I don't drive for medical reasons - I have a mild form of epilepsy called Petit Mal which I basically infrequent black-outs which obviously are a bit dangerous if you drive!
I would probably still rant about the traffic on the roads and public transport but I took my views a bit further when I wrote an article for my journalism course last year. Read below:
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Let’s Go Public On Transport
I have been disqualified from driving and have had my licence taken away.
I guess you’re thinking of why that is. How many of you are suggesting a drink driving conviction? What about ‘driving without due care and attention’ or for gaining 12 penalty points for a collection of speeding charges?
It’s none of those - I cannot drive for medical reasons and haven’t done since 1991. That’s so long ago that Maggie Thatcher’s scent was still lingering at number 10.
Why am I telling you this? Well, it’s now nearly 15 years since being forced into using public transport and I’m getting fed up with it. The buses being run in the city are often unreliable, use curious routes and are driven by some - but by no means all - dour and unfriendly drivers and we all have an opinion why that is.
While I am often quick to moan at Stagecoach, the real culprits for the delays are in reality the other motorists who clog the up highways unnecessarily.
Now come on, admit it - are you one of the multitudes who are traveling to work in your car alone? If you are you must be so disappointed that you have no-one to talk to on these chilly winter mornings. I bet you really wish you had a friend to travel with, someone who could even save you money by sharing petrol costs.
Well, if you think this way you are almost certainly in a minority. A recent road traffic survey in Aberystwyth revealed that 70% of vehicles traveling into the town were passengerless. How lonely they must be feeling in Wales.
In Werrington the other morning I counted eight cars out of ten waiting at a set of traffic lights that had single occupants and the other two were mums driving their children to school. Now, I don’t know how close by they lived but I would wager it wouldn’t be that far away as we have three schools in close proximity. Did they ever consider walking? I seriously doubt it.
A number of schemes have been developed over the years with the aim of changing the habits of drivers. Why? Because the roads are becoming choked on the number of vehicles using them and the high levels of pollution which are harming our environment.
The two main solutions appear to be car sharing and an increased usage of public transport.
Can you imagine how less crowded the roads would be, and more reliable the bus services would be, if you cut the number of vehicles using them by half?
Could this ever be a realistic target? Not a chance while the general public continue to be so bloody selfish. They prefer the freedom and the choice of traveling when and where they want without seeming to show the slightest concerns for the consequences.
The problem is that more we have this attitude the less 'freedom and choice' we have as we sit in grid-locked cars choking from each others fumes.
More traffic, more delays, more fuel consumption, higher costs, more pollution is the price we’re all paying.
In Scotland there has been an interesting twist in car sharing where some drivers have been driving across the Forth Bridge with shop dummies and even blow-up dolls in passenger seats to avoid extra toll charges. Under the current congestion-cutting scheme drivers can get a 50% discount at peak hours if accompanied with fellow travellers.
However, a state-of-the-art CCTV system called Cyclops is being tested to spot these toll dodgers. The camera that tracks the vehicles as they cross the bridge can spot whether the passengers are human or made of plastic.
Dr John Tyrer, managing director of Vehicle Occupancy Ltd explained: “Our breakthrough came when we found a tiny gap in the infrared spectrum in which light is absorbed by human skin but reflected by hair, clothing and upholstery.”
So the games up - if you don’t have any friends and you keep company with blow-up dolls, everyone is gonna know about it!
It’s laughable that people want to flaunt the law in such a way to save money on the tolls when there’s already a solution on offer which not only will save them cash on the bridge but will help with their fuel costs and the environment too.
And while we’re on the subject of petrol consumption, another example of the selfishness of the car driver was highlighted this weekend by the panic buying of fuel after the fire at the Buncefield oil depot in Hemel Hempstead. There is enough fuel to go round but only if demand doesn’t exceed supply. You can almost hear the motorists saying: ‘Yeah, people shouldn’t panic buy but I just wanted to make sure I had enough petrol for the week.’ It’s the absolving of responsibility that I can‘t stand.
It’s not one rule for one and one for another - how you use the highway and treat the environment affects all of us. Question is: ‘What are you gonna do about it?’
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