Category Archives: Uncategorized

The streets of NYC

New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, says cyclists and pedestrians are “more important” than motorists. Not quite. Equality – among ALL road-users – is the solution to most of our problems on the road. It’s absurd that people on foot should … Continue reading

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Stating the obvious

You’ll be pleased to hear the Department for Transport has published a new Research report, Operation of Traffic Signals during Low Demand (4 Oct 2012). I’ll quote and comment as we go along. “Traffic signal design is a science that … Continue reading

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Different cuts

George Osborne (Today Programme) wants to “tackle unfairness” by making welfare cuts of £10bn. Meanwhile, traffic system reform can still* provide annual cuts of £50bn that will hurt no-one except traffic managers and signal salesmen (*as I’ve been saying for years).

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The point about Poynton

Last week I finished a draft edit of a film about Poynton, a community thriving again after liberation from decades of oppressive traffic engineering. More material needs to be shot, so it’s still a couple of months away from publication, but … Continue reading

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Deference

The Sixties brought a refreshing attack on class deference. We need a similar shift on the roads. People on foot – stop deferring to people on wheels! Motorists, while traffic lights dictate your every move, I appreciate this is a … Continue reading

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Criminal justice and traffic policy – both need reform

In arch-conservative Texas, a revolution in criminal justice is in progress. Condemnation is giving way to understanding, incarceration to rehabilitation. As a result, prison numbers are dropping dramatically, as are crime and recidivism. “I am getting the biggest bang possible for taxpayers’ bucks … Continue reading

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Priority = inequality

In the past I’ve written that if the law is an ass, nowhere is it more asinine than in the traffic arena. But is it the law, or traffic managers’ interpretation of the law? There is no legal requirement, i.e. … Continue reading

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20mph again

20mph is in the news, so at the risk of repetition: Who is the better judge of how fast or slow to go – you and me at the time and the place, or limits fixed by absent regulators? Painting … Continue reading

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Will 20mph save us?

Deaths and serious injuries are up in 20mph zones but up even more in 30mph. Official commentators say the jury is still out on the value of 20mph zones. My view is that true road safety will never be achieved by numbers. We … Continue reading

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Lethal traffic contol

Snuffed out in Leicester yesterday: the lives of two toddlers in an “accident” at traffic lights. The police are studying CCTV footage to ascertain responsibility. Will they question the rules or design of the road? Do pigs fly? The dead toddlers, the bereaved … Continue reading

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