Shropshire, along with other councils,is required to 'review' its speed limits by 2011. This could in theory mean that some go up, and some come down. Unfortunately many councils, including Shropshire, have taken 'review' to mean 'lower.' Government guidance 'Circular 1/2006' contains good advice, but it is largely being ignored by the likes of Shropshire to make ridiculous speed limit cuts of up to 30mph (See also 'Warwickshire Ignores Police Objections to Speed Limit Reductions').
Shropshire's 'speed management strategy' is here:
http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/committee.nsf/0/E32EB43E0B72E63F80257631003095EE/$file/Speed%20Management%20Strategy.pdf
Predictably, the '1mph lie' is repeated, which claims that cutting speed limits will reduce accidents regardless of the cause. The truth about the fatal flaws in such studies can be found here and here.
Respond to the 'consultation' by 4th December:
http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/hwmaint.nsf/open/72B33479522CE3428025765D0036A9AD
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Sentinel Comment: Do we need cameras?
The news that one of Staffordshire's oldest road speed cameras is about to be decommissioned may mean some local drivers feel they can sleep easier in their beds. The camera set up on Silverdale High Street more than 12 years ago will undoubtedly have caught out scores of motorists. The Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership has now decided speed humps built on the same road in 2005 have slowed down cars to such an extent, a camera is no longer needed. At this point it is probably churlish to ask why a camera has been needed, for last four years, to enforce a 30mph limit on a road with traffic calming bumps? The removal of the yellow box in Silverdale is, after all, part of a county-wide review of all camera sites. However it is certainly an appropriate time to again point out that the majority of ordinary law-abiding motorists still regard speed cameras as a lucrative public income generator rather than a necessary public safety measure.
E very year, British motorists cough up £100m in speeding fines after being collared by speed cameras. A large wedge of this money is then spent on... more speed cameras. The authorities attempt to justify the cameras by quoting a variety of impossible-to-prove (or disprove), potentially-specious "facts". Only this week, the county council asserted that cameras "deliver a 63 per cent reduction in death and serious injury". No further evidence is offered to back up this very specific statement. Which is precisely the problem. For until the powers-that-be win over motorists, drivers will always believe it isn't only Silverdale High Street which should be rid of speed cameras.
The Sentinel, 16/10/09
E very year, British motorists cough up £100m in speeding fines after being collared by speed cameras. A large wedge of this money is then spent on... more speed cameras. The authorities attempt to justify the cameras by quoting a variety of impossible-to-prove (or disprove), potentially-specious "facts". Only this week, the county council asserted that cameras "deliver a 63 per cent reduction in death and serious injury". No further evidence is offered to back up this very specific statement. Which is precisely the problem. For until the powers-that-be win over motorists, drivers will always believe it isn't only Silverdale High Street which should be rid of speed cameras.
The Sentinel, 16/10/09
Staffs Speed Camera Catch Halved in Two Years
A Press Release of 26/10/09 from Staffordshire County Council below. I take what Mike Maryon says with a large pinch of salt - the halving of speeding tickets coincides with new rules preventing camera partnerships keeping the money from fines and financing yet more cameras - so the incentive to issue fines has been removed. I've previously shown that there is no correlation with speed cameras and road fatalities in Staffordshire here. I think that the figures should be 70,000 and 35,000 rather than 7,000 and 3,500.
Speed camera catch halved in two years
Staffordshire road safety chiefs have revealed that the county's speed cameras are bringing in only half as many convictions for speeding as they did a decade ago.
The stunning revelation comes as the county has bagged up a device in Silverdale - as the council commits itself to removing cameras that are obsolete.
Speed cameras are saving lives and not making money - that's the message from Staffordshire's road safety chiefs.
Over the last two years the number of tickets issued to speeding motorists from speed cameras has halved from over 7,000 to 3,500. At the same time Staffordshire has become the top road safety county.
Catching motorists is not and never has been an objective, making Staffordshire's roads safer is. Staffordshire does not financially benefit from the minority of motorists who receive a fixed penalty fine.
And the number of casualties at camera locations remains low - with an average drop of over 60% compared to the pre-camera situation.
That's why Staffordshire is officially the safest county in England - with less than half the casualties than many other comparative councils.
Statistical analysis from government shows that Staffordshire's road suffered just over three casualties per 100,000 miles, compared with just over four for Shropshire and Warwickshire, over six for Cheshire and Derbyshire, and eight for Nottinghamshire.
Staffordshire's cabinet member for highways Mike Maryon said the Staffordshire approach was paying dividends in saving lives.
"That's what the Staffordshire approach is all about. Cameras are just a small part of a much wider approach to driving home the road safety message. Campaigns, engineering solutions, education and training are all part of the mix.
"It's very pleasing that drivers appear to be getting the message. Speed cameras are working and slowing drivers down at the most dangerous locations
"When it comes to speed cameras, we only use them where there is a proven serious problem, and we will remove them if they are no longer needed.
"Those who claim they are there to make money are simply looking for an excuse for their dangerous driving. We would be delighted if no-one was caught speeding - then we could take them all out.
"But it's more deep seated than that. All the campaigning and education, training and awareness raising is getting through. We win award after award for innovation and creativity.
"Staffordshire is safer than other counties. It's official. But every death and injury is still a tragedy that could have been avoided. We have to keep on driving home the message that speeding can kill, and that drivers have a duty of care to the communities they drive through," he said.
Speed camera catch halved in two years
Staffordshire road safety chiefs have revealed that the county's speed cameras are bringing in only half as many convictions for speeding as they did a decade ago.
The stunning revelation comes as the county has bagged up a device in Silverdale - as the council commits itself to removing cameras that are obsolete.
Speed cameras are saving lives and not making money - that's the message from Staffordshire's road safety chiefs.
Over the last two years the number of tickets issued to speeding motorists from speed cameras has halved from over 7,000 to 3,500. At the same time Staffordshire has become the top road safety county.
Catching motorists is not and never has been an objective, making Staffordshire's roads safer is. Staffordshire does not financially benefit from the minority of motorists who receive a fixed penalty fine.
And the number of casualties at camera locations remains low - with an average drop of over 60% compared to the pre-camera situation.
That's why Staffordshire is officially the safest county in England - with less than half the casualties than many other comparative councils.
Statistical analysis from government shows that Staffordshire's road suffered just over three casualties per 100,000 miles, compared with just over four for Shropshire and Warwickshire, over six for Cheshire and Derbyshire, and eight for Nottinghamshire.
Staffordshire's cabinet member for highways Mike Maryon said the Staffordshire approach was paying dividends in saving lives.
"That's what the Staffordshire approach is all about. Cameras are just a small part of a much wider approach to driving home the road safety message. Campaigns, engineering solutions, education and training are all part of the mix.
"It's very pleasing that drivers appear to be getting the message. Speed cameras are working and slowing drivers down at the most dangerous locations
"When it comes to speed cameras, we only use them where there is a proven serious problem, and we will remove them if they are no longer needed.
"Those who claim they are there to make money are simply looking for an excuse for their dangerous driving. We would be delighted if no-one was caught speeding - then we could take them all out.
"But it's more deep seated than that. All the campaigning and education, training and awareness raising is getting through. We win award after award for innovation and creativity.
"Staffordshire is safer than other counties. It's official. But every death and injury is still a tragedy that could have been avoided. We have to keep on driving home the message that speeding can kill, and that drivers have a duty of care to the communities they drive through," he said.
Friday, 23 October 2009
Letter Published in Local Transport Today
Tony Armstrong of Living Streets (LTT letters, 9 Oct) is typical of campaigners who promote exaggerated claims about climate and CO2 in order to underpin their otherwise shaky agendas. Climate change is always ‘happening’ but uncertainty remains about the causes and whether or not natural variability has been exceeded.
Tony’s claim that the BBC presents climate ‘facts’ objectively is demonstrably ridiculous. Ex-newsreader Peter Sissons recently expressed concern over the BBC’s one-sided presentation of climate science enthusiastically carried out by environment correspondents such as Richard Black and Roger Harrabin. Remember Harrabin caving in to threats from ‘climate campaigner’ Jo Abbess by altering his ‘Global temperatures to decrease’ website story? It was me that exposed this affront to licence fee payers. No doubt similar dirty tricks have been tried with LTT.
Clearly, the very mention of cooling or a lack of warming sends climate alarmists into a panic. The decade of temperature stagnation since 1998 is established in the scientific literature, along with the ‘missing’ 0.2°C temperature rise that enhanced greenhouse warming should have brought us in the 21st century so far.
This lack of warming wasn’t predicted by the climate models that the climate scare is based on. The infamous ‘Hockey Stick’ graph, deceitfully used to claim that the modern warm period is unprecedented, has been dealt a final, fatal blow by the disclosure (after nine years of asking) of the cherry-picked data used to construct it.
Furthermore, the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (CRU) has ‘lost’ or destroyed the raw instrumental temperature data used by the likes of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), rendering the magnitude of the temperature rise unverifiable. There is also ample evidence from peer reviewed science of a 30% to 50% warm bias in the global average near surface temperature data.
Santer et al (2008) only used data up to 1999 in order to declare that computer models of greenhouse warming are consistent with the trends in the tropical lower troposphere. But if the data up to 2008 is used, then the models are shown to be inconsistent.
Tony cites Sir Nicholas Stern’s review of climate change economics to support his case but peer reviewed criticism of Stern’s report demonstrated that the future costs of extreme weather events in developed countries were overestimated by an order of magnitude and that this overestimate was extended globally. Prominent economist Richard Tol dismissed the Stern Review as “alarmist and incompetent”. UK climate policy is described as “on course to fail” in a peer-reviewed critique.
Chinese President Hu Jintao has certainly joined other political sheep and embraced climate policy mythology. But if China has figured out how to grow its economy at 9% per year while increasing energy use by only 3% and decarbonising its economy at an even lower amount, then I’ll become a member of Living Streets!
In short, current climate policy lacks a sound scientific basis and political feasibility.
Paul Biggs, Environment spokesman – Association of British Drivers, Tamworth Staffs B77
23/10/09
Tony’s claim that the BBC presents climate ‘facts’ objectively is demonstrably ridiculous. Ex-newsreader Peter Sissons recently expressed concern over the BBC’s one-sided presentation of climate science enthusiastically carried out by environment correspondents such as Richard Black and Roger Harrabin. Remember Harrabin caving in to threats from ‘climate campaigner’ Jo Abbess by altering his ‘Global temperatures to decrease’ website story? It was me that exposed this affront to licence fee payers. No doubt similar dirty tricks have been tried with LTT.
Clearly, the very mention of cooling or a lack of warming sends climate alarmists into a panic. The decade of temperature stagnation since 1998 is established in the scientific literature, along with the ‘missing’ 0.2°C temperature rise that enhanced greenhouse warming should have brought us in the 21st century so far.
This lack of warming wasn’t predicted by the climate models that the climate scare is based on. The infamous ‘Hockey Stick’ graph, deceitfully used to claim that the modern warm period is unprecedented, has been dealt a final, fatal blow by the disclosure (after nine years of asking) of the cherry-picked data used to construct it.
Furthermore, the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (CRU) has ‘lost’ or destroyed the raw instrumental temperature data used by the likes of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), rendering the magnitude of the temperature rise unverifiable. There is also ample evidence from peer reviewed science of a 30% to 50% warm bias in the global average near surface temperature data.
Santer et al (2008) only used data up to 1999 in order to declare that computer models of greenhouse warming are consistent with the trends in the tropical lower troposphere. But if the data up to 2008 is used, then the models are shown to be inconsistent.
Tony cites Sir Nicholas Stern’s review of climate change economics to support his case but peer reviewed criticism of Stern’s report demonstrated that the future costs of extreme weather events in developed countries were overestimated by an order of magnitude and that this overestimate was extended globally. Prominent economist Richard Tol dismissed the Stern Review as “alarmist and incompetent”. UK climate policy is described as “on course to fail” in a peer-reviewed critique.
Chinese President Hu Jintao has certainly joined other political sheep and embraced climate policy mythology. But if China has figured out how to grow its economy at 9% per year while increasing energy use by only 3% and decarbonising its economy at an even lower amount, then I’ll become a member of Living Streets!
In short, current climate policy lacks a sound scientific basis and political feasibility.
Paul Biggs, Environment spokesman – Association of British Drivers, Tamworth Staffs B77
23/10/09
Monday, 28 September 2009
Vodafone's Politically Correct Wrong Number in Eturia
HUNDREDS of call centre staff face having to walk, catch the bus or take a train to work because their new car park will not be big enough.
Vodafone's 1,200 North Staffordshire workers are preparing to move to a new multi-million pound call centre at Etruria in November.
But the office will have just 400 parking spaces, sparking fears of traffic chaos around the site.
The Sentinel: '1,200 workers and 400 parking spaces'
Vodafone's 1,200 North Staffordshire workers are preparing to move to a new multi-million pound call centre at Etruria in November.
But the office will have just 400 parking spaces, sparking fears of traffic chaos around the site.
The Sentinel: '1,200 workers and 400 parking spaces'
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Paul Biggs' letter published in The Sentinel
Sort out Stoke campaign blog
Thursday, September 24, 2009, 09:20
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/letters/Sort-Stoke-campaign-blog/article-1366256-detail/article.html
Comment on this story
The comment piece Chaos and Confusion (The Sentinel, September 21) is an excellent summary of what is wrong with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
However, there is a consequence of the shambles that seems to be missing from the article – the fact council officers are taking advantage of the situation to pursue their own agendas, particularly where car use is concerned.
Recent letters published in The Sentinel have highlighted how traffic flow is being obstructed by anti-car policies, to the point where Stoke-on-Trent has become a place to avoid, rather than one to visit.
As Gordon Sharp pointed out (The Sentinel, September 11): "If this city is ever to succeed in attracting visitors, and possibly investors/businesses, then the council must take a long, hard look at its attitude to motorists."
Although I live outside the area, local Association of British Drivers (ABD) members have brought the current intolerable situation to my attention, which is reinforced by correspondence within pages of The Sentinel.
I have, therefore, set up the SOS – Sort Out Stoke – campaign weblog, based around The Sentinel articles and letters, where local people can comment, at
http://sortoutstoke.blogspot.com/
I hope this will help bring the good people of Stoke-on-Trent together in order to help fight for the city they deserve, rather than the "no-go" zone being inflicted on them by a useless council.
PAUL BIGGS
ABD Staffordshire co-ordinator
Tamworth
Thursday, September 24, 2009, 09:20
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/letters/Sort-Stoke-campaign-blog/article-1366256-detail/article.html
Comment on this story
The comment piece Chaos and Confusion (The Sentinel, September 21) is an excellent summary of what is wrong with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
However, there is a consequence of the shambles that seems to be missing from the article – the fact council officers are taking advantage of the situation to pursue their own agendas, particularly where car use is concerned.
Recent letters published in The Sentinel have highlighted how traffic flow is being obstructed by anti-car policies, to the point where Stoke-on-Trent has become a place to avoid, rather than one to visit.
As Gordon Sharp pointed out (The Sentinel, September 11): "If this city is ever to succeed in attracting visitors, and possibly investors/businesses, then the council must take a long, hard look at its attitude to motorists."
Although I live outside the area, local Association of British Drivers (ABD) members have brought the current intolerable situation to my attention, which is reinforced by correspondence within pages of The Sentinel.
I have, therefore, set up the SOS – Sort Out Stoke – campaign weblog, based around The Sentinel articles and letters, where local people can comment, at
http://sortoutstoke.blogspot.com/
I hope this will help bring the good people of Stoke-on-Trent together in order to help fight for the city they deserve, rather than the "no-go" zone being inflicted on them by a useless council.
PAUL BIGGS
ABD Staffordshire co-ordinator
Tamworth
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Paul Biggs Quoted in The Daily Telegraph
British tourists warned over 'damaging' French fuel
British tourists holidaying abroad this summer have been warned a new "environmentally friendly" fuel on sale in French petrol stations could damage their cars and even cause breakdowns.
By Peter Hutchison in Brussels and Peter Allen in Paris
Published: 2:42PM BST 10 Jul 2009
Holidaymakers who have long enjoyed driving on the winding roads of the Dordogne or along stretches of the French Riviera may unwittingly ruin their vehicles' engines if they fill up with the recently introduced biofuel.
The petrol called '95-E10' is a mixture of regular unleaded fuel and ethanol. It is suitable for new cars but can damage vehicles registered before the year 2000, motoring bodies have warned.
The biofuel sits alongside the commonly used and similarly named unleaded Euro 95 in many garages across France and while a public awareness campaign in the country has avoided confusion amongst the French, British holidaymakers face the prospect of unwittingly picking the wrong pump.
Motoring associations, including the RAC, yesterday warned those preparing to travel to France to be aware of the biofuel which is 90 per cent regular unleaded and 10 per cent ethanol.
Ethanol is highly corrosive and wears away the metal fuel tanks common in cars registered before 2000, leading to leaks. Most new cars have plastic tanks and are therefore not be affected by corrosion.
"It's a concern and a worry, and something that holidaymakers need to be aware of," Paul Biggs, a director at the Association of British Drivers, said.
"If drivers can confuse diesel and petrol at the pumps, as they often do, then they could just as easily confuse ordinary unleaded with unleaded containing 10 per cent ethanol in France," Mr Biggs added.
"There is obviously the potential for a ruined holiday if your car breaks down or is damaged by using the wrong petrol," he said.
The E10, which has been gradually distributed across stations in France since 1 April, and which the French government has admitted is incompatible with 40 per cent of vehicles on the road, can damage engines of cars registered before the year 2000, according to Holland's national automobile association, the ANWB.
Almost one third of cars on the roads in the UK today were registered before 2000. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders there are 9,579,000 cars out of 31,105,988 which pre-date the year 2000.
Markus van Tol, a spokesman for the Dutch break-down repair service said that "filling up just a few tanks of the new biofuel could lead to problems with pipes and connectors". Regular use could leave long-lasting damage, he added.
A spokeswoman for the RAC said: "There is some concern that some, particularly older vehicles, might have problems - particularly materials compatibility i.e. flexible hoses leaking.
"Most newer cars should not experience any problems but owners, particularly of older vehicles, should check with the manufacturer for compatibility before using the fuel.
"I would advise motorists to look for any signage, such as E10, or the letters 'bio' to guide them in making a choice of which fuel to use."
The petrol's introduction follows an EU directive relating to the quality of fuels which states that all petrol must include between 5 and 10 per cent of ethanol by 2013.
The French energy ministry advised motorists with cars older than nine years to continue using Euro 98 or 95.
Telegraph.co.uk: British tourists warned over 'damaging' French fuel
British tourists holidaying abroad this summer have been warned a new "environmentally friendly" fuel on sale in French petrol stations could damage their cars and even cause breakdowns.
By Peter Hutchison in Brussels and Peter Allen in Paris
Published: 2:42PM BST 10 Jul 2009
Holidaymakers who have long enjoyed driving on the winding roads of the Dordogne or along stretches of the French Riviera may unwittingly ruin their vehicles' engines if they fill up with the recently introduced biofuel.
The petrol called '95-E10' is a mixture of regular unleaded fuel and ethanol. It is suitable for new cars but can damage vehicles registered before the year 2000, motoring bodies have warned.
The biofuel sits alongside the commonly used and similarly named unleaded Euro 95 in many garages across France and while a public awareness campaign in the country has avoided confusion amongst the French, British holidaymakers face the prospect of unwittingly picking the wrong pump.
Motoring associations, including the RAC, yesterday warned those preparing to travel to France to be aware of the biofuel which is 90 per cent regular unleaded and 10 per cent ethanol.
Ethanol is highly corrosive and wears away the metal fuel tanks common in cars registered before 2000, leading to leaks. Most new cars have plastic tanks and are therefore not be affected by corrosion.
"It's a concern and a worry, and something that holidaymakers need to be aware of," Paul Biggs, a director at the Association of British Drivers, said.
"If drivers can confuse diesel and petrol at the pumps, as they often do, then they could just as easily confuse ordinary unleaded with unleaded containing 10 per cent ethanol in France," Mr Biggs added.
"There is obviously the potential for a ruined holiday if your car breaks down or is damaged by using the wrong petrol," he said.
The E10, which has been gradually distributed across stations in France since 1 April, and which the French government has admitted is incompatible with 40 per cent of vehicles on the road, can damage engines of cars registered before the year 2000, according to Holland's national automobile association, the ANWB.
Almost one third of cars on the roads in the UK today were registered before 2000. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders there are 9,579,000 cars out of 31,105,988 which pre-date the year 2000.
Markus van Tol, a spokesman for the Dutch break-down repair service said that "filling up just a few tanks of the new biofuel could lead to problems with pipes and connectors". Regular use could leave long-lasting damage, he added.
A spokeswoman for the RAC said: "There is some concern that some, particularly older vehicles, might have problems - particularly materials compatibility i.e. flexible hoses leaking.
"Most newer cars should not experience any problems but owners, particularly of older vehicles, should check with the manufacturer for compatibility before using the fuel.
"I would advise motorists to look for any signage, such as E10, or the letters 'bio' to guide them in making a choice of which fuel to use."
The petrol's introduction follows an EU directive relating to the quality of fuels which states that all petrol must include between 5 and 10 per cent of ethanol by 2013.
The French energy ministry advised motorists with cars older than nine years to continue using Euro 98 or 95.
Telegraph.co.uk: British tourists warned over 'damaging' French fuel
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