CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Authorities Must Bend to the Will of the Car

(13 posts)
  • Started 13 years ago by Wilmington's Cow
  • Latest reply from gembo

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  1. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    I was listening to the news on Radio 4 or 5 at the weekend - apparently it snowed in parts of the UK, who would have thought. Anyway, this was headline news. And mention was made of the M25 and people being stuck in their cars overnight.

    Pretty traumatic to be honest, but one interviewed driver got my blood pressure up. "It's the M25," she raged, "Why wasn't it gritted or snowploughed? They knew it was going to snow."

    Yes. Yes they did know it was going to snow. As did you. As well as presumably getting warnings about essential travel only and yet... you still got in your car.

    They had a chap from the Highways Agency then on basically totally exasperated about people still driving despite the warnings and stating that one of the reasons they hadn't been able to snowplough the route was people abandoning their cars so the snowplough couldn't get through.

    Perhaps next time it snows really badly a few of us could arrange to get stuck on the Innocent overnight and can then get on the news about the lack of preparation by the authorities.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  2. crowriver
    Member

    They're not used to snow dahn sawf. Hence the chaos.

    Mind you, the Glorious Kingdom of Wee Eckland did not fare very well the past few winters (excepting this one), where we also had numpties driving against the advice...
    Don't remember anyone doing an 'outraged of Stoneybridge' on Radio McScotland's Drivetime, mind you.

    More Stoneybridge:
    http://www.channel4.com/programmes/absolutely/

    Posted 13 years ago #

  3. Instography
    Member

    IIRC, wasn't there much tutting and harrumphing in this very place when people took seriously the travel warnings when it was a bit windy?

    Posted 13 years ago #

  4. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    I was thinking more of the hypocrisy of complaining that the authorities knew it was going to be bad and so should have done something; while at the same time those on the M25 knowing it would be bad and not doing anything.

    I think in the wind there was an after-the-fact realisation that the sending home of people from work etc. was possibly an over-reaction. And high winds are unlikely to get you stuck on a motorway overnight... ;)

    Posted 13 years ago #

  5. Claggy Cog
    Member

    They never learn. Whenever there has been considerable snow in and around London, people get stuck in their cars on the M25, and some die of hypothermia, and every time the reason given for not being able to clear the road, yep, it is clogged with cars with people needing to be rescued because they have ignored warnings. It was the same here last year, they could not clear the roads in and around this area because people got so far in their cars, and just abandoned them in the middle of the road, how considerate...they actually made no attempt to park them or move over to the side.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  6. gembo
    Member

    Snow last winter and winter before all sorts of cars abandoned in currie and balerno making it impassable for buses. Not quite as bad as closing m25. Wind sending people home is actually similar. We should heed the weather. So when snowing we should not drive cars. When windy we should drive with caution but it is not so likely to lead to abandoning the vehicle, but maybe if ferry/bridges involved it could mean going the long way round. I am very hopeful that I won't need to use snow shovel I invested in. Also thinking as Big Simon scraped past me on snow tyres that not buying special tyres this winter was the right decision then I remembered I fell off on ice before Xmas and hip still tender. Ye cannae win.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  7. LivM
    Member

    Re: big wind
    I was mightily amused on the day of the big wind (well, one of them) when I left my office at the normal time, got on a normal bus* (which was running on time) and made it home in less than the normal time because all the people in cars had heeded Police advice and gone home early so the streets were empty. The bus was a bit blown around in the wind but it never felt dangerous. The driver told us that the LRT buses have some alarm that goes off if the bus is in danger of toppling over. So if that goes off, grab hold of something. She may have been making that bit up.

    *concession to weather - I decided not to brave 70mph gusts on my bike...

    Posted 13 years ago #

  8. Stepdoh
    Member

    @crowriver did you know that the actual stoneybridge from stoneybridge is the one on Warriston Road that takes you to powerderhall b&q.

    And that's why I rock the pub quiz, who says you need a classical education.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  9. crowriver
    Member

    No I didn't know that. I trundle across that bridge to B&Q quite often, with a bike trailer. Next time, must watch out for council members in tweed jackets acting in an excessively parochial manner.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  10. Stepdoh
    Member

    you may get to star in the next promotional vidayeo.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  11. PS
    Member

    It just struck me that, [old codger voice] nowadays, it seems that the Authorities must bend to the will of the selfish individual.[/old codger voice]

    A lot of folk seem to have lost the concept of being responsible for the consequences of their own actions, whether it's the suing for scalding yourself with coffee, demanding that the government magics out of thin air a fleet of airliners to fly you home from whatever teetering on the brink Middle Eastern country you or (more likely) your employer has been exploiting, or trying to drive in conditions that either you or your car cannot handle.

    Maybe it's always been the case, but the growth of the talking head/lazy internet-based journalism that treats Twitter and Facebook as newswires has just given these moaners a voice.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  12. Dave
    Member

    Driving is, of course, never really going to be comparable to biking because with a very small number of exceptions like having to cross the Forth Bridge, if you can't keep going on your bike you can just walk instead (leaving nothing behind). Getting stuck or crashing the car is a million times more serious!

    In reality, it's rare that conditions can be so bad that you won't be better on your bike, especially if it's properly prepared, for instance not trying to ride in 6" of icy snow on slicks. Genuine hurricane I guess - but I found the wind was worse a week or so later (by far) than it had been cycling home through Bawbag.

    When I wasn't riding, I was glad of the bike as a support against the wind, so it was still a win.

    tl;dr - driving <> cycling

    Posted 13 years ago #

  13. gembo
    Member

    quite an interseting blend of enduring hurricane bawbag {I myself went to asda then home via WoL path nary a tree down, as Dave says much windier later}, then Stoneybridge Council who would doubtless also have a view on the wind.

    Myu favourite was Morag whon also had a moustache and tweed jacket {Morwenna Banks?)

    Posted 13 years ago #

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