"I'm sure my petrol filler cap was on this side of the car"

One lady driver has a problem with parking with her filler cap on the right side at the petrol pump. Spacial awareness issue?

By the way did you know that on most fuel indicators there's a little arrow pointing to the side that the filler cap is on? Very useful when driving a hire car.

Here come the Zil lanes

When the planning was being done for the London Olympics the aspect that worried me the most, apart from the terrorist threat of course, was transport. My heart sunk even further when I read that Olympic Lanes would be created to allow athletes but also IOC officials, sponsors and media to waft through London whilst Londoners sat in the reduced lanes left to them. At the time this was something that I put to the back of my mind and I carried on with life.

However over the last few days it has started to hit home how affected I and London will be. The template markings for the Zil lanes have started to appear: I have noticed them on the A4, the A40 and the A406 (North Circular Road). As I sat in traffic on the A4 the other day I realised how much worse it would be when one third of the lanes is put out of action so the IOC fat cats, their corporate friends and our media masters are not inconvenienced by London's traffic.

This site shows the road changes that are planned and in case you are worried, Transport for London whilst admitting that the special lanes will create 'hotspots' at certain places such as the Euston Road say that 'doomsday' will be avoided if drivers plan ahead to avoid the busiest times of day. Because we can all change our work times for the length of the Olympics and Paralympics, can't we.

So when you are sat in stationary traffic on the Euston Road whilst the odd logo'd BMW and BBC van speed past in an otherwise empty Zip lane I am sure that you, like I, will just sit and take it...?

The fine for unauthorised use of a Zil lane is £130, can they fine us all if we use them en masse? I am a Londoner, born and bred. I was here before London was awarded the 2012 Olympics and I will be here long after the thrill of watching the beach volleyball has dissipated. It's my city and I don't see why I should have to make way for the IOC chiefs, corporate chiefs and the likes of the BBC.

I will never complain about the size of London pot holes ever again!

This Russian taxi-driver has bigger problems than we do in London.

Thanks to Old Holborn on Twitter for the spot.

London drivers!

What a couple of days:

1) Driver of American Jeep on phone driving down the middle of a side road, looked up when I hooted, he swerved to his side of the road and jammed on the brakes, I missed him by about six foot. I looked in my rear view mirror and he had stopped but was still on his mobile phone

2) Driver of Espace or similar just stopped on side road, no indicating, no pulling over, she just stopped in the carriageway so as to let a child out.

3) Driver of Astra driving behind me, refused to reverse back so I could reverse into a space. They didn't want the space, there was nobody behind them but they would not reverse or drive past me. In the end I had to drive on.


There have been plenty more but those three hit me!

Why you should always clear the snow from your car's roof

This winter I lost count of the number of idiots I saw driving with snow cleared from their windscreen and nowhere else. Here's a piece of video to show you how dangerous it is to leave snow on your roof when you are driving...



Thanks to Theo Spark for the spot.

Car 0 - Icy Hill 1

Thanks to Theo Spark for the spot.

An extract from last year's Transparency International report

'Sixty one per cent of Bangladeshi drivers received their driving licences from the authorities without passing the necessary test, according to a survey by TI Bangladesh. According to those polled during the two-year survey, a person can bribe officials Tk 100 - Tk 7,000 (US $1.50–100 / €1–72) to receive a driving licence, while the registration of a car or motorcycle may be obtained with a bribe of Tk 1,000-50,000 or Tk 100-10,000 (US $15–713 or US $1.50–142 / €11-512 or €1–102) to receive a certificate of roadworthiness without having the vehicle tested.'

Of interest?

Parking fail

How did this person pass their driving test; or did they?

Does that necessarily follow, outside of the BBC's control-freakery mindset?

The BBC report that: 'The number of drivers speeding past Oxfordshire's deactivated speed cameras has increased by up to 88%, a road safety partnership claim.' Probably true, what else would you expect? But the BBC have to state as fact that:

'Insp Paul Winks, from Thames Valley Police, said: "It's obviously disappointing.

"It clearly means switching off the camera has given a green light to a small number of people to break the law.

"The consequence is more death and more death is unacceptable."'

Why is the consequence more death? Have there been any more accidents? Why assume there will be? Maybe drivers are just driving at a speed that they deem to be safe.

Could I see their workings please

News that an official review instigated by the last Labour government but reporting to the new Conservative/LibDem government is expected to recommend bringing Britain into line with most of Europe by reducing the legal limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg, makes me wonder something. We are told that the report is likely to conclude that the reduction would prevent up to 65 deaths and 230 serious injuries a year. Can someone please release the workings that lead to that conclusion, I'd be interested to investigate the statistics...

Italian driving

Ah the memories of Italian driving on the Autostrada, always 'interesting', sometimes terrifying.


Thanks to Subrosa for the spot.

Perfect for the next icy spell in London

Looks like a vehicle that could even get up Hampstead Hill!

Harriet Harman escapes driving ban

The Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman has been fined £350 (as well as ordered to pay £75 costs and the new victim surcharge of £15) and given three points on her driving licence after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention. Oddly the second charge of driving while using a mobile phone was withdrawn. Why was the charge dropped? Was it because drivers convicted of using a mobile phone whilst driving receive an automatic three-points penalty and a maximum fine of £1,000? With the six points previously on her licence Harriet Harman, plus the three for driving without due care and atention, she would have been disqualified from driving. I note that witnesses at the scene of the incident claimed that Harriet Harman was using her mobile telephone. I am of course sure there is a perfectly innocent explanation for what happened in court today.

Of course women can get out of parking spaces as well as men, just not this one

No comment necessary...

Of course women can park as well as men, but not this one

I especially like the way that the blocked male driver gets into her car, parks it first time and gives the keys back with some definite attitude...

What's the speed limit (update 2)

Back in October I blogged about the average speed camera enforced speed limit on the A40 between Gypsy Corner and Savoy Circus. In February I blogged again and again commented that:

"I note this weekend that the speed limit is still being advertised over the 400 or so yards of the average speed check as both 20mph and 30mph. A mixture of signs means that some motorists are sticking to 30mph, some to 20mph and some to somewhere in-between, with obvious resulting problems.

Is it too much to ask for some sense in the signing of speed limits, or is this another way of deliberately raising money through driver confusion? Either way the current situation is dangerous as drivers drive through the roadworks with one eye on their speedometer."

Today I took a look at London Safety Camera Partnership (sic) website and read this:

"A40 Acton
SPECS cameras are enforcing a limit of 30 mph on the A40 Western Avenue as works are carried out to replace railway bridges. Cameras are enforcing in both directions between Braid Avenue and Wales Farm Road. Enforcement at this location is scheduled to last until approximately January 2009. "

So can I safely assume the speed limit is 30mph on this stretch or is that figure as reliably stated as the scheduled speed enforcement deadline?

The Telegraph reports that:

"Ministers are drawing up plans to cut the speed limit on single-carriageway roads in the countryside from 60mph to 50mph. "

This Labour government and its fellow travellers in the enviromentalist sector as well as the health and safety Nazis have done their best to make driving as unpleasant, uncomfortable and expensive as possible. Drivers are corralled into less and less of the road, monitored by CCTV, GATOSs, average speed cameras, speed traps, ANPRS etc. etc. etc. and fined for the smallest infractions of the law with no defence allowed.

Lord Ahmed's severe prison sentence

Last week I reported that the unpleasant Lord Ahmed had only received a 12 week prison term that I had heard would be reduced by half to 6 weeks. Today I read that Lord Ahmed's solicitor Steve Smith has said:

"Lord Ahmed is clearly no danger to the public and in these circumstances the prison authorities can consider early release. He has to serve a minimum of 18 days."

Words fail me.

Lord Ahmed update

Lord Ahmed the texting Labour peer has not received the maximum sentence for driving dangerously -

"The court had heard how Lord Ahmed sent and received a series of five text messages while driving in the dark at speeds of, and above, 60mph along a 17-mile stretch of the motorway."

The headline sentence is a paltry 12 weeks in prison, but in fact apparently he will serve just half of his sentence in jail and the other half on licence. He was also banned from driving for a year.


Maybe the BBC will now refer to Lord Ahmed as the "convicted criminal" Lord Ahmed rather as they do with Jeffrey Archer. Maybe they would also like to mention in their article about Lord Ahmed's conviction that he allegedly threatened to "to mobilise 10,000 Muslims to prevent Mr Wilders from entering the House".

What's the speed limit? (update)

Back in October I blogged about the ridiculous speed controls on the A40 between Gypsy Corner and Savoy Circus. I note this weekend that the speed limit is still being advertised over the 400 or so yards of the average speed check as both 20mph and 30mph. A mixture of signs means that some motorists are sticking to 30mph, some to 20mph and some to somewhere in-between, with obvious resulting problems.

Is it too much to ask for some sense in the signing of speed limits, or is this another way of deliberately raising money through driver confusion? Either way the current situation is dangerous as drivers drive through the roadworks with one eye on their speedometer.