are in planning limbo,
according to the British Chambers of
Commerce (BCC), which claims the
current planning system has left traffic strategy in
the hands of parochial interest groups. The BCC has
launched a Get Britain Moving campaign, with a
website highlighting 16 schemes stuck in planning
for a total of 80 years. Natalie Evans, the BCC's head
of policy, comments: "The projects highlighted on
our website show why the planning system needs
to be reformed. It's unacceptable that projects
promising jobs and investment to communities
across the country are allowed to linger on the
back burner for so long. Giving decision-making
powers to an independent commission would ensure
decisions are taken efficiently and in accordance
with long-term priorities set by ministers, giving
the planning system vision and purpose."
getbritainmoving.co.uk
£200 charge coming for London HGVs
L
ondon is set to introduce a Low Emission
Zone in February next year, with controls
applying to the largest HGVs. In July
2008 the controls will extend to lighter HGVs
along with coaches and buses. In 2010, it will
encompass large vans and minibuses and it'll
cover the whole of the area controlled by the
Greater London Authority, operating 24 hours a
day, seven days a week all year round. Vehicles
that don't comply with relevant emission
standards, or that aren't exempt, will have to
pay a charge of either £100 (for large vans and
minibuses) or £200 (for HGV, buses and coaches)
per day if they are to be used within the area
covered by the zone.
The LEZ doesn't apply to cars or motorcycles,
and TfL claims there are no plans at present to
make it do so. It also does not apply to light vans,
although there is a suggestion that such vehicles
might be controlled in the future. The LEZ is not
the same thing as the proposal to link the London
congestion charge to CO2 emissions as that will
hit cars and light vans of all ages.
There is an exemption for all vehicles first used
before 1973, but the first reading of the ‘scheme
order' suggests that drivers of vehicles wishing
to take advantage of this (and any of the few
other exemptions) will have to register with TfL
before driving into the zone, otherwise they will
be liable for payment. The charges may be paid
in advance, or by the end of the day on which
the vehicle is used; the penalty for failure to pay
the charge is £1000.
www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/lez
•TfL is intent on financially crippling London's
drivers, as it now also plans to increase the
penalty (to £60) for failing to pay the congestion
charge on time.
Met in a fine mess
Govt's £6m car bill
T
he Metropolitan Police force has been
fined £325,563 for traffic offences this
financial year. New budget documents
showed the figure was a third higher than the
money paid out the previous year. The fines were
mostly for parking illegally, speeding, ignoring
bus lanes, driving the wrong way on a one-way
street and red route offences. Vehicles responding
to emergencies or on operations were exempted
from fines. The force has about 5000 vehicles,
including patrol cars, diggers and recovery trucks.
The force was fined £245,377 for breaking traffic
rules between April 2005 and March 2006. A
spokeswoman said the fines had increased "due
to the increase in our fleet size. In particular, the
number of unmarked hire and lease vehicles which
would not be recognisable to the council when
on covert operations. We are currently working
with the local authorities to reduce the level
of unwarranted FPNs (Fixed Penalty Notices)
received for officers on operational duties."
T
he government spent nearly £6m
last year on cars and drivers to ferry
ministers around. The cost of providing
86 ministerial cars in 2006-07 was £5,902,900
– up from £5.47m the previous year. The
Cabinet Office used the most cars (eight), for
the prime minister, its own ministers and the
chief whip. The Department for Education
and Skills used seven cars, costing £464,900,
matching the Home Office's tally which
spent slightly more at £487,500. Also near
the top of the list was the Department of
Health, with six cars costing £387,100 for the
year. The combined bill for the Office of the
Deputy Prime Minister and Department for
Communities and Local Government, which
was created after John Prescott's department
was abolished, was six cars at £393,900. The
Treasury, during the final year of Gordon
Brown's chancellorship, had five ministerial
cars, costing £346,700 to run.
in brief...
•Excel Parking Services has been sacked
from Portland Retail Park in Mansfield, after
complaints from residents. Some fines arrived
months after they were issued. Motorists also
complained they were fined for overstaying
– while they were waiting in jams to get out.
•More people were killed on Rugby's roads
last year than ten years ago despite thousands
of pounds being spent on speed cameras. Last
year 14 people were killed in crashes on the
borough's roads, the highest number of deaths
since 2003 and more than double the six people
killed in 1996.
•Millions of motorists face being sent automated
tickets through the post if they're caught on
cameras trained on parking bays. Thousands
of cameras will remove the need for traffic
wardens or parking attendants to slap a ticket on
a windscreen; instead, drivers who overstay will
simply have their car photographed and receive
their fine through the post.
•During August, drivers using the Tamar bridge
who paid their tolls using the new "tag" system,
had their bank accounts credited rather than
debited, but the bridge operators will claw the
money back. The new system is proving to be
very popular...
•Dozens of car number plates may have been
stolen to reinforce youngsters' skateboards,
police believe. The registration thefts, usually
only one from each vehicle, have been reported
around Bracknell, Berkshire.
•Association of Chief Police Officers in
Scotland (ACPOS), has discussed measures
to tackle the growing young-driver death toll;
there's been a 30% rise in the number of under25s killed this year. Proposals include restrictions
on new drivers carrying passengers and a nighttime curfew – not many carrots then.
•Belgian traffic police are making so much
money in fines they're having to invent new
ways of spending it. In the first eight months
of this year, police in Flanders collected
£68m in traffic fines, compared with £27.2m
in the whole of last year. One station bought
10 motorcycles, although none of its officers
could ride them.
•Ten motorcyclists have been disqualified
after being caught at speeds of up to 132mph
on roads in mid and west Wales. More than 40
motorcyclists were reported for riding at speeds
of between 94 and 132mph.
•A review of car parking charges at NHS
hospitals has been ordered by the Scottish
Government, after the public sector union Unison
said it was to ballot NHS Greater Glasgow and
Clyde staff on strike action.
•Luxury car buyers are buying higher CO2
vehicles in the first half of 2007 compared to the
first half of 2006. Overall, sales of cars emitting
over 225 g/km CO2 have fallen by 11.6% – but
sales of cars emitting over 275 g/km CO2 have
risen by 19.2%.
See www.pistonheads.com/widgets/news.asp for the latest ABD news
www.abd.org.uk
OTR84 – Page 5
flood defence
The recent flooding was all down to
man-made global warming – or so we're
being led to believe. The ABD's Ben
Adams begs to differ however...
T
he ABD extends sincere sympathy to those
whose lives have been turned upside down
by the recent floods. It also deplores attempts
by opportunistic politicians and environmentalists
to link recent events with non-existent man made
global warming. The Met Office can sometimes
be less than helpful on matters related to so-called
man made global warming, but on occasions where
localised extreme weather is being confused with
climate, they can usually be relied upon to set the
record straight. The explanations may not have
been presented with conviction in every instance,
but accurate analysis was present in the array of
misleading media comments from bandwagon
jumpers in the environmentalist industry. Our
planet's high altitude jet stream shifted chaotically,
bringing weather systems to mainland UK that
would normally have passed north of Scotland
while we sweltered under the Azores high pressure
commonly found in our warm summers.
Flooding this summer was due to unseasonal
weather systems including some slow-moving
depressions with widely spaced isobars, so rainfall
stayed put over a few unlucky areas for longer
than normal, with low windspeeds unable to
move the downpours on. This resulted in initial
flash floods, and then rivers bursting their banks
with run-off. It had nothing whatsoever to do with
non-existent man-made global warming. It wasn't
even an unprecedented amount of rainfall, though
the media uses the word ‘unprecedented' regularly
and incorrectly.
We hadn't seen anything like it for 60 years,
while for those with an eye for history, there was
something similar in the late 18th century – prior
to industrialisation and the arrival of mechanised
transport. More recently, but still too long ago
for the global warmers to claim any meaningful
link, in 1927 the Raynes Park and West Barnes
Residents' Association was formed largely to
deal with the local flooding problem. In Linton,
in June 1968, three inches of rain fell in 24 hours.
After a storm in June 1958, parts of Haverhill
were flooded. These localised downpours were
devastating, but they too have been exceeded
many times. On 29 May 1912, nearly five
inches of rain fell in three hours near Louth in
Lincolnshire, practically razing the town and
killing 22 people. Even more spectacular was the
deluge that occurred three months later in Norfolk
when Brundall, near Norwich, experienced more
than eight inches of rain in one day. Much of
Norfolk was still under water six months later.
And on 15 August that year, a depression moving
up the Bristol Channel deposited nine inches of
rain over Exmoor, spawning the lethal flood that
nearly washed away the village of Lynmouth
– more than 30 people were killed. However, the
record for rainfall in one 24-hour period occurred
on 18 July 1955, when nearly 12 inches of rain
fell on parts of Dorset.
Even so, some of the mythology used would
catch the unwary or gullible. We are led to believe
that extreme weather will be more common in a
warming world. This is unlikely as extreme weather
is more normally associated with global cooling,
due to the greater temperature gradients across the
globe that this brings. The reason we're being told
to expect more extreme weather is that inadequate
but expensive climate models require the enhanced
greenhouse effect to operate, warming the
troposphere (lower atmosphere) and giving it ‘more
energy'. This phrase has been used by weather
forecasters a lot recently, not only in the context of
heavy rain, but also tornadoes. We must remember
that tornadoes are common in the UK, we get many
each year quite normally, and they are not the new
and rare event being portrayed. Moreover, global
tropospheric temperatures between April 1999 and
March 2000 were 0.1ºC below the 20-year average
1979-1998. In other words, where and when the
atmosphere should have been warming up, it barely
changed temperature; if anything it cooled slightly
overall, and it has continued to cool since.
Another aspect of inaccurate computer climate
models is being shored up via flood-related
scaremongering. This is the notion that a water
vapour feedback loop will lead to even hotter
temperatures. In isolation, it's good science. CO2
is a weak greenhouse gas, but water vapour is
more powerful and more plentiful. According
to simplistic modelling, warmer means wetter
as water vapour evaporates and builds up in
the atmosphere, leading to a more rapid rise in
temperature. Unfortunately for this idea, there is
no evidence of the predicted temperature rise, and
the journal Science pointed out that over the past
20 years, globally, evaporation equals precipitation.
So the troposphere isn't getting as wet as predicted,
and it isn't getting hotter as predicted.
At the most basic level, climate modellers and
their political paymasters have long said that
man-made global warming would result in hot, dry
summers and warm, wet winters. Recent summer
flooding clearly fails to fit that pattern. Yet this
lack of a tie-in barely causes true believers in manmade climate change to blink. Since they stopped
using the term ‘global warming' and started using
‘climate change' instead – not least because there's
no recent global warming to fret over – virtually any
weather, anywhere, at any time, can be put down to
mankind's activities. A convenient untruth.
Finally, we come to the magic sponge of taxation.
Politicians claim that if we pay them more tax,
especially motoring taxes, they will micromanage
our planet's complex climate system. Ken Clarke
used the excuse of global warming to introduce the
fuel duty escalator; since then, well over £30bn in
ecotaxes has been collected annually. Having been
warned that extortionate levels of tax were necessary
to prevent an armageddonist future, or at least
mitigate the impact on us all, what happened to our
money? Why wasn't it spent on flood defences that
the politicians ‘knew' were needed, and why are we
now being told we need to pay even more in water
rates as it's "our fault"? One, it's not our fault, and
two, we've already paid more than enough. Given
that ecominister Mr Benn claims that existing flood
defences didn't ‘fail' but were merely ‘overtopped',
there's little chance of the truth emerging, as more
taxation and restrictions are imposed on drivers as
a result of the phoney science of man-made global
warming. Thank goodness for 4x4s.
Paid a visit lately? If not, make sure you do soon
and take a look at the ABD website: www.abd.org.uk
Page 6 – OTR84
www.abd.org.uk
gasbill
Ken Livingstone wants to press ahead with
plans to introduce a £25 charge for some
vehicles in central London, but as Roger
Lawson points out, it doesn't add up...
T
ransport for London (TfL) has proposed
radical changes to the congestion charge that
will bring massive bills for larger families
and penalise early adopters of congestion chargebusting hybrid cars. It also raises fundamental
questions about the scheme's aims; is it to reduce
congestion, raise revenue, penalise drivers of larger
cars or to cut emissions? In its consultation, TfL
confirmed it intends to link the new charge to CO2
emissions. Models which emit under 120g/km or
less will be exempt, while those over 225g/km will
pay £25 a day to enter the recently enlarged central
London zone. Most other cars and commercial
vehicles will pay £8 a day.
Ironically, owners of some early versions of
low-CO2 hybrids can expect to start paying £8 a
day too. That's because only cars with the latest
Euro 4-compliant engines will qualify under new
exemption criteria. It also means that families with
some seven-seater MPVs and estate cars could be
hammered by up to £5300 a year from February
next year, compared with £1696 now. The worst
news though comes for families living within
the zone. Currently, residents are eligible for a
90% residents' discount on the £8 daily charge,
meaning they pay around £170 a year. Under the
new proposals there will be no residents' discount
for owners of cars emitting more than 225 g/km
CO2. That means a bill of up to £5130 a year more
than they are paying now.
Congestion charge spokeswoman for the London
Assembly Conservatives, Angie Bray, said:
"This will achieve a negligible effect on carbon
emissions in London. The biggest contributor
to carbon emissions in London is the stationary
traffic, caused by the chronic jams, made worse
by the mayor's constant meddling with traffic
lights, road humps and bus lanes. This is nothing
more than expensive gesture politics, using the
environment as cover for raising revenue."
These proposals are being put forward despite
the failure of the existing central London
congestion charge system to cut congestion or
improve air quality. As I repeatedly asked Ken
Livingstone on national TV, "what is the likely
saving in emissions from this proposal"? He
didn't answer, because as the report states:
Overall, the direct effects of the proposals on
car use in the short term are expected to have
a small positive impact on CO2 emissions.
The short term impact on air quality is
expected to be very small; and the whole life
impact is expected to be minimal.
It's easy to calculate the likely impact. Only 8%
of cars registered in London will be affected. But
only about 10% of the CO2 emissions in London
are created by private cars. So even if all those car
owners instantly stopped using them, the benefit
might be only 1%, allowing for the fact that most
vehicles in band G are only slightly higher than
the 225gm/km limit. In practice, a third might stop
driving into London, a third might pay the charge,
and a third might switch to a lower emissions
vehicle; in the last case they're unlikely to save more
than 50% of emissions as most vehicles in band G
only slightly exceed 225g/km and they are likely to
switch to vehicles that are just under the limit. So
adding all this up, the likely benefit is about 0.5%.
Who will notice the difference? Nobody!
Offsetting this benefit will be the fact that band
A and B vehicles will now be allowed to enter
the Charge zone without paying so they will be
likely to increase in numbers. Even if they are
producing only 100gm/km each, if the number
of vehicles rises substantially, the net benefit
seen from reduced numbers of larger vehicles
may be wiped out altogether. It could even be
negative. Also, some of the luxury car drivers
might simply switch to using taxis which again
will not provide any benefit because they are
some of the most polluting vehicles in London
with high levels of CO2 emissions. In addition, if
some of the drivers switched to more economical
diesel vehicles, emissions from diesel vehicles
might rise substantially when these are known
to be more dangerous to health and create more
total emissions (other than CO2) than those from
petrol-engined vehicles. There is also no financial
benefit overall, except that up to £36m of extra
revenue might end up in the pockets of TfL.
The charge will be £25 instead of £8 for
vehicles emitting more than 225 gm/km. That's
more than three times the cost, when in reality
the additional CO2 emitted might only be a few
percent more. Most band G vehicles emit less
than 300g/km, with many near the 225g/km
limit. There is no fairness or consistency in
having to pay three times as much when you
are emitting only a few per cent more. Any such
scheme should have a graduated scale which is
related to the amount of emissions. Otherwise
it creates perverse incentives – for example, it
will be cheaper to have two cars and use them
within the zone, even though you are emitting
more CO2 than one larger car.
There is no real need for an additional tax
incentive for people to purchase and use lower
emitting cars as central Government is already
providing that incentive from the road tax system.
Emissions from cars have been falling in recent
years as a result. One particularly unjust aspect
of this scheme is the impact on owners of larger
vehicles, many of which are of luxury models and
hence would typically normally last for many years.
Owners of these vehicles do not normally change
them frequently, and the residual second-hand
values may drop substantially as a result of this
proposal. Why should such vehicle owners suffer
in a way they could not have anticipated when they
purchased their vehicles a year or two ago?
Even if you are not going to be personally
affected by this proposal, you should object.
If the Mayor and TfL can get away with this
illogical attack on a small minority of motorists
in the false name of "environmental benefit",
what may they come up with next? Go to
tfl.gov.uk/CO2Charging and fill in the
questionnaire, or write to:
Emissions Related Charge Consultation
J31210
Ipsos MORI House
79-91 Borough Road
London SE1 1FY
You should also write to your local MP, and
your Greater London Assembly Assembly
representative – and pass on this email to
your friends, asking them to respond to the
consultation also.
Save the ABD money and get OTR much faster by
receiving each issue electronically. See p15 for more
www.abd.org.uk
OTR84 – Page 7
abd action
A recent meeting of minds suggests
the ABD needs to change its tactics
significantly; however, we're making more
of a difference than ever, so should we
change or stay as we are?
in brief...
ABD - on the right track?
•The Workplace Parking Levy is another serious
threat to drivers, especially those who commute
to work. Nottingham is actively considering
becoming the first area to introduce the WPL.
This is just another form of road pricing, as
encouraged by the government through their TIF
bid process. Keith Peat and Peter Morgan are
coordinating this campaign, but would welcome
any support, especially from anyone living or
working in or near Nottingham.
•Sandwell council is planning major changes
to the Scott Arms junction on the A34 between
Walsall and Birmingham, just south of M6 Jct
7. This junction, a crossroads of two major dual
carriageways, and motorway access route, is one
of the busiest junctions in the West Midlands. The
plans consist of reducing the 40mph limit to 30
and installing bus lanes on the A34. Full details
are at abd.org.uk/local/sandwell.htm. Please
object if you can, advising or or blind copying
(BCC) Chris Kelly ([email protected])
so he can register the level of support.
•Until now, speed camera supporters have
been shy of debate and have concentrated on
ignoring, silencing and personally attacking
critics. It seems we are forcing them to the
debating table to defend their position at last. Go
to keepmoving.co.uk/driversvoice and see how
Police Chief Meredydd Hughes doesn't have a
clue what the real arguments against cameras are,
and how the real safety points, voiced by Paul
Smith of Safespeed, trounce his position.
•Keith Peat is starting a campaign for more
laybys on single-carriageway rural roads. In
addition to miles of unnecessary speed limiting
and overtaking bans, the authorities allow the
semi-official rolling road block. The 40mph
HGV and tractor have to continue for miles,
despite massive tailbacks – which invariably lead
to dangerous frustrated overtaking manouevres.
We don't need to spend a massive sum building
bypasses, or dualling – we just need frequent
passing places.
•There are regular objections from the emergency
services in Croydon to hump schemes, but the
council merely dimisses these as repeatedly
submitted, and then just goes ahead regardless.
Local authorities and the government refuse to
accept that it matters if emergency service vehicles
are delayed. However, Peter Morgan recently
managed to play a leading role in getting a 20mph
zone and hump scheme abandoned in Coulsdon,
with a 7-1 vote against on a 20% response amongst
450 residents. Council officers then spent a long
time telling the objectors why they were wrong, and
how the money would just go back to TfL. Better
that than make drivers' lives a misery!
ecently, several ABD committee members
met with a wealthy ABD member who
could become a group benefactor.
That member is heavily involved with the
Taxpayers' Alliance and a strong supporter of
all the ABD stands for – but frustrated about our
lack of progress.Several things came out of the
conversation very strongly:
•The days of the paid-for membership
organisation run through a printed newsletter
are numbered. All such organisations are falling
in numbers; the subscription puts people off
and doesnt even raise any significant monies
because it is used up on print and postage for the
magazine. Free-of-charge electronic subscription
is the future and funding must be obtained
from corporate sponsors or big donations from
individuals. We must urgently implement this
and produce a monthly email newsletter.
•Fundraising is needed to support a specific
campaign supported by the public, such as the
one against road pricing.
•The ABD needs to reach a consensus as to what
it is for. What is its niche in the campaigning map?
This came out of agreement that road pricing is
the big issue of the moment. It was suggested that
we should drop speed cameras and climate change
to focus 100% on this. However, we're too well
known for campaigning on these other issues and
have too many activists who care passionately
about them for this to be done successfully. We
must remain a generalist organisation because we
need to tell the whole truth and we never know
when a new issue will hit the limelight.
•The best way to deal with a single issue is
to set up a single-issue group with a specific
R
objective. Once this objective is achieved the
group disbands to prevent disagreements and
in fighting as to what to do next. MART is a
good example; suggestions as to a new name
for an anti-road pricing group were along the
lines of Travel Vision 2020. All such groups
will inevitably be linked to petrolheads and the
ABD by our opponents anyway; we have to
live with that.
Arguably, the ABD must remain active on all
its current areas and not abandon its principles.
However, if we want funding, we have to
be acceptable to supporters. This means we
must lead heavily with our best arguments on
issues where we know that people are with
us, such as road pricing, taxation and parking
attendants – but we must equivocate on more
controversial areas where the public aren't yet
ready to take our views on board, so that we
are seen as reasonably questioning current
thinking – especially on climate change. This
isnt weakening our position, it's just focusing
on saying things first that nobody can disagree
with, like speed cameras should only be used
for safety, or the so-called consensus on global
warming can't predict whether temperatures will
increase by 1º or 6º – or speed limits should be
set at the right level for road conditions - not too
high or too low.
There was also much discussion about the
ABD's website, in terms of how it's worded and
presented. The question is, what do you think as
an ABD member of all this? Are the suggestions
and proposals reasonable or are we all barking
up the wrong tree?
Nigel Humhries
Prevent or punish – the next steps
F
urther to the report in OTR83 on
reprinting John Leeming's book, it
looks likely that copies will become
available around the end of October. A first
run of 1000 copies will be printed, initially
available exclusively through the ABD.
Those who have informed Malcolm Heymer
of their wish to buy a copy will be informed
when they are available and the book will
be publicised on www.abd.org.uk
A small error in the previous update stated
that John Leeming was a founder member
of the Disabled Drivers' Association. He
was, in fact, a founder member of the
Disabled Drivers' Motoring Club, founded
in 1922 by WW1 veterans, like Leeming,
who had lost limbs in the conflict. The DDA
wasn't founded until 1947. In 2005 the
DDMC and the DDA merged to form the
charity Mobilise, so that is the organisation
with which the ABD will be sharing profits
from the sale of the book.
Dr Digby James, who is publishing the
reprinted edition, suggested that it would
be useful to have the book endorsed by
a high-profile motoring celebrity. After
some head-scratching, Malcolm Heymer
wrote to Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, who
was a friend of Leeming's through the
DDMC. Lord Montagu was pleased to
assist, writing an endorsement, which will
appear in the reprint. The ABD will be
doing its utmost to publicise the book's
availability when it is published so that
Leeming's message gets to the widest
possible audience.
Get a free electronic copy of OTR each month to send to whoever you
like – email [email protected] and you'll be added to the free PDF list
Page 8 – OTR84
www.abd.org.uk
You can donate any amount to the ABD's fighting fund at any time. Just
contact the membership secretary (see p16) for more information...
Simple Speedy Summary Justice – don't get caught out
A
BD members Hewitts Solicitors have
highlighted a little-publicised change to
the way motoring cases are dealt with in
court; the government wants to put more pressure
on drivers to pay up, by denying them free legal
advice from the Duty Solicitor (DS) and making it
difficult to request adjournments while a defence
is prepared. In the current climate of the police
targeting drivers as an easy option to improve crime
figures, an ever increasing number of motorists are
coming before the courts. Recent changes will have
a major impact on all magistrates court hearings and
particularly when an individual wishes to seek an
adjournment of their case.
In 2004 the Government changed the rules as
to who could be represented by the DS at court.
The DS is a free service provided by courts to
provide advice and representation to individuals
who do not have their own solicitor. The DS can
no longer represent individuals who face nonimprisonable (most motoring) offences, unless
that individual is in custody. This was introduced
by the Government as a means of reducing
the amount of money spent on legal aid. As a
result, those facing road traffic offences before
a magistrates court are precluded from obtaining
the free services of the DS.
The Government has now introduced a scheme
to accelerate Court proceedings, known as Simple
Speedy Summary Justice. The goal is to have the
majority of cases concluded at the first hearing,
so the court will expect an individual to plead
guilty or not guilty straight away. In order to
facilitate this, the CPS is now required to provide
advance information such as witness statements
to a defendant as early as possible. The likely
impact of these changes is that motorists making
their first appearance will struggle to be granted
an adjournment of their case by the court in order
to seek legal advice. This is likely to lead to two
potential problems:
•Motorists will feel pressured into entering
guilty pleas at the first hearing without the benefit
of legal advice that may give light to a defence.
•Drivers will have no option but to enter
not guilty pleas as the only way to secure an
adjournment. This could lead to a loss of credit
on sentence if ultimately (following legal advice)
the plea becomes one of guilty.
It is therefore essential for drivers facing
prosecutions who wish to obtain legal advice to
do so as soon as possible after they become aware
they may face a prosecution, in order to avoid the
possibility of injustice arising in their case.
ABD events team: one retirement but still going strong
E
vents co-ordinator RobinSimmons has
finally retired from manning ABD stands
full-time due to health reasons. Says
Robin: "Five years ago, when I revived the idea
of having an ABD stand at various events, all
we had was an open-sided gazebo, a pasting
table plus a handful of leaflets, which the wind
at Brands Hatch promptly blew away! However,
in the intervening period, members' funds have
paid for a professional marquee, display boards
and plenty of leaflets. Our stand allows us to
meet the public, explaining and promoting the
ABD's aims and policies; a concept well worth
supporting. Particular thanks are due to Terry
Hudson and Brian Macdowall, who have helped
at every show we've done as well as many other
members who've lent their support over the
years. Although I won't be manning the stands,
apart from occasional appearances, I will still be
involved in booking shows and improving our
presentations."
It's been a very busy year for the events team,
with thanks due to everyone involved. This
Weather Action in action
I
n July my wife and I were planning a break
in Exmoor; we wanted to go in September
or October, but given the atrocious weather
during the ‘summer', when would be the best time
to go without getting soaked every day? I decided
to improve the odds in our favour by consulting
Dr Piers Corbyn, who runs the Weather Action
forecasting service. Its forecasts are based on a
‘Solar Weather Technique' (SWT) developed by
Corbyn, an astrophysicist, who observes activity
on the sun such as sunspots and solar flares. These
magnetic disturbances interact with the Earth's
magnetic field to affect weather systems.
The SWT model has been refined to the point
where Weather Action's long-range forecasts
achieve a proven accuracy of 85-90%. As long
ago as the end of 2006, Weather Action forecast
that summer 2007 would be one of the wettest
for a century, with the catastrophic flooding of
June and July correctly predicted to within a
couple of days. In contrast, the Met Office failed
spectacularly by forecasting that the summer
could be the hottest ever – yet we are expected
to believe their computer model predictions of
the climate in 20, 50 or 100 years' time!
I emailed Dr Corbyn to ask how much he would
charge for a forecast covering September and
October for the Exmoor area; Weather Action is a
commercial organisation, after all. He suggested
a modest donation, which I sent, and I then
received an email, dated 21 July, containing his
recommendation for the best time to go. This
turned out to be the first 14 days of September.
Armed with this advice, I booked the hotel for
includes Andy Dobson and Liz James, who
gave their time at this year's Hampshire show,
while the ABD also had a strong presence
at this year's Jaguar Drivers' Club national
weekend at Standford Hall. Steve Fermor is
editor of the JDC magazine and a staunch
advocate of the ABD, so he was pleased to
give us prime space at the show, where we
signed up plenty of new members. If you're
a member of the IAM, ROSPA or any other
suitable organisation, ask your committee to
invite the ABD's regional organisers along for
a talk – and if you're based in the South East,
the events team will do their best to come
along. Distance is a factor but they'll do their
best to accommodate any such requests.
five nights from 9 September; the
forecast proved correct and we
had very good weather. It was
certainly money well spent; I also
subscribe to Weather Action's
monthly forecasts, which cost £10
for a single month or £42 for six months. I would
recommend all ABD members to check Weather
Action's website on a regular basis (www.
weatheraction.com), as it contains a great deal of
information on weather and climate issues.
Corbyn is a strong critic of the man-made global
warming myth and asserts that carbon dioxide
does not drive climate change, and never has
done. Given the success of his solar forecasting
methods, who would argue with him?
Malcolm Heymer
Want to get more involved? There are plenty of ways you can help
the ABD to move forward. Just check out page 11 to find out how
www.abd.org.uk
OTR84 – Page 9
abd action
M25 SPECS spectre
M
alcolm Heymer noticed in recent
weeks the installation of what
appear to be SPECS cameras on
the anti-clockwise carriageway of the M25
between junctions 28 and 27 (A12 to M11).
The cameras are outside the area where work
is taking place at junction 28 and there are no
signs on the motorway warning of ‘average
speed check'. So I decided to contact the
Highways Agency to ask what was going on.
Their reply (below) suggests that the cameras,
which are ANPR but built ‘around SPECS
technology', are intended only for monitoring
and to assist in keeping traffic moving, but it
is admitted that the cameras are ‘enforcement
ready'. Worrying.
This scheme involves deployment of
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)
cameras for the purpose of monitoring traffic
flows. This information will be used to set
signals on roadside mobile message signs to
harmonise speeds, to control congestion before
it occurs. The system is built around SPECS
technology, so is ‘enforcement ready'.
Innovative combination of technologies
already deployed on the network will ensure
consistency and adaptability. In addition
to potential improvements in journey time
reliability, the scheme provides other practical
benefits such as:
•Limited disruption for installation and
downstream maintenance, as only requires
hard shoulder closure.
•Improved information on average speeds
and traffic volume without the need for
additional in-road equipment.
•Journey times are measured between all
possible camera combinations, including
vehicles which change lanes between
cameras.
Mobile message signs will be deployed at
regular intervals and supplement the existing
signals mounted in the central reserve. Only a
50mph setting will be used in the short term,
with the system either displaying 50mph or
nothing.The system will automatically set
signals to influence driver behaviour and
harmonise speeds before the onset of flow
breakdown. The ANPR cameras are used only
for gathering flow information and to drive
signals via the journey time management
algorithm.
For more information, or if you have any
comments or suggestions, contact: 08457 504
030 or [email protected]
•If you live in London (or at least the south
east), make sure you subscribe to Roger
Lawson's regular ABD newsletter, along with
his Bromley Borough Roads Action Group
mailing. They both contain masses of useful
and interesting snippets; Roger's details are
on the back page.
Page 10 – OTR84
One member works out just how heavily
drivers are paying for their CO2 emissions,
while another looks into the shady tactics
of parking enforcers – plus much more...
NCP men behaving badly
A
reporter from the Edinburgh Evening
News recently phoned Bruce Young for
comment on a Youtube clip (youtube.
com/user/edinburghpedicabs) that showed three
of Edinburgh's NCP decriminalised parking
attendants working from a car, parked on
double yellow lines outside the Usher Hall. He
had checked with NCP and was told that it was
quite in order for them to work from a car and
that they were exempt from parking regulations
while on duty(!).
Bruce checked with an ABD member who is
a retired senior police officer – who confirmed
NCP's assertions were incorrect, and that he
had previously lodged a complaint against a
scooterista from the previous contractor, who
initially got bolshy when approached on the issue
and who eventually got a formal warning. He
confirmed that they are obliged to observe traffic
regulations like anyone else and suggested that
the reporter should check with Edinburgh City
Council and invite comment.
The ABD member also said that the attendants
must observe the parked vehicle for a set period
before issuing a ticket, have a beat to patrol, (they
"punch" their machines to confirm checking
each section) and, following an FoI enquiry, he
had previously obtained a spreadsheet showing
their operations.
Unsurprisingly, Bruce commented that NCP
got the contract on the grounds that they would
be open, user-friendly and above board. This
appeared to be entrapment and was typical of
Edinburgh's anti-car policies. It wasn't surprising
that the yobs they employ would do this, but was
a concern that their management should support
it. It scarcely builds links with the public!
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com
CO2 emissions: the real costs
A
re you fed up hearing that drivers don't
pay their way when it comes to climate
change? Aside from the fact that CO2
driving climate change is a huge scam, Paul
Biggs has been busy with his calculator, proving
that drivers already pay more than their
fair share for CO2 emissions. Drivers
currently pay £240 per tonne of
CO2 emitted in petrol/diesel tax
- Stern recommended just £40
per tonne of CO2 emitted as an
environmental tax:
For example, a 2.0 petrol
To y o t a Av e n s i s ( 1 9 1 g / k m
and
34.9mpg) does 3263 miles (5236km) per tonne
of CO2 emitted, using 93 gallons (424 litres) of
petrol. £44 per tonne of CO2 tax equates to 18.3p
per litre, compared with the current 56.8p in fuel
duty on unleaded (including VAT). Therefore, the
petrol car driver pays 5.5 times more in fuel duty
than Stern's carbon tax would require.
In example number two, a 2.0 diesel Avensis
(155g/km and 48.7mpg) does 4009 miles
(6452km) per tonne of CO2 emitted,
using 82 gallons (374 litres) of diesel.
£44 per tonne CO2 tax equates to
20.7p per litre of diesel, compared
with 56.8p in fuel duty on diesel
(including VAT). In this case, the
diesel car driver pays 4.8 times
more in fuel duty than Stern's
carbon tax would require.
The difference between petrol and diesel arises
because diesel fuel is denser and contains more
carbon per litre than petrol. How much more
money do they want out of us?
Tough questions in Croydon
F
our years ago, Croydon Council (under
Labour) set up the CRUF – Croydon Road
User Forum. This was a group where
community representatives met with council
officers and TfL to discuss how they should manage
traffic and the road network on behalf of all road
users. It was moderately useful. After a year of the
new Conservative administration, they decided the
CRUF was "too unwieldy", and replaced it with
the Croydon Road Safety Panel (croydon.gov.
uk/transportandstreets/roadsafety/crsp)
The council didn't like being held to account
on what matters to road users in the borough,
and instead wants to impose its own agenda; the
CRSP is supposed to help with this. The ABD's
Peter Morgan was a leading member of the old
forum and he has now set out the following for
the CRSP. It will be interesting to see what is
allowed onto the agenda, and what is censored
off it. There are numerous issues of council
traffic and road network management policy
which have proved controversial over recent
months, and where road safety is an important
element. In each case, it would be helpful to
have a statement of council policy, together
with supporting evidence, to cover the effect on
traffic speeds and volumes, accidents, casualties,
costs and benefits; Peter will be asking questions
about all these:
•Speed limit policy.
•Traffic calming measures..
•Council enforcement policy: fixed and mobile
speed cameras, CCTV (open and covert), plus
wardens.
•Council Parking Policy.
•Council Publicity Policy.
•Accidents and casualties: establish the hot
spots for these.
www.abd.org.uk
Check out the ABD's media log at www.abd.org.uk/medialog.htm– you
can see all the press releases issued by the ABD at www.abd.org.uk
Restoring sanity in Lincolnshire
in brief...
eith Peat is one of the ABD's most
active members, and over the past
few weeks he's been busier than
ever. You can read about some of his exploits
elsewhere in these pages, but perhaps the
biggest coup is getting some sanity restored
in the speed limit setting process in his area
of Lincolnshire. As a retired traffic cop, Keith
knows what he's talking about when it comes
to road safety; sick of watching local residents
campaigning for ineffective speed limit
reductions, he's spent months campaigning
for some common sense. The latest example
was in Branston, when a group of children lost
their fight for speed limit reductions outside
their school. Of course it comes as no surprise
that schoolchildren should be brainwashed
into campaigning on subjects about which
they know nothing, and this group wanted
traffic calming and limit reductions galore
– despite only one accident out of 11 having
excess speed as a factor.
Keith's next project is tackling his local
authority on its reasoning for reducing the
speed limit on of the A52 between Skegness
and Boston, one of only two arterial roads
•Martin Cassini is an award-winning producer
who has worked in most areas of TV. His current
mission is to reform our traffic control system via
In your car no-one can hear you scream!, a workin-progress which shows we could solve many of
our congestion, road safety, road rage and CO2
problems by ditching traffic controls and letting
human nature take its competent course. See it at
youtube.com/watch? v=r_YV3Cru7aE
•Keith Peat, has issued a press release locally,
claiming a balloon on a stick is as effective as
speed cameras at reducing accidents. He stood
at the side of the busy Humber Bridge approach
road with a balloon on a stick for four hours
and during that time, (at his site) there was
not one single KSI accident. ‘It's not a major
discovery though' says Keith. ‘It's called a
regression to the mean. So if you put a speed
camera there it would produce the same kind of
results as my balloon but the camera operators
don't like to mention it. Cameras are much
more expensive than balloons but they bring
in lots of money for the Government and the
insurance companies who get higher premiums
when good, safe, drivers collect unnecessary
points on their licence.'
•Robert Bolt spotted this gem in the recently
published St Albans Cycling Strategy:
In order to encourage cycling and improve
safety, the Council wishes to see a reduction
in the inappropriate speed of motor traffic
on the District's Roads. The Council will
continue to support the County Council in
the introduction of 20mph zones within the
District. In addition the Council will work
with the Police to improve the enforcement
of speed limits.
So another reason for 20 limits is to encourage
cycling. But what about road safety?
•Roger Lawson has created a website for ABD
London, at www.freedomfordrivers.org
•Peter Morgan has prepared an analysis of
the road transport policies of the four candidates
for the Conservative nomination for London
Mayor on 1 May 2008. Overall, they're very
disappointing, especially as transport is, with
planning, the Mayor's primary responsibility.
The Word document is can be downloaded from
http://tinyurl. com/2eopuf
K
serving the Lincolnshire East Coast. Keith dug
up this gem from the official paperwork:
The A52 is currently used as a major route
for coastal access and the volumes and speed
of traffic along this stretch can therefore be
high. It is proposed to discourage traffic
from the A52 over this length (by reducing
the speed limit) as part of the A158/C541
coastal access improvement. This will lead
to traffic continuing north of Boston on the
A16, rather than using the A52.
So there you have it; this proposed speed
limit reduction has nothing to do with road
safety and everything to do with discouraging
use of the road – and a major route at that.
NMA and ABD – a meeting of minds
T
he ABD maintains close links with an
equivalent US organisation, the National
Motorists' Association. In a recent
exchange with the group's president James
Baxter, came the following statement, which
sums things up very well!
Minorities that feel under siege
from the larger society (gun
owners is one such group in the
US) will sometimes form fairly
large successful organizations
to defend their interests. We're
probably closest to this latter
group but without the one
compelling reason or sense of need to join
in the interest of self-defense. Like AARP or
the AAA, the most successful of any of these
groups has some kind of tangible benefit that
attracts and holds members.
So how do we stack up? Instead of fun we
offer aggravation, political battles, and
Contact your MP
M
Ps are listed by name &
constituency on the Parliament site
(www.parliament.uk/directories/
directories.cfm). Many MPs have their own
email, but if you use the Parliament webpage
to email them, it's involved. It's often better to
check their constituency website (if they have
one) for contact info. Make sure you state
clearly you're a constituent to get priority in
a reply. Conservative shadow ministers are
listed at www.conservatives.com
www.abd.org.uk
when the day is done all we may have
accomplished is preserve the status-quo,
which may not be too great to begin with.
Instead of having a common bond and sense
of comradeship most drivers think other
drivers are incompetent jerks who they have
to compete with for the same chunk
of highway. Everybody drives so
there is no sense of being unique,
or special.
There clearly is a need for
organizations like ours, but our
potential members have nothing in
common, other than being motorists
which they don't see as a seperate
and unique population. What's worse is a
large percentage of the driving public thinks
low speed limits, ticket cameras, and huge
fines are a good thing because they figure
they will screw the other guy.
www.motorists.org
How you can help the ABD to grow
•Speak to Bob Dennish about becoming a
regional contact/support your existing contact
•Speak to Robin Simmons (p16) about
volunteering to help at events
•Are you a car club member? Then get your
club to support our affiliation scheme, which is
run by Robn Simmons – whose contact details
are on the back page
•Donate to the ABD's fighting fund. Get a
form from the membership secretary
•Make your spouse a joint member
•Subscribe to ABD-Action (see email groups
on p15)
•Get your friends to join – they can sign up
online at www.abd.org.uk
•Write to your MP regularly, reminding
them of their duty to stand up for drivers
•Take the time to reply to anti-car articles
and letters in the local press
•Complain about proposals for traffic
calming and speed limit reductions. Few
people do, which is why they happen.
OTR84 – Page 11
letters
I
was involved in a serious road accident
in April, when another car pulled out of a
junction adjoining a fast A-road on which I
was travelling. It was only luck, a lack of large
trees (the collision sent me off road) and literally
a split second (I hit his offside passenger door)
that prevented a double fatality. The other driver
has admitted full liability. I am now informed
that the Norfolk Constabulary has chosen to send
this gentleman on a Driver Improvement Scheme
instead of prosecuting through the courts. He will
therefore pay £185 for the privilege but avoid all
penalty points on his licence.
Two weeks ago my wife received a fixed
60 penalty and three points on her licence for
travelling at 34mph through a 30mph speed
limit and was caught via a static camera. She
has no alternative but to incur three points on
her licence.
Where is the logic of this system that penalises
trivial misdemeanours but allows those who
perform seriously dangerous driving acts that
result in vehicles being written off and potential
serious injury or fatality to avoid penalty points?
I am perplexed, disillusioned and bemused by
our system!
Chris Ash
Am I the only one who detects complete
confusion in government policies? First we had
the mantra about reducing the need to travel by
car. Then Labour decided to stop local catchment
areas for schools, as this would aid some sort of
social engineering. Next, there seems to have
been a planned regionalisation of A&E care, so
ambulances need to travel further – by definition,
so will members of the public, also leading to
increased car use. Also, according to Emergency
Medicine Journal, mortality rates increase by 1%
for every extra six miles travelled. Yet up to 29
hospital closures in the name of ‘regionalisation'
are predicted, while Labour wastes millions on
pathetic ‘ActOnCO2' adverts.
The other fiasco is over public transport fares;
one reason rail fares have risen is that franchise
fees have been hiked by a greedy government.
The Evening Standard recently claimed that
commuters to London are set to face 7% fare
rises; double the rate of inflation, and the Office
of the Rail Regulator is being urged to make an
R
ecent reports claim that fixed speed
cameras can now be painted any colour.
I'm a retired police constable who spent
most of his police career on traffic patrol, and it's
news to me that the rules have been changed. I
like to keep up to date with road legislation, but
I must have missed that little snippet, as did just
about every serving police officer I know. This
move away from bright yellow, highly visible
safety cameras finally puts to rest the preposterous
argument that the sole purpose of these devices
was education. As does the introduction of
invisible infra-red flash technology. So now the
money-driven, cash-strapped, and to a great
extent government-controlled local authority can
paint them to blend into the background and use
Page 12 – OTR84
Write to OTR: Chris Medd, PO Box
2228, Kenley, Surrey CR8 5ZT or
send an email to [email protected]
Opinions expressed are personal views
and not necessarily those of the ABD.
Please note letters may be shortened.
Give us a quote
"We have some concerns about the objectivity of the IPCC process, with some of its emissions
scenarios and summary documentation apparently influenced by political considerations"
House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs
L
ast July, it was very hot and concerns
were rife over water shortages. The
heat, we were told, was due to manmade climate change. Now it's been a really
wet summer, this is also due to man-made
climate change. It's the same when it's windy
or cold; what sort of weather will prove that
we've solved the 'problem'? How will we
know? No single weather pattern will ever be
good enough for these people. We'll always
‘need to do something' to keep the green
industry in business and the politicians' taxes
rolling in, while at the same time they clamp
down on freedom and travel.
In one way it's the perfect con, but on the
other hand it's amazing people are being
conned, on such a wide scale.
Simon Tonks
anti-monopoly inquiry.
Perhaps Labour really wants us to have to
travel more by car as it will benefit from higher
fuel tax revenue, and eventually from national
road pricing.
Brian Mooney
Major roads are now routinely closed for hours
on end, to investigate accidents. I respect the need
to investigate the causes of a road crash, but this
must be balanced against the inconvenience to
sometimes tens of thousands of other road users,
with potentially major consequences. A sensible
way forward might be to allow the police to a set
time limit, such as three hours. After that they
should need to get authorisation every hour from
the Transport Secretary to continue to keep the
road closed. Some checks and balances need to
be restored to the system.
Ian Reid
According to The Times, the rail safety
people have decided that in the interests of
passenger safety, carriages will have unbreakable
windows and they're going
to take away the
little hammers
that allow you
to break the
glass. So, in
the event of
a crash or a
fire you won't
be able to get out
except through the
doors at each end, which
depending on the circumstances may be
inaccessible or obstructed. Survivors of the
Paddington crash were quoted in the article
as saying that had these measures been in
place when they had their accident things
would have been much worse for them; many
escaped through the windows. Anyone fancy
travelling locked in a metal tube from which
they can't escape in the event of an accident?
And they're supposed to be making train travel
more attractive!
Chris Lamb
a non-visible flash so no attention is drawn to
them when they are activated. Not too much in
the way of education involved in that invisible
set-up, is there? How much longer before they
are allowed to be hidden inside wheelie bins, a
trick that is already in use on the Continent?
The sole purpose of these cameras can now be
clearly seen for what they were always intended
to be: revenue generation devices. Another
little-realised fact is that because most insurance
companies increase your premiums if you have a
few penalty points on your licence, the Treasury
also gains due to an increase in the insurance
premium tax which it imposed on all insurance
policies a few years ago. Cute move, or what?
Andrew Culley
North Yorkshire casualties are
up by 50% over the past year. The
knee-jerk official response is that we
are to be treated to a jihad against
"speeders", more use of ANPR
cameras, and a heavier police presence.
But nobody has tried to determine why
casualties there has been this increase; it could
be merely a normal statistical variation. Yet
no analysis has been done; it has has just been
conveniently assumed that the answer must be
a speed camera.
Brian Gregory
I have now had personal experience of the
new HGV licence regs and governed speeds
together with new tacho and distance regs for
breakdown tow trucks. Travelling up the M5,
my motorhome's engine management system
reduced me to limp-home mode with over 200
miles to go. The RAC were brilliant but because
of the new regs, the contractor from Bristol could
only take us to Tewkesbury, but by then there was
no local agent to take us up to Mablethorpe so
we had to overnight outside his garage. Added
to this the new truck that did the first leg, was
restricted to 56mph. The governor operates on
revs so that on single-carriageway roads there's
no point dropping a gear to accelerate past slow
vehicles, even though well below the 56mph; the
engine is governed at all speeds in any gear. This
is costing us all a fortune and you can bet Spain
and France aren't applying this so keenly.
Keith Peat
I was driving recently in Germany. In small
villages on through roads, they've installed mini-
www.abd.org.uk
Does the membership secretary have your current contact details –
including a correct email address? If not, please send an update ASAP!
W
e're increasingly told that because
our motoring costs have decreased
in relative terms in recent years, we
should pay more tax to bring them back up to
what they should be. I find it hard to relate to this
concept that everything should cost what it did
previously. In 1991 I bought a Sony 14-inch TV
and it cost £225. In 2002 I bought another, and it
cost £178; one today would cost £149. So, should
the government add £76 more tax to make it cost
the same today as in 1991? Of course not!
Another trick much loved by politicians is
this concept of "real cost". When talking about
motoring costs they include all sorts of factors
(such as inflation and average salaries) to arrive
at the "real cost of owning a car" which shows
that we've never had it so good.
When talking about government mismanagement they only refer to the actual
numbers; a government minister recently
referred to a doubling of spending on flood
defences compared with 10 years ago, or £300m
in 1997 and £600m in 2007. I wonder if it would
show expenditure had doubled if they calculated
the "real expenditure" for those flood defences.
You can show anything you like if you choose
the right figures.
Incidentally, I noticed an article in the Evening
Standard recently, stating that eight protesters
had superglued themselves to the front of the
headquarters of BP in St James's Square. Many
of the protesters were taking part for the whole
week, so, presumably they don't have jobs.
Maybe someone should have pointed out to them
that the businesses and individuals they were
disrupting are the sources of the tax revenues
that pay their benefits.
George Layton
roundabouts at each end of the village, but with
no side roads. It's a solution which reduces the
speed of traffic into the village from open road
speeds, doesn't force traffic in one direction
straight into oncoming traffic and doesn't cause
traffic in either direction to come to a halt. Why
can't we do something similar here?
Neil Menzies
was going to stop me and I was about to refuse,
when I noticed she was wearing a Friends of the
Earth T-shirt. So I decided this could be fun!
After establishing that I was aware of FoE she
said that they are looking to recruit new members
to raise funds for campaigning. She then went
on about recycling and I said I was quite happy
to recyle, within reason. She then said, "And
we have to stop this global warming!" to which
I replied, "It stopped four years ago." This was
obviously not the reply she expected so she asked
me to explain. I told her about 1998 being the
warmest recorded year, and on a two-year rolling
average there has been no increase in global
temperature since 2002/3. I also explained that
I had been studying the scientific evidence for
the best part of 10 years and the CO2 hypothesis
is nonsense.
Clearly realising that she was onto a loser on
that topic, she then asked if I supported other FoE
policies, such as opposing road building. I said
I didn't, as I was a driver and, indeed, a member
of the ABD. So she said, "You're probably not
one for us, then," and I was forced to agree!
Great sport, and we now know that FoE are on
a recruitment drive.
Malcolm Heymer
A recent disparaging comment from John
Humphreys on the Today Programme, about
sell by dates, got me thinking. The woman from
some quango who he was interviewing was
horrified! Use by dates on food are like speed
limits. If used intelligently they're sensible and
beneficial. They help you use older food first
and, in general, the shorter they are the more
helpful they are likely they are to accurately
reflect the life of the foodstuff. However, if
they are stuck to religiously they lead to a lot of
perfectly good food being thrown away, which I
find outrageous. They also become the be all and
end all of food hygiene, stopping people from
being able to judge whether food is fit to eat,
leading to more incidences of poor storage and
cross contamination – the real causes of serious
food poisoning. Sound familiar?
Nigel Humphries
Well done! Nowhere else have I seen such a
devastating demolition job as you guys do on
the little green men. You are quite right to point
out that CO2 (which is less than 300ppm of the
atmosphere) is an effect of global warming and
not its cause. This was pointed out first (I think)
by Prof Robert Essenhigh of Ohio in 2001.
It's there in such minute quantities that it can't
possibly cause climate changes. The cause is no
doubt linked to sunspots, though the mechanism
is complex.
Good work – keep it up – and don't listen to
the Carbon Trust et al!
R Shepherd BSc, C Eng, FIMA, FBCS
While walking through Dereham town centre
I spotted a woman with a clipboard, obviously a
market researcher, I thought. She looked like she
www.abd.org.uk
Most cars could easily use a much higher
overdrive top gear at motorway cruising speeds
of 80-90mph. A diesel Focus is pulling around
3000rpm at such speeds, yet it could easily run
at 2000-2500rpm without labouring the engine.
Surely MPG and CO2 output would improve
significantly so why aren't manufacturers fitting
higher overdrive gears?
Because all emissions figures are calculated
using a fixed test route, carried out at unrealistic
speeds of under 70mph, manufacturers have no
incentive to reduce consumption at real-world
motorway speeds – although it would be easy. I
suspect they optimise gearing to produce good
test results.
If the above is true, surely the government
testing regime is increasing CO2 output? Rather
than lowering the motorway speed limit to cut
CO2, surely they should change their testing
Shorts
The statement on the ECHR ruling in OTR83,
attributed to "the polish judge" was in fact made
by Moldova representative Stanislav Pavlovschi.
A further dissenting statement, supporting that
of Pavlovschi, was made by Eric Myjer, the
Netherlands representative. Both statements can
now be read in full on the ABD website.
Chris ward
I recently read an old railway book, from the
mid-70s. It mentions a TRRL study from 1972
estimating the UK's car population to br 26m by
2000. If they knew about it then, why couldn't
they plan a network to support it?
Keith Jones
Increase the driving age to 18 and no more
17-year old drivers will be killed. We could
then increase that to 21 and nobody under 21
would be killed: road safety is just so simple, as
long as you take democracy, freedom, personal
choice, basic human rights and enjoyment out
of the equation!
Terry Hudson
Sample response for those wishing to upset
local greens: I do not drive a gas guzzler, but if
I choose my route carefully and pick out all the
roads with road humps and traffic calming, I can
get the same mpg as a gas guzzler...
From the ABD forum
One interesting result of this summer's wet and
windy weather is the wonderful air quality in
London. A noticeable benefit which no doubt Ken
Livingstone will claim credit for in due course.
Roger Lawson
Maybe the Government should be expressing
thanks to the 4WD owners for all their help
transporting and rescuing stranded motorists
and others during the recent floods. Without this
the emergency services could not have coped.
Maybe they should show this gratitude in the
next budget.
Steve Goode
Just about to go for an appointment at Churchill
Hospital in Oxford and I'm flabbergasted to read
in the accompanying letter that the minimum
charge to park in their car park is £3 rising to
£10. And the machines don't give change. What
a blatant rip off! I've sent a furious email to the
hospital accusing them of ripping their own
patients off. Disgusting!
Chris Burmajster
I recently went to Chorley Hospital in
Lancashire, couldn't find a parking place, and
parked on double yellow lines. Needless to
say, a penalty notice appeared, issued by the
company which profits from the hospital's
parking restrictions. I didn't pay it, but nothing
happened because it wasn't a public road.
From the ABD forum
OTR84 – Page 13
Please support the companies who advertise on the ABD website
(www.abd.org.uk): we earn commission from your purchases
procedures to encourage efficiency at real world
speeds? Are we missing an opportunity to expose
this or am I barking up the wrong tree?
Dave Razzell
I organise training courses for my own company
and run others as a freelancer for various national
providers. We wouldn't go anywhere near a
congestion charge zone, which is why hotels and
similar venues inside the zone in London are
losing out on conference-type bookings. Where
I live (Glos), creeping pedestrianisation
and anti-car policies generally are
resulting in more and more
commercial spaces remaining
vacant. A new central
development remains nearly
empty due to ludicrously
high council tax coupled
with poor services and a lack
of foot traffic as people drive
out of town as far as Bristol or
Cribbs Causeway, where plentiful
parking is free and there's a wide choice
of outlets with competitive prices. People will
wake up one day, but when?
Ben Adams
J
ohn Gayfer's letter (OTR82), criticises the ABD
stance on the banishment of the word accident
from the highway code. John's points are all
well made. Yes, of course accidents are avoidable,
and of course there is therefore culpability. Usually,
all the parties involved in a collision could have
done something to avoid it, even if one of them is
technically solely to blame. The ABD is massively
in favour of every road user being responsible not
only for avoiding causing an accident, but also for
allowing for the errors and omissions of others.
Such is the essence of advanced driving, and the
foundation of any positive road safety policy.
If our stance on the terminology gave any other
impression, then we have communicated poorly
and deserve to be taken to task.
But if, as John suggests, the change in terminology
has no impact on the interpretation of the severity
of road user errors, then why have elements of
the road safety industry been campaigning for
this change for at least ten years? It is only road
accidents where this is the case. Incidents in the
home, workplace, or on the railways are still called
accidents, and nobody is arguing that this should
change. Nobody is lobbying RoSPA to change its
name; they seem quite happy with the concept of
accidents being preventable rather than random
acts of God, even if we don't always agree with
their ideas for achieving this.
The word accident simply implies that something
happened without deliberate intent during the
pursuit of an activity deemed legitimate by society.
A death only stops being an accident when the
perpetrator steps clearly outside this legitimacy:
a drive-by shooter who kills an innocent person
whilst aiming at a rival drug gang member is not
deemed to have been involved in an accident, but
a hunter who shoots his friend because he forgot
to unload his gun most certainly is.
Page 14 – OTR84
Yet again, a main road with little in the way of
diversion potential, the A77 at Girvan, has been
closed for several hours because of an accident.
It was this road that first drew my attention to
the "make them pay for accidents by closing
their roads" tactic some years ago when it was
closed in the same area for three days to allow the
removal of a two-car accident. During that time
the area was used for regular live TV broadcasts
by police officers condemning speed which,
they asserted, must have caused this accident.
After investigation it turned out
that speed had nothing at all
to do with the accident and
it was clear, from the TV
pictures, that a bloke
with a Land Rover could
have cleared the road in
half an hour.
How long before this
policy is used to preemptively close roads?
"Oh well we saw someone
going a bit too fast along here last
Thursday so we've closed the road for a week
to prevent accidents. That'll teach them."
Philip Blair
If we can no longer refer to car crashes as
accidents, the clear implication is that driving a car
or motorcycle is no longer a socially acceptable
activity under any circumstances – another step
towards thes long-term aim of the anti-car lobby.
Alongside the terminology change is another
idea that surfaces from time to time, resolutely
promoted behind the scenes by key anti-car
players, that vulnerable road users should not be
responsible for collisions with motor vehicles; it
should always be the car driver's fault, whatever
the pedestrian or cyclist does. If these people
believed in equal responsibility for all road users
imposed through law enforcement we would have
number plates on push bikes and jaywalking laws
with fines for pedestrians to go with the speed
cameras and traffic calming. Not a chance (not
that we want these things!)
So in the future "Transport 2000" world, it's not
accidental death when a cyclist goes through a
red light and straight under your wheels – it's not
even misadventure by the cyclist. It's unlawful
killing and you're to blame. The result of this is
that road safety takes another step away from
reasonableness along the path of a political agenda,
which further obfuscates the desire of all genuine
road safety campaigners to see all road users take
full responsibility for avoiding accidents. I am quite
sure that Brake would be appalled by this if they
thought through the consequences of their actions;
after all we praised them in the same issue for their
"Beep Beep" days to educate nursery children.
However, I noticed the phrase at the bottom of their
Beep Beep sticker: Drivers, slow down. Kids are
around! So near yet so far. If it only said Drivers,
slow down WHEN kids are around we could fully
endorse it. As it is, it's a bit like losing the 'not' from
the fifth commandment!
Nigel Humphries
OTR glossary
•ACPO: Association of Chief Police Officers
•ALG: Association of London Government
•ANPR: Automatic Number Plate Recognition
•Brake: Vocal anti-car group
•CPRE: Campaign to Protect Rural England
•CPS: Crown Prosecution Service
•DfT: Department for Transport
•DVLA: Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency
ECHR: European Court of Human Rights
•FoI: Freedom of Information (Act)
•Gatso: Speed camera that measures a car's
speed at a single fixed point.
•IAM: Institute of Advanced Motorists
•IPCC: Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate
Change
•ISA: Intelligent Speed Adaptation
•KSI: Killed or Seriously Injured
•LTP: Local Transport Plan
•NIP: Notice of Intended Prosecution (usually
a speeding ticket)
•RHA: Road Haulage Association
•PACTS: Parliamentary Advisory Council on
Transport Safety (of which the ABD is a member)
•Scamera: Speed camera
•SPECS: Speed camera that measures a car's
average speed between two or more points.
•TfL: Transport for London
If you need to arrange any of the following
(or similar), contact ABD member Martin
Forge on 01252 660 126 to discuss your
requirements without obligation. Not only
will you get great service, but the ABD earns
a commission on any work undertaken.
•Will writing
•Powers of Attorney
•Partnership agreements
•Shareholder agreements
•Deeds
•Trusts
•Probate services
•Deed poll name change
Members of the Society of Willwriters
www.abd.org.uk
information &
member benefits
ABD publicity material
If you would like copies of the ABD leaflet,
flyer or poster please get in touch with Susan
Newby-Robson (details overleaf), and she'll send
you what you need. There's also a limited stock
of car stickers available.
ABD merchandise
Help publicise the ABD with a group polo
shirt or a golfing umbrella. They cost £20
apiece (including P&P) and you can order them
from Susan Newby-Robson, whose details are
overleaf.
Affiliated organisations
The ABD runs an affiliation scheme, allowing
groups which support the ABD to formally
recognise the work we do. Overleaf is a list of
the groups currently affiliated to the ABD along
with contact details for Robin Simmons, who
is the affiliations contact. If you're a member
of an organisation which you think should be
supporting the ABD, please let Robin know and
we'll endeavour to sign them up.
Business cards
Business cards are available from the
membership secretary for members to hand out
if they are representing the ABD.
Books discount
ABD members get a 12.5%
discount and free postage from
Haynes Books. For a free
catalogue you can email emma_
[email protected]
and identify yourself as a member of the
Association of British Drivers – not ABD as it
confuses their computer. Give your membership
number, name and address. The ABD website
also has a bookshop section. A link is shown on
the main page of our website at www.abd.org.
uk The ABD Bookshop operates in association
with amazon.co.uk which give us a referral fee
for all books purchased via our website.
Breakdown recovery
If you quote your ABD membership number
when joining Britannia Rescue you'll get 10%
off your membership.
Chauffeurplan
If you lose your licence you will find
Chauffeurplan's service invaluable. Offered
by Longford Insurance, it's an insurance policy
against losing your licence or car, with a 10%
discount for ABD members. Call Chauffeurplan
on 0800 242 420 for more.
email groups
We sometimes need to contact as many members
as possible in a short space of time. If you have
an email address please subscribe to ABD Action,
allowing us to do this. You can add your name
www.abd.org.uk
to the list by sending an email to
abd-action-owner@yahoogroups.
com stating your full name and
membership number. You can also
subscribe to the ABD forum to take
place in various discussions. If you'd
like to join send an email to [email protected], stating your
name and membership number. abdml
subscribers will automatically be added to abdaction as well and if you've got a bit more time
available you might like to subscribe to ABDChat, which has a higher rate of postings. To
subscribe to this just send an email to [email protected]
Ferry tickets
Book Ferry tickets
online using the
ABD website and
we earn a small
commission
which helps boost
our fighting fund.
Fighting fund
The ABD has a fighting fund to which you can
donate any amount at any time. You can also
donate by standing order if you wish to give
a regular sum. Please contact the membership
secretary for more information.
IAM discounts
The ABD has negotiated
a special rate for the IAM
Skill for Life programme
- everything you need to
prepare for, and take, your
advanced driving test. ABD
members over 26 will be entitled to
a £5 discount, reducing the price to £80. This is
in addition to the £10 discount for under 26s.
The IAM manual Pass Your Advanced Driving
Test is available to ABD members at a 25%
reduction (£6).
Joint memberships
Joint memberships are free and help us to
increase the size of the group easily. If your
partner/spouse isn't a joint member, please sign
them up if you can – just contact the membership
secretary to do so.
Number plates
If you are in the market for a personalized
number plate, Simply Registrations is offering
special rates for ABD members.Go to www.
simplyreg.com or contact james@simplyreg.
com for details.
OTR in cyberspace
OTR31 onwards are now available as PDFs,
which you can obtain from Chris Medd or
download from the ABD website.
OTR – go electronic
You can save the ABD a significant
amount of money if you opt to receive
each issue of On The Road electronically,
rather than as a hard copy – you'll also
see it far quicker. To go electronic please
email [email protected] using
the subject header electronic OTR.
Please use this header and no other to ensure
your email isn't binned as spam.
Protective film
Rhino Protect is offering ABD members a 15%
discount on its range of stone chip protection film.
To obtain the discount, phone 0870 803 0187, give
them your membership number and request a 15%
discount. See www.rhinoprotect.com for more.
Speed limit objection packs
The ABD has prepared an informative
action pack which sets out in detail the
process by which local authorities set speed
limits, and the rights that every member of
the public has to object to the imposition of
new or reduced limits. The pack costs £5 to
non-members, but is available free to current
members. Please send a large SAE (30p) to:
3 Wheatcroft Way
Dereham
Norfolk NR20 3SS
[email protected]
Website
The main ABD website (www.abd.org.uk) is
available to everyone, and there's a members'
site at www.members.abd.org.uk – both contain
mountains of information on a diverse range of
subjects, with dozens of links to other websites
which may help you in your research. Log on to
to find out more or email the ABD webmaster
– Chris Ward – at [email protected]
Will making
Everyone should make a Will, to make life
easier for those you've left behind in the event
of your death. You can arrange for the ABD to
benefit from a legacy of whatever size your estate
can afford. For advice on making a Will, contact
Gibson-Forge – see the advert on p14. In drawing
up the document, make sure that the legacy quotes
the legal name, number and registered address
of the ABD for the avoidance of confusion.
These are: the Association of British Drivers
(an operating name of Pro-Motor, a company
limited by guarantee and registered in England
under Company Number 2945728) and whose
registered office is 4 King Square Bridgwater
Somerset TA6 3DG.
On The Road is published by Pro-Motor, a company
limited by guarantee and registered in England
under #2945728 at 4 King Square, Bridgwater,
Somerset TA6 3YF. The Association of British
Drivers is an operating name of Pro-Motor.
OTR84 – Page 15
national & regional
W
national
e are always pleased to hear from
members who can offer support or
need help. But remember that the
ABD is a voluntary organisation – funded
only by its members' subscriptions – and is
staffed by unpaid volunteers who do their
best to help members. So please, no phone
calls after 9pm!
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY:
SUSAN NEWBY-ROBSON
PO Box 2228, Kenley, Surrey CR8 5ZT
Tel
07000 781 544
[email protected]
CHAIRMAN: BRIAN GREGORY
Tel
01642 589 373
[email protected]
COMPANY SECRETARY:
JOAN BINGLEY
TREASURER: HUGH BLADON
Tel / fax
01934 628 136
[email protected]
These are the main contacts and their
key contact details. For a complete list of
contact details, visit the members' website
(details on page 15)
AVON & SOMERSET: BOB BULL
Home
01275 843 839
[email protected]
EAST BERKS: ANDY CUNNINGHAM
Home
01252 876 958
[email protected]
BARNSLEY: GAZ WILSON
(also Doncaster & Rotherham)
Mobile
07939 256 660
[email protected]
local & regional
BEDFORDSHIRE: PETER DAVIES
Mobile
07739 122 763
[email protected]
BIRMINGHAM: PAUL BIGGS
Home
01827 262 709
Mobile
07769 691 281
[email protected]
BUCKS: ANTHONY SMITH-ROBERTS
Home
01296 670 988
Mobile
07801 506 411
[email protected]
CAMBS: SEAN HOULIHANE
Home
01763 246 953
Mobile
07796 135 046
[email protected]
CHESHIRE: NORMAN JOHNSTONE
Home
01925 290 720
Mobile
07751 355 799
[email protected]
CORNWALL: JOHN HATTON
[email protected]
DENBIGHSHIRE: CHRIS BARRETT
[email protected]
DERBYSHIRE: ROBERT PARNHAM
[email protected]
contacts
Affiliated organisations
lAmerican Automobile Club
lBMW Car Club
lCIPS (Choice in Personal Safety)
lCitroen Car Club
lDriver Awareness
lJaguar Drivers' Club
lNO2ID
WEBMASTER: CHRIS WARD
[email protected]
AFFILIATIONS CO-ORDINATOR:
ROBIN SIMMONS
[email protected]
OTR EDITOR: CHRIS MEDD
[email protected]
PO Box 2228, Kenley, Surrey CR8 5ZT
MEDIA SPOKESMAN:
NIGEL HUMPHRIES
Tel mobile
07764 377 346
[email protected]
ENVIRONMENT SPOKESMAN:
BEN ADAMS
[email protected]
EVENTS CO-ORDINATOR
ROBIN SIMMONS
[email protected]
Also Terry Hudson and Brian MacDowall
(see Kent area for details)
HARTLEPOOL: RICHARD TURNER
Home
01429 263436
[email protected]
READING: DAN CRESWELL
Home
0118 921 2644
[email protected]
HERTFORDSHIRE: ROBERT BOLT
Home
01727 810 700
Mobile
07733 225 355
[email protected]
SHEFFIELD: PAUL OXLEY
Home
0114 236 3630
sheffi[email protected]
KENT ALSO: BRIAN MACDOWALL
Home
01227 369 119
Mobile
07930 113 232
[email protected]
KENT ALSO: IAN TAYLOR
Home
01304 203 351
LANCASHIRE: IAN WINSTANLEY
[email protected]
LEICESTERSHIRE: HYWEL TIDLEY
Home
01455 557 268
Mobile
07977 159 306
[email protected]
LINCOLNSHIRE: KEITH PEAT
Home
01507 441 638
[email protected]
MANCHESTER: SEAN CORKER
Mobile
07736 836 163
[email protected]
MERSEYSIDE: PAUL DOLAN
Home
01704 501 080
[email protected]
NORFOLK: PETER HAMMOND
Home
01603 438 530
Mobile
07768 905 855
[email protected]
NORTHANTS: MARK HALL
Home
01327 351 407
[email protected]
ESSEX: ROWLAND PANTLING
Home
01206 571 538
[email protected]
NORTHUMBERLAND: ALAN DODD
Mobile
07967 444 405
[email protected]
GLOUCESTERSHIRE: COLIN ROSE
Home
01242 678 163
Fax
01242 662 826
NOTTINGHAM: JOHN TOWNSEND
Office
0870 777 4022
[email protected]
REG. CONTACT CO-ORDINATOR
BOB DENNISH
Tel home
01367 252 477
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE CO-ORDINATOR
CHRIS LAMB
PEMBROKESHIRE: JEFF HARRIS
Mobile
07875 438 703
[email protected]
KENT: TERRY HUDSON
Home
01227 374 680
[email protected]
MAILING LIST ADMIN
DAVID LEGGE
CON. CHARGING SPOKESMAN
BRIAN MOONEY
[email protected]
IAM LIAISON: NICK FEARN
[email protected]
SOUTH GLOS: PAUL HANMORE
Home
0117 947 5814
[email protected]
DORSET: MARK MACHIN
[email protected]
Page 16 – OTR84
lPanther Enthusiasts' Club
lParkingticket.co.uk
lProfessional Drivers' Association
lRenault ClioSport Club
lSafe Speed (www.safespeed.org.uk)
lSouth East Lotus Owners' Club
lSubaru Impreza Drivers' Club
lThe Independent Porsche Enthusiasts' Club
lTriumph Stag Enthusiasts' Club
SHROPSHIRE: JOHN EVANS
Home
01952 272 025
[email protected]
SOMERSET (SOUTH):
TONY EVERARD
Home
01749 674 093
[email protected]
SOMERSET (NORTH)/BATH:
PAUL HANMORE
Home
0117 947 5814
[email protected]
STAFFORDSHIRE: PAUL BIGGS
See Birmingham
STOCKTON-ON-TEES:
DAVID BOTTERILL
[email protected]
ABD LONDON
LONDON: ROGER LAWSON
Home
0208 467 2686
[email protected]
SOUTH LONDON, HANTS, ISLE OF
WIGHT: PETER MORGAN
Home
020 8645 0926
[email protected]
BRENT: JOHN BATCHELLOR
Home
020 7328 6989
[email protected]
EALING: PAUL HEMSLEY
Home
020 8998 4806
[email protected]
ENFIELD: PAUL MANDEL
Home
020 8882 5166
enfi[email protected]
HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM
BRIAN MOONEY
Home
020 7386 1837
[email protected]
HOUNSLOW: HILLIER SIMMONS
Home
020 8748 4777
[email protected]
SURREY: ROBIN SIMMONS
Home
01737 555 773
Mobile
07905 541 579
[email protected]
KINGSTON /WANDSWORTH
BERNARD BREWER
Home
020 8546 8758
Mobile
07949 557 257
[email protected]
SUSSEX: PETER MORGAN
Home
020 8645 0926
[email protected]
SOUTHWARK: LES ALDEN
Home
020 8693 5207
WARWICKSHIRE: PAUL BIGGS
Home
01827 262 709
Mobile
07769 691 281
[email protected]
WILTSHIRE: PAUL FERGUSSON
Home
01249 813 742
[email protected]
WOLVERHAMPTON: ALAN MACEY
Home
01902 620 032
[email protected]
NORTH YORKS: PETER HORTON
Home
01765 602 873
[email protected]
WEST YORKS: ANDY LANGTON
Home
01484 387 618
[email protected]
ABD SCOTLAND
LOTHIANS AREA: BRUCE YOUNG
Home
01968 660 428
[email protected]
STRATHCLYDE/STIRLINGSHIRE:
PETER SPINNEY
Tel/fax home
0141 956 5842
[email protected]
ADMIN/WEBMASTER: JOHN BAIRD
Home
01698 300 384
[email protected]
REST OF SCOTLAND: IAN STEWART
Home
01764 654 604
[email protected]
www.abd.org.uk