Traffic problem and road deaths – SOLVED

Okay… this is just a thought – It is not 100% figured out, and to be honest, I would be pretty much against some aspects of it – BUT I was just musing over something that MIGHT be the better good for the greater many for the future….

Feel free to add constructive comments!

So anyway… the roads are getting clogged up with too much traffic. Motorways are reduced to a dribble and often just stop during rush hours. Sometimes it is due to roadworks, sometimes due to accidents, and all compounded by pure volume of traffic.

That gives 3 focal points…. Roadworks, Accidents, volume of traffic.

All of these add to pollution in a big way, after all if a car takes longer to get somewhere due to traffic slowing it down, then it is burning fuel and not getting anywhere… Also, lots of cars = lots of pollution.

To reduce roadworks we need to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. The question is which ones do we remove? The answer to this will reflect on the accident rate on the roads…

To reduce accidents we need to remove as many drivers from the road that are likely to cause problems… and by reducing accidents we take a huge load off of the emergency services and hospitals (frees up the Police, Ambulances, Doctors, Nurses, Fire service etc…) and we keep the roads moving more freely due to less road traffic accident caused jams… This saves a lot of tax payers money allowing it to be routed in other directions…. one of those directions would be public transport… but more on that in a moment.

To help reduce the amount of drivers on the road, a much tougher driving test is required. Much, much tougher. This will keep a lot of the drivers off of the road that are dangerous. The less able drivers, the careless, the worriers, hesitater’s, the heavy on the gas drivers etc, all of these would get a taste of a cull. I’d even say that in this day and age the smoothness of a persons driving could be judged – after all a smoother drive gives greater fuel economy and less emissions – and also a smoother drive is a safer drive.

This would leave a lot of people stranded with nothing but frankly shitty public transport to rely on.True, one option could be lift sharing – and that would help save people money by sharing the fuel costs. Not a bad option really, once you see how many cars there are on the road in the morning with only one person in.

Back to public transport though – I had to travel to my work place by train recently as my car was being serviced… it cost over £30 for a return ticket…I had to get up 45 minutes earlier to catch a train… the journey took over an hour longer than my drive and I finally arrived home 1 hour later than usual…. The next day I hired a car and that worked out cheaper than a train ticket!

So how can this dire public transport be improved? I’d envisage more and better bus services… subsidised taxis, Heck, why not mini buses more frequently than the current buses? Who knows? Just SOMETHING!!!

With more people being forced to use public transport there would be more money being spent on travel – so prices could be reduced (finally!). Some of the money saved on emergency services and roadworks could be funnelled into improving the public transport system. In fact with less cars on the road, a regular stopping or fast track coach system could be set up on the motorways (after all, some places aren’t near train stations).

It may even get to a point where unlike my experience with public transport, it might be better for me to use public transport – Cheaper, faster, cleaner….. I can dream!!!

The more people that use public transport, the better it would get due to the cash injection (it would HAVE to get). So there you have it – a rickety theory on reducing the number of cars on the road and at the same time saving us and the Government money from areas that can have spending reduced (the reduction of road traffic accidents & road repairs due to lighter wear and tear etc), whilst at the same time reducing carbon emissions, and road deaths!

One point here… If I was one of the people who were caught in “the cull” then I’d be pretty annoyed… BUT I’d hope that an infrastructure was in place that would alleviate the pain and suffering that losing a car would give me. In fact I’d hope that if a scheme like this ever took off, that some people would simply PREFER to ditch their cars due to a much improved alternative… (stretch your imagination!)

Maybe, as a great deal of accidents are Motorway situated, my theory could be to just make a tough test for people to pass prior to travelling on the motorways. That would mean people could still have access to cars for local travels, but keep the main motorways clearer… hey… it’s just some random thoughts here!

Yes, it is a dodgy theory with many holes in it, but it is just the bones of a discussion that other people might look at and carry on with….

Educate me – I want a future!

This weekend we are going to look over a private school for Alex. It’ll be for when he starts Junior school, so we have a bit of time to attempt to save some money… hopefully the Government will get bored of taking it away left, right and centre…

We decided that this would offer Alex the best start in life. A lot of people I talk to have said they would like to go back in time and try harder – after all, you spend less time at school than you do outside of school – and the harder you try during your education the better life should be for you when your older.

I’d like to go back and kick my own backside to try harder – I’m not saying state schools are no good, but a private school with smaller classes and more student/teacher interaction will help keep Alex focused. Looking back, I was disappointed by my education – I was a student who needed focus, and unfortunately I was just a number. There were teachers who selected their classes to make sure that their classes had good grades – and the quieter students tended to suffer (I was a quiet student).

So… I’ll do all I can to fund a private education for Alex. I hope we can give him this gift, as I feel he will benefit a great deal from it. He’s a child who needs a lot of attention, is very focused, and he’s into everything – I don’t want him to lose this interest and focus, and I feel that this is the way forward.

On a linked matter… does anyone want to buy a kidney? One careful owner. POA.

No cars, booze or bangsticks

This is one of my most visited pages – I’d love to hear some feedback as to why it is so popular – Thanks!

This day in history in 1919 saw America start prohibition.

Why on earth am I mentioning that then?

I was blindly surfing the net on my iPhone as I don’t have a great deal more that I can do at the moment (see earlier posts if you don’t know why!), and I found that the Volstead Act (Prohibition) came into being on this day in history…and it made me think.

I know a lot of Americans who are worried about the up and coming elections, and how it may well restrict their gun ownership. Many that I have talked to say that something as huge as banning all guns, or certain types of gun, just wouldn’t be possible – logistically it surely wouldn’t be possible – and anyway, it would upset far to many people and be far too difficult to enforce because too many people would oppose it.

A ban on alcohol over the entire United States. It may not have been hugely successful, but it was carried out, and stayed in force until 1933. Now I can’t help but think that banning guns is a darn site easier than banning a liquid that most people could make themselves (with a little knowledge and not much equipment). I would also think that more people enjoy a drink than own a gun – yet that mass of people couldn’t stand up to the Government of 1919… what chance is there against a Government with the technology and information of today?

So – Gun owning Americans, please don’t sit too comfortably on your freedoms, you’re not untouchable.

I’m all for the education of firearms, and not the all out banning. I shoot target rifle, and get really annoyed when the UK Government keep restricting use. They only do this to pander to the masses so they can win more votes. If anyone took a blind bit of interest they could see that firearms are not a serious threat – but peoples views on them are tainted.

Someone who wants a gun to commit a crime is not going to go through the health and Police security checks, the joining of registered government gun clubs, and the 3 to 6 months probation waiting period before they get a license.

They are not going to put Police approved security into their house and have the Police visit to ensure it is safe, and that the user has a valid reason to own the gun.

They are not going to go out and buy a firearm from a registered dealer who notifies the police so they know who the firearm is registered to.

They are also not going to put down a restriction on a license as to what firearms they can carry, and what the limit of ammunition is they are allowed to buy.

NO….. they’ll get a gun illegally and go out and commit a crime.

The trouble is, when one of these illegal gun owners go and shoot someone or hold up a shop, it is the legal gun owners… the ones who go through probation, back ground checks, Police interviews etc, that get further restricted…. and why? So that the Government can say they have reduced gun ownership in the UK…Yeah, great… you’ve reduced it from the ones that weren’t illegal.

This is like those idiots who steel cars and put YOUR insurance up!!! What have you done? Nothing!!! But the insurance companies can’t get money from some untaxed, unlicensed and uninsured idiot thief can they? No…. but they can get it from you.

The Government may as well ban all people who legally hold a drivers licence and have taxed and tested cars. Okay… it won’t stop those that are carrying out illegal driving in the first place, but who cares? Not the voters, because they’ll have seen that the government has reduced the amount of car drivers, regardless of the fact that the illegal drivers won’t care, and will still blitz around dangerously in stolen cars… and those illegals won’t lose their licenses because they didn’t even have one in the first place!!!

So you see, this won’t stop illegal road activity – thefts etc., but that’s how those in charge deal with firearms. They restrict the people they know legally own guns, because the legal gun owners are the only ones that the government know for sure have guns…

I blame statistics as well – or at least peoples misunderstanding of them – and the misuse of them. Statistics are warped and only reported in a way that works for the case in hand. It is the misuse of power by those in charge that scares me more than the very low gun crime in the UK (YES – it is low, don’t be mislead).

People need educating about firearms – In fact they need educating more on most things they vote about, because the group uninformed mentality of people is now starting to run the county – and not the educated vote of people who make considered opinions.

The Government seems to be in to win votes and to stay in power as long as the wave will carry them – even if that means making decisions that are not so great for the country, but WILL still keep them the vote. It’s like the X-Factor or Big Brother generation hold the future of the UK in its hands – and it is the political party with that X-Factor “Wow” that will win – and not so much the party with the countries best interest at heart.

Phew… that feels better.

Prohibition! Pah!!!

I need to get my back fixed so I can get out more…..