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Ray Massey's column
Don't ring a lawyer if you get a speeding prosecution, join the police force instead
After 10 glorious, successful and wildly popular years* (*© Alistair Campbell) in Downing Street, the Blairs are set to leave their official home with his ’ n ’ hers cars that neatly sum up the New Labour legacy. His officials have approached Land Rover for a £150,000 armoured, bomb-proof Discovery 3, the sort of ‘Chelsea Tractor’ off-roader we mere mortals are supposed to shun in favour of smaller, ‘green’ cars.
Cherie has taken delivery of a £45,000 Chrysler Grand Voyager 2.8 CRD – a special-edition Lords model. It’s the sort of school-run vehicle London Mayor Ken Livingstone says is driven by ‘idiots’. Hardly saving the planet, is it? With his departure only weeks away, Mr Blair is now on the last lap of his worldwide legacy tour, reminding us of his great achievements (but don’t mention the war). So here’s his legacy for motorists.
Traffic jams and pollution are getting worse as the Government fails to meet its own targets, according to the Department for Transport’s annual report. In June 1997, former Transport supremo John Prescott boasted: “I will have failed if, in five years’ time, there are not many more people using public transport and far fewer journeys by car. It is a tall order, but I want you to hold me to it.” We did. And he has.
Then there were the fuel protests, when a band of angry hauliers, farmers and tanker drivers blockaded refineries, put a stranglehold on the nation’s fuel, caused the Government to wobble and, for a while, made ministers wary of pushing up duty willy-nilly. But they didn’t put them off altogether. Once the Government had emergency measures in place to head off any future protest, the tax rose. We’re still levied around 70p in the pound. And £1-a-litre fuel is predicted to arrive by the end of this month.
Pay-as-you-drive road pricing is making its relentless march, despite protests on the No 10 website by 1.8 million drivers. No decision has been made on a national scheme, ministers repeat, parrot-fashion. But look closely at the detailed guidance given to councils bidding to run local trials. All local schemes must be ‘inter-operable’ – across Europe. They must be able to put a different price on various types of vehicle and be able to charge higher rates to cars with greater CO2 emissions. Do you trust them?
There’s also the explosion in speed cameras. With more than 6,000 Gatso-style boxes on UK roads catching an estimated two million speeders a year, an unblemished licence is becoming rare. The number of drivers with points now exceeds six million.
In a bid to defuse the main criticism that these units were simply ‘cash cows’ designed to raise revenue rather than save lives, the Government was forced first to paint the grey boxes bright yellow, and then to end the incentive for so-called ‘partnerships’ to rake in extra cash.
As proof that speeding points have become devalued, they are no longer an indication to insurers of a driver being bad, risky or reckless, and don’t necessarily lead to higher premiums, says broker Swinton. The Association of British Insurers agrees: “As there are more speed cameras, a speeding conviction is much more likely.”
The best way to beat a Gatso prosecution is no longer to ring a loophole lawyer – join a police force instead. While 84 per cent of motorists flashed are fined, the rate for speeding coppers is one in 200, or 0.5 per cent. Only 354 of the 90,000 police caught on film speeding or jumping red lights were punished. One law for them, another for us? No wonder Tony wants that armoured 4x4. It’s to protect him from 30 million angry motorists.
Ray Massey is Motoring Editor of the Daily Mail
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| The best way to beat a Gatso prosecution is no longer to ring a loophole lawyer – you should simply join a police force instead | |
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Cherie has taken delivery of a £45,000 Chrysler Grand Voyager 2.8 CRD – a special-edition Lords model. It’s the sort of school-run vehicle London Mayor Ken Livingstone says is driven by ‘idiots’. Hardly saving the planet, is it? With his departure only weeks away, Mr Blair is now on the last lap of his worldwide legacy tour, reminding us of his great achievements (but don’t mention the war). So here’s his legacy for motorists.
Traffic jams and pollution are getting worse as the Government fails to meet its own targets, according to the Department for Transport’s annual report. In June 1997, former Transport supremo John Prescott boasted: “I will have failed if, in five years’ time, there are not many more people using public transport and far fewer journeys by car. It is a tall order, but I want you to hold me to it.” We did. And he has.
Then there were the fuel protests, when a band of angry hauliers, farmers and tanker drivers blockaded refineries, put a stranglehold on the nation’s fuel, caused the Government to wobble and, for a while, made ministers wary of pushing up duty willy-nilly. But they didn’t put them off altogether. Once the Government had emergency measures in place to head off any future protest, the tax rose. We’re still levied around 70p in the pound. And £1-a-litre fuel is predicted to arrive by the end of this month.
Pay-as-you-drive road pricing is making its relentless march, despite protests on the No 10 website by 1.8 million drivers. No decision has been made on a national scheme, ministers repeat, parrot-fashion. But look closely at the detailed guidance given to councils bidding to run local trials. All local schemes must be ‘inter-operable’ – across Europe. They must be able to put a different price on various types of vehicle and be able to charge higher rates to cars with greater CO2 emissions. Do you trust them?
There’s also the explosion in speed cameras. With more than 6,000 Gatso-style boxes on UK roads catching an estimated two million speeders a year, an unblemished licence is becoming rare. The number of drivers with points now exceeds six million.
In a bid to defuse the main criticism that these units were simply ‘cash cows’ designed to raise revenue rather than save lives, the Government was forced first to paint the grey boxes bright yellow, and then to end the incentive for so-called ‘partnerships’ to rake in extra cash.
As proof that speeding points have become devalued, they are no longer an indication to insurers of a driver being bad, risky or reckless, and don’t necessarily lead to higher premiums, says broker Swinton. The Association of British Insurers agrees: “As there are more speed cameras, a speeding conviction is much more likely.”
The best way to beat a Gatso prosecution is no longer to ring a loophole lawyer – join a police force instead. While 84 per cent of motorists flashed are fined, the rate for speeding coppers is one in 200, or 0.5 per cent. Only 354 of the 90,000 police caught on film speeding or jumping red lights were punished. One law for them, another for us? No wonder Tony wants that armoured 4x4. It’s to protect him from 30 million angry motorists.
Ray Massey is Motoring Editor of the Daily Mail
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