Safe Speed Forums

It bugs me how things are trotted out as "the solution". Trains are a great solution to certain problems (like last week I needed to be in London for 3 days but could only be away from home for one night ... train there and back on Tuesday, train back Wedensday morning, home on Thursday night). Bicycles are the solution for other types of journey, but not all. Bikes on Trains, again, suitable for another type of journey. Buses, cars, taxis, walking, the Underground, trams, DLR (LRT), small panes, big planes, river taxis. They are all good for something, but unless they are seen as part of a bigger whole, they are doomed to failure and possibly even ridicule.

In my very humble opinion.

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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.

Car club schemes pop up fairly regularly as feature articles in the newspapers etc - not sure any have REALLY taken off as yet. We live in suburban London and there are times it would be useful to have access to a second car; but doubt the population density is high enough round us.

There are huge issues around responsibility for filling with fuel, who moves cars to where they're needed - it's the classic pool car problem, no one owns it so no one takes care of it.

Far better, surely, to find ways to encourage people to voluntarily share cars - like, for example, moving AWAY from standard 'insured and spouse' car insurance, so you could at least let other people borrow your car when appropriate.

We have ended up with a Volvo estate for the seven seat possibility, and while we have used this regularly at times, we don't need the third row of seats most of the time. I'd love to run something smaller day to day and have access to a people carrier occasionally; but it doesn't work like that. Equally, we'd love to go off on the odd weekend in a sports car... but again, that's not how it works.

This is where tighter knit communities might help, I suppose; but the government want to know exactly who's in which car at which time so they can send the speeding bills through, which kind of mitigates against free-and-easy car sharing.

Ian

If people don't look after pool cars then why on Earth would anyone in the right mind want to get involved in sharing their own property with these same people?

It seems like exactly the same thing, only that I as the individual get the rewards of other people's lack of care.

Regardless of insurance, I wouldn't lend my car to anyone who doesn't get to borrow it already (i.e. immediate family and very best friends - although the latter rarely if ever ask).

There's absolutely no way I'd send some shopping trolley driver off in my new RWD sports car for the weekend. I have enough trouble respecting my own property enough to keep it in A1 condition - I certainly wouldn't trust anyone else to look after it, or even know how to operate it correctly.



If for no other reason, every single driver I know has at least one bad habit which I loath in drivers, whether it's wiping windows with their hands to sitting on clutches at junctions etc. I'm sure I have plenty habits myself but the difference is if I break my car I can only blame myself.

I really can't see car sharing taking off, no matter how much the greenies think I should hand the keys to my most valuable possession besides my house over to someone else.


There are already schemes whereby Joe Bloggs can get the car he wants for a one-off - their business is hire cars.

You give them money, they let you have a car.

The costs are high because of the inherent short lifespan of these cars and that it is increasingly difficult to ensure any standard of cosmetic condition and mechanical reliability of vehicles which get such severe abuse.

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