Safe Speed Forums

During the crisis in London I remember there were calls from Transport-for-London for car drivers to help get stranded passengers out of the capital. I bet they never cancelled the conjestion charge for the day though.....

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Speed camera policy Kills

What uninformed rot! Due to a number of causes - and buses are so poorly maintained that they pollute far more than a whole motorway rush hour jam of cars - most of which re modern with much lower CO2 emissions.

Have a long list of modern day items which trig an asthma attack - and household cleaning agents and strong women's perfuimes are far more dangerous.

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If you want to get to heaven - you have to raise a little hell!

Smilies are contagious
They are just like the flu
We use our smilies on YOU today
Now Good Causes are smiling too!

KEEP SMILING
It makes folk wonder just what you REALLY got up to last night!

Smily to penny.. penny to pound
safespeed prospers-smiles all round! !
But the real message? SMILE.. GO ON ! DO IT! and the world will smile with you!
Enjoy life! You only have the one bite at it.

I think they did cancel the congestion charge for the day on 7/7, just saying this from memory, so I could be wrong.

Though somehow I don't think Wildy needs any more sparks to get her fur flying

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If you want to get to heaven - you have to raise a little hell!

Smilies are contagious
They are just like the flu
We use our smilies on YOU today
Now Good Causes are smiling too!

KEEP SMILING
It makes folk wonder just what you REALLY got up to last night!

Smily to penny.. penny to pound
safespeed prospers-smiles all round! !
But the real message? SMILE.. GO ON ! DO IT! and the world will smile with you!
Enjoy life! You only have the one bite at it.

Take it you've met our Persian then! Dogs are subservient to it - scary sight if in a strop - almost like my wife ... - she with the steely eyed glint ...

_________________
If you want to get to heaven - you have to raise a little hell!

Smilies are contagious
They are just like the flu
We use our smilies on YOU today
Now Good Causes are smiling too!

KEEP SMILING
It makes folk wonder just what you REALLY got up to last night!

Smily to penny.. penny to pound
safespeed prospers-smiles all round! !
But the real message? SMILE.. GO ON ! DO IT! and the world will smile with you!
Enjoy life! You only have the one bite at it.

I would say that the comparison still holds good though, on the grounds that if you have a need to carry 7 passengers you will make a point of equipping yourself with one of the minority vehicles that does carry 7.

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CSCP Latin for beginners...
Ticketo ergo sum : I scam therefore I am!

Yes - can certainly confirm the smoke and oil!

Bus fares are expensive and defineitley cheaper for me to transport the "litter" by car - and we do use both cars as well - cheaper.

Mentioned the fee for the school bus alone. When you have six of school age - it's an outlay. William (our eldest) has been in charge of the school run this year - and it's back to bus or a drop off next year until the twins strat driving anyway.

Buses get a subsidy still - but this, as I understand, is to subsidise pensioner passes.

_________________
If you want to get to heaven - you have to raise a little hell!

Smilies are contagious
They are just like the flu
We use our smilies on YOU today
Now Good Causes are smiling too!

KEEP SMILING
It makes folk wonder just what you REALLY got up to last night!

Smily to penny.. penny to pound
safespeed prospers-smiles all round! !
But the real message? SMILE.. GO ON ! DO IT! and the world will smile with you!
Enjoy life! You only have the one bite at it.

I miss my Renault Espace!
Polycarbonate body - lightweight and no rust, TRUE SEVEN SEATS, which can be removed, not folded flat so you can use it as a van, LAODS of cabin space, and compartments (800 fags in each door pocket when returning from Continental holidays!), great turning circle and vision, and only a few inches longer than an Escort estate, and not as high as a Discovery.
Mine was a 2.0 litre Diesel, L regd and used to turn in 38 mpg even when dashing across France at 90 mph.
I wish I had another one!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

I've received a (disappointing) reply from the ASA. I'll scan/copy it up when i can, hopefully soon.

Ahh, but they did get a thourough overall, fitting new low-emmision Iveco engines as well as new gearboxes. But thats the bizarre thing, some of them didn't finish being refurbed till well into 2004, yet they are all being withdrawn. What a great waste of money. Getting rid of the Routemasters was a stupid decision in my opinion.

They're getting rid of Routemasters? WTH for? I know it was talked about some years ago on safety grounds... some bureautwats worrying about the lack of a door letting bodies fly out of them on roundabouts I heard. But in the end the (very sensible I felt) thinking was (a) Routemasters are part of London's appeal and tourists expect to see 'em, and (b) don't fall out. I'm no bus fanatic but I'd be sad to see Routemasters go. To me they're part of what makes London look like London. And even though it's normally a pretty bloody awful way of getting around at least they've got a solitary redeeming feature of looking good. Getting rid of them is like recladding the Natural History Museum in modern bricks because, you know, it's looking a little bit Victorian like that. Or knocking down St Pauls because a nice new concrete cathedral would match the area better now than that shabby old Wren effort and be less hassle to maintain. Only in this country can TPTB behave like this. Can you imagine the uproar if the people who run Venice said they were going to get rid of all the gondolas and replace them with fidbreglass jobs with outboards. The Venetians would take 'em out and chuck them in the nearest canal.

Sorry for the off topic rant, but this seems like yet another thing destined to make this country just that little more bland and depressing.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

Can't agree with you more Gatsobait! The last I heard was that the few remaining routes operated by Routemasters were due to be run with new bendy buses by October of this year, with one route surviving until December. It probably won't be the end completly however as a couple of heritage routes will be set up, but will probably be short and expensive.

It's a mystery why they had to go. Originally they were argued to be too polluting, so they kitted many out with new (modern)engines and transmissions. They also re-furbed all the interiors. Now they say they have to go because they don't have disabled access. Now don't get me wrong, I fully support better disabled access but there was no reason why the Routemasters couldn't supplement modern buses.

Despite how it may seem I'm not a bus enthusiast either, but on hearing the news of their demise I did a bit of digging around as I wanted to find out why. Afterall these buses work! They are excellent at getting people on and off quickly in the confines of the city, probably the best bus for cities EVER built. And as you rightly say Gatso, a good looking one at that. It's a shame, a big shame.

Why do we have to rip up something that works just becuase it's old? Nothing has come close to replacing it. Is this progress?

They did suspend the congestion charge on July 7.

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“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.” - H. L. Mencken

please find below the text of the letter from the ASA.

"Thank you for your recent complaint, submitted via our online form.

I understand that you regarded the advertisement as misleading because you thought it implied cars can cause asthma, and because busses emit more fine particulates than cars and are therefore worse polluters. However, we are unable to pursue the matter as it is unlikely that the advertisers have breached our Code.

We considered that the majority of viewers would have a basic knowledge of the issues surrounding respiratory problems and pollution. In our opinion, the advertisement did not claim that claim that vehicle emissions cause asthma; rather, the claim “just ask a child with asthma” would be interpreted to mean that pollution from cars could exacerbate the symptoms. We understand that there is a body of evidence available to demonstrate that.

The advertisement was promoting the use of public transport, encouraging readers to travel by bus instead of car. In this instance, the advertisers were persuading car drivers to choose an alternative form of transport with the headline “Don’t block it – bus it”. In reducing the number of cars on the road, exhaust emissions from and vehicle congestion would also be reduced. The pollution from one bus would be lower than that emitted from, potentially, 70 or so cars (regardless of whether busses emit more particulates on average).

I realise this outcome will disappoint you, but thank you for taking the time to lodge your complaint with us.

Our website, www.asa.org.uk contains information about the ASA and the work we do, including the results of our investigations into other recent complaints."

Disappointing yes, but mainly for repeating the utter cobblers about busses (sic) replacing 70 cars..

Obviously it's not what you know, it's who you know.

The ASA website has numerous examples of complaints being upheld on the most absurd technicalities. But as long as you say something in line with government dogma in your ad, even blatant lies are ok.

Obviously it's not what you know, it's who pays you....

I had always assumed catalysers were a good thing. This site is educational as well as entertaining.