[David9694]

A new catch-all Tea Shop thread for those miscellaneous new stories that don’t quite fit with parking, crashing into buildings or trapped/prisoners in their homes. 

Topic

[andystow]

I used to “like” your posts, but it seems that they are now unlikeable.

[mdavidford]

Driver racks up £20k of toll bridge fines
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y5xp0qz79o

‘The driver told the BBC he had “done all the right things”‘

…except for, you know, doing all the right things.

[David9694]

You can’t have somewhere to

You can’t have somewhere to live because I want to drive my car – in Basingstoke, literally designed for cars. 

Popham Airfield plans met with fury at public meeting

“There are so many issues with this plan, firstly the traffic in Basingstoke is going to be even worse than it already is…

https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/25744860.popham-airfield-plans-met-fury-public-meeting/

[bensynnock]

So if parking prices are
So if parking prices are increased those with least choice will choose to park somewhere else?

[chrisonabike]

Mr Blackbird wrote:

Mr Blackbird wrote:

Having randomany testing for everyone more than once a lifetime or if you wrap your car round a chief inspector, right in front of a high court judge would be pretty effective as well.
I see plenty of younger drivers who clearly have eyesight issues.

FTFY (but alas cannot see it ever happening).

[David9694]

WEYMOUTH’S PARKING PRICES: A

WEYMOUTH’S PARKING PRICES: A TAX ON FREEDOM AND LOCAL PROSPERITY

High parking prices therefore act less like an environmental policy and more like a regressive tax, hitting those with the fewest alternatives the hardest.

While councils face financial pressures, using parking fees as a reliable revenue stream is a dangerous habit. It shifts the burden onto motorists rather than addressing spending priorities or waste elsewhere, and it sends a clear message that convenience and accessibility come second to income generation.

If Weymouth is to remain welcoming, prosperous and competitive, it needs parking policies rooted in common sense and fairness, not quiet extraction from those who can least afford it.

Weymouth’s Parking Prices: A Tax on Freedom and Local Prosperity

[Mr Blackbird]

Having random testing for
Having random testing for everyone would be pretty effective as well.
I see plenty of younger drivers who clearly have eyesight issues.

[chrisonabike]

Proposal for driver testing .
Proposal for regular driver testing … well, only eye testing. Only over 70s. And it’s free. And the idea is still “for consultation”.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c205nxy0p31o

Edmund King of the AA was good on this one – “no-brainer”. But I can only imagine the comments. Actually, they had some on the radio so I don’t have to.

[chrisonabike]

Mr Blackbird wrote:

Mr Blackbird wrote:

I once read somewhere that a lot of lamposts are badly corroded and weakened by dog piss and liable to snap.

Aargh – bloody silly pet tends! First it was chihuahuas, then cockapoos, then French bulldogs, now it’s xenomorphs!

[Pub bike]

Mr Blackbird wrote:

Mr Blackbird wrote:

I once read somewhere that a lot of lamposts are badly corroded and weakened by dog piss and liable to snap.

Lampposts around my neck all seem to have a thick layer of something bituminous covering the lower section reaching a foot or so above ground, and thus are less susceptible to fluffy-“friend”-induced corrosion.

[Mr Blackbird]

I once read somewhere that a
I once read somewhere that a lot of lamposts are badly corroded and weakened by dog piss and liable to snap.
That doesn’t seem to apply here.
Hopefully the driver is one of those who doesn’t bother with insurance, otherwise his next premium will skyrocket in price.

[Jogle]

Porsche crashes into town
[b]Porsche crashes into town centre lamp-post[/b]

No driver mentioned, maybe that was the problem

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y45z5wpwgo.amp

[chrisonabike]

David9694 wrote:

David9694 wrote:

I’d love to get to the bottom of whether there’s more infrastructure renewal work going now on than say 30 or 40 years ago.  I suspect drivers are expecting way too much from local authorities on the highways works co-ordination front.

Possibly a perfect storm of higher expectations* and increased pressures on public space?

(More people travelling more, or at least requiring more stuff to travel or be delivered, and more utilities. Plus all the extra / larger private property and parking to support those. Plus more of us in the “elderly and or higher health needs” category – and that then trumps any other considerations because “health” and “life or death”).

Then as you note over time some “regulation” always increases. We don’t tolerate being maimed at work as well now. Probably there’s always a tendency for organisations to grow, along with their rules. But experience shows that simply abolishing chunks of that may well create chaotic situations and worse inequality rather than simply eliminating unnecessary busywork or lawyer’s fees (their always seem to be candidates for those of course).

* “But I can order x on (Internet) and have it done tomorrow, why can’t local government work like that?”

[Rendel Harris]

Very interesting article, a

Very interesting article, a guy who was involved in a drunk-driving incident that killed a cyclist accepting his responsibility and guilt (even though he was a passenger and asleep at the time). Would that everyone thought as deeply instead of looking for excuses…

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jan/04/chris-moore-psychologist-drunk-driving-incident-killed-cyclist-expert-healing-powers-guilt

[David9694]

chrisonabike wrote:

chrisonabike wrote:

BBC R4 just had a program about roadworks ( EDIT “Highways to hell” – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002pdy9 ) – caught the start and while there was consideration of some complexities * the idea that everyone choosing to drive everywhere might have an impact seemed to be missing. (Of course – where there are lorries and buses then the damage is due to them to a fourth approximation … but that doesn’t mean that normally heavy cars and vans do no damage). * They were looking at utilities, how they’re coordinated (not) with local authorities and others, which was welcome. Also the fact that lots of our “works” is because we’re playing catch-up where we’ve had long-term under-investment. Of course that is also to do with how we’ve set up funding and markets. Which ultimately comes back to what customers were prepared to pay for, via government decisions about what tax pays for and how to set up markets where they want private industry to run utilities…

“Do it in the winter/ summer / at night”. I wonder how we’d be faring now on this if he still had the public corporations (the Gas, Electric, Water Boards, British Telecoms.  I’d love to get to the bottom of whether there’s more infrastructure renewal work going now on than say 30 or 40 years ago.  I suspect drivers are expecting way too much from local authorities on the highways works co-ordination front.

It’s clear that Health & Safety is making its presence felt in that complete possession of the work area for prolonged periods is required – I know how alien that idea normally is. Drivers have probably brought this on themselves.  

And then the whole idea of the highway as a convenient place to install pipes and cables – with much of it now in constant demand the effects of minor closures are often significant, at least in some people’s minds. 
 

Drainage works on important Exmoor route could see businesses lose 60 per cent trade

https://www.wsfp.co.uk/news/drainage-works-on-important-exmoor-route-could-see-businesses-lose-60-per-cent-trade-865914

This next story is from Thursday, works start Monday:

Watchet traders’ leader wants complaints to stop Dunster traffic lights scheme

https://www.wsfp.co.uk/news/watchet-traders-leader-wants-complaints-to-stop-dunster-traffic-lights-scheme-865953#google_vignette

he just seems to be hitting out randomly here. 

Anger in Welsh village where locals say they’ve been ‘cut off’

Roadworks are set to take place on a section of road north of the A40 in

Carmarthenshire, but traders fear it could ‘finish them off’ because people won’t be able to reach them without navigating a large detour

“Another concern is that people will see there’s a road closure in place and assume that they can’t get to the pub on any day without taking a big diversion. Will people realise that the road will be open as normal on weekends? We hope so but they might see the road is closed during the week, turn around and not bother coming back.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/anger-welsh-village-locals-say-33117639#comments-wrapper

So they’ve managed to get the road left open at the weekend, but it’s not enough.  This sounds like it’s some kind of ground stabilisation work – we’re likely to see more of this as climate change progresses. 

[Author]

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