War On The Motorist. How Long Before It Comes To Our City.

[mart 71]

More than 4,000 drivers caught by new traffic cameras -
Those waiting too long at yellow-box junctions !! and misusing bus gates could face a £70 fine.
BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-67953170

[HeHasRisen 3,412]

And rightly so. It's basic stuff, if you break rules like this it's a tax on stupidity, so I'm all for it. 

 

By the way, bus gates with fines have been in Sheffield for a number of years now. 

[geared 321]

43 minutes ago, HeHasRisen said:

By the way, bus gates with fines have been in Sheffield for a number of years now. 

 

Weren't the council caught improperly operating one and forced to pay back loads of fines?

[rudds1 102]

36 minutes ago, geared said:

 

Weren't the council caught improperly operating one and forced to pay back loads of fines?

Was that not to do with some council contracter sending motorists through a bus gate ?

[Prettytom 1,648]

1 hour ago, mart said:

More than 4,000 drivers caught by new traffic cameras -
Those waiting too long at yellow-box junctions !! and misusing bus gates could face a £70 fine.
BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-67953170

Excellent news.

 

Can we get some more red light cameras too.

 

Oh, and legalise car canons, so that I can eliminate the tossers who block crossroads when they are waiting to turn right, ignoring the fact that other traffic wants to go straight on.

 

Specifically 😁

[HeHasRisen 3,412]

50 minutes ago, geared said:

 

Weren't the council caught improperly operating one and forced to pay back loads of fines?

No idea. The Hillsborough one must have been knocking around at least a decade though, and that's before any within the city centre. 

[peak4 287]

"Those waiting too long at yellow-box junctions and misusing bus gates could face a £70 fine."

 

I've no idea what the first part means, so have raised the question elsewhere; the second seems fair enough, as why have bus gates if they are not enforced.
The whole design of Yellow Box junctions is a rather problematic one, which becomes even more contentious if enforcement begins on poorly designed junctions.
Here's a couple of articles on the subject

One from fleet News

and another from The RAC

I can imagine the tribunals getting quite busy.

The Sheffield specific link is a longish pdf HERE

I would suggest nothing to do with a "war on motorists", as that's getting into conspiracy theory territory; it's about maintaining compliance with existing regulations, but we must ensure that it's done fairly.

Edited January 14 by peak4

[Longcol 610]

Must have been dozens of threads on this subject in the 20 plus years the forum has been going.

 

Still thousands of people drive in the city on a daily basis.

[ads36 219]

"war on the motorist"

 

(follow the rules you were definitely told about, tested on, and are widely available for your review, at your convenience. Or there's a small risk of a small fine)

 

this is probably as good a place as any to point out that petrol today, is (more or less exactly) the same price it was 10 years ago - adjusting for inflation petrol is about as cheap as it's ever been. Please spare some sympathy for the poor motorist.

Edited January 15 by ads36

[Chekhov 488]

8 hours ago, ads36 said:

"war on the motorist"

 

(follow the rules you were definitely told about, tested on, and are widely available for your review, at your convenience. Or there's a small risk of a small fine)

 

this is probably as good a place as any to point out that petrol today, is (more or less exactly) the same price it was 10 years ago - adjusting for inflation petrol is about as cheap as it's ever been. Please spare soime sympathy for the poor motorist.

>>adjusting for inflation petrol is about as cheap as it's ever been<<

 

Where do you get  that from ?

I can remember when the price of petrol went up to £1 a gallon and everyone was shocked.

In 1978 a gallon was about 75p, which would be 17p a litre

17p in 1978 would be about 88p now.

That's 88p a litre. 

The current price of £1.40 a litre is about 60% higher......

 

You could argue that, as road space is limited and, in many cases, full, we should be taxing fuel (after all, theoretically that would help keep income tax down and or public service up), but it is plainly untrue to say "fuel is about as cheap as it's ever been".

Edited January 15 by Chekhov

[Annie Bynnol 613]

A bit selective with your dates perhaps?

Cost of 4*:

15 April 1978 75p

15 April 1979  88p

15 April 1980 132p

Source: Hansard

 

    Fuel duty tax receipts in the United Kingdom from 2011 to 2019 was £27 billion - a year on year reduction. In the year ending 2023 it has dropped to  £25 billion.

    Government populist policy of reducing the take from fuel tax has resulted in every UK citizen of all ages and means  paying more taxes to cover this revenue loss.

[mart 71]

2 hours ago, Annie Bynnol said:

A bit selective with your dates perhaps?

Cost of 4*:

15 April 1978 75p

15 April 1979  88p

15 April 1980 132p

Source: Hansard

 

    Fuel duty tax receipts in the United Kingdom from 2011 to 2019 was £27 billion - a year on year reduction. In the year ending 2023 it has dropped to  £25 billion.

    Government populist policy of reducing the take from fuel tax has resulted in every UK citizen of all ages and means  paying more taxes to cover this revenue loss.

But what percentage of the loss of fuel duty is down to electric vehicles?