A new political party for Car owners

[Nigel]

Seems a good idea to me, although I haven't checked out the site properly,

http://www.thecarparty.org.uk/

[Nigel]

Hmmm maybe not so good, a few points ih here I couldn't agree with :

Road safety The European Road Safety Charter calls for the halving of road accident fatalities by 2010, currently deaths in the UK stand at over 3000 per year, this figure is totally unacceptable and we aim to reduce this by the following measures.

We will instigate contact with all road safety organisations to fulfill this aim.

We will be open to discussion with the insurance industry to find a way to introduce high discounts for those drivers who have taken and passed a mandatory advanced driving organisation test. We would also like to extend this to those who have voluntarily retaken and passed The Driving Standards Agency Test.

The Driving Standards Agency test would have to be retaken by all drivers every ten years, we understand that this is likely to be a controversial policy but the situation of injury and death on our roads simply can not be allowed to continue. It is also due to this policy we feel able to support the abolition of the Gatso speed camera.

The Gatso speed camera is seen by many as merely a tool to raise revenue, it has alienated the Police, and also has been criticised from the road safety point of view, Road deaths and injuries have continued to rise despite it's introduction. We see the fixed speed camera as a failed policy.

All new drivers must have a minimum of professional tuition before being allowed to be only accompanied by a qualified driver. We support this to be 20 hours tuition. Professional tuition should be extended to include motorway instruction.

All qualified learner drivers are to display a P for Probationer plate to the front and the rear of the vehicle for 1 year after passing the Standard Driving Agency Test.

We support the full time adoption of GMT +1 British Summertime and call for an immediate ending of the present system, this measure alone would save lives.

We believe that a zero drink drive policy should exist, therefore a complete drink drive ban would be supported and campaigned for.

Car crime should result in a lifetime ban from driving.

Lastly a review of street furniture should be undertaken, with a view to decrease or remove this where possible.

They also believe holding a driving licence is a privalage, I think its an entitlement !!!

[ipsg.glf]

Single issue parties never get anwyhere. A total and utter waste of time.

[vonhosen]

They may not get elected, but depending how many votes they do get, it can open the major parties eyes & change their policies.

[PeteG]

Hmmm maybe not so good, a few points ih here I couldn't agree with :

Road safety The European Road Safety Charter calls for the halving of road accident fatalities by 2010, currently deaths in the UK stand at over 3000 per year, this figure is totally unacceptable and we aim to reduce this by the following measures.

We will instigate contact with all road safety organisations to fulfill this aim.

We will be open to discussion with the insurance industry to find a way to introduce high discounts for those drivers who have taken and passed a mandatory advanced driving organisation test.

Yes.

We would also like to extend this to those who have voluntarily retaken and passed The Driving Standards Agency Test.

Limited use.

...All new drivers must have a minimum of professional tuition before being allowed to be only accompanied by a qualified driver. We support this to be 20 hours tuition. Professional tuition should be extended to include motorway instruction.

Motorway instruction? I think after passing the test, or once the basics of SC and DC work have been taught to a decent standard... only accompanied by a qualified driver - prove this for every new driver, how exactly? Idea's not a bad one, but it's impractical.

All qualified learner drivers are to display a P for Probationer plate to the front and the rear of the vehicle for 1 year after passing the Standard Driving Agency Test.

Red rag to a bull. You're out for the first time after your test, you make a stupid mistake - stalling, or something - cue abuse from frustrated following drivers.
I'd rather encourage taking of further training once say, 20 hours further driving with a licence-holding passenger has been done. Again, though, how do you do this without opening up logbooks to forgery?

We support the full time adoption of GMT +1 British Summertime and call for an immediate ending of the present system, this measure alone would save lives.

This is something that comes up a lot, I've only been driving for a year so I'm not paricularly informed on it - I'll sit on the fence for this, and am more htan willing to listen to those dealing at the sharp end.

We believe that a zero drink drive policy should exist, therefore a complete drink drive ban would be supported and campaigned for.

Again, a subject of much discussion - a great many people, myself included, don't touch a drop before driving - but education rather than a blanket limit is the answer. As in, don't go out on a binge the night before, and drive when you get up.
You've got to allow for small amounts - someone with a particularly slow metabolism might still have a drop or two in the blood, but drive to a consistently high standard. Again, educate people and make it their choice to not drink.. and keep up the campaign to stop people trying to calculate - "2 beers over 2 hours, I'll be below the limit" rather than "I'm not going to drink at all, I'm driving".

I could put this point across a lot better, and I probably will when I've had time to look into it further, and not after a 12-hour night shift *yawn*

Car crime should result in a lifetime ban from driving.

So anyone convicted of anything car crime related will then simply drive while banned. The answer is much tougher sentecnes. For everything, really - but since we're on traffic... for no insurance, licence and the like - jail sentences for second offences and larger fines, regardless of the offender's income - if they can't afford to do it, they won't. If they get off with a stern warning and a fiver a week out of their paycheque, they'll just do it again.
If they're breaking into/ stealing cars, jail first time. And no nannying, either. Bed, bucket and four walls. (I won't go down this road right now)

Lastly a review of street furniture should be undertaken, with a view to decrease or remove this where possible.

I agree hwen it comes to clumps of jungle and sculptures on roundabouts, trees and hedges overhanging cornering sight lines, and otherwise obstructed vision from either design or poor maintenance.
More use of white paint to warn traffic of danger (similar ot hazard lines, SLOW and chevrons on bends... also dashed outline hatchings on residential streets near schools and the like), without putting physical barriers in the way when it's not. None of this red tarmac nonsense.

They also believe holding a driving licence is a privalage, I think its an entitlement !!!

Ah, this old argument rears its head again If you want to, and you meet the requirements - age, ability as tested, major health issues*, and of course being able to afford to insure your car to at least 3rd party - then yes, you should be entitled to drive.
However, if you are convicted, by people not automated enforcement, of dropping below the standard, then you should have it removed. Oddly enough, the points system is quite good at this, when applied by humans in a reasonable position (traffic... police... are they foreign?).

*I mean drivers taking care of issues such as diabetes (I know this is a stickle r for some Eurobods, what with licenses being revoked and the like), not banning drivers with them outright - but if your eyesight is on its way, for example, then it's simple - you shouldn't be driving, and doctors should be able to notify the DVLA of this, with appropriate action being taken.

This is all my two cents, I may not make perfect sense, I'm probably wrong in some regards... and I hope not to offend anyone, if I have, give me a kick.

Pete

[Nigel]

If your taking care on the diabetes because of me then don't worry, I take care of mine, but I know plenty who don't and I expect it is unreasonable of me to expect us to be assessed on an individual basis. ( I just like to whinge because of the stupidity of some of the rules..my old landrover for example)

As for daylight saving, I think its a load of bull, we should be gmt all year round, there are only "X" amount of daylight hours, so if its light in the mornings (winter) it'll be dark late afternoon and vice versa.

Driving is an entitlement....period.

As for road charging, has anyone really sat down & thought about this ?

If the top charge is around £1.50 per mile, and we guess the average for daytime peakish travel is say £0.50, thats going to be £20,000 to £25,000 a year just for me...........hello dole.

[PeteG]

If your taking care on the diabetes because of me then don't worry, I take care of mine, but I know plenty who don't and I expect it is unreasonable of me to expect us to be assessed on an individual basis. ( I just like to whinge because of the stupidity of some of the rules..my old landrover for example)

That's exactly it... banning outright instead of ensuring control is not the way. You sprang to mind, since one of your recent TA posts mentioned how you can feel it coming on.

[ipsg.glf]

They may not get elected, but depending how many votes they do get, it can open the major parties eyes & change their policies.

Is there any evidence that government policy has changed on immigration due to the BNP?

Or did that independent MP manage to stop the closure of his local hospital?

[vonhosen]

They may not get elected, but depending how many votes they do get, it can open the major parties eyes & change their policies.

Is there any evidence that government policy has changed on immigration due to the BNP?

Or did that independent MP manage to stop the closure of his local hospital?

Well you've got the current government saying there needs to be discussion about immigration (which you may never have thought you'd hear).

I wasn't primarily thinking about that though, think about the green issues etc.

[Big Err]

I'm thinking that the worst people to be involved in politics are those who want to be politicians

[Gromit37]

As a political party, this group won't go very far. As a lobbying group, they may have some success, but I don't hold out much hope.

I do think there ought to be compulsory night driving and motorway driving for people taking their DSA test. It's silly not teaching people to drive in conditions they are likely to encounter on such a regular basis. Night driving was something I did when learning, but that was down to luck. Motorways are a nightmare, so making it compulsory to drive on one, under the supervision of a licenced instructor, shortly before or just after taking the test, seems like common sense.

I would welcome re-tests every few years. It might focus people's attention on how bad a driver they have become and keep them more abreast of current laws and best practice. The Highway Code has changed since I took my test 20 years ago. Not that I ever read it again until a month ago

As for politics...

Q: How do you tell when a politician is lying?

A : Their lips move.

[Nigel]

Why do you think motorways are a nightmare ?

[PeteG]

There's just a stigma attached to them, for some reason. Having said that, more than enough people are unhappy travelling at anything close to the NSL on a DC - take the Nissan Micra owner travelling at approximately 35mph on the A66 this morning.
The driver behind did an excellent impression of being towed by him, however - given the soaking road, had the Micra driver had to slow at all, he'd have had a nice pickup truck and trailer in his boot...

People, eh?

edit: But then, perhaps they're Britain's (still Europes?) safest roads, since all the incompetents are too scared to go on them? Well, not all, but many...

[Gromit37]

Why do you think motorways are a nightmare ?

Because, apart from information overload when it's really busy, too many people ignore what they should be doing. Undertaking, hogging lanes, driving too close at silly speeds, making maneuvers that shouldn't be made etc. Often there are no 'escape routes' to take when people do the above, because as soon as you make some breathing room, some silly bugger fills it. It is easier to suffer from 'tunnel vision', there are vast stretches that are unlit, but you often can't use main beam, and it's not so easy to pull over and take a break. Not to mention the roadworks that are invariably slowing everything to a crawl in places. All in all, they are not very rewarding to drive on.

I can and do drive on Motorways, but generally I don't like them. I am not alone in this

[Nigel]

I often enjoy relaxed runs home having set the sat nav to avoid motorways, but I do thousands of miles on them, I feel more exhausted some days more than others, due to high concentartion being needed at times, but they are still by far the easiest roads to drive on.