The Motorist ranks are divided by news that the suckers who pay for insurance are subsidising, to the tune of £50 per driver per year, the 2 million who don’t bother to get insured on account of the fact that they’ll almost certainly get away with it, and even if they don’t, the worst they’ll get is a slap on the wrist. But the AA, always quick to spot an unfair attempt to blame the poor hard done by Motorist, has found that the high cost of insurance is not the fault of people driving uninsured, but of those who are killed or injured by drivers and who subsequently exaggerate the seriousness of their deaths and injuries so that they can over-claim.
And the Institute of Advanced Motorists, who must surely be anti-Motorist impostors, are even claiming that 70% of drivers are in favour of safety cameras. It’s almost as if they’re suggesting that Tory newspapers have invented the War On The Motorist, and that in fact most drivers do not think that speeding is acceptable behaviour. Everyone already knew that the IAM were imposters. But what’s this? The AA signing a letter in favour of speed cameras? What has happened to the great institutions of Motorism?
Luckily, Motorists can unite against local councils who want to tax people for parking at work. It’s just another stealth tax on the working man. A War On The…, well, you know the rest. Meanwhile, in Brent, Motorists are being bribed to give up their residents’ parking permits, with vouchers for bikes, season tickets and car clubs on offer.
Luckily, Super Philip Hammond to the rescue: central government might step in again and veto these anti-Motorist councils and their parking taxes. And more importantly, Hammond has saved the pub industry, by agreeing that preventing drink driving would be bad for business, and is therefore unacceptable.
Cycling England, the quango administering Bikeability training courses and Cycling Cities looks likely to be cut. What does anyone need Bikeability training for anyway, when we have PCSOs to teach people how to cycle safely and courteously — as they have with the 84 year old pavement cycling war veteran. Police around the country are cracking down on the menace of anti-social cycling.
Manufacturer of 200mph car is baffled as to why they keep crashing.
This week, it rained. The tube got a bit damp and stopped working. And the first monthly tube strike is coming up in two weeks, as TfL proceed with plans to close ticket offices, arguing that modern technology has made many redundant. Depot staff are also walking out over the coming months.
Every time is peak time on the railway now: rush hour has been redefined, so that train companies can charge more for longer.
TfL are having to manage the daily problem of Hire Bikes piling up around Waterloo in the evening.
Metal railings have collided with a bus in Picadilly Circus, injuring one. This presumably makes things easier for the proposed Picadilly Circus remodelling, which will remove the remaining railings.
Stoned pop singer drives Range Rover into Snappy Snaps; not allowed to drive for six months.
And finally, Londonist has the architects’ pictures of the new Blackfriars Station: all pedestrians are expected to be ghosts by the time it opens.
