Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Shafting The Motorist!

I've just had the journey from hell. I live around five miles from Lancaster but it took forty five minutes. Lancashire County Council and the Lancashire Police seem to hate motorists. In recent days we have had numerous new speed limit signs appear in our streets, and invariably the speed limits have changed. 30mph limits are down to 20mph limits. 40mph limits are down to 30mph and so on. The same stretch of road, no change in population or building density, and it suddenly changes from 40 to 30mph for no apparent reason. Then bang, you hit a speed camera.

This whole area is suddenly plastered with speed signs. It looks to me like they are splashing out on speed signs to use up their leftover budgets before the end of the financial year. Or some dodgy bureaucrat or councillor has shares in a sign company.

There is ample evidence that the less 'furniture' there is cluttering our streets the safer they become. The idiots in control in this country seem to think that turning our streets into obstacle courses with warning signs every five yards, chicanes, speed humps and ever more complex traffic light sytems is helpful. Well it's not you pillocks! Like every other aspect of life piss off and get off our backs, life would be much more bearable if you did!

Read this article about shared space in Drachten.

Or this article about shared space in Bohmte.

Problem here is your nanny state doesn't trust you. And don't even get me started on those patronising effin' signs that light up a smiley face if you are under the limit and frown if you are speeding. Or bloody mothers who treat other motorists like potential child killers, then drive abominably and park even worse when picking up little Kylie or Jason from school because the fat little pampered brats can't waddle the mile home on their own.

They deserve their own post. But I'm off for a brew now.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have the following stuck in back window of my car
"Don't Steal. The Government hates competition. Stop robbing the motorist. Cut fuel tax"

Gregg said...

I must look for some of those.

What really gets my goat with fuel is that for years we were told a mobile and flexible workforce was good for the country. Then they put fuel duty up again, again and again.

My mother-in-law lives about 65 miles from us and is in hospital so my wife is doing the trip three or four times a week at the moment which we don't begrudge. What we do begrudge is the cost in fuel which is now our heaviest household outgoing each month by far.

I also remember when diesel was cheaper to encourage us to buy diesel vehicles because it is supposedly greener. Now they have us hooked on diesel it costs more than petrol.

It's immoral.