Tag Archives: traffic policy

Mediocrity blocking reform

The level of debate about roads on BBC Today and PM is pitiful. On self-driving cars and 20mph recently, “experts” cited accident figures and blamed driver error. They never see that our problems stem from the mistaken rules and a … Continue reading

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Demands for a public inquiry

Michael Rosen is demanding a public enquiry into the government’s handling of Covid-19. “We desperately need an inquiry into how and why this lethal idea [alleged experimenting with herd immunity without vaccination] was taken seriously. We owe it to the dead … Continue reading

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Totally totalitarian?

On the Today Programme, that eminent scourge of totalitarianism, former High Court Judge, Lord Sumption, challenged edicts restricting freedom of movement and assembly. If a 75 year-old chooses to see her grandchildren and risk possible infection, rather than shut herself … Continue reading

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HS2 v H20

The car is a self-isolating transportation device par excellence. Instead of pouring billions into 19C technology – trains – shouldn’t the state be investing in 21C tech, redesigning the public realm to express equality, eliminating bottlenecks, and creating infrastructure for … Continue reading

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Agency abuse

More negligence in traffic policy emerged with the news that in the last five years, 38 avoidable deaths have occurred on the hard shoulder, or emergency lane, of “smart” motorways. An increase in capacity should not entail an increase in … Continue reading

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Corporate manslaughter

It’s well-known that dirty urban air causes lung, heart and developmental damage, but increasingly it’s being linked to brain damage. The Times didn’t break the news but covered it on 19 September under the front page headline, “Dementia soars in … Continue reading

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We are victims of obsessive officialdom

Driving through Barnstaple yesterday (on electric), I think I surprised the driver behind me. At a pedestrian crossing where the lights had just changed against the people on foot, I waited at green for them to cross. They waved in … Continue reading

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Football and traffic united ..

… in obtuseness and idiocy. It’s 60 years since instant TV replay was devised, but only now are FIFA are proposing it for future World Cups. Meanwhile, countless injustices, not least Maradona’s ‘hand of God’, continue to take place on fields of … Continue reading

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Intransigent traffic policy

Stephen Holgate (Medical Research Council Clinical Professor of Immunopharmacology at Southampton University) says polluted air contributes to lung, heart, and many other diseases, especially in young people. It is a factor in 40,000 deaths in the UK every year. As … Continue reading

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Traffic lights and air quality

In No Idle Matter (2007), I wrote that the stop-start motion caused by traffic lights multiplies emissions and fuel use by a factor of four. In this piece, Prashant Kumar (University of Surrey) says air quality at signal-controlled junctions is no … Continue reading

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