---- CONTENTS ---- |
The World According to Jaggy - March 19, 2009 Forest Threat Lifted - Democracy at Work! Isn’t democracy a wonderful institution - when it works! Just before the news hit the media at the weekend I got a call from Ken Wood at mid day on Friday. He had just received the good news by phone from Alison McInnes, the Lib Dem MSP for Aberdeenshire. The Scottish Government had abandoned plans to privatise and lease-off parts of the Forestry Commission estate in Scotland. Rallying was safe – for a wee while! It had been quite a hectic couple of months. Ken had attended a couple of meetings in the north east and put our case to Alison personally. The big concern was ensuring continued public access to the public forests. Alison was campaigning quite hard and had a petition on her website for folks to fill in and add comments. So I did my bit and filled it in and added a few comments. Well, I’ll tell you what, I was surprised when I got a letter back from her on officially headed paper in a suspiciously marked official envelope (I thought I was getting called up to go to Afghanistan!) thanking me for my contribution. Whatever, had it not been for the timely intervention of one Ken Wood Esq and the support of his local MSP, who knows what might have happened. But here’s a funny thing. Apart from the environmental issues which were part of this proposed sell-off, another reason behind the idea was to save money and generate income. If that was the case, why has the Government appointed a ‘rambling tsar’ for the north of Scotland to promote a ‘wider appreciation of Scotland’s forests’? This newly appointed Forestry Commission Highland Health Advisor will be paid a salary of £15,000 a year for a 21 hour week to promote the health benefits of woodland strolls. Honestly, if I had made this up, folk would never have believed it. On the one hand, the Government is keen to save money and on the other it is spending money on some do-gooder who is going to tell me to take a hike! No wonder they don’t have the money to spend on roads maintenance. I mean, who comes up with these ideas? Have you heard the latest one? The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Jim Fitzpatrick has announced a proposal to cut the national speed limit from 60 mph to 50 mph on single carriageway A, B and C roads, which equates to around two thirds of Britain’s road network. This proposal will be put to the public in a consultation document some time in the Summer, probably when Parliament is in recess, and probably when all the MPs are on their hols in foreign parts in some sleazy, lager-fuelled dive somewhere hot and sticky. There is a claim that the speed reduction will save lives, and yes, you can’t argue with the logic. In fact if we all stayed at home and didn’t drive at all, we could save even more lives on British roads. When the Government first introduced the national 70 mph Motorway speed limit in 1965, they cited the fuel crisis and the need to save money. It was the same when they introduced the 60 limit on all other roads. Nowadays, it’s not just safety and savings, but the ‘green issue’. They seem to think that if we can’t be forced by cost or persuaded by concern, then we can be embarrassed into accepting their latest dictat. Simply by raising the spectre of a guilt-trip we are supposed to meekly accept their advice. Well, I have a theory of my own, and this might come as a surprise to those in Government with their chauffeurs, taxi expenses and 7 grand rail season tickets. It’s not speed that kills, it’s crashing that kills. If it was simply a matter of speed then all of us rallyists would be dead by now. So it’s not speed. Nope, the real culprits are bad driving and stupid drivers. If the Government is serious about reducing accidents then they should address the real cause. More speed cameras will not catch bad drivers. I would rather see Policemen at accident black spots than cameras, and if someone is caught driving dangerously then rip up their licence and send them back to driving school, with no government subsidy for the driving lessons. It might not be popular, but we need a stiffer driving test for newcomers. I reckon it’s crazy in this day and age that new drivers have no experience of driving on Motorways till after they have passed their test. Many of them treat slip roads as drag strips rather than filter lanes. We might also have to consider the frequency of driving tests. Every five years perhaps? Truckers and bus drivers are already being targeted for more training and stiffer tests, motorists will be next. There are already enough speed limits in place without introducing more. Since the beginning of last year, all commercial vehicles over 3.5t must have a speed limiter fitted and are not allowed in the outside lane of Motorways. There is already a feeling in the CV community that the next stop will be all CVs over 2.6t will be next and then ALL CVs. And once they have got the nation’s trucks and vans running at 56 mph, it will be the turn of the motorist. And then, once that’s in place, the speed will be gradually lowered - till the traffic stops moving and there will be no more accidents! Job done. Write to: |