Take-Off

I had intended, on my return to Blip, to put up less wildlife shots, but the Waxwings on Coates Crescent, near my work, were so obliging in the autumn colours this mornig that I had no real choice. The only difficulty was in choosing the shot, because they were posing so perfectly, and pouncing on unsuspecting berries.

Nice little bright spot in the middle of an otherwise dull (in terms of work) morning. Beautiful weather though - one of those nice crisp and clear days.

Apparently, however, the 'motoring lobby' (clearly unhappy at the war on the motorist (as unsuccessful a war as in Iraq and Afghanistan it seems)) are not to be cheered by anything as trifling as a good bit of weather. No. In a tale that will gladden the dark stony hearts of many an embittered Daily Wail reader the motorist is having his rights usurped in favour of peasantry in the form of cyclists and pedestrians, and not only that, but it's all down to a law emanating from those evil foreigners in the EU. You see, the UK is looking to follow the rest of Europe (the civilised parts) in enacting 'strict liability' legislation surrounding 'accidents' involving motor vehicles.

And the motoring lobby has gone gobby. A Daily Mirror columnist, presumably with a very tiny penis but an enormous car, stated, "Bicycles are for children...[they are] like masturbation - something you should grow out of. There is something seriously sick and stunted about grown men who want to ride a bike." I was shocked. You're supposed to grow out of masturbation?

Jeremy Clarkson, speaking of unwelcome stains that should be hidden from public view, stated (with my pot shots in square brackets, "Bicycle guerrillas? We?ve already got them. We don?t need this new loony idea to encourage them even more to shoot red lights and ignore the Highway Code. [He has a point, some cyclists do do this, but those in glass houses... how many times do the Top gear boys break the speed limit on their fun challenges?]

They have already taken over a third of the roads with their green tarmac cycle lanes. [Have we? Good grief, a third of all the roads in the country eh?] Now the Lycra Nazis want to take over the whole lot! And they still don?t pay a penny for going on the roads which the poor old motorists pay through the nose for. [Ah, the good old 'road' tax myth - i.e. VED NOT hypothecated for spending on the roads, which are paid for out of general taxation or council tax, depending on where they are. So those of us who pay MORE tax contribute MORE - does that mean the wealthy have more rights to the road Jeremy? Presumably given your fat BBC pay packet it does...]

Traffic congestion is the fault of the Government [not people in cars causing thecongestion then???] ? the very people who now want to penalise motorists more for being stuck in traffic. When will people understand that roads are for cars and that there is no danger at all from speeding motorists if walkers and cyclists steer clear?" [Please let this last line be a joke!!?!?]

There are complaints that insurance premiums will go up (estimates are £50 a year, though evidence from Europe suggests this won't happen at all). But why would they go up? The suggestion in all of the press tells half the story - DRIVERS WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY LIABLE! Well yes, true, but that doesn't mean that, if they prove they were not at fault, they're still liable. Basically we're looking at having the exact same system, just from a different starting point, which provides protection to the most vulnerable on the streets (pedestrians and cyclists) from those who can cause the most harm (drives and cars - who let's not forget kill about 3000 a year). It filters down as well - cyclists will be automatically liable in case of hitting a pedestrian - something which I'm sure the frothing at the mouth anti-cyclists would actually think would be a good thing.

But them (I say 'them', I'm a motorist as well - remember the grey areas, not every cyclist is ONLY a cyclist, in fact something like 85% of regular cyclists also driev) having to pay a potential extra £50 a year for the sake of making people think a bit more carefully, drive a bit more cautiously, and save a few of those 3000 lives a year? How dare we! It's an act of war I tell you!

There is but one thing to remember, driving is a privilege, not a right. Act like it, and stop acting like spoilt children when you're told you're not allowed to kill, maim and generally bully the rest of society. War on the motorist my arse, take a walk around any UK city centre and tell me that people are being driven (if you'll pardon the pun) out of their cars.