"Motorists have ruined England"
Discussion
el stovey said:
Oakey said:
Right, because he really wants to be Sweaty McSweatballs when he arrives at his destination
You could cycle slowly? Not every bike journey results in you being sweaty, unless you are really fat and unfit. Triumph Man said:
el stovey said:
Oakey said:
Right, because he really wants to be Sweaty McSweatballs when he arrives at his destination
You could cycle slowly? Not every bike journey results in you being sweaty, unless you are really fat and unfit. 
paranoid airbag said:
Equally, it sickens me that I'm expected to use a tonne of steel that I'm really not that good at controlling, clogging up the roads as I go, just to protect myself from other people doing likewise, or at least to dress up like the unholy union of an underground worker and a yoga teacher, because if you don't it's your fault, not, you know, the fault of idiots who should never have been given a license. I don't carry armour and a sword around anymore, I shouldn't have to do the equivalent on the roads. That a "civilised" nation stands for that is pretty depressing.
Riiiiight, so you aren't very good at controlling your own car yet chastise others who shouldn't have been given a licence in the first place... Sounds like you shouldn't have one either.To get to work for 6am by public transport I would have to leave home at 10pm the day before.
To get there for my night shifts starting at 6pm it would take 4 hours.
And to get there for 6am on a Sunday morning? Impossible. My drive by car takes 2 and a half hours. If I can't drive there I can't work there. Road charging would price me out of work. Getting to London by public transport from where I live is easy, anywhere else is very hard and expensive and time consuming. It is cheaper to drive than it is to take public transport, which is another problem.
The writer is a narrow minded London centric idiot and articles like that need to stopped from going to press.
Dog Star said:
Jesus! What a crock of s
t that article is! London London LONDON!!!! fk OFFFFFFFFFF! I don't live in London!
Cyclists "make no imposition" on other road users?!? What the actual fk?!? Apart from having acres of road space turned over to their self righteous selves, *holding up traffic endlessly and then pushing back in front again at every set of lights and holding everyone up again* - fk OFFFFFFF!
Riiiiiight, you're one of the "cyclists hold up traffic morons". Riddle me this Einstein... When I used to have an 18 mile commute it would take:t that article is! London London LONDON!!!! fk OFFFFFFFFFF! I don't live in London! Cyclists "make no imposition" on other road users?!? What the actual f
k?!? Apart from having acres of road space turned over to their self righteous selves, *holding up traffic endlessly and then pushing back in front again at every set of lights and holding everyone up again* - fk OFFFFFFF!1. 1hr on a bike, including stopping at all the traffic lights.
2. 2hrs in a car.
Please explain to me how journey style 1 could possibly in any way be responsible for the time taken for journey style 2?
Please?
BMWBen said:
Riiiiiight, you're one of the "cyclists hold up traffic morons". Riddle me this Einstein... When I used to have an 18 mile commute it would take:
1. 1hr on a bike, including stopping at all the traffic lights.
2. 2hrs in a car.
Please explain to me how journey style 1 could possibly in any way be responsible for the time taken for journey style 2?
Please?
Lets be honest though, when I live in London for a year not all that many cyclists did this. I lost count of the amount of cyclists who didn't adhere to the highway code and who would nearly run me over when I was crossing the road at designated crossings and green walk signs.1. 1hr on a bike, including stopping at all the traffic lights.
2. 2hrs in a car.
Please explain to me how journey style 1 could possibly in any way be responsible for the time taken for journey style 2?
Please?
While that wouldn't increase journey time for a motorist, it is very annoying as a pedestrian.
I find a lot of PHer's get a bit "NRA" when anyone mentions alternative to their cars, "From my cold dead hands" etc, I think a lot of the problem is a lack of imagination, ok, travelling 50 miles with three other people and luggage will involve a car more than likely, but not every journey needs a car, on some it is actually a disadvantage.
We have evolved society to rely on them, and that is fine, they aren't going anywhere anytime soon but try top use the right tool for the job in hand, I see my neighbours drive tiny distances and get stressed when they cant park, saw one picking her kids up from Brownies, drove 200 yards and couldnt stop due to others picking up and had to drive round twice before she could stop, if she had walked it would have been so much easier.
And what is wrong with a bit of sweat ? if you are clean and are wearing deodorant you don't end up stinking, I cycle to work and we are lucky to have showers but if they have been out of action, I have a shower before I go and keep the speed down. We have become a nation of grumpy, selfish air conditioned blobs sat in our little cocoons, terrified of perspiration or precipitation. Try riding a bike, a few times, not just once and realise how much enjoyment it can bring, you think you are happy in your car and will be miserable on a bike, it just doesnt work like that, can be abject misery in either or unbounded joy, the exercise endorphin kick after a good ride in sets me up for the day, then the proper, old school hunger kicks in, it feels real, makes me feel like when I was a kid again.
We have evolved society to rely on them, and that is fine, they aren't going anywhere anytime soon but try top use the right tool for the job in hand, I see my neighbours drive tiny distances and get stressed when they cant park, saw one picking her kids up from Brownies, drove 200 yards and couldnt stop due to others picking up and had to drive round twice before she could stop, if she had walked it would have been so much easier.
And what is wrong with a bit of sweat ? if you are clean and are wearing deodorant you don't end up stinking, I cycle to work and we are lucky to have showers but if they have been out of action, I have a shower before I go and keep the speed down. We have become a nation of grumpy, selfish air conditioned blobs sat in our little cocoons, terrified of perspiration or precipitation. Try riding a bike, a few times, not just once and realise how much enjoyment it can bring, you think you are happy in your car and will be miserable on a bike, it just doesnt work like that, can be abject misery in either or unbounded joy, the exercise endorphin kick after a good ride in sets me up for the day, then the proper, old school hunger kicks in, it feels real, makes me feel like when I was a kid again.
BMWBen said:
Riiiiiight, you're one of the "cyclists hold up traffic morons". Riddle me this Einstein... When I used to have an 18 mile commute it would take:
1. 1hr on a bike, including stopping at all the traffic lights.
2. 2hrs in a car.
Please explain to me how journey style 1 could possibly in any way be responsible for the time taken for journey style 2?
Please?
Well, d1. 1hr on a bike, including stopping at all the traffic lights.
2. 2hrs in a car.
Please explain to me how journey style 1 could possibly in any way be responsible for the time taken for journey style 2?
Please?
head (you started the personal insults), I suspect it depends on your journey, or are you too much of a "moron" (again, you set the tone) to understand this. Mine sure as hell wouldn't be quicker on a bike - it's hills hills hills. Not everyone has your commute, lives where you do or has your way of life, moron.kambites said:
Did you attempt to keep count of the number of times you saw motorists break the highway code? I'd be willing to bet you'd have ended up with a higher number. The standard of driving in London is absolutely appalling.
I was never nearly run over by a car while living in London.I also used public transport as much as possible when I lived in London in the form of buses, as there wasn't a tube station near me and I couldn't ride it anyway
NinjaPower said:
He says 80% of the population lives in 'urban areas' and therefore has no real need for a car.
Well I'm one of the 20% who doesn't live in an 'urban area', so he can stick his ideas to price everyone off the road up his arse.
Just this evening I drove 11 miles to a friends house. A door-to-door journey that took me a mere 10 minutes in my car following some serious yet enjoyable speeding.
How the hell else does he suggest I get there?
What about ride your motorbike?Well I'm one of the 20% who doesn't live in an 'urban area', so he can stick his ideas to price everyone off the road up his arse.
Just this evening I drove 11 miles to a friends house. A door-to-door journey that took me a mere 10 minutes in my car following some serious yet enjoyable speeding.
How the hell else does he suggest I get there?
J4CKO said:
And what is wrong with a bit of sweat ? if you are clean and are wearing deodorant you don't end up stinking, I cycle to work and we are lucky to have showers but if they have been out of action, I have a shower before I go and keep the speed down. We have become a nation of grumpy, selfish air conditioned blobs sat in our little cocoons, terrified of perspiration or precipitation. Try riding a bike, a few times, not just once and realise how much enjoyment it can bring, you think you are happy in your car and will be miserable on a bike, it just doesnt work like that, can be abject misery in either or unbounded joy, the exercise endorphin kick after a good ride in sets me up for the day, then the proper, old school hunger kicks in, it feels real, makes me feel like when I was a kid again.
I have no problem with alternative forms of transport. If public transport could get me to work in a timely manner and for less than it costs by car then I would take it for the lack of hassle, but that isn't ever going to happen. Re riding a bike, sure I could've done this and would like to have when I lived in London, but my knees can barely take walking and getting hot causes me medical issues, so the car or buses was the only option for me
MrBarry123 said:
The level of car ownership within a nation has historically, and continues to be, an indicator of a nation's wealth. An increase in the number of cars suggests we've become richer as a nation, which in turn has benefitted all of us to some degree - probably more so than the increase in the number of cars has affected us detrimentally.
Not sure what point I'm making however though I'd post anyway.
Spot on. Except we haven't actually become wealthier but just borrowed more money from the future. Not sure what point I'm making however though I'd post anyway.
As such, excessive debt as ruined the UK. The car issue is simply one of many byproducts of this travesty.
paranoid airbag said:
Not all motorists ruin england, but tts like you certainly do. Listen to yourself and then consider how ridiculous you sound when you call others "self righteous".
Anyway, I can understand why journalists do it but the hyperbole still bothers me. Sure, I promote cycling. Partly because it seems inherently the right-wing-friendly solution to me - aside from dealing with thieves and bad drivers (aka a core function of government), and/or building infrastructure to mollify their respective effects, almost no government is needed. Additionally there's acres of good clean private sector growth to be had from it.
Equally, it sickens me that I'm expected to use a tonne of steel that I'm really not that good at controlling, clogging up the roads as I go, just to protect myself from other people doing likewise, or at least to dress up like the unholy union of an underground worker and a yoga teacher, because if you don't it's your fault, not, you know, the fault of idiots who should never have been given a license. I don't carry armour and a sword around anymore, I shouldn't have to do the equivalent on the roads. That a "civilised" nation stands for that is pretty depressing.
But be realistic. We're not going to run an economy on pedal power alone. Or public transport alone. Or even both alone.
Motoring has brought some unfortunate self-induced dependence - the move to out-of-town shopping centres, making the roads too dangerous for walking and cycling. That sucks for anyone who's old, young, or values their lungs, arteries or hates sitting in traffic - but it hasn't ruined england by a long stretch. We don't need a "revolution". We just need a little rebalancing.
I wish there were "like" buttons on this site.ts like you certainly do. Listen to yourself and then consider how ridiculous you sound when you call others "self righteous".Anyway, I can understand why journalists do it but the hyperbole still bothers me. Sure, I promote cycling. Partly because it seems inherently the right-wing-friendly solution to me - aside from dealing with thieves and bad drivers (aka a core function of government), and/or building infrastructure to mollify their respective effects, almost no government is needed. Additionally there's acres of good clean private sector growth to be had from it.
Equally, it sickens me that I'm expected to use a tonne of steel that I'm really not that good at controlling, clogging up the roads as I go, just to protect myself from other people doing likewise, or at least to dress up like the unholy union of an underground worker and a yoga teacher, because if you don't it's your fault, not, you know, the fault of idiots who should never have been given a license. I don't carry armour and a sword around anymore, I shouldn't have to do the equivalent on the roads. That a "civilised" nation stands for that is pretty depressing.
But be realistic. We're not going to run an economy on pedal power alone. Or public transport alone. Or even both alone.
Motoring has brought some unfortunate self-induced dependence - the move to out-of-town shopping centres, making the roads too dangerous for walking and cycling. That sucks for anyone who's old, young, or values their lungs, arteries or hates sitting in traffic - but it hasn't ruined england by a long stretch. We don't need a "revolution". We just need a little rebalancing.
kambites said:
J4CKO said:
We have evolved society to rely on them, and that is fine,
I'm not sure I agree that it is "fine". I love cars and I love driving, but society's complete reliance on them is, at least to my mind really quite damaging in various respects. People need to get about, as the ability to do things came about, we embraced it, novelty quickly becomes normality and I cant see us going back to a pastoral existence working the land around where we live for a living. We were smart enough, as a species to overcome our mobility limitation, but seem to be going backwards a little, such is our slavish reliance and fierce defence of our cars, like a dog with a bone, carrying it everywhere, growling if anyone comes near it, even though nobody actually wants to take that manky bone off us.
We need to accept cars as normal, not feel guilty like some London based Guardianista, but try to use technology sparingly and appropriately, accept that sometimes a car is not the correct answer to a transport need, do not immediately gravitate to the car, when walking, cycling or even public transport may be the better alternative, and no, none of us are too important or special to get on a bus or train, as some seem to believe they are on here.
TheAngryDog said:
kambites said:
Did you attempt to keep count of the number of times you saw motorists break the highway code? I'd be willing to bet you'd have ended up with a higher number. The standard of driving in London is absolutely appalling.
I was never nearly run over by a car while living in London.J4CKO said:
We rely on electricity, intensive farming, phones, the internet, fractional reserve banking, the media etc etc, none of it perfect and none of it likely to change markedly any time soon.
Indeed but none of them have such an obvious and severe affect on health. I don't think individuals should feel guilty about relying on cars; I just think it's a shame that society as a whole has got itself into the mess that it's in.
TheAngryDog said:
kambites said:
Really? I've only visited London about ten times in my life and I've come closer to being hit by a car there than anywhere else in the UK.
Hand on heart. I lived in north London and worked in the city. I had zero trust for cyclists. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff