The Big 'Let's sell our cars and take buses/ebikes instead' thread (warning: probably very dull)

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Comments

  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,523

    This just doesn't have any relevance. Buses are subsidised and heavily regulated, so it is hardly a free market. If central government decrees that prices need to drop to £2, then someone somewhere will be compensated.

    None of that matters to the fact that it is a decent price to often travel a reasonable distance.

  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,625

    Buses in London are fine. The bus services outside of London are pretty appalling usually, and the amount that bus services have been cut down has been absolutely enormous.

  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,596
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,596

    Point is, things are changing and not in the way that some would like. Whether you want to call something blanket or default I don't really care, the changes for the better will be the same.

    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,596

    Putting back 30mph limits where previously they had been changed to 20mph constitutes a change in most people's books. The article does explain a bit more about where 20 limits will be kept and where they will be scrapped. But a U turn it given the previous default/blanket/whatever you want to label it policy.

    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,084
    edited July 23

    You'll have to wait for the results of the review. Too soon to say 😁.

    On the other hand, they could just put out the press release and all those idiots who signed a petition about roads that they never drive on can feel like they won their little prize without actually having to change anything.

    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,146

    There's also the small matter that this was from Ken Skates when he was appointed by Gethin about 6 months ago. There'll be a new leader after the summer recess and Skates may no longer be in the role, the new leader may also not take the same view on the policy as Gethin did. The fuss is dying down as it has now been a while since the default limit came in. Whilst having reviews and changing back to 30mph in some areas where appropriate is sensible (there are definitely sections where I feel 20mph is unnecessary) I'm not expecting any wholesale changes.

  • monkimark
    monkimark Posts: 1,878

    How is it a u turn when the policy was always default to 20mph unless a sensible reason can be given for changing to 30mph?

    Doesn't really bother me either way, I think I have driven in Wales 2 or 3 times in my life.

  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,596

    Whichever you try to spin it, it's a victory for common sense and an embarrassment for car hating Welsh lefties :)

    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,596

    I won't be driving there any time soon.

    Fact remains, they dropped quite a few speed limits to 20 and are now putting quite a few back up to 30. You can call that whatever you like 😉 But it's good to see that even lefties sometimes listen to public opinion even when they think that they know better.

    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,084
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,596
    edited July 24
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,084

    They've already been made. You're convinced it's some major victory despite there actually being no blanket reduction in the first place and a regular review process for those limits that were reduced built in from the start. It's almost like you signed a petition against a thing that never existed.

    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,084

    Look away now Stevo 😁

    First comparable quarterly government stats have been released for the Welsh default limit change.

    - Total number of casualties down from 510 to 377 - a 26% fall.

    - Killed & seriously injured from 101 to 78 - a 23% fall.

    - If we break that down further, the number killed has gone from 11 to five - a 55% drop.

    - Slight injuries are down from 409 to 299 - a 27% reduction.

    Estimated saving due to the above is around £20m based on the following average costs per incident

    Fatal - £2,250,876

    Serious - £252,935

    Slight - £19,499

    Total cost to implement the scheme was £32m.

    Insurer Esure has noticed a 20% reduction in claims for damage in Wales.

    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,596

    Tough really. The people of Wales have spoken and it's just the Cake Stop Centre Leftie Sh1t Drivers Club ths need to get real 😉

    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,084
    edited July 31

    They're reviewing some roads starting in September.

    This is becoming like the Brexit thread where you pop in every two or three days to tell everyone how much you don't care.

    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,596

    You posted something specifically mentioning me so what do you expect?

    Anyhow, you could cut all those stats to zero by cutting the speed limit to 1mph, so why not do that? Bloody irresponsible allowing people to drive at 20mph.

    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,084
    edited July 31

    I meant it literally: as in you won't be interested. I didn't @ you, so you must have been looking anyway.

    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,596
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,084
    edited July 31

    In the vain hope you might not repost the usual bollox. Clearly my mistake.

    Would you have not replied if I'd written "look away people who object to 20mph speed limits"?

    Seems unlikely.

    FWIW, there are a few 20mph limits near me that are tedious*; I just don't think me being annoyed is relevant to setting a speed limit.

    *I should say more tedious. Being driven around suburban Greater London isn't any more enjoyable at 30mph, there's just very slightly less of it.


    Anyway, I thought it was interesting that there was such marked reduction in casualties for a pretty minimal inconvenience.

    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,596

    Best way of getting me not to reply is not to post 😉

    But I agree, 20mph limits are boring bollox. If you think that you need to drive at 20mph to be safe, take the bus.

    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • monkimark
    monkimark Posts: 1,878

    The trouble isn't people who think they need to drive at 20, it's the people who think they are such great drivers that they can safely do 40 through built up areas.

  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,084

    Bus is much slower than 20mph (9.3mph in London) but it does have a top deck 😎.

    I do find it intriguing that people get so upset about driving at 20. You'd think reaching the breathtaking speeds of 30mph was the very essence of life rather than a way to get to the next traffic lights 20 seconds earlier.

    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,900

    It will be interesting how far speed limits rise for automous cars through refinement? Older Human driven cars could be speed limited more due to their comparative lack of competence.

  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,084

    The braking distance will be the same as if manually operated. The only saving is in the fraction of a second 'thinking time'. So unlikely to materially alter speed.

    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 16,683

    Autonomous cars will be interlinked, so in principle concertinas should not occur.

  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 26,968

    They will keep an adequate braking distance too.

    Try that on a busy multi-lane road and the gap will get filled.

    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,084

    Please tell me you haven't been sucked into the AI hype, FA.

    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 16,683

    It doesn't need AI. Besides, the term is used like a golden rivet to describe lots of things that we used to call calibration.

  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,900

    Exactly, each car will know where every other car is on the road.