If I was Secretary Of State for Transport, I'd...

[T89 Callan]

If I was Secretary Of State for Transport, I'd...

...... probably be able to get close enough to punch Gordon Brown, Hariet Harman and Jackie Smith right in their faces.

[thinfourth2]

109 Bob said:

Yes, Compulsory motorway tuition for new drivers & raise the standard of the existing test so people get taught how to drive in the bloody first place.

I knew this would come up

So what happens to everyone that lives north of perth in scotland as there is no motorways north of there?

[Pannywagon]

thinfourth2 said:

109 Bob said:

Yes, Compulsory motorway tuition for new drivers & raise the standard of the existing test so people get taught how to drive in the bloody first place.

I knew this would come up

So what happens to everyone that lives north of perth in scotland as there is no motorways north of there?

Dual Carriageways that are limited to 70 would suffice for teaching lane discipline and general technique.

[dcb]

thinfourth2 said:

So what happens to everyone that lives north of perth in scotland as there is no motorways north of there?

Two stage licence: motorway or not ( like auto gearbox or not).

For the very few folks who do live north of Perth (< 1 million ?),
they would get issued with an inferior licence that didn't
permit use of a motorway.

They could upgrade to a full licence at any time,
if they pass that part of the test.

This plan would also work for folks in Norfolk, west Wales and west Cornwall.

The rest of us would get issued with a full licence.

[Flippin' Kipper]

New minimum speed limit as well, 10mph below the upper speed limit - caught below it and 3 points and a £60 fine - unless you are really far below it then you have to go to court!

[109 Bob]

dcb said:

thinfourth2 said:

So what happens to everyone that lives north of perth in scotland as there is no motorways north of there?

Two stage licence: motorway or not ( like auto gearbox or not).

For the very few folks who do live north of Perth (< 1 million ?),
they would get issued with an inferior licence that didn't
permit use of a motorway.

They could upgrade to a full licence at any time,
if they pass that part of the test.

This plan would also work for folks in Norfolk, west Wales and west Cornwall.

The rest of us would get issued with a full licence.

That would do nicely

[bga]

jamoor said:

Left on red is certainly needed.

IMO it would cause absolute chaos in any busy area due to the selfish nature of many drivers. Congestion would increase as traffic lights would stop effectively metering the flow in that particular situation.

[109 Bob]

R1_NUR said:

HOGEPH said:

Allow overtaking on both sides on the motorway, reducing congestion. That would be my first action because re-education is not going to work. As a general principle I still think people should aim to be on the left when not overtaking. But if the idiots have no comprehension undertake! Yee hah.

Allow a left turn on a red light, if the road was clear. Works in the states and most Canadian provinces (to the right!)

Replace many junction traffic lights with roundabouts, saving on electricity and waiting times. Halalulya!

Replace the road tax with a levy on fuel, so no one could avoid it. Yep - top plan.

Make the speed limit on the motorways 90 but 70 in the wet

Make it compulsary for pubs to offer free alcoholic drinks to the designated driver next time he is in the pub!

And who exactly is gong to pay for these free drinks, the publican, you & me, the breweries, who?

If anyone ever asked me to be a designated driver I'd say, Yeah sure, give me a call when you want picking up & I'll charge you all a fiver each. Haven't these people ever heard of a thing called a taxi?

Edited by 109 Bob on Sunday 18th October 23:01

[kiteless]

I'd ban visually offensive vehicles.

G-Wiz
Yaris Verso
Citroen Picasso

would be first against the wall

[jamoor]

bga said:

jamoor said:

Left on red is certainly needed.

IMO it would cause absolute chaos in any busy area due to the selfish nature of many drivers. Congestion would increase as traffic lights would stop effectively metering the flow in that particular situation.

I don't think so, it just turns it into a give way, how do you think it will cause chaos?

[109 Bob]

kiteless said:

I'd ban visually offensive vehicles.

G-Wiz
Yaris Verso
Citroen Picasso

would be first against the wall

And also,
Mazdas
Skodas
Daimlers

[jamoor]

109 Bob said:

kiteless said:

I'd ban visually offensive vehicles.

G-Wiz
Yaris Verso
Citroen Picasso

would be first against the wall

And also,
Mazdas

GASP sacrilege against the MX5

Stay away ye who promotes evil.

[GC8]

HOGEPH said:

Allow the Police to ram stolen cars off the road to avoid lengthly chases, even if it resulted in the death of the "joy rider".

This is particularly foolish.

[redstu]

Kit80 said:

Tax cyclists and make them pay insurances and add more bike lanes everywhere.

Put strict regulations on how insurances companies work.

Make everywhere a dual carriageway.

Edited by Kit80 on Saturday 17th October 22:36

Make everywhere a dual carriageway! Do you actually enjoy driving at all or just want to get there quickly with as little involvement as possible?
Or is there another reason?

[mat205125]

HOGEPH said:

Allow overtaking on both sides on the motorway, reducing congestion. Great idea, but sadly not possible without causing chaos

Allow a left turn on a red light, if the road was clear.Great idea, but the insurance claims where people turning left misunderstood and thought they had right of way would be silly

Replace many junction traffic lights with roundabouts, saving on electricity and waiting times.Bravo! I hate sitting there waiting when there is nobody coming from any other direction

Replace the road tax with a levy on fuel, so no one could avoid it.The only sensible option for anyone not interested in just increasing the fuel duty anyway and keeping the tax as well. I honestly wish someone would do this though. It's just plain common sense

Make the speed limit on the motorways 90, but80 would be a sensible next step.

Reduce the limit in built up areas to 20.Keep the speed limit at 30. Remove a huge amount of confusing road furniture. Invest in proper road surfacing and lighting, and bring back road safety eductation for children and pedestrians .... Speed doesn't kill - Walking into the path of a tonne and a half of metal does

Allow the Police to ram stolen cars off the road to avoid lengthly chases, even if it resulted in the death of the "joy rider".Hmmm? Increase the amount of police resource assigned to traffic safety. That doesn't mean just clocking up speed infringement taxes, rather to get out and address some of the appauling driving on the roads.

Make it compulsary for pubs to offer free soft drinks to designated drivers, so there might be an incentive to offer to drive on a night out.Nice idea, but unenforceable

Any other suggestions?

Spend money on road surfaces and kerbing. Never ever ever ever smeer another road with a layer of tar, and sprinkle with gravel like it was a fairy cake, and expect a long lasting, smooth and safe road surface to appear.

[mat205125]

dcb said:

thinfourth2 said:

So what happens to everyone that lives north of perth in scotland as there is no motorways north of there?

Two stage licence: motorway or not ( like auto gearbox or not).

For the very few folks who do live north of Perth (< 1 million ?),
they would get issued with an inferior licence that didn't
permit use of a motorway.

They could upgrade to a full licence at any time,
if they pass that part of the test.

This plan would also work for folks in Norfolk, west Wales and west Cornwall.

The rest of us would get issued with a full licence.

You don't need a licence to ride a Donkey do you?

[CDP]

mat205125 said:

dcb said:

thinfourth2 said:

So what happens to everyone that lives north of perth in scotland as there is no motorways north of there?

Two stage licence: motorway or not ( like auto gearbox or not).

For the very few folks who do live north of Perth (< 1 million ?),
they would get issued with an inferior licence that didn't
permit use of a motorway.

They could upgrade to a full licence at any time,
if they pass that part of the test.

This plan would also work for folks in Norfolk, west Wales and west Cornwall.

The rest of us would get issued with a full licence.

You don't need a licence to ride a Donkey do you?

I think he meant a marriage license.

[The Black Flash]

dcb said:

thinfourth2 said:

So what happens to everyone that lives north of perth in scotland as there is no motorways north of there?

Two stage licence: motorway or not ( like auto gearbox or not).

For the very few folks who do live north of Perth (< 1 million ?),
they would get issued with an inferior licence that didn't
permit use of a motorway.

They could upgrade to a full licence at any time,
if they pass that part of the test.

This plan would also work for folks in Norfolk, west Wales and west Cornwall.

The rest of us would get issued with a full licence.

The willingness of people to restrict the lives of "the other", without seeing where that ultimately leads, never ceases to amaze me.

[ZesPak]

jamoor said:

109 Bob said:

kiteless said:

I'd ban visually offensive vehicles.

G-Wiz
Yaris Verso
Citroen Picasso

would be first against the wall

And also,
Mazdas

GASP sacrilege against the MX5

Stay away ye who promotes evil.

MX5
RX8
Mazda 6
Mazda 3
Mazda 2

All amongst the best looking cars in their class? :P

Hyundai Matrix would be first to go imho .

Also, reduce the tax on "emissions/road tax", countered by a higher price for petrol/diesel.
So people that actually "pollute" get taxed for it, not people that own a powerfull car that is driven about 1000 miles/year.

[dcb]

The Black Flash said:

The willingness of people to restrict the lives of "the other", without seeing where that ultimately leads, never ceases to amaze me.

Eh ?

Folks without a driving licence aren't allowed to drive,
folks with an auto-only licence aren't allowed to drive a manual,
folks with only a car licence aren't allowed to drive HGV lorries,
folks with only a car licence aren't allowed to drive PSV.

Spot the pattern ?

I see no special problem with an "motorways allowed" car licence.

In fact, the fine folks in Swansea would probably welcome it,
as it is more paperwork for them to worry about.