Tag Archives: Equality Streets

Abuse

In the market town of Barnstaple recently, as I crossed Pilton Causeway on foot through slow-moving traffic, I was honked at aggressively (the guy must’ve held down his horn for about ten hours). The reason for the driver’s wrath was … Continue reading

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More retrospective regulation

By law, new electric cars travelling at 12mph or less must now emit warning sounds of their approach. Like traffic lights, this is an attempt to retrofix a man-made problem. If the zombies running the system made drivers responsible for … Continue reading

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Royal “accident” was no accident

Reports of 83 year-old Irene Mayor, injured by a motorcyclist in a royal convoy, speak of an “accident”. Irene thought she could trust the traffic lights to guide her safely. But they led her into danger. Without lights, she would … Continue reading

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Central to the reforming agenda of Equality Streets is a shift in the balance of power in favour of the pedestrian, the child, the vulnerable road-user. Why should they wait for traffic to clear or lights to change, inhaling the … Continue reading

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State-sponsored child abuse?

A boy of 11 is killed trying to cross the road. Was it an accident? Or was it an avoidable event contrived by the rules of the road, combined with the power imbalance the rules impose, and the mindset they instil? … Continue reading

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J’accuse (again)

So the Duke has apologised for the “accident”. But it wasn’t an accident. It was an event contrived by the rules of the road, specifically, main road priority. The Duke was a victim, as were the others involved. If junctions … Continue reading

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The Fluke of Edinburgh

It probably was a fluke that the Duke survived the crash at the junction on the A149. Consider the dilemma. You’re on a minor road. You arrive at a junction. You are faced with streams of traffic coming at you … Continue reading

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Clean air “strategy”

The government’s clean air strategy aims to halve harmful emissions by 2025. It plans to ban wood burning stoves and ammonia from farm fertilisers, but abdicates responsibility for vehicle emissions to Local Traffic Authorities. Equality on the roads is the … Continue reading

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Road rage v road sage?

On most things to do with street design and road-user relationships, Ben Hamilton-Baillie and I are of one mind, but we diverge on one point. He says street design alone can achieve the desired behaviour change – from war to … Continue reading

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Mugged by ministerial apathy and negligence

The woman below, a talented musician, was crossing the road with her child outside her home, when she was hit by a car. She managed to push the child to safety. She needed 21 stitches in her head. Would this … Continue reading

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