Tag Archives: Roads minister

Crying Wolf

Rounding the first hairpin on the way down to Combe Martin, I saw a black Audi A1 crashed into the side of the gorge. Three guys were standing in semi-shock, one on his phone. Front end was trashed, bootlid up, … Continue reading

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Lights or phones more dangerous?

Officialdom justifies draconian new measures against mobile phone use by casualty figures where phone use has played a part. But those figures are much lower than “accidents” at traffic lights. According to this BBC news  briefing, in 2019, there were … Continue reading

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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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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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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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Abuse

I’m trying to make roads safe, cut emissions and save the country 100s of £billions. Meanwhile the bodies who run the abusive system – the DfT, local traffic authorities, councils, MPs, Roads and Transport Ministers – resist reform and pursue … Continue reading

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Socially speaking

Socially speaking, road signs, road regulation and road markings are designed to make us do the wrong thing. You were there first? So what? The rules give me right of way over you, so tough! Thus pedestrians and toddlers in … Continue reading

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Enforcement or education?

Retrospective enforcement (apparently supported by Brake!), or preventative education? The government proposes stiffer sentences for drivers who kill. As is usual in the illiterate field of traffic policy, this is a case of shutting the stable door after the horse … Continue reading

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Ignorance is no excuse; inaction is abuse

Opponents of my reforms are in effect supporters of the current system, which presides over an annual casualty toll of 24,000 souls, many of them children. Ministers, the DfT and local traffic authorities, who back the system, don’t even have … Continue reading

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