UK Yaks sign a petition to stop new road taxes

[Guest]

[Morningangel-Iola]

[Roz]

I'd seriously consider a move to somewhere else if British levels of lunacy reach new heights like this. Thanks for the reminder Dawn.

[Sharon]

Have a look to see if you can find the petition to change the National Anthem to Gold by Spandau Ballet 

But seriously I am so cross about this  .  On the news last night MP's were fuming that so many people hand signed up.  How dare the general public voice an opinion in a democracy!  We elected them to do our bidding and they started the petition web site 

[Roz]

Yes, we do need to cut down car use, all the nations represented on this board need to do that... but I really don't think this is the best way to go about it. Besides, if you don't mind an exploding car, BMW have a hydrogen powered one already....(the only emmission is water vapour! You do need electricity to produce hydrogen so you could say that you are just moving the point of pollution, but we all know that we can make clean energy if we put our minds to it!)... just don't store it in a confined area like a garage as it's likely to blow up (I'm not sure that the tech for that is quite ready to go ).

[De Orc]

I know lets take there goverment cars away, stop them going overseas on useless trips.  That might help cut down on Carbon emmisions and if they shut up for a while       If next time I go off to Brazil I offer to plant a few new trees do you think that they might waiver the extra tax, like hell  talk about a bunch of parasitic 

De Orc 

[Roz]

Ooooooooooh I love a bit of controversy

I will offset all my holidays etc. but at the moment I'm not sure that I trust the off-setting companies, one's run by BP

[Geek Boy]

Well if the proposed additional tax for SUV owners goes through, I will go and live somewhere else.  It would be nothing short of discrimination.  There are thousands of cars on the roads everyday of the week belching out fumes but with only one person sat in them.  When will this shoddy, money grabbing Government of ours actually sit down and ask why people won't take the bus or the train or car share?  And do you think the extra revenue generated will actually go towards improving public services?  Of course it won't.  Actually, a "pay as you go" scheme would suit me because I don't travel at peak times or on the busiest routes - so long as they abolish road tax in all it's guises.  It still isn't fair to those who do have to travel at peak periods and that's why I signed the petition.

I don't know what this country is coming too.  We now have road signs in Polish....

http://www.24dash.com/localgovernment/16619.htm

The problem is not the cars we drive but the unecessary journeys we make in them.  My neighbours have 3 kids and it takes 3 trips to get them to school every morning because they all go to different places.  But the eldest could easily walk to the pick up point for his coach (20 minutes max) and the other two could get the bus.  But instead, mummy goes out and back on 3 round trips of 10 minutes apiece and she does the same thing in the afternoon when school is over.  But during the day she will go to the gym and back, coffee morning and back, shopping and back.  Not to mention taking the kids to ballet, horse riding, judo, football, swimming etc.  I would lay odds that the total weekly CO2 output from my 4x4 is significantly less than the total output from her Golf because I only go out in it when I have to.  We have a secondary school about 10 minutes walk from us and believe it or not, some kids who live on our estate actually get a lift to the school in the morning and sometimes a lift home as well.  Pathetic.

When I was a kid I walked 20 minutes up the road and caught a bus to school.  Same again in the evening.  If I got a lift it was a treat but very much a case of "I'm leaving at 8am, if you are ready I will take you 3/4 of the way.  If you are not ready, I'm leaving without you and you will have to get the bus".  And if I went in to town to meet friends, it was a case of taking the bus or train.  Non of this molly coddling, wrap them in cotton wool nonsense we have today.  Tony Blair is forever going on about how we need to get healthier (particularly kids) but how many people actually walk or cycle into town to get a pint of milk?  Most take the car.  Lazy and unecessary.

And if you think about it, there are comparatively few cars on the road that produce in excess of 250grms CO2 so I fail to see how the additional revenue from the proposed additional tax can actually be of any benefit to the Governments already bulging coffers.

Rant over. 

[Morningangel-Iola]

We have a secondary school about 10 minutes walk from us and believe it or not, some kids who live on our estate actually get a lift to the school in the morning and sometimes a lift home as well.  Pathetic.

We have a junior school just down the road from where I live and I saw one kid being dropped off and then mummy just pulled back into the estate again how lazy are they. I'll tell you I once saw a man with his car on the pavement so he didn't have to get out of the car to post a letter, also someone go in one shop along a little parade get in his car and then pull up two shops later

[De Orc]

LOL I dont even drive but I am totaly peed off with the way this mob treat us, it's tax this tax that and nothing but.

De Orc 

[Sharon]

I totally agree with you Geek Boy.  The taxes that are being levied for parking, road tax etc are far less to do with saving the environment and more to do with raising money.

I strongly believe the two main reasons people won't use public transport in London are the cost and the lack of security.  Last week in Romford two buses had people mugged at knife point on the top deck - one is the route that I use and one a colleague from work.  This was not late at night but at approximately 4 pm.  And low and behold the CCTV cameras just happened to be out of order on both buses, what a coincidence.

As for the cost, well I could rant all day about that.  Since the late 1980's the cost of fares in London has risen by more than 40% whilst the cost of road travel has stayed pretty much the same, according to last nights news bulletin.

I don't have a car but from a selfish point of view I just don't want more car users on public transport.  Yes the roads will be clearer and the buses will go faster but since they are already full to capacity at rush hour it will just mean even more buses I can't get on.  It is bad enough with all the kids (actually anyone under 18) not having to pay - they now jump on for one stop or use the bus to hold social events.  If the driver throws them off they just get the next one.

OK that is my rant over  .  I would urge all Brits to look at the other petitions on the site.  Some are a bit silly but others are very good.  I read lots of them and the ones I would have signed if I was approached in the street, I went for.  One I am sure lots of people would sign is the total ban on selling fireworks to the general public - leave them to the licenced professionals I say.

[Morningangel-Iola]

I hate to bring this up, but there was one on there petitioning for the dropping of the Dartford crossing toll, it had closed and had an answer. That they weren't going to do it because it'll just make the roads conjested. Hello they roads would be a lot better if they didn't have to stop and pay

By the way for those that don't know, we were promised that the toll would be dropped once the bridge was paid for which it has been many times over. And guess what, now they are threatening to put the toll UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Roz]

*Makes Mental Note not to have Fireworks when Sharon comes to tea... I have some sparklers in my kitchen... maybe I should rush out immediately and light them and thus rid the world of them )*

Last week in Romford two buses had people mugged at knife point on the top deck - one is the route that I use and one a colleague from work.

Too true, I was almost killed on a bus between Knightsbridge and Picadilly last Thursday, but that was more to do with a policeman giving a signal for the bus driver to stop without enough notice, and the bus being overcrowded (I was standing by the front door of the bus, where it explicitly states that I shouldn't stand ) but thankfully everyone made it safely to Green Park

[Geek Boy]

I strongly believe the two main reasons people won't use public transport in London are the cost and the lack of security.  Last week in Romford two buses had people mugged at knife point on the top deck - one is the route that I use and one a colleague from work.  This was not late at night but at approximately 4 pm.  And low and behold the CCTV cameras just happened to be out of order on both buses, what a coincidence.

Well I can't speak for the cost because it's a long time since I went on a bus but I fully agree with the security aspect.  20 Years ago I had no problem getting a bus late at night but I wouldn't consider it now.  I used to get the Metrolink into Manchester at one time but I witnessed 4 incidents during daylight hours that put a serious dent in any feelings of safety I might have had.  On one occasion, a chap punched a female guard and then tried to kick down the door to get at the driver because they wouldn't let him get on the tram.  He had jumped the ticket gate but there's really no excuse for that kind of behaviour.  Buses now have a screen between the driver and the passengers to protect the driver from unwarranted attacks.  That just wasn't an issue when I was younger.  Where did it all go wrong?

[Sharon]

Buses now have a screen between the driver and the passengers to protect the driver from unwarranted attacks

Oh dear you just hit another nerve with me  .  The drivers have a screen to protect them but what do we poor passengers have  .  One bus I get stops outside of a pub at night and regularly picks up drunks.  I am not talking about late at night, this is about 6pm.  They are all older men (60+) who have been in the pub all afternoon getting plastered.  The driver never stops them getting on and on one occasion allowed one to be carried on the bus and then left a woman to hold him on the seat.  These are not isolated incidents, they happen weekly. 

I have written many letters to Red Ken about the problems I face everyday travelling in London on his transport.  This may surprise some Shackers as I am so quiet and not the least bit outspoken - not   .  But even I am at the end of my tether now.  It is like banging your head against a brick wall.

As for the Dartford Crossing  .  Last year they made a profit (after all road repairs) of £48 million and as Dawn says they want to raise the toll. 

I say confiscate all fireworks from peoples kitchens and head for Parliament.  Oh, wait, that didn't go too well last time though 

[Roz]

No no, not well at all, we should certainly try to add in some originality to your otherwise excellent plot Sharon

When I hit the M25 from my little home town heading towards my parents it's pretty much equidistant to go anticlockwise rather than clockwise, so I tend to avoid the Dartford tunnel, as it might be a little further that way too (there's not much in it). It's a magnificent bridge and I do always enjoy going over it, but when it's a fact of life/everyday occurrence I'm sure you couldn't care less what it looks like and just want to get over the bridge pronto (I'm just a Tourist ), so I'm not helping here

What horrid experiences you describe on the bus Sharon... are you sure you weren't passing the old Horn of Plenty? Oh no, silly me, all that lot would be getting in Rolls Royces with blacked out windows and shooting away any policemen who had the audacity to stop them for drunk driving

[Sharon]

are you sure you weren't passing the old Horn of Plenty? Oh no, silly me, all that lot would be getting in Rolls Royces with blacked out windows and shooting away any policemen who had the audacity to stop them for drunk driving

I think you are a little too close to the truth there!

The Queen Elizabeth Bridge is gorgeous but it is paid for!!!  Take away the toll booths and you take away the traffic congestion.  I was on the M25 on Sunday, going to Watford.  We calculated that if the new charging system was in force the round trip would have cost approx £150 in road tolls.  Now that just isn't funny, or affordable 

[Morningangel-Iola]

You wouldn't buy a car on three years credit and then be expected to continue paying after the three years would you

Apparently the QEII bridge is two miles long and the closet Thames bridge to the sea. Still doesn't want you to keep putting your hand in your pocket,

[Roz]

Sorry Sharon, but that just can't be right... on a Sunday, £150? Seriously?

It's insanity. Sure we need to think of ways to reduce congestion and our CO2 output, and I'm pretty much as hippy/green/save the planet as it gets, but this smacks of blatent profiteering.

I wonder if I'll ever own a car... if this goes ahead, probably not.

[Morningangel-Iola]

It might make more sense without road tax, but I really can't see them stopping that. But as mum has pointed out when you get it taxed is also when they check you have insurence.

I don't drive either. But it will still effect us I am sure.

[gimli]

Well I received my email from tony