Drivers and their problems

Let's hear it for those ever-dependable professional drivers, filmin' & phonin' & forgettin' to steer round roundabouts so we don't have to.

Text of complaint sent:

In the BBC website's reporting of the case of Poppy Atkinson, who was tragically killed when hit by a driver whilst at football training on March 5th, journalists have repeatedly used the phrase "killed by car". Numerous media outlets have in the past few years changed their way of reporting such incidents so that the fault of the driver is not dehumanised and to an extent excused by saying that a person is killed by a car, not by a driver. It is very disappointing to see that the BBC have yet to adopt such a policy. If a cyclist knocked down and killed someone, you would not report it as a person "killed by a bicycle" but "killed by a cyclist",  similarly if someone was shot by a gunman clearly you would report it as such, not "man killed by gun".  Please review your editorial policy in relation to such incidents so that it is made clear that there is human agency involved in the tragedies rather than simply asserting that the person has been killed by the machine the human was piloting rather than the human themselves.

stonojnr wrote:

More grassy knoll nonsense, "Jumanji Junction" words fail sometimes https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/24337313.anger-grass-a14-seven-hills-...

"If the high grass on the approach from Woodbridge could be cut back for just a few feet, cars and motorbikes coming from the right could be seen clearly again."

I can't think of anything else you might have to look for.

"For cars, it is impossible to see over or through the grass."

That's because cars don't have eyes.

David9694 wrote:

He said: “Not only do we all struggle to park on Priory Road but we have seen people travel up to 50 miles per hour – they will go straight into those bollards."

Stop the war on law-deriding motorists! Take out those pesky bollards and they could do 70 easily.

Quote:

He added: “I use Books on the Hill. It's where I buy my books to go on holiday. And sometimes I can’t park, therefore I go off to Clifton or I go off to Cribbs.”

How often does Cllr Canniford go on holiday?  How much of an imposition would it be for him to pay to park on that occasion?

Seems to me that charging for parking might actually help the traders of Hill Road: people will park, do the things they need to do, then move on, leaving a free space (instead of finding a parking space there, thanking the Gods of Parking and then leaving their car there while they go for a nice long walk all around the town…).

slc wrote:

Maybe a problem we would like drivers to have. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx28wr7lge1o But also an opportunity to float my geometric council tax for cars plan. £512 per tonne per year for the first motor vehicle registered to an address. £1024 for the second, £2048 for the third, £4096, ... . Rising with RPI of course.

Quote:

However, Selin Akdenez, who is a single mum and drives an SUV, says parking in London is already expensive, and the prospect of paying more for residential parking is something that she couldn’t afford.

“I disagree because I have a child so I do have to have a bigger car,” she says. “My mother is really old. If she needs a GP appointment or dentist, I have to take her."

I thought that a child is typically smaller than an adult, so why do you need an SUV to fit one? I'm fairly sure from my failing memory that I've seen families going on holiday with MULTIPLE children in just a standard car.

SaveTheWail wrote:

'I was so lucky that I was doing the speed limit' (!)

http://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17d598vj0qo

If only there was a way to take control of the vehicle speed.

(That is a rare example though of a car "accident" as there's nothing you can do to prevent a deer running into the side of you)

Hirsute wrote:

"Nobody should pay for parking in a park, it’s a public park. "

"The people who can’t afford to pay are not going to use it and I don’t think that’s fair."

"Charging people for parking, I don’t know what to say. This is not good. It's annoying, I use this park every day for exercise. If every day I am going to come here and pay for a parking ticket, how would you feel? It’s not good.”

I dunno, maybe you could cycle or jog to the park?

https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/best-in-leeds/whats-on-news/anger-disgracef...

I liked

Quote:

Lorry driver Ali Elahi, 43, loves visiting Roundhay Park every day to do his exercise. It's an important part of his lifestyle as he is stuck behind the wheel for most of the time.

Erm… 

David9694 wrote:

And there was me thinking that drivers liked getting ambulances free passage

Double yellow lines to be installed in Marks Square, Northfleet, outside ellenor Hospice’s alternative entrance

Another comment raised concerns that the double yellow lines would cause a “knock-on effect” as drivers will be “fighting” for spaces elsewhere in the area.

They added: “This proposal will make it virtually impossible for residents to even park in their own road. It has not been thought through at all.”

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/residents-outrage-as-double-...

I liked

Quote:

However, in response KCC said the local highway authority does not have an obligation to provide on-street parking as it is not the intended use of the road.

Rendel Harris wrote:

"Gloucestershire Live" headline on Facebook...you actually have to open the story to discover a car was involved and he didn't just misjudge a bend...

To discover a driver was involved, surely? 

I have to share the same roads with these people, it explains alot.

But just think how big the car will need to be to fit an adult in the rear.

hawkinspeter wrote:

There's nothing you can do to prevent a deer running into the side of you

Nonsense - we just need stronger sentencing for the deer. Flogging and chemical castration should do the trick.

[Am I doing this right?]

 Touché!

David9694 wrote:

On the other hand, it increases the chances of more front gardens being paved over for car parking. These are the houses at the northern end of the parking prohibition.

I hesistate to suggest anything with the words "planning regulations" (governments with "thumping majorities" have tried and failed) ... but could this in theory be handled there?  At a minimum perhaps something around "permeable hard-standing" at least to try slightly reduce water run-off?  (There are some other ideas around this - but ultimately we need fewer impermeable spaces)

OTOH if we ever manage to get traffic volumes *in* towns down could we find we have space not just for active travel, but for more permeable and green surfaces?  Seems to be the trend about 100+ years ahead of us: pocket parks here, a district here, a major junction / distributor there...

chrisonabike wrote:

I hesistate to suggest anything with the words "planning regulations" (governments with "thumping majorities" have tried and failed) ... but could this in theory be handled there? 

Have you seen the local papers and/or tabloids going mad upon discovering that you need to apply to the council and pay a fee to get a dropped kerb, if you want to (legally) park on your front garden (even if you have tarmacced over it)?  Apparently that's also a tax on motorists and an assault on the Englishman's castle or some such…

hawkinspeter wrote:

typically smaller than an adult, so why do you need an SUV to fit one? I'm fairly sure from my failing memory that I've seen families going on holiday with MULTIPLE children in just a standard car.

Now come on, everyone knows that children, and indeed anyone important, must be placed in an SUV to protect them from, erm, cyclists? Or perhaps large vehicles with a poor of view of nearby objects. 

hawkinspeter wrote:

(That is a rare example though of a car "accident" as there's nothing you can do to prevent a deer running into the side of you)

Disappointing comment - are you not aware of hi-vis?

"I honestly didn't see the car", the deer told our reporter. "I checked before pulling out of the forest as I always do, but it came out of nowhere."

Local officials emphasised the need for drivers to take measures to enhance their visibility to other animal road users, eg. by painting luminous wolves on the sides of their vehicles.

hawkinspeter wrote:

SaveTheWail wrote:

'I was so lucky that I was doing the speed limit' (!)

http://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17d598vj0qo

If only there was a way to take control of the vehicle speed.

(That is a rare example though of a car "accident" as there's nothing you can do to prevent a deer running into the side of you)

Yet even the driver (implicitly) suggests there was something she could have done - she says she now drives (on that road, at least) more cautiously and with better observation.  Had she been driving well within the speed limit, her vehicle and the deer would not have coincided in the first place, but even if they did, the consequences could have been considerably less severe.  If only there were a deer to teach every driver.

David9694 wrote:

Drivers angry about e-scooter and bike bays in Southampton

"Having had a car written off after a driver crashed into his vehicle while it was parked, and claiming drivers speed down the road at 50mph, he felt the bay was also an accident waiting to happen.

He said: “Not only do we all struggle to park on Priory Road but we have seen people travel up to 50 miles per hour – they will go straight into those bollards.""

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/24380839.drivers-angry-e-scooter-bike-b...

They can't avoid the bollards, but the parked cars 20 yards down the road are fine?

Quote:

Ash Cartman (Long Ashton, Liberal Democrat) said he was not against parking charges in principle, but said: “This is less a parking strategy than a financial strategy.”

He added: “It’s a Trojan tax — that’s what I’d call it — secretly bringing in tax rises to fill a gap in council finances.”

…

At the meeting on October 16 where the council executive voted to bring in the charges, council leader Mike Bell (Liberal Democrat) said: “We cannot justify subsidising parking when we are having to cut care services for vulnerable adults and children.”

Was Cllr Cartman not at that meeting, or does he just disagree with the council funding care services?  Is he saying that free parking is more important? Hmm…

Hirsute wrote:

"Nobody should pay for parking in a park, it’s a public park. "

Roundhay Park - used to have a pretty regular bus service from town (north from Chapeltown either towards Moortown (then along Street Lane) or via Oakwood.  And buses going up the Wetherby Road.

It is "up hill" to get there from the centre of course, so the idea you'd walk or cycle it (3.5 miles from the centre...) is clearly nonsense...

brooksby wrote:

Was Cllr Cartman not at that meeting

He was, but he left early.

mdavidford wrote:

brooksby wrote:

Was Cllr Cartman not at that meeting

He was, but he left early.

Clearly someone didn't respect his authoritaaa!

David9694 wrote:

Drivers angry about e-scooter and bike bays in Southampton

"Having had a car written off after a driver crashed into his vehicle while it was parked, and claiming drivers speed down the road at 50mph, he felt the bay was also an accident waiting to happen.

He said: “Not only do we all struggle to park on Priory Road but we have seen people travel up to 50 miles per hour – they will go straight into those bollards.""

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/24380839.drivers-angry-e-scooter-bike-b...

That's motonormativity right there. Complain about the bollards (All Praise The Mighty Bollard!) rather than the drivers speeding down the road. Personally, I'd rather that roads have more hazards if they can help reduce driver speeds and get them to pay more attention.