Grant Shapps wants a speed limit for cyclists

[guerney]

Scaremongering headlines. I will eat my own face if that ever gets greenlit in parliament

Would you only eat half your face, if they only require number plates for pedelecs, as crowdsourced by the RH Vampire Jacob Rees Mogg (point 5)?

Brexiteers give Boris 2,000 ideas to obliterate EU rules

FROM fracking to super powered vacuum cleaners, the British public has handed the Government 2,000 ideas on how to reap the benefits of Brexit and get rid of hated EU red tape.

www.express.co.uk

 

[Chainmale]

In the highly unlikely event of any of this coming to fruition there is an obvious solution for us cyclists - simply ignore the rules, they would after all be unenforceable. Works for e-scooterists and sadly also for many drivers of motor vehicles.

 

[Nealh]

One assumes any major change would have to go thru the lords to become law, but opposition parties would veto any changes.

 

[guerney]

One assumes any major change would have to go thru the lords to become law, but opposition parties would veto any changes.

They'd have to be very determined to bypass the Lords:

https://guidetoprocedure.parliament.uk/collections/FtUCoQZu

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Conservative, UKIP, SNP, Green, Mad Raving Loony Party, and Liberal voters have got me into more debt? It's time to open a LOT of Small Claims Court cases!



I'm sorry, but this sort of finger pointing and blaming consumers is exactly the strategy green-washing governments and energy companies engage in - but the reality is, the effect of governments imposing strict limits are by orders of magnitude more effective. Easily done - for instance, what car do you drive? Unless you drive a Austin Allegro and don't buy compatible replacement parts for it from China, you're a part of the problem. Every new car contains abut 3,000 semiconductors (SUVs contain more than smaller vehicles), which we don't produce because we don't mine Scotland for rare earth's and other minerals. New electric cars contain about 10,000. We don't mine rare earth's in sufficient quantities to make many electric motors either. I mention cars because they are many people's second biggest purchase.

It's not just finger pointing its fact and very simple economics. If you keep transferring huge amounts of your money outside the country then obviously you are moving your sterling to other countries, We either end up borrowing that sterling back to prop up our country's economy or that sterling comes back as investment in this country which buys up assets and further profits are exported abroad. If you do quantitive easing then you dilute the value of sterling with higher amounts of sterling available secured against far less assets so eventually sterling has to be devalued. If you take the view that pretty much all politicians are corrupt morons which is pretty much my view the only real solution is by changing our own actions. The population of many countries are very patriotic they will choose their own goods even when more expensive or inferior because they wish to protect their own economy.

I drive a car that is about 9 years old now. I went for a simple car with manual gearbox and no turbo to keep it reliable over the long term. It cost me less than £8k new its a Chevrolet Cruze Station Wagen. I bought it when Chevrolet pulled out of the UK market so there were some less than half price cars available. It's normal price was £17k. So Chevrolet probably made a large loss on my purchase. I don't drive huge miles. The car has never had a single fault and I'm still on the original battery. It always starts first time but has some luxuries like a 6 speaker sound system, air conditioning, powered mirrors and windows etc. So while I have bought an imported new car I try to minimise how much I spend on imports. I can see the car lasting a few more years before I start getting a wave of faults so my investment in cars is less than £1k a year before I buy another car and to be honest I tend to buy secondhand cars mainly as more comfortable with that. This was a one off exception due to the extreme discounting.

Before we joined the EU there was a campaign ran for many years to 'Buy British' to protect jobs and help the economy we really could do with that again although now the options are more limited. Ultimately you use sales tax to stem the level of imports and from that sales tax you make investments to produce goods here in the UK. It is extremely important we become food secure and can feed our entire population ourselves. Global warming will mean a huge amount of crop failures around the world and much famine and starvation and in the coming years importing food will be much more difficult and expensive. The UK has twice the population density of China so it will be a struggle so we will need to be clever how we produce our food. However with rising temperatures as long as we can irrigate those crops we should have more bountiful levels of crops.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

.
Automation.

The police don't have the capacity to monitor car speeds, so ever increasing numbers of automated cameras issue the fines, since that is cheap, easy, lucrative and convenient.

Bicycles can have rear number plates and registration, some places have had them in the past and S class pedelecs all have them in every country where they are permitted.
.

I can't see it myself. Such cameras make sense on motorways and A roads but would need a huge amount of extra cameras to monitor bicycles and with global warming we need more people on bicycles. It just sounds like a moronic idea from a moronic politician and there are processes to stop this from becoming law. It's clearly going to cause a huge amount of people to abandon cycling if implemented. I guess I still have a little faith in the system that something so stupid can't be implemented but you never know.

 

[PC2017]

simple economics. If you keep transferring huge amounts of your money outside the country

that's liberal capitalism for you... by design... if you keep the money in the country how do borrow more or print more. The more there is the easier it is for the wealthy to own more & the means of production. The devaluing is financial repression again by design.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

that's liberal capitalism for you... by design... if you keep the money in the country how do borrow more or print more. The more there is the easier it is for the wealthy to own more & the means of production. The devaluing is financial repression again by design.

Often a country's success is derived from politicians it has to be said. If you make a successful economy a priority at a political level and strive to achieve that then it will happen. After WW2 we had some great politicians who rebuilt our economy and it wasn't really until the 70s when we had mass industrial disputes and joined the EU that everything started to go wrong. Taiwan decided they would make their own bicycles decades ago and made political decisions that restricted imports and made policies to make production easy in their country. It wasn't long before they dominated production. 98% of a politicians job is running a successful economy, spending money is always easier, making money is difficult. Sadly our politicians aren't fit for purpose but then they are used to having most terms dictated from the EU but they need to adapt now we are out of the EU.

It's important not to overthink it, we need to work towards reducing imports and increase exports until we reach a balanced economy and if possible move beyond this so are exports are greater so we can pay back our huge debts. We have no right to borrow expecting future generations to pay for our stupidity and incompetence.

 

[flecc]

I can't see it myself. Such cameras make sense on motorways and A roads but would need a huge amount of extra cameras to monitor bicycles and with global warming we need more people on bicycles. It just sounds like a moronic idea from a moronic politician and there are processes to stop this from becoming law. It's clearly going to cause a huge amount of people to abandon cycling if implemented. I guess I still have a little faith in the system that something so stupid can't be implemented but you never know.

I agree, they are unlikely to do anything which inhibits cycling.

But it wouldn't need the extra cameras in London since we already have the congestion charge and larger area emission charge zone cameras that are already multi purpose. Likewise the large number of the newer automated speed cameras that dish out fines etc without human intervention. I'm surrounded by those, just going to the supermarket and back means four of those camera passes.
.

 

[PC2017]

until we reach a balanced economy

That's a nice idea but the system has made it too easy for the greedy profit off Gov subsides and tax payers bail outs, I fear it will become more unbalanced, the corruption and rot will get worse and stay with us all for a long time to come.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

I agree, they are unlikely to do anything which inhibits cycling.

But it wouldn't need the extra cameras in London since we already have the congestion charge and larger area emission charge zone cameras that are already multi purpose. Likewise the large number of the newer automated speed cameras that dish out fines etc without human intervention. I'm surrounded by those, just going to the supermarket and back means four of those camera passes.
.

I'm down in Yeovil a fairly rural town and to be honest I feel if cameras popped up everywhere purely to generate income from cyclists I can see them having a rough time. Teenagers who cause a huge amount of crime and whose first transport is a bicycle would not appreciate having to register their bike and pay for insurance etc.

We have to make far more effort to reduce the damage to our environment and this is so counter-productive it is unbelievable to be even considered. I actually feel quite embarrassed for Grant Snapps this just seems so utterly moronic and out of touch with reality. We should be desperate to get as many people making cycle journeys as possible, reducing fuel use not only saves the cost of fuel for cyclists not using their car but it reduces demand for that commodity and therefore is more likely to be reduced in price for motorists too. It's a double win for cyclists and motorists.

 

[flecc]

I actually feel quite embarrassed for Grant Snapps this just seems so utterly moronic and out of touch with reality.

He won't be able to introduce it. Government policy left and right wing is to increase cycling. so this idea will die as soon as the leadership election is over and cabinet ministers chosen. Shapps statement was just positioning himself for a job, whoever becomes leader.
.

 

[Nealh]

Problem is snaps is a moron and has stirred the anti feeling pot again by engaging the right wing express and mail readers with anti feeling towards cyclists and any one else who dare use the roads in alternative ways, The UK is one of the most diverse liberal countries in the world where the police have little or no influence on the populations beahaviour in every day life, yet snaps wants to pit one group of road users against a monority group to stir up things which just isnt't neccessary. Following the HWC changes motor groups grumbled a lot but it seems to have died down a bit and life has gone on and the rules slowly I believe being excepted, now he has gone and put his foot in his mouth instead of keeping his gob shut.
One can only hope he doesn't get a good seat in the next govm't.

 

[flecc]

One can only hope he doesn't get a good seat in the next govm't.

In fairness he actually did good when first appointed Transport Minister. He nationalised Northern Rail to prevent any more of their shambles, adding a warning shot across the bows of the industry that they wouldn't necessarily be the last rail company to go that way.

He went onto confirm that both Eastern and Southern Rail would continue to be under government supervision until they got their act together.

All good stuff, so I'd be happy for him to have that job again.
.

 

[jimriley]

While responding about this in my local FB group the solution to the number plate position came in a blinding flash.

Tattoo my arse, show drivers the respect they deserve!

 

[Chainmale]

While responding about this in my local FB group the solution to the number plate position came in a blinding flash.

Tattoo my arse, show drivers the respect they deserve!

Might get a bit uncomfortable in the winter months, then there is the question of the correct spacing of the letters and numbers....
How about James Bond style revolving number plates showing a selection of registration numbers of vehicles that have previously close passed you.

 

[flecc]

While responding about this in my local FB group the solution to the number plate position came in a blinding flash.

Tattoo my arse, show drivers the respect they deserve!

Suitably elevated to 4 x 4 windscreen height:

 

[jimriley]

Might get a bit uncomfortable in the winter months, then there is the question of the correct spacing of the letters and numbers....
How about James Bond style revolving number plates showing a selection of registration numbers of vehicles that have previously close passed you.

Hopefully, there'd be a zero in the middle.

 

[Scott_J]

It's not just finger pointing its fact and very simple economics. If you keep transferring huge amounts of your money outside the country then obviously you are moving your sterling to other countries, We either end up borrowing that sterling back to prop up our country's economy or that sterling comes back as investment in this country which buys up assets and further profits are exported abroad. If you do quantitive easing then you dilute the value of sterling with higher amounts of sterling available secured against far less assets so eventually sterling has to be devalued. If you take the view that pretty much all politicians are corrupt morons which is pretty much my view the only real solution is by changing our own actions. The population of many countries are very patriotic they will choose their own goods even when more expensive or inferior because they wish to protect their own economy.

I drive a car that is about 9 years old now. I went for a simple car with manual gearbox and no turbo to keep it reliable over the long term. It cost me less than £8k new its a Chevrolet Cruze Station Wagen. I bought it when Chevrolet pulled out of the UK market so there were some less than half price cars available. It's normal price was £17k. So Chevrolet probably made a large loss on my purchase. I don't drive huge miles. The car has never had a single fault and I'm still on the original battery. It always starts first time but has some luxuries like a 6 speaker sound system, air conditioning, powered mirrors and windows etc. So while I have bought an imported new car I try to minimise how much I spend on imports. I can see the car lasting a few more years before I start getting a wave of faults so my investment in cars is less than £1k a year before I buy another car and to be honest I tend to buy secondhand cars mainly as more comfortable with that. This was a one off exception due to the extreme discounting.

Before we joined the EU there was a campaign ran for many years to 'Buy British' to protect jobs and help the economy we really could do with that again although now the options are more limited. Ultimately you use sales tax to stem the level of imports and from that sales tax you make investments to produce goods here in the UK. It is extremely important we become food secure and can feed our entire population ourselves. Global warming will mean a huge amount of crop failures around the world and much famine and starvation and in the coming years importing food will be much more difficult and expensive. The UK has twice the population density of China so it will be a struggle so we will need to be clever how we produce our food. However with rising temperatures as long as we can irrigate those crops we should have more bountiful levels of crops.

Global warming??!!!
Crown Industries run the worldwide fiasco.
Politics is Hollywood for ugly people.

 

[Bogmonster666]

As somebody with an anxiety disorder I find driving quite stressful to the point I rarely do it. I believe I am a competent and considerate driver (and a considerate cyclist). I had to stop driving for a number of years due to seizures caused by mental health medication and have not got back into it. Hence why I cycle and use busses (I don't enjoy cycling or busses but I need to get from a to b but I enjoy driving less). I do have a driving licence and access to a car but probably don't drive more than once a month.

I find all the legal aspects, speed cameras etc a real problem for my anxiety. I don't speed, I don't jump red lights etc but it is still an issue for me.

I don't want cycling to go the same way. I already have a non-ebike with stvzo lights (hard to find but the Lidl ones are ok), pedal reflectors etc and when I add the ebike kit it will be in accordance with the law. The last thing I need is Grant creating a new source of anxiety for me. I accept I have a mental illness but this is very unwelcome for me.

I also care about the environment so I think bashing cycling is a retrograde step.

My anxiety can be quite specific, I have hobbies and interests that would scare the pants off of many folks. I spend a lot of my leisure time caving in nasty, tight, aqueous holes in the ground that would freak out most folks. But legal things are quite a big issue for me.

Thankfully, I think the whole idea will be buried where it belongs.

I am lucky to have a great set of caving buddies who help ferry me about to caves and digs (I make sure I am not backwards in buying rounds in pub) and a wife who is happy to drive on other occasions. Also, I work mostly from home.

C