- Car envy
- Councils’ controlled parking issues
- En-suite parking space
- Leaving a warm car on cold days
- Swapping pompoms for podiums
- When more spaces mean less space
- Speeding motorists becoming rarer
- Unlucky registration plates
- Distracted driving during the summer
- Gone driving
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Friday, May 18, 2012
More concerns about potential speed increase on motorways
There was a lot of hubbub a few months ago when the government announced that it was thinking of raising the motorway speed limit to 80mph.
Well, there’s still a lot of discussion going on about the potential speed increase.
Most recently, the Road Safety Foundation checked the 4,350 miles of motorway in the UK and raised concerns about the fact that there are not very many crash barriers along these high-speed road-ways.
Furthermore, along some stretches of highway the trees have been planted dangerously close to the roadside and some crash barriers haven’t been repaired or replaced after a previous incident, leaving them weak and unable to sustain the force of another accident.
The AA agreed with the charity, stating, “Some stretches of motorway are more suitable for 80mph than others.
“If you don’t have adequate central reservation barriers, a hard shoulder and variable speed limit message signs then the road is not safe for 80mph.”
The government plans to review all the positives and negatives of increasing the speed limit later on this year.
What do you think the government should do? Please leave us your comments!
Well, there’s still a lot of discussion going on about the potential speed increase. Most recently, the Road Safety Foundation checked the 4,350 miles of motorway in the UK and raised concerns about the fact that there are not very many crash barriers along these high-speed road-ways.
Furthermore, along some stretches of highway the trees have been planted dangerously close to the roadside and some crash barriers haven’t been repaired or replaced after a previous incident, leaving them weak and unable to sustain the force of another accident.
The AA agreed with the charity, stating, “Some stretches of motorway are more suitable for 80mph than others.
“If you don’t have adequate central reservation barriers, a hard shoulder and variable speed limit message signs then the road is not safe for 80mph.”
The government plans to review all the positives and negatives of increasing the speed limit later on this year.
What do you think the government should do? Please leave us your comments!
Photo © Highways Agency via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: AA, crash barrier, government, motorway, Road Safety Foundation, speed limit, UK
Friday, January 20, 2012
Motorway moggy
Sometimes it can feel like you’ve been on the motorway for an eternity – especially if there are traffic jams slowing you down.
However, usually we’re not actually on the highway for as long as we think and we can always pop into motorway services along the way for a break – unlike a cat that recently made some news reports.
The poor over-adventurous feline found its way up the 50 foot high concrete feet of an M4 road sign, but couldn’t get back down again.
It was stuck for 24 hours next to the busy motorway before traffic officers coaxed the cat back down to safety using a crane lift and some cat food.
Despite its ordeal, rescuers could tell that the cat was well looked after, and the RSPCA managed to return the moggy to its owners.
If I was that cat, I’d just stick to climbing onto the back of the sofa from now on.
However, usually we’re not actually on the highway for as long as we think and we can always pop into motorway services along the way for a break – unlike a cat that recently made some news reports.
The poor over-adventurous feline found its way up the 50 foot high concrete feet of an M4 road sign, but couldn’t get back down again.
It was stuck for 24 hours next to the busy motorway before traffic officers coaxed the cat back down to safety using a crane lift and some cat food.
Despite its ordeal, rescuers could tell that the cat was well looked after, and the RSPCA managed to return the moggy to its owners.
If I was that cat, I’d just stick to climbing onto the back of the sofa from now on.
Photo © Red Junasun via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: cat, highway, M4, motorway, motorway services, road sign, traffic jam
Monday, October 17, 2011
Slow women drivers?
Even in this day and age we women still have to put up with jokes about our poor driving, but when they come from the mouth of a professional person like a lawyer it is particularly irritating and quite shocking.
Nick Freeman, a celebrity defence lawyer who deals with traffic and speeding offences recently said the following:
“Speed does not kill. Bad driving does, and that includes going too slowly and being in the wrong lane.
“Why can't these women be prosecuted? Oops, I mean why don't the police start to prosecute this kind of unlawful driving?”
Hilarious Mr Freeman.
The head of road safety at the AA however, stated, without entering into juvenile quips about male and female motorists’ skills, “A lot of bad driving does involve speed. We can't criticise people for being slow drivers.”
Andrew Howard, we thank you for your balanced outlook on road speeds.
Obviously, driving at 30mph on a motorway could be dangerous, but if anyone feels uncomfortable about driving at 70mph and would rather stay at 60mph in the left lane then that’s up to them I think.
Nick Freeman, a celebrity defence lawyer who deals with traffic and speeding offences recently said the following:“Speed does not kill. Bad driving does, and that includes going too slowly and being in the wrong lane.
“Why can't these women be prosecuted? Oops, I mean why don't the police start to prosecute this kind of unlawful driving?”
Hilarious Mr Freeman.
The head of road safety at the AA however, stated, without entering into juvenile quips about male and female motorists’ skills, “A lot of bad driving does involve speed. We can't criticise people for being slow drivers.”
Andrew Howard, we thank you for your balanced outlook on road speeds.
Obviously, driving at 30mph on a motorway could be dangerous, but if anyone feels uncomfortable about driving at 70mph and would rather stay at 60mph in the left lane then that’s up to them I think.
Photo © Vegansoldier via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: AA, dangerous, driving, lawyer, motorist, motorway, mph, road, slow, speeding, traffic, unlawful, women
Monday, September 12, 2011
A St Tropez jam
When you think “St Tropez,” you probably think of tans and holidays.
You probably don’t think of the town of Ste Maxime 10 miles away from St Tropez, which has been struggling with the effects of its neighbour’s popularity for about 30 years.
Now, you might think that the problem Ste Maxime has is jealousy, but in fact it’s the huge traffic jams caused by floods of people trying to get to St Tropez (which has no train station or motorway link to it).
Reportedly, for every 100 vehicles that enter the town, about 70 of them are only passing through to make their way to tan central.
Vincent Morisse, the mayor of the municipality, states, “It creates really monstrous jams.
“And it's not just tourists who are affected, but locals. Firms have difficulty making deliveries and it takes an hour and a quarter to get to the hospital; not to mention the pollution. It is catastrophic.
"For 30 years the road authorities haven't lifted a finger on this road. And in this period the traffic has increased tenfold, not to mention the fact that the population of Ste Maxime has gone from 7,000 to 12,000 inhabitants."
Now, and quite rightly so (we feel), the inhabitants have had enough. They are demanding that a bypass is built to take the traffic around them, so that their roads become less congested.
We wish them luck! And next time you get a St Tropez tan, or if you are lucky enough to go on holiday there, think of the town of Ste Maxime which gets all of the traffic and few of the tourists.
You probably don’t think of the town of Ste Maxime 10 miles away from St Tropez, which has been struggling with the effects of its neighbour’s popularity for about 30 years.
Now, you might think that the problem Ste Maxime has is jealousy, but in fact it’s the huge traffic jams caused by floods of people trying to get to St Tropez (which has no train station or motorway link to it). Reportedly, for every 100 vehicles that enter the town, about 70 of them are only passing through to make their way to tan central.
Vincent Morisse, the mayor of the municipality, states, “It creates really monstrous jams.
“And it's not just tourists who are affected, but locals. Firms have difficulty making deliveries and it takes an hour and a quarter to get to the hospital; not to mention the pollution. It is catastrophic.
"For 30 years the road authorities haven't lifted a finger on this road. And in this period the traffic has increased tenfold, not to mention the fact that the population of Ste Maxime has gone from 7,000 to 12,000 inhabitants."
Now, and quite rightly so (we feel), the inhabitants have had enough. They are demanding that a bypass is built to take the traffic around them, so that their roads become less congested.
We wish them luck! And next time you get a St Tropez tan, or if you are lucky enough to go on holiday there, think of the town of Ste Maxime which gets all of the traffic and few of the tourists.
Photo © Marc Veraart via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: bypass, congested, holiday, motorway, pollution, road, St Tropez, Ste Maxime, tan, tourists, traffic jams, vehicles
Monday, July 18, 2011
Trapped in a chocolate shop? I don’t BEElieve it.
Can you think of anything much better than being trapped in a chocolate shop? Well, unless you’re on a diet at the moment – no, probably not.
Come on! There are much worse places to be trapped aren’t there? The motorway, for example!
Well recently that’s exactly what happened to the staff of a Thorntons chocolate shop in Herefordshire.
Noticing some bees around the shop entrance, they closed the door to stop them coming in and suddenly found themselves incarcerated in their delicious store when a whole swarm of bees landed on and around the door.
“It was like something from a horror film,” an employee explained, “one minute the sky was clear and then suddenly there was a cloud of black and yellow coming straight for us.”
It took them two and a half hours to rid themselves of the bees with the help of a beekeeper.
Apparently the queen bee had been expelled from her hive by a younger female bee, and most of her loyal courtiers had flown off with her to act as royal bodyguards.
It must have been a relatively frightening experience, but we can’t help but feel a little less sorry for them because of their location at the time.
Come on! There are much worse places to be trapped aren’t there? The motorway, for example!
Well recently that’s exactly what happened to the staff of a Thorntons chocolate shop in Herefordshire. Noticing some bees around the shop entrance, they closed the door to stop them coming in and suddenly found themselves incarcerated in their delicious store when a whole swarm of bees landed on and around the door.
“It was like something from a horror film,” an employee explained, “one minute the sky was clear and then suddenly there was a cloud of black and yellow coming straight for us.”
It took them two and a half hours to rid themselves of the bees with the help of a beekeeper.
Apparently the queen bee had been expelled from her hive by a younger female bee, and most of her loyal courtiers had flown off with her to act as royal bodyguards.
It must have been a relatively frightening experience, but we can’t help but feel a little less sorry for them because of their location at the time.
Photo by blumenbiene via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: bees, chocolate, motorway, Thorntons, trapped
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
To the beach, to the beach
It’s summer, it’s raining and I’m British, so I shall moan about the weather – it is my lot in life.
But no, I’m not going to let the clouds bother me because life’s too short.
So, I’m going to dig out my bright blue wellies and find the biggest, most colourful umbrella I can and I’m going to get in my car and drive to the nearest beach so I can have a nice seaside walk.
It’s June, the Longest Day has almost been and gone and my little car hasn’t been out on a long trip in a while.
A nice long drive is always good for a car which only does short urban journeys. Getting it up to a good, but always legal, speed on the motorway helps recharge the battery fully, and gives the old internal combustion engine a work out and a decent clean through (so my dad tells me).
And while I’m at the beach I shall have some fish and chips in a seafront café while I watch the waves crashing onto the shingle.
And just in case the sun decides to come out, I shall pack a swimsuit, towel and sun cream – well, you can never be too sure, can you.
But no, I’m not going to let the clouds bother me because life’s too short.
So, I’m going to dig out my bright blue wellies and find the biggest, most colourful umbrella I can and I’m going to get in my car and drive to the nearest beach so I can have a nice seaside walk. It’s June, the Longest Day has almost been and gone and my little car hasn’t been out on a long trip in a while.
A nice long drive is always good for a car which only does short urban journeys. Getting it up to a good, but always legal, speed on the motorway helps recharge the battery fully, and gives the old internal combustion engine a work out and a decent clean through (so my dad tells me).
And while I’m at the beach I shall have some fish and chips in a seafront café while I watch the waves crashing onto the shingle.
And just in case the sun decides to come out, I shall pack a swimsuit, towel and sun cream – well, you can never be too sure, can you.
Image © kyle simourd via Flickr, uner Creative Commons Licence
Labels: internal combustion engine, long drive, motorway