Drivers and their problems

That is nowhere near 90 degrees.

Exaggeration like this makes one doubt the rest of the story...'Angry emu' or friendly Robin redbreast?

David9694 wrote:

My favourites are those drivers who claim to be completely flummoxed by cashless payments via apps but won't entertain any question of their fitness, in the light of this, to drive. 

Be fair! They proved they could drive 40+ years ago - which is about all the system requires! It's not their fault if they can't keep up with all the subsequent changes. In fact it's unfair really...

To add to the comedic potential, I really hope said chef was dressed in whites, including a toque blanche, and armed with a whisk and cleaver.

I do think some of them are needlessly complicated. I remember the first one I used it took me longer to setup with all the authentication, you had to use the voice automated system as a 1st time user to verify details & then bank checks to confirm payment, then I actually needed to park.

Versus just stuffing a quid, or tapping a card on a machine to get a ticket. I'm not convinced it's good progress.

It used to cost about £8 to park by an Ipswich cinema. You got some of it back from the cinema on production of a ticket.
Only you had to put coins in - notes not accepted.
I assume it has been improved since I last went some years ago.

David9694 wrote:

Someone (two people, IIRC) has to empty each machine daily, securely take the contents somewhere to be counted and banked - the pro cash crowd show no insight into what an overhead all that is. 

In Birmingham I've only ever seen it with one person emptying a machine. Generally they're half laying down on the ground with their arm going up from the bottom of the machine through a broken panel.....

I wonder whether, now that most people will use an app or pay by card, it's actually cheaper to allow the cash to be stolen than it is to go around and collect it

When the cash is stolen, the machine is damaged to the extent a new one is needed so that's whay some places don't allow cash.

Collection would be done by the enforcement team as part of their normal visit to check people have a ticket, so the cost of collection is low. There would be G4S fees and bank fees.

What if the business is Coinstar?

Cash meters get targeted, the cash stolen and the machine wrecked. This is not cheap and leads to the removal of machines.

Hard to believe anyone with a car does not have a bank account or are they catering for the ones with no licence, insurance, ved?

"...( + QR code you probably don't want to scan  wipe your arse with)"

I'm getting sick of being co-opted into this pro-car (and often anti-cycling) culture war on account of my 'working class' status.

brooksby wrote:

Drivers keep getting stuck on housing estate stairs thinking it’s a shortcut (Metro)

https://metro.co.uk/2024/10/15/drivers-keep-getting-stuck-housing-estate...

Quote:

Multiple drivers have become stuck on a set of stairs in the middle of a London housing estate – after apparently mistaking the route for a shortcut.

Residents at Maitland Park Estate in Camden say there have been five incidents of cars becoming trapped on the steps in the last month alone.

But while locals can see the funny side when drivers take a wrong turn, they have also voiced concerns over the possibility of someone getting hurt, especially children who happily roam the estate.

Camden Council has now said it will take action to stop cars mistakenly ending up on the stairs.

A bollard or two would fix that

Hirsute wrote:

2 years suspended

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/dad-driving-home-yo...

"A businessman who mowed down a group of teenagers with his 4x4 before reversing over one of them after becoming infuriated at them walking in the middle of the road has avoided jail.

He has two very young children aged one and four who rely on him as does his long suffering partner."

He clams to have adhd - what hope for the children ?

 

He also has anger management problems but no mention of a driving ban!

"He had a recent diagnosis of ADHD which explains his impulsive behaviour, his irritability and his inability to control his emotions at times, which is really what happened on the occasion. Since then, he has sought to address that by seeing a psychologist.

Jogle wrote:

Truck shields mobility scooter driver on motorway

Not victim blaming but the reality is that this is really unsafe. Never ride in the gutter - take the lane!

Down with this sort of thing!
Much more of this, and people would have to slow down and fail 'to keep the country moving', and they prevent drivers from accelerating out of trouble!

pockstone wrote:

I'm getting sick of being co-opted into this pro-car (and often anti-cycling) culture war on account of my 'working class' status.

Hear hear, it was absolutely ludicrous during the campaign against London's ULEZ expansion to see people with five bedroom homes with a nice bit of garden in Bromley, who were disgruntled because they were going to have to replace their £50,000 diesel BMW, claiming that they were fighting against the expansion because it was "a tax on the working-class poor".

hawkinspeter wrote:

 

A bollard or two would fix that

Yup - then they can get stuck on the bollard instead.

According to twitter @magistratesblog

It's an obligatory disqualification, so it will have been made.

mdavidford wrote:

Yup - then they can get stuck on the bollard instead.

Non-stick bollards

I'll take your word for it but I am sorry to say that, after recent sentencing outcomes, a not guilty for a lorry driver due to blind spots and some of the excuses some police forces are coming up with for NFA, my faith in road policing in this counrty has been sorely tested.

They've now added the link

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/cau...

Triable either way
Maximum: 5 years’ custody
Offence range: 26 weeks – 5 years’ custody

Obligatory disqualification: minimum 2 years with compulsory extended re-test

Thanks for the info. I still can't find anything on the length of the ban, if he was banned, but I did find this interestng discussion on the matter.

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ashley-hulme-intentionally-mows...

Hmm...under "Special Reasons" (Section 6/3) it says:

Quote:

Special reasons

The period of disqualification may be reduced or avoided if there are special reasons. These must relate to the offence; circumstances peculiar to the offender cannot constitute special reasons. To constitute a special reason, a matter must:

• be a mitigating or extenuating circumstance;
• not amount in law to a defence to the charge;
• be directly connected with the commission of the offence;
• be one which the court ought properly to take into consideration when imposing sentence.

It seems very suspicious that there is no mention of a driving ban in any news report but lots of mentions of the culprit's alleged ADHD, which makes one think it likely that the magistrate has fallen for accepted it as an excuse and waived the driving ban.