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The War On The Motorist |
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On 13 May 2010, the new Transport Secretary, Philip
Hammond, said
‘We will end the
war on motorists’.
Have these good intentions been matched by action?
Issue |
Current situation |
Verdict |
Fuel duty |
Limited
relief after repeated increases that have had knock-on effects on the price
of goods in shops. (Increasing price inflation also has a role in making
public transport fares go up) The threatened
2012 and 2013 increases were canned after public pressure, but VAT on fuel
was increased to 20% and no action taken over speculators. Though duty is now
frozen until May 2015, above-inflation (RPI or RPI + 1%) increases were
only prevented by public disquiet. The type of fuel duty stabiliser that Philip Hammond spoke
of has not happened; David Cameron even hinted
at lowering fuel taxes – before the
2010 General Election. |
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Potholes |
Although
there has been some increased funding, the overall sum (about £3.2bn over 4
years) is inadequate to contain the mess let alone clear it (est. nearer
£10Bn needed). In Action for Roads/Investing in Britain's Future £6Bn is earmarked
for 'local roads' between 2015-21, but would still be inadequate. This
threatens the safety of road users and expensive repair bills for drivers who
contribute around £50Bn a year in taxes (that’s over £5 million an hour). |
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Parking
charges |
Although
non-binding guidance encouraging higher charges has been abolished, councils
have been allowed to propose and even levy damaging increases in charges. Westminster
City Council has started charging motorcyclists and only abandoned charges
for parking on Sundays and evenings after a sustained backlash of public
protests. Another
council has targeted disabled drivers. |
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Legal costs
(reimbursement of cost of proving innocence in court) |
The government
is reviving Labour’s discredited proposals that ministers fought when in
opposition! These might deny drivers getting back ‘reasonable costs’ – see
the official notes
on the ‘Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill’. As a
cost-cutting measure this is excessive and hardly just, noting as many as 1
in 5 CPS prosecutions can fail because they are defective. Is it the
intention that innocent people should plead guilty as this might be cheaper? |
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Parking abuses
– bailiffs and clampers |
No action on
bailiffs yet, but talk of a future Ministry of Justice consultation. Potential
for abuse
in clamping could actually increase under the ironically-named ‘Protection of
Freedoms Bill’. |
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Speed
camera quangos |
The discredited
speed camera regime continues, even though the Roads Minister saw evidence
that most cameras were ‘cash cows’. Central funding for new speed cameras was ended, but quangos (‘camera partnerships’)
still exist in many places, despite promises
to abolish them in 2009. Thames Valley’s has resurrected as a private company
– welcome to the ‘Big Brother Society’? |
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Average
speed cameras |
In 2009, we
were given assurances
that the rollout of these cameras would stop, and they only would only have a
limited role, such as in policing
motorway roadworks. However, a new type, the SpeedSpike, has received approval
for general use. This will enable wider
journey tracking and could be a threat to civil liberties. |
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Speed awareness courses |
Some
drivers have been pushed onto paid-for courses as an alternative to licence
points, although this may not save them from insurance premium rises. The
courses have been described as ‘grovelling sessions’ – any marked dissent and
the driver is liable to pay for both the cost and a fine in court. So hardly
surprising that the feedback has been great! |
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Penalties for minor road traffic offences (‘careless
driving’) |
A consultation
threatens to dramatically increase penalties for some quite minor offences
while trivialising the more serious offence of driving without insurance.
Again, there seems to be an agenda to push courses. |
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Road pricing (for HGVs/lorries). |
A coalition
commitment, however the Jan 2012 consultation implies that none of Britain’s
hard-pressed hauliers might be better off and a minority will be worse off. The only
relief provided for will be that foreign-based hauliers will have to pay
something (from 2014-15 approx). The beneficiary will be the government, who
will take more tax. It is likely that any costs will have to be passed onto
consumers. Germany is
looking at tolling all lorries, not just 12 ton HGVs, so there is a possible
indirect EU impact
for smaller 3.5+ ton lorries. |
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Road pricing (for cars). |
Ruled out at
first ‘before 2030’, then ‘in this Parliament’ (i.e. before 2015). In 2011, the Treasury added ‘demand management’ (a
euphemism for charging) into how it will assess transport investment. Follow up studies to the
Cook Report
threaten major road lease-offs and
the prospect of operators charging tolls to increase profits. The debate is
shifting from ‘new capacity’ to ‘improved roads’ (however defined). The 2012
Budget sought to use drivers to make up the shortfall in wider tax revenue. Although
the EU has its own eyes on revenue to pay for its Galileo satellite, Angela
Merkel has ruled out road pricing for cars in Germany, making imposition
less likely at EU level in the short term. However there are moves
at EU level that sound like tolling ‘all vehicles or none’, and the EU is set
to adopt greater majority voting after 2014. |
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Congestion
Charge (in London) |
Mayor Boris
Johnson has abolished the West London ‘Kengestion Charging’ zone, although
those needing to go into the smaller zone typically have to pay 25% more
(£10), or 12.5% more (£9) plus a registration fee for the Autopay discount. However, in July 2013, the Mayor’s Roads Task Force has
proposed consideration
of tolls for the future, with TFL’s response
in agreement. (NB Several documents, the response is the most useful). |
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Dartford Crossing charges |
The original deal was that charges would only be levied until
the cost of construction was covered. To the embarrassment of Tory MPs
elected on abolishing Dartford Crossing charges, the charges are staying and
rising! The government said it needed the money, and even proposed
increases! These were suspended after a public backlash in 2011. Charges will be suspended only in case of emergency or if
the tailback is about 12 miles! |
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Humber Bridge charges |
In 2011, DFT offered the possibility of halving the
charges from £3 to £1.50, depending on local authority flexibility over
finances. |
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M4 bus lane |
Hardly a priority, more a gimmick. A very short stretch of
M4 bus lane was suspended before the 2012 Olympics and it was announced that
it might go permanently. However this just changes the merge point of the two
outer lanes, and using the section is only really of much value if another
lane is blocked. |
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Motorway
speed limits |
Modern cars
are far more capable of travelling safely at speed than when the 70mph speed
limit was set. The promised consultation on raising the speed limit was a
small step in the right direction, although a 10mph increase in the limit
might only see a 2.5mph rise in typical speed (based on the established ‘85th
percentile’ rule - see . http://original.abd.org.uk/motorwayspeedlimit.htm). However the
consultation was dropped as a sop to anti-car groups, and motorway speed
limits have been regularly cut in ‘Managed Motorway’ areas to 50mph on the
strength of non existent congestion, when only 1/3 of space used. |
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Action on drink-driving |
The Blood-Alcohol Content limit has been kept at ‘80mg’,
with action being targeted at those well over the limit. This is sensible – there are already
offences of careless & dangerous driving that can be used against anyone
driving unsafely at a lower BAC level (e.g. some drink combined with
tiredness). |
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Localism
(‘Power to the People’) |
Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles spoke of ending ‘Whitehall’s war on the motorist’, but
the ‘localism’ solution seems to be devolving the battlefield without
protecting drivers. Councils may get new sources of income, but democratic
safeguards such as referendums are not guaranteed! |
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Restriction of car parking space |
PPG13 planning guidance limiting car parking has been abolished, but it was practically
obsolete anyway, so this may not be of great benefit. In London,
scarce car parking spaces have been removed from use to provide spaces for the
hyped ‘Boris Bikes’. |
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20mph zones |
The government is making it easier for local authorities
to waste money on bringing in blanket 20mph zones. The reasoning is hyped – the priority should be
on road users to behave sensibly and for pedestrians to cross at approved
places. Local authorities are ignoring expert/police advice. Anti-car campaigners are hiding behind a flag of ‘road
safety’. Main roads used by buses will be kept at 30mph - despite the fact
that if a pedestrian is hit by a heavier bus, the impact will be far greater
– we never hear calls for buses to be restricted! |
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Political
correctness |
Health minister Anne Milton amazed by suggesting banning
cars from residential roads on Sundays ‘to fight obesity’… earning much
ridicule on popular newspaper websites. The Department for Transport’s 2011 local transport White Paper
talks of ‘nudging’ – subtly prodding drivers in the government’s chosen
direction, for instance to restrict choice… |
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This page was maintained
between 2011 and 2015 only to benchmark the performance of the coalition
government |