Nor is the one doing 59mph breaking the law either. Don't be silly, no one is moaning about the horse'n'kart or the tractor etc. in the countryside. At least THEY have the decency to pull over every so often to let the congestion pass. Whereas the SUNDAY driver, lane huger, volunteer policeman...
And for that matter nor is the idiot driving the whole of the journey at 69mph on the inside lane of the dual carriageways regardless of whether there is traffic on the inside lanes! I suppose you agree with that behaviour as well? Just because it is "legal" to drive at 69mph in any lane?
What I'm trying to highlight (and others have attempted as well) is that the emphasis at the moment is being put on "the law braker" rather than relieving congestion or providing alternative measures, some as simple as re-education and efficient/affordable public transport.
The Bullet Train works because someone with an intelligent brain realised that in order to shift the mass of commuters in as short of time as possible you have to move them fast and that wasn't/isn't possible on the roads, so they thought around the problem. Incidentally the Bullet Train operates in a country with the highest population density in the world, which has suffered a 10yr long economic depression. Also a country which didn't wage war on any other nation since WW2!
But of course in this country it is very easy to tax the motorist: because he/she is dependent of the car and in the absence of any viable alternatives will continue to bail the government out of every problem, simply because they HAVE TO DRIVE TO Bl**dY WORK! We need to breathe so if the Government decides to levy a tax on the air we'll have to either pay or stop breathing!
I know it is tragic that we're losing 3000 lives/year and every single one of those lives can and should be saved, but at the same time focus need to be maintained on the fact that the infrastructure is bursting at the seams and shows signs that it will continue to grow at an alarming rate.
I'm not sure I can agree with this statement of your Ian: "NO.... go and do the MATHS..... you can get MORE cars closer together at LESS speeds than you can get cars at HIGHER speeds."
Would you stand by it if I added the following at the end: ...closer together?
A disciplined, organised mass of cars (anything organised for that matter), travelling in unison at the same speed will always flow better at any speed than a chaotic stop start one! The argument I won't accept is that lowering the speed limits will somehow automatically "discipline" the traffic! Might make us ALL angry but won't get us there faster!
Dan
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