Drivers and their problems

We visited the chaotic school run road in Birmingham where residents say 'this can't go on'

Scenes of 'absolute gridlock' are an everyday occurance in Kings Heath - and locals have had enough

So what can be done to help this situation? For local resident Ruth Follows, ‘it’s time to give a LTN a go.’ She said: “At school drop-off time, we have people travelling in from across the city - an LTN would stop them coming directly through our residential roads. The majority of residents here want to give a LTN a go.”

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/visited-chaotic-scho...​

Essex campaigners welcome Extra Eyes initiative to catch bad drivers

https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/24297908.essex-campaigners-welcome-e...

The wide road where no-one lives and people say 20mph makes no sense

'We were worrying on the way down about this 20mph because we don't know if it is 20, 30, it is all different signs. We are braking, it is nearly causing accidents'

Speaking from his food van called Fryer Tuck in Glynstell Close (which is in place on Google Maps) he said delays for workers getting between the workplace and his business because of the speed limit was the main issue. Kevin said: "The problem we have got around here [is] the boys come out for lunch or a break... and what happens is we lose business because by the time they get here they can't eat their food."

He also said the traffic lights at the bottom of Hadfield Road make the issue worse. Traffic builds up so we are losing business in that way. It is about time they changed it back."

Paul Hughes said: "We were worrying on the way down about this 20mph because we don't know if it is 20, 30, it is all different signs. We are braking, it is nearly causing accidents... The emissions are high because we are going through the gears and everything and it is confusing.

the good news Paul is that you're near enough to drop you licence off by hand!

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/wide-road-no-one-lives-291...

Moment £35k car is submerged by sea after getting stuck on North West beach

The Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace SUV was found abandoned on the beach in Lancashire

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/mom...

Mrs. Krabappel and Principal Skinner were in the closet making babies and I saw one of the babies and the baby looked at me

Man who caused A4 Wiltshire crash ‘distracted by wildlife’

Representing himself at Swindon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, May 1 he pleaded guilty to the offence. 

He said: “I was driving in the road and I was distracted by wildlife so I swerved and then got my bearings together.

"Then when I looked ahead and saw the stationary car I put my brakes on but it was too late.

"I was driving a dodgy van from work and I've now lost my job and I'm unemployed. I have a lot of people dependent on me."

https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/24291530.man-caused-a4-wiltshire...

Calls made to bring back cash payments to car parks

Green councillor Joe Salmon, who suggested the changes, said: “There are a lot of people who are impacted by this and don’t have access to regular banking services and that’s not just a tiny unimportant minority of people. 

“There are a significant number of people in this country who simply don't have access to a type of banking services that give them the debit cards that lots of us are used to.

“It bothered me when we brought this up at full council before that since then we have not been able to produce a black and white justification of why we have moved to cashless.” 

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/24291089.calls-made-bring-back-ca...

Great that the Greens have had such success in the local elections, but setting yourself up as some kind of micro-socialist isn't quite what I was expecting.  

If anyone is interested, cash handling is a bind and an overhead.  If you've got parking meters, someone has to visit them daily and take the cash back to the office to be sorted and eventually banked. 

Traders fear future at Rainham Shopping Centre after car parking charge hike sees drop in footfall

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/we-re-becoming-a-ghost-town-tra...

well, guys yes I suppose you could say your fortunes are affected by the fact that people who have gone to the expense of owning and running a car can't or won't pay £2.30 to park it in Rainham for a couple or hours. 

or... 

(Sorry about the Daily Express Link)

Cost-of-living crisis sees desperate Britons ditch summer favourites to save cash
Some traditional favourites were the first to be sacrificed when people were looking to do away with non-essentials.

https://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/1894769/cost-of-living...

this FT link is paywalled, but the article opened once for me: 

https://www.ft.com/content/e6d36b04-5876-4d12-a843-0987fe01e4d0

There's a 10 minute motion in Parliament today promoting graduated driving licencing for new drivers which is something championed by Brake. I hope it gets a favourable response. 

It has for me a bit of a ring of giving older generations a free pass.  I get that the stats support this idea, but that'll be "it" for road safety, won't it? 

1. MOTOR VEHICLES (DRIVING LICENCES) (NEW DRIVERS): TEN MINUTE RULE MOTION

Up to 20 minutes (Standing Order No. 23)

Kim Leadbeater
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision about licences issued to new drivers for the period of six months after the issuing of the licence, for the purpose of increasing safety for road users; and for connected purposes.

https://commonsbusiness.parliament.uk/Document/87325/Html?subType=Standa...

https://www.brake.org.uk/how-we-help/national-campaigns/the-change-we-wa...

Drivers and their problems

Devon couple says £45k Porsche is a 'lethal weapon'

Porsche says they have offered the couple £10,500 to "allow them to step away from the vehicle"

A few weeks later, Nick says there were two more instances of power failure. He says there was even one occasion where they "drifted across a zebra crossing" with no way of stopping the car.

"About six weeks after we got it back, my wife had two instances of total power failure. On the first occasion, she was on her own and it literally drove straight across the road because she had no way of steering it or braking.

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/devon-couple-says-45k-porsche-...

New driver left stranded after car stuck in '8 inch deep pothole'

She said: “There was a van driving in the middle of Burnetts Lane and the driver would not budge over so I could pass the pothole.

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/24304031.new-driver-left-stranded-car-s...

How much space has to be turned over to cars? Here's an example of where the NT should stop privileging cars. The car parking it does have should be for essential (e.g. blue badge) use only. Anything else should require to be booked and be expensive. Access should be by boat, bike and bus only. 

UPDATE: planning permission refused 

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/cornwall-planning-trelis...

Uproar over National Trust Trelissick plans as locals fear 'chaos' 

King Harry Ferry and Enterprise Boats are among those concerned about plans to put a new car park on ancient woodland and the effects it will have on the river crossing

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/national-trust-car-park-...

and we're all left squabbling over drivers' leavings as ever

Carterton in Oxfordshire to get new foot and cycleways

Speaking ahead of the decision, a spokesman for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) said: "RNIB strongly opposes the proposals for these footways to be converted into shared-use paths."

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24304183.carterton-oxfordshire-get-new...

I believe these days there is scope for town councils to take on municipal car parks from in this case North Somerset District Council. If you like free parking so much, Nailsea TC, you provide it. 

Scrapping free parking could be 'final straw' for businesses

The town council has objected to the plans

"These proposals could be the final straw for many traders in the town centre recovering from a cost of living crisis and Covid, so they should be abandoned by NSC. We strongly urge NSC to give up this unpopular plan to tax the motorist to fund other services as it is regressive and unfair, affecting those on low incomes the worst.

"We urge them instead to focus on supporting the town centre traders by advertising and capitalising on the Unique Selling Point (USP) of free parking encouraging people to shop locally instead."

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/scrapping-free-parking...

Folkestone and Hythe District Council look what you've made us do. 

Hour-long queues snake round Sandgate Road car park in Folkestone after Frank Skinner gig at Leas Cliff Hall

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/hour-long-queues-snake-roun...

If you're a cyclist with a problem -  https://www.advertiserandtimes.co.uk/news/just-locking-bikes-isn-t-enoug...

'Common sense not fixed speed limits are needed on our roads'

On the highways alone, maximum speeds will be dictated by politicians, some of whom may never have learnt to drive.

Speed limits are a classic case and the introduction of the urban limit many decades ago was typical.

The more recent national speed limit was also the ill-considered response to a series of unrelated vehicle collisions on a motorway.

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/news-opinion/speeding-9273168

well yes Anthony common sense, and I might venture consideration, would be lovely - but they're so often lacking, so on we go with more limits and more enforcement. Perhaps you've got some other solution that will stop the daily killing and injuring on our roads? 

m'kay

Woman blames driver-assist technology for 'crashing her car'

Diane and her husband Stan Bryan, aged 56, were travelling from Southampton to Glastonbury on December 17, 2022

Diane is adamant that when she attempted to navigate a left turn, the steering wheel didn't respond and then the 'white line' technology failed to correct her trajectory when she crossed the centre line. Avon and Somerset Police though says she did not mention any defects through the course of the interview.

After her court case, Diane, a Cambridge Weight Plan consultant from Barnsley, South Yorks. expressed her dismay: "I'm a criminal for the first time in my life. I have a criminal record for something outside of my control."

I'm really struggling to accept being a criminal," Diane expressed, "I got a fine of £800 - my only income is PIP. I've got a new car, but I'm scared to have driver assist switched on."

She shared her fear of driving, saying: "I'm scared of driving and am nervous on the roads - I don't drive on roads I don't know. The car was designed that at no point should it ever be able to cross a white line, but it went straight over. If you get close to a line the steering wheel vibrates - if you ignore the vibration it recenters itself in the road. But there was no vibration in the steering wheel and it didn't recenter itself."

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/woman-blames-driver-as...

'I visited Jeremy Clarkson's Farm shop but it wasn't the prices that disappointed' 

"It started off well enough. Having set the sat-nav for Chipping Norton, I eventually found my way to the overspill car park near the farm shop where, at midday, cars were pouring in and out in a hive of activity. The road outside the shop - made famous now from the Amazon Prime Video series - was covered in cars on every patch of grass available, lining each side of the street.

"The car park - a muddy field - was free, and there was no time limit or any kind of number plate registering, so you're free to park up and spend as much time as you want inside the farm shop. And you'll need a lot of time. I was told that during the Welsh half-term week, families pour over the border for days out packed the farm, creating 'four hour queues' for the farm shop.

"Me and my wife waited an hour and 15 minutes in the queue, which in proper British fashion snaked around the field outside the shop in a completely natural occurrence.

https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/celebs-tv/i-visited-jeremy-cl...

Man who refused to pay English-language parking fine loses in court

Toni Schiavone was given the parking fine back in September 2020

However, she said during her verdict that there was nothing in the 1967 Welsh Language Act, the 1993 Welsh Language Act, or the 2011 Welsh Language Measure to compel the parking company to provide a Welsh language service.

She therefore ordered that Toni pay the £100 charge, as well as £70 for administrative costs, £11.90 interest and £85 for the court fee within 21 days.

After explaining her ruling and order, Toni Schiavone said "I understand, but I refuse to pay."

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/man-who-refused-pay-englis...