Save the planet - kill a road user

What is it about politicians and road pricing? Despite 1.8 million people signing a petition against it and Greater Manchester delivering a resounding no on its referendum, the idea won't go away.

The latest wheeze comes from a government think tank, The Committee on Climate Change, that wants to use road pricing to reduce our carbon emissions - reported in The Times here.

We already have a very effective road pricing scheme in the form of fuel duty - it's easy to collect, hard to avoid and it automatically adjusts for mileage and vehicle economy. So why do politicians and think tanks want to lumber us with complex, expensive technological schemes? Is it because they like the idea of tracking our journeys? Is it to justify the Gallileo satellite project? And while we're on the subject of emissions have they thought about the carbon cost of manufacturing all that technology? It's been estimated that a typical computer server has an equivalent carbon footprint to a Range Rover Sport doing 10,000 miles a year (source).

And it gets worse, because the Committee on Climate Change also wants to use speed limiting technology (Gallileo again?) to further beat us with the carbon stick. Where's the joined up thinking here? There's plenty of evidence - not least from the HGV accident statistics - that using speed limiters and making drivers travel unrealistically slowly for the road they're on leads to inattention and a rise in accidents.

Have they simply not thought this through? Or are they really saying that it's worth killing and injuring a few extra road users in order to save the planet?

GOM

Road Closed

With the party conference season in full swing it's interesting to see politicians vying for a share of the motoring vote. Among the things that caught my eye during the Conservative conference this week were the comments by the AA President, Edwin King on motorway closures.

The police and the Highway's Agency now seem to close roads when someone so much as loses a wheel nut. I appreciate that if there's a serious accident the police have to treat it as a crime scene, but King's comments struck a chord when it comes to getting roads re-opened more quickly.

The figure of 208 days of closures in the first eight months of this year is scarily high. Moreover it represents time and money lost to the economy as well as having an impact on the environment.

I really hope some of these suggestions to get things moving get implemented. I might even be tempted to vote for a party that commits to doing it.

GOM