Safe Speed Forums

D'Oh! (I've just got in)

They just had the chap on BBC Midlands Today - piece didn't mention the ABD and the petitions back into overdrive...

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I won't slave for beggar's pay,
likewise gold and jewels,
but I would slave to learn the way
to sink your ship of fools

Just checked the BBC poll
http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastmidlandstoday/content/articles/2006/12/31/congestion_vote_feature.shtml

89% say no to conjestion charging!

The e-poll is over 266,000 now. And it still has over one month to go.

So whats the next milestone............half a million

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Speed camera policy Kills

worth reading, the ABD press statement

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

314,850
It went up by ~200 as I read ABD statment

now 314,887

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

I'm quite annoyed by the Times reporting



The petition both fair and valid in the request and the methods used to promote it. If viral marketing is good enough for most of the major companies nowadays then it is a perfectly acceptable method to promote what is, possibly intentionally by the government, a little known site and a worthwhile petition. As soon as I found out about the petition I posted it on my blog and various others as a comment.

The fact that the Times is denigrating a valid petition in an as yet immature method of contacting and thus engaging the government with the feeling of the people smacks of poor journalism. I wonder about Ben Webster's (the article's journalist) political inclinations and whether he drives a Prius.

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Prepare to be Judged

Currently: 328,522

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

telegraph Road-pricing scheme will cause more accidentsThe introduction of pay-as-you-drive road-pricing could lead to more accidents, according to research carried out on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Safety campaigners warned last night that the introduction of such a scheme could lead to a "transfer of risk", especially if drivers switch from motorways to minor roads to avoid paying premium prices.

There are also fears that discouraging driving during the rush hour could lead to more motorists travelling before dawn or after dusk – especially during the winter – to cut the cost of commuting.

The potential safety hazards of road-pricing were contained in evidence submitted to the Commons transport select committee by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (Pacts). It included a Transport Department feasibility study into road-pricing in 2004 that warned that rerouting could lead to more accidents.

It noted: "This is due to the increased number of vehicles using smaller roads not built for high demand, which could lead to higher accident rates."

Any pricing structure would have to minimise the incentives to reroute.

A study carried out by TRL, formerly the Government's Transport Research Laboratory, examined what would happen if a 2.5 pence a mile toll was introduced on Kent motorways. It found that about 10 per cent of traffic would be diverted to other roads. This, it noted, would lead to a 3.5 per cent increase in accidents.

Robert Gifford, the director of Pacts, said that the group was neutral over whether road-pricing should be introduced, but argued that more factors than easing congestion had to be taken into account.

"In making that decision, it will need to balance the need for a simple pricing system against the implications for transfer of risk," he said.

Duncan Vernon, the road safety officer for The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "The possibility of an increase in accidents is something that needs to be examined and one thing that could be considered is if safety could be integrated into the charging scheme to encourage drivers to use safer roads at safer times."

No 10 is committed to piloting road-pricing trials, which are expected to be in place by the end of the decade.

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

Oh look! A lifeboat.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Cynic? Moi?

It has just passed a third of a million

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Speed camera policy Kills

No it hasn't. Currently: 330,408 (which is less than 333,333.3)

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

It's okay, noone panic, they'll prevent accidents in the areas of displaced congestion with more speed cameras.

There won't be any displaced congestion, they'll just charge more for using country roads.
All these ideas have nothing to do with congestion, and nothing to do with pollution, but a lot to do with taxation, and more-than-a-little to do with inventing jobs for the luvvies.
I note that the times is part of news international, an organisation not renowmed for its democratic leanings.

Never mind a petition that you can join from your home, it is said that one million people turned out for the Countryside Alliance march against the foxhunting ban. A great success that protest, wasn't it.

You can report all the numbers you want voting on this but it won't make any difference. The purpose of these Number 10 on-line petitions is to make the masses feel better, not to affect policy by gauging public opinion.

"Cynic? Moi?"

Oh, yes.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

More accidents = more deaths = less people using the road = less congestion....?
Maybe their scheme will work.

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Andrew.

Ok OK.....it has now...



If it wasn't for "people power" we would still have the poll tax. And fuel would be more expensive.

At the very least it has got people thinking about the issue. Many of the people I have spoken to did not know anything about the proposed tax. It has (and will) bring it to the attention of the media. Most have been talking about it affecting the credibility of this critical Government policy.

There are 30 million motorists out there, most of them of voting age. There is at least one election between now and the proposed introduction.

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Speed camera policy Kills

This will all be quite interesting, because they do not have the public support. How many people that drive can get onto the internet? I really don't think the government can continue like this. The extra tax on flights,interest rate rises (what is it now 5.25% and set to go up)and countless other things costing more(gas/elec,etc). I believe their lies, sorry spin is beginning to unravel. People are going to get fed up of paying out.

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

They already are and whilst BBC R4 toes the line.. R2 reflects the true feelings.

Hoodwinked on NHS delivering..

Hoodwinked on education when latest stats reveal what we've always known .. that these kids cannot add up simple sums or spell anything of more than one syllable. (each year's medical students who are assigned to me on practicals here.. is all I can say here )

Hoodwinked on law and order. As with medicine and teaching . the "increased staff" is not of the calibre or training required and all they can do is assist - usually not to my standard

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at the risk of thread diversion (and before I do that, I'll add that I added my name to the petition 200,000 names or so ago) I have heard it reported that the poll tax was actually extended by the public protests - it was a costly tax to operate and would have been scrapped sooner, but the government would not be seen as pandering to the protests so propped it up for longer than it would have had otherwise.

People Power? Not always a good idea.



On Radio 4 earlier tonight there was a report with soundbites and protests about the rates system that was scrapped to bring in community charge. Seems that the only thing that would make people happy would be to pay nothing.



it isn't quite so cut and dried - post "Gilligan" the today program sometimes seems to hold back a bit where it used to go for the jugular, but I still would not accuse messrs Humpries, Naughtie et al of toeing the line.

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

Currently 345,410

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/

If each one of the signers was in a 15 foot ordinary car, bumper to bumper, 352,000 would mean an unbroken 1,000 mile traffic jam.

352,000*15 / 5,280 = 1,000

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety