Tag Archives: DfT

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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Put away my pen?

Is my work done? With the announcement that the DfT is planning to introduce a new hierarchy of road-users (which I’ve proposed for years, and briefed four Roads Ministers on), with vulnerable users at the top, and the mightiest at … Continue reading

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Mugged by the system

During a perfectly safe overtaking manoeuvre on an otherwise empty dual lane stretch of the A361 Link Rd, I’m clocked doing 73 in a 60 by a concealed radar gun. The road is clear and the weather fine. No harm … 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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Central to the reforming agenda of Equality Streets is a shift in the balance of power in favour of the pedestrian, the child, the vulnerable road-user. Why should they wait for traffic to clear or lights to change, inhaling the … Continue reading

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Road rage v road sage?

On most things to do with street design and road-user relationships, Ben Hamilton-Baillie and I are of one mind, but we diverge on one point. He says street design alone can achieve the desired behaviour change – from war to … 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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Inadequate traffic authorities

The current driving test is predicated on anti-social priority. Advice and practice stem from that odious premise, so the driving test unleashes cohorts of barbaric drivers onto our barbaric roads. The Highway Code says pedestrians have priority at junctions. This … 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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