Don't scare the Horses!

[Sinewave]

Personally, I welcome initiatives like ULEZ, and look forward to a wider rollout.

Of course it's not about extorting people. It's really disappointing that intelligent people hold such views - you'd expect that from the Sun/Mail-reading pub bores, not engineers who are capable - by dint of actually being an engineer - of original research and critical thinking.

I drive, but I also walk and cycle. Air pollution might not be as visible as it was before I was around, but it's still there, and more insidious as a result. Pollution from traffic isn't the whole story, but it's a significant factor that should be tackled. And when on foot, there's a world of difference between 20 and 30mph. It just feels so much better. I hate walking on main roads around here, and can't wait for a blanket 20mph in this town (not that there's any hope of that at the moment). Similar comments apply to cycling. When you can cycle at 20, idiots will still force their way past, but the majority realise you're not holding them up.

I do have some sympathy with anti-SUV views. Like all things, they might have their place, but most are bought as statement. Or just because people are sheeple. Just imagine how thirsty and how much more polluting these things would be if we hadn't had the developments in technology in recent decades. And just think how much better things would be if the majority drove smaller Focus/Fiesta sized cars. The numbers are easy to compare.

But then, just think how much better things would be if people didn't have unreasonably powerful cars on public roads. Seriously, who needs more than 100 BHP to go about their daily commute? I could display power and torque dials on a car I had recently, and you'd use less than 20BHP when cruising at 70 on the flat. In normal acceleration I'd never use more than about 80BHP (and this was quite a heavy car). If you floored it you'd use the full ~180BHP, but that only saved a couple of seconds. Sorry, but while my time is at a premium, I'm not so arrogant to claim that saving 2 seconds every time I get up to speed is worth the increase in fuel use, CO2 emissions, particulate generation and noise. Driving fast might be a lot of fun for some - on those rare opportunities you might get the chance - but however you look at it, it's anti-social. As a race, we can quite a selfish bunch, but we don't have to be.

As for speeding, some limits might appear to be questionable, but most are for a reason. Stuff happens. We have deer at work, and the site limit is 15mph. It's not always easy to stick to that on the way out (steep downhill), but I'm one of the few that tries. Despite that, I've had near-misses. They jump out of the foliage straight onto the road with no warning at all, and even at 15mph, it can be hard to avoid them. I've seen the damage they can do at even low speeds - I dread to think how bad it would be at A-road speeds.

If you get caught speeding enough times, your insurance premiums are affected. You might be able to afford that, as can I, but where does your money end up? Ultimately, in the pockets of bankers. The same bankers that inflicted so much damage in 2008, etc. I have no interest in paying them any more than I have to. So I don't speed. Part of the joy of driving for me is making the effort to always do the right thing. Part of that is observing all of the rules, even if I might disagree with some of them. Aside from occasionally poorly-signposted roads, sticking to the limit is easy. And for those who don't drive properly, most modern cars have speed limiters that are easy to use. There's really no excuse. Object to the rules as much as you like, but if you choose to break them, you deserve to be sanctioned in some way. A speed awareness course or a fine is not that bad for a mild transgression, but if you're caught doing 100+MPH, that's not a moment of distraction - that's plain irresponsible. Don't complain about getting in trouble for that - everyone knows the rules.

And that leads me to the important point. Recent posts in this thread - this one included - have expressed strong views about driving. And some have strayed into politics. All that creates bad feeling. I'm judging some of you because of what you've said here, and no-doubt I'll also be judged. That's not a nice place to be. And it's totally against the ethos of this forum.

So now, we no long have to wonder why automotive posts are banned on some other forums - just look at this thread.

I'll leave it open for now - it would be an abuse of my position to close it with no right to reply after expressing my views - but if we keep straying into politics, or continue to express strong views in a way that could cause offence, I'll be left with no option other than to close it.

One thing I must say, is that I've done my best to not get 'political' - however of course this part of the subject has touched on politicians making decisions, only my point is it's either bad or not, it's either a yes or no - rather than lets just take peoples money for it and let them all carry on.

I understand fully that we won't all agree, but one thing I cannot bare to see is the poor being extorted and others happily believing in something where the mission is far from the truth. During a 'cost of living crisis' I just cannot bare to see this happening to struggling families. It doesn't affect me, but it could do, it could have done, it may well do one day. We won't all work and live together by turning a blind eye to extorting the public over something for where there simply isn't the supporting evidence, hence the Mayors office asking people to lie and misleading the London Assembly and where the Mayor used disgusting and disgraceful language about those who wanted to dig further into fact finding and gathering evidence.

But then again, calling people Sun/Mail-reading pub bores isn't critical thinking either is it and is language that if someone else used, would see a thread locked. Actual research has been done into ULEZ and flaws have been found. It's as if people are always wanting the worst to be the truth, rather than hang on a minute, something isn't quite right here.