Safe Speed Forums

Listen. Listen.

Can you hear the advocates of public transport extolling its virtues during this period when air and rail strikes are likely?

Thought not.

Roads don't go on strike. Build more instead of a daft high speed railway.

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

They don't need to. Road traffic is quite capable of bringing itself to a complete standstill without the help of Trades Union. And often does so without the several days (or months) warning you get with rail or air.

Why, since Xmas, has anyone bought a ticket with BA in the full knowledge that a strike was impending?

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

Actually, what organisations could bring the road network to a halt simply by not working?

The tanker drivers. Anyone else?

Drivers are given plenty of real-time warnings via: radio reports, matrix signs and GPS add-ons (as well as the normal traffic patterns).
At least with roads one can divert.


Because they didn't know if/exactly when it was going to happen and what routes it will affect, or just didn't know about it at all?

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

Real time but not days in advance.


Not if you are stuck in statioanary traffic on a Motorway.


All good reasons for choosing an alternative carrier.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

What about roadworks?
Also, folks not yet caught up in that jam can divert in advance, which is a bit more difficult with trains.


This is true, but the same goes with trains, and any other train that will have arrived there.


Including the folks who didn't know if it was going to happen?

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

They are called bank holidays and the date is known well in advance

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Driving fast is for a particular time and place, I can do it I just only do it occasionally because I am a gentleman.
- James May

Oh Yes!

Back like in the 70's!

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"The road to a police state is paved with public safety legislation"

Can't speak for the air line industry , but the rail one smacks of management sabre rattling . Oh- -it looks great from the outside - but then again - in the rail industry we have two unions -TESSA and RMT , TESSA have a history of non confrontation ,and the realtionship between the two has always been fragile -and all of a sudden ,bith groups stand firm -question is why .A lot of the arguements are over working practices - and ones on safety . A maintanence team is asked to go locate a fault on a live railway -with traffic at 125 MPH .One man is tasked with the safety of that workgroup .But now management want to tell him how many staff he can have to do the job and also protect his party . OH- one other thing - if he gets it weong ,because his protecting force is too small ( because someone upstairs decided it should be ) and he's forced to go out -someone could get killed -that's manslaughter - but the bloke designing and upholding the safe system gets no extra pay for that job .And he refuses to go -
At night,he's no choicebut to askfor signal protection ( all signals set to stop) ,and rely on signalbox staff keeping them at danger - been there ,got the T shirt ( and the brown pants) -but if his staff stray colose to the other track - trains don't stop to call out the RAC when a headlamp fails -they carry on -so train spotting comes down to hearing .

Last year I was made redundant .I won't say that Network rail had deciede that those firms with permanant staff were too dear ,but we weer told that no contracts were forthcoming ,but we noticed that thaos firms with staff on call got work .Now i could join them .But they arrive on site ,then their paytime starts -perhaps for twelve hours ,then they drive home .Safety critical staff ( those working on track) are limited to twelve hours on track ,but there's no check on their total working day .They book on with NR at start of shift ,book off and that's their working hours -not the time back to home .So that's waht NT want to introduce .I wouldn't do it -it meansworking approx 15 hour days , and before long asomeone os going to get hurt or what RMT/TESSA fear - another accident caused by a return to the lack of safety of years gone by -by tiredness .
Safety critical staff - thaos in charge of safety / those doing technical work -like repairing /testing signals /signalling equipment are limited to seventy two hours per week ,with a maximum of thirteen days in any fourteen - ny excess brings on extra days off - IMHO -that's the maximum - I've done the maximum - and had to have a rest ,before I started to make mistakes -simple things -one bloke I know ended up in a ditch on his way home -he fell asleep at the wheel .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Botach, when I here Bob Crow bleating on about some thing or another I normally want to slap him about the cockerny face. I find him quite objectionable, but when you explain it like that, it seems the RTM might have a point.

I think Bob Crow has actually done the workers some harm especially with LUL by dressing up non safety issues with a 'safety tag', but as Botach says when a union who trys to work with management teams up with a very confrontational union about a specific issue it's time to sit up and take note!

But, the issue at hand is a very real safety issue and since the time of BR's passing safet is taking a back seat more and more to profits- dangerously so (whilst BR had it's own problems, it's safety record was enviable and we had people coming from al over the world to learn and take home safety practices for thier rail networks - Hang on doesn't that sound like Hendon and driving ???).

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Gordon Brown saying I got the country into it's current economic mess so I'll get us out of it is the same as Bomber Harris nipping over to Dresden and offering to repair a few windows.

Chaos, panic and disorder - my work here is done.

http://www.wildcrafts.co.uk

Adam , don't take my word - look at how many employees solid employers like Jarvis/Balfour / Carrillion shed last year -reason - no contracts .They couldn't afford to keep staff on with no income .( Solid employers had a hub of permanent employees with a wage each week,though employees were encouraged to turn out at weekends and muck in ).Now it's strange that those firms supplying sub contractors still thrive .The solid employers had safety regulations to observe ,like maximum hours - like the subbies ,but whereas the solid firms had to adhere to office to office hours ,the subbies are only paid ( and for safety regs ) for the time on track .Reason ,-job/contract costs .But before long , as RMT/TESSA point out - a serious accident will occur ,due to tiredness /cost .Google Teebay and see the results of cost cutting .And when NR & HMG start shouting about car drivers causing accidents through too many hours at the wheel - remember to ask how many hours the person in charge of confirming that a section of track was fit for 125mph had worked that day ,or in the last week .Or how many hours rest ( from his last turn of duty) the tester in charge of reconnection of a major signalling project had had ( or his total on duty hours ) .
That's where we're heading - and unlike your tractor - the blokes on track have no auto pilot .If you took your tractor into a repair/maintenance depot ,you'd expect that the job would be done safely - another grouse-they want less staff than deemed safe to do the job.
The thing that adds substance to the whole argument is that TESSA - A STAFF UNION ,unknown for taking action , is behind RMT .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Those organisations who govern speed enforcement and lower speed limits. I reckon they could bring the road network to a complete halt within a month if they wanted.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

They can also:
add more traffic lights that use timers instead of realtime traffic detection
change the timing of the ones already in place to alter traffic patterns
use other traffic control devices to alter driver behavior and artificially increase competitive demands on the road network

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The Rules for ALL ROAD USERS:
1) No one gets hurt
2) Nothing gets hit, except to protect others; see Rule#1
3) The Laws of Physics are invincible and immutable - so-called 'laws' of men are not
4) You are always immediately and ultimately responsible for your safety first, then proximately responsible for everyone's
Do not let other road users' mistakes become yours, nor yours become others
5) The rest, including laws of the land, is thoughtful observation, prescience, etiquette, decorum, and cooperation