CARS AND ROADS

An end to the war on cars and car owners. The motor car enriches the lives of us all — it is so much more than a means of transport, it means independence, the ability to take a job a long way from home, the ability to go out in the evening and get back home without risking late-night public transport, cars provide a static and mobile area of warm and cosy personal space for lunchtime breaks or sightseeing, cars are useful, cars are fun, cars are exhilarating, they are a personal statement, a hobby and a lifestyle, cars are wonderful. The car is king. Government must keep it that way.

TAXES

Road Tax Abolished

This is a regressive tax that takes no account of people's ability to pay, is expensive to administer, widely evaded and, incredibly, the amount currently payable is based upon global warming mythology !! The roads are a key part of the nation's infrastructure and should be funded from myth-free general taxation !

Excise Duty and VAT on Petrol Abolished

Again, these are regressive taxes that take no account of ability to pay. Combined, they account for over 60% of the price of petrol at the pump and are one of the major factors that make the joy and utility of car ownership unaffordable for increasing numbers of people — who are just expected to use the bus. The government should do all it can to make car ownership affordable for everyone. The government should abolish both these taxes.

PILOTING OF ROAD RATIONING SCHEMES

We are as committed to keeping the traffic moving as to increasing car ownership. Our proposals for total flexitime working for employees will help spread the morning and evening rush hours and over the long-term, our plans to increase the number of jobs available working from home, to decrease housing density and to move jobs to deprived areas should significantly reduce rush-hour congestion across the country.

In the interim however, with rush-hour gridlock now a twice daily misery for millions of Britons, the time has surely come to attempt some form of rationing of road use — not in order to gratuitously dictate peoples' lifestyles but to reduce largely unnecessary journeys in hope of making travel life ultimately better and more enjoyable for everyone.

However, rationing must only be attempted in a way that does not rely on price and affordability as a means of reducing usage. Possible bases for rationing are :

- restricting by total mileage per car

- restricting access to gridlocked areas to 4 days from 5 each week, say

- restricting access by timeslot, so that access would be possible each day, but only according to an individual's permitted time slot (i.e. it would be like congestion charging without the charge)

- reducing general traffic flow at peak times by staggering the clock-on/clock-off times of employees in local firms

Those wanting to access the town centre outside their slot would still be able to do so by going with a friend or making use of the new subsidised taxi service.

Rather than employing elaborate technology-heavy automated charging systems, simply restricting access to pinchpoints based on the form of a vehicle's number plate, would mean that those flouting restrictions would be instantly identifiable by traffic wardens, police and other car drivers (with video cameras on their mobile phones!).

Similarly, restricting by total mileage per car would be instantly verifiable by a simple check of the car odometer (by comparing with mileage driven since last MOT mileage divided by the number of days from the MOT).

Whichever basis was used, once schemes were up and running, day or time slots (and possibly mileage) could perhaps be traded locally, enabling those willing to be flexible or go without their preferred slot to make a little extra money.

The introduction of any such scheme will be made subject to approval by a local referendum.

In any event :

All Road Toll and Congestion Charging Schemes Abolished

These are regressive, price-based measures penalising the less well-off more than the rich. Forcing the less well-off to use public transport, leaving the roads clearer for the rich, is not a policy to which any democratic government should subscribe.

PARKING

Householders of Properties Without A Driveway Given Guaranteed Right To Park Outside Their Home

Many people living in urban areas have neither driveway nor garage and yet both they and their visitors are also often unable to park in the road immediately outside their own home — with the space being regularly hi-jacked by complete strangers. In this day of almost universal car ownership this is an appalling inconvenience and an unnecessary serious detriment to such properties. This basic right should be granted to any householder without a driveway, whether they own or just rent the property.

Wheel-Clamping Abolished and Replaced With A £25 Fine

Ludicrous parking arrangements and draconian parking-ticket/wheel clamping regimes either by local councils or owners of private property must be made a thing of the past — paying hundreds of pounds or suffering the loss of use of your car for a simple parking offence is unacceptable. A Maximum parking fine of £25 could be set for parking offences, so as to not be too onerous on the less well-off who will need to save for weeks to pay an £80 fine. Unpaid parking fines, however, could attract increased fines and then civic detention.

Parking Charges Limited To A Maximum of 25p/hour

After many years of abuse by councils, health authorities and private companies, its time to say 'enough'. Draconian parking charges unfairly penalise the less well-off. If government or councils wish to raise extra funds then they should do so through non-regressive income tax and not use car owners as their 'cash-cow'. Parking Charges should therefore be limited to a maximum of 25p/hour.

All Hospital Car Parks Completely Free

The requirement that those visiting their loved ones in hospital faff about with change and parking tickets is bad enough, but to set the parking rate at such a high level that the less well-off almost have to save-up in order to visit family members as they lay seriously ill or even dying in their hospital beds, reveals the lost-the-plot dimensions of the problems with our present political and economic systems.

We will abolish this inhumanity by making all hospital parking — like health treatment itself — completely free.

Disabled Parking Bays Reduced In Number

The provision of disabled parking bays in prime locations at supermarkets, car parks and local amenities is essential to enhance the quality of life for people already coping with serious disability. The government could, however, review the number of spaces reserved, as once marked for disabled-only use they are no longer available to others, and most of the spaces to seem to go unused most of the time.

INSURANCE

Cover For Vehicle Theft Even When Keys Are Left In The Ignition

It is an extraordinary fact of modern-day insurance policies that they exclude all cover for loss of a vehicle or motorbike that has been stolen when the owner has inadvertently left the keys in the ignition. Whilst it is doubtless the case that a small minority will fraudulently abuse such cover, the vast majority will not. We will therefore work with the insurance industry — who could perhaps significantly inflate the future premiums of those making a claim in such circumstances — to ensure that this cover is included in policies so that those of a forgetful disposition do not risk financial ruin every time they park their car.

An End To The Artificial Inflation Of Post-Incident Premiums

Its time for government to put an end to the artificial inflating of post-minor incident premiums by insurance companies. Things are so bad that people daren't report minor damage or even make a claim at all. This might suit the insurance companies, but its not what insurance is supposed to be about. We will require changes.

CAR HIRE

Govt-Subsidised Cheap Car Hire Available In Every Major Town

Many people who have passed their driving test can't afford to own a car — teenagers, students, the unemployed, low-paid workers etc — but would still like to be able to drive regularly so they can 'keep their hand in', and have access to a car for special occasions such as job interviews, visiting relations, looking at flats/houses, etc or just for a bit of fun. Yet the present car-hire sector requires all manner of driver checks, the completion of lengthy forms, provides incomplete insurance cover, often demands a sizeable deposit and costs too much. Consequently, most people don't bother, and their lives are diminished and made more inconvenient as a result.

We will therefore work with existing hire firms to ensure that cars and mopeds can be hired by the hour in simple, affordable (approx £10/day), turn-up-and-go style (as well as being able to be pre-booked over the phone or the internet). There will be no paperwork, no prior registering, just turn-up, insert a valid debit/credit card and away you go!

Hireable from a central location in every major town centre in the country, the aim being to create a sea-change in attitude towards car hire, making the town's fleet of hire cars a major new convenience for the less well-off and a real alternative to permanent car ownership.

Existing car owners struggling with the costs of running their own car will also be able to 'lend' their vehicle to the scheme in order to make some extra money.

If the scheme proves to be non-viable commercially (even when using cheap, second-hand cars, repaired category C write-offs, etc.) then due to the potential major life-enriching possibilities such a scheme would provide, we will ensure its continuance by making government funds available for an ongoing subsidy.

TRAFFIC LIGHTS, ROAD SIGNS and TRAFFIC CALMING

Traffic Lights : Ambiguity Removed and Timings Reviewed

In some locations, there is a separate set of lights controlling traffic making a left or right-turn (in addition to the lights for traffic going straight on). These can sometimes cause confusion in the minds of drivers, particularly those who are unfamiliar with the local area. We will review signal design at these locations with a view to removing ALL ambiguity. One simple measure considered will be to simply add clarifying signage, for e.g. "This Signal Is For Traffic Turning Left (Right) Only" .

Also, every town seems to have at least a couple of sets of traffic lights that keep motorists waiting for ages when there are no other cars about. We will work with police and traffic management specialists to try and resolve this annoying problem and seek to replace lights with roundabouts wherever possible.

Road Signs Simplified

A few months after cramming for the driving test most people forget what all the different shapes, borders and colours used for road signs mean. This is potentially dangerous and the complexity in signage is completely unnecessary. We will therefore make all road signs circular and with background colours simply based on the colours of the traffic light — red for warnings, prohibitions and commands and green for information-only, 'allowed to' signs.

The signs on all major roads also need to be reviewed, to reduce the common problems of (1) directions to any particular location suddenly disappearing when you're half-way there, (2) locations of major importance being signed less prominently than locations of minor importance, and (3) signs relating to right-turns perversely being located to the left of signs relating to left-turns.

Village signs too seem to be a law unto themselves, usually either being very infrequent or completely absent and supplying inconsistent distance information to little-used destinations whilst more significant locations go entirely unmentioned. Not good enough. Why should townies have days-out needlessly ruined or made more stressful for the want of a few well-placed informative signs. Motorists deserve regularly-placed professional signposting in the countryside — with distance and direction to the nearest village along each route signed from each significant crossroads.

Road Signs To Have Graffiti-Resistant Surfaces

Road signs are a target for graffiti and — amazingly — often have surfaces that are very difficult to clean without damaging the background paint or lettering. We will review the construction of all new road signs with a view to incorporating as many cost-effective anti-graffiti measures as possible.

Roadside LED Traffic Texting Boards Restricted To Displaying Only Traffic-Related Messages — NOT Intrusive and Manipulative 'Personal Instructions'

Roadside LED boards as a means to advise drivers of traffic delays and special road measures is a welcome innovation. Predictably however, these recent arrivals to Britain's road signage were soon enlisted in the command and control cause, increasingly used to directly address the car driving public with admonitions about speeding, drinking and driving, etc etc. They couldn't resist it could they?

We will make it a law that all such boards are only ever used for non-manipulative traffic management information and that they always remain advert-free.

Traffic Calming Measures Reviewed

Traffic calming has doubtless saved a few lives, but speed bumps disrupt easy access for the emergency services and many 'traffic-calming' measures are so artificial and unexpected as to be positively dangerous — for e.g. stop islands in the middle of busy roads, or posts jutting-out from the left hand side of the road forcing a surprise one-way traffic flow.

We will conduct a review of all traffic calming measures on a case-by-case basis, but the presumption will be for a significant reduction.

SPEED LIMITS

Most Speed Limits Increased

Again, some lives are saved each year by reduced maximum speeds but with increasing use of (cyclist-speed) 20mph zones, and cars dawdling along at 40mph on wide out-of-town roads and 50mph on some dual carriageways, the current limits do now seem to have gone too low. The wide variability of speed limits from town to town also means that drivers can no longer tell the speed limit from the general nature of the road environment which is itself distracting. It is always possible to save more lives by having ever slower speeds, but unless the intention is to artificially make cars as slow as buses (which would please car-haters no end), at some point alternative ways of reducing road deaths need to be sought.

The government could therefore retain 20mph only for very narrow densely populated residential areas but increase the standard built-up area speed limit to its former level of 30mph. Single carriageways and country road maximums could be 50mph, dual carriageways 70mph and the motorway maximum increased to the unofficial de facto limit of 90mph.

Most Speed Cameras Removed

Speed cameras reduce drivers to spending half their time studying their speedos in case of some minor infraction of speed limit rather than concentrating on the road ahead. This is dangerous. Many drivers are prosecuted when less than 10mph over the speed limit and people have lost their jobs after picking up several trivial 'speeding' fines even though never remotely approaching driving dangerously. This is unjust and ridiculous. Although cameras reduce average speeds which has a safety-enhancing effect, most speed cameras don't make accident blackspots much safer anyway. Is it any wonder drivers believe speed cameras are just another anti-car cash-cow measure.

We will therefore remove most speed cameras only retaining them in genuine accident blackspots where excessive speed has been shown to be the major cause of several previous accidents. The cameras will only be there to catch drivers who seem to have 'lost it' completely whilst driving — being set to trigger at 25mph above the speed limit.

ROAD SAFETY

No Overtaking Rule (On Single Lane Carriageways) Piloted

For decades, police have regularly been appearing on TV screens after yet another tragic road accident or even pile-up, appealing for drivers to not drive so close, particularly at speed. For decades too, huge numbers of drivers have completely ignored this advice — many seeing in tailgating an easy way to vent their personal frustrations by irritating, intimidating and endangering other road users with their anti-social driving habits. It is surely time to take some effective action against this ubiquitous menace.

Overtaking and the tailgating that often precedes it are major causes of accidents and of general stress on the roads. If having joined a road a driver knew that no-one would overtake them and they need never feel that they had to overtake anyone else, then the entire driving experience would be a much calmer and safer one. There would be no need for tailgating at anytime, enabling police to quickly identify and target the anti-social tailgaters who like to pressurize the car in front. Exceptions would need to be made, allowing for overtaking of agricultural vehicles etc, but we will pilot a 'No Overtaking' rule in several areas of the country to gauge public response and the practicalities involved.

Dangerous and Unsafe Drivers Targeted

Everyone has a habitual style of driving, for the unsafe and aggressive driver that style is a danger to other road users as well as to themselves. The government's approach to improving safety on the roads should not be to target everyone, but to target those known to have poor driving habits as follows :

Disabled Mobility Scooters Banned From The Public Highway

The disabled have much to deal with in life and the quiet, comfortable, door-to-door powered transport that electric mobility scooters provide has been a real boon to those with mobility issues. However, busy roads full of cars with busy, distracted drivers are no place for a 8mph or 16mph means of transport! We will therefore make it illegal for mobility scooters of any specification to be used on roads.

With alternative routes available via the increasing pedestrianisation of city centres and the provision of cycle paths and footpaths on feeder roads, it is to be hoped that this necessary change on safety grounds is of inconvenience to only a very small and diminishing number of people.

'Get Tough' Policy on Uninsured Driving and Driving Whilst Disqualified

Driving whilst uninsured could mean an automatic 12 month driving ban and driving whilst disqualified mean a doubling of the ban and 6 months home curfew. A third offence committed during the double-time disqualification period should mean an automatic 3 month prison term.

DRIVING TESTS

Driving Tests Made More Realistic

The driving tests for all vehicles should be made more realistic, requiring the demonstration of the ability to cope with heavy town centre and motorway traffic, the ability to park a car in a relatively confined space and night-time driving. The eyesight aspect of the test should also test night-time acuity as this can be a particular problem with some eye conditions. Failing the night-time acuity test could lead to the award of a restricted day-time only license.

Automatic Re-Testing Every 2 years From Age 70

The inevitable but subtle decline in cognitive and motor skills associated with advancing age can significantly negatively affect driving ability in those aged over 70. Many aging drivers don't realise their abilities have deteriorated and others suspect it but are understandably reluctant to admit to limitations which may result in the loss of a life-long and much-valued license to drive. For the sake of other road users, who must not be needlessly put at risk by people driving with reduced capacity, the government should therefore introduce compulsory re-testing every 2 years for all drivers over the age of 70. The tests themselves providing an opportunity for instructors to provide tips aimed at helping drivers in this age category, e.g. allow more reaction time, etc.

Doctors Required To Report Medical Conditions Affecting Driving Ability

At the present time doctors are not required to ensure that patients inform the DVLA of relevant medical conditions, even if those conditions are severe and an obvious safety hazard. Whilst some patients may resent their doctor 'grassing' on them under such proposals, experience has shown that left to their own devices many people who are medically unfit to drive will continue to do so, needlessly endangering the lives of other people in the process. No-one is entitled to that right, with or without their doctor's complicit silence.

CAR DESIGN

The Price Of All-Electric Cars Kept Affordable

Whilst The Fair Britannia Party welcomes the move to all-electric cars for the improvement in air quality that will bring, we will not permit the move to a car market with exorbitant all-electric prices — the 'well-heeled' driving on half-empty roads, and the less well-off reduced to using public transport. Car ownership is second-only to home ownership in its personal and life-enhancing significance and WE WILL NOT PERMIT THIS FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT OF MODERN LIVING TO BE DENIED TO THOSE OF LESSER FINANCIAL MEANS.

The "Right To Repair" of Car Owners and Independent Auto Repair Businesses Preserved

For generations the 'gear-head grease monkeys' of life have, in car maintenance, found one of their greatest, most fulfilling lifelong passions. Yet today, even basic car maintenance and repair tasks are being increasingly put beyond the reach of both mechanically-minded car owners and even small independent auto repair businesses through restricted access to essential tools and prohibitive pricing for digital diagnostic devices and software (for e.g. £3,000 for an essential diagnostic ipad). WE WILL NOT ALLOW THIS ESSENTIAL JOY OF LIFE TO BE NEEDLESSLY AND GRATUITOUSLY DENIED TO TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CAR OWNERS. And we will not allow big corporate car manufacturers and car dealerships to monopolise car maintenance so they can put smaller independent competitors out of business and permanently rip-off car owners.

WE WILL REQUIRE PARTS AND MANUALS AND ALL ESSENTIAL TOOLS BE READILY AVAILABLE AT AFFORDABLE PRICES TO ANYONE THAT WANTS THEM.

Compulsory Dusk Lights-On Feature Fitted To All Cars

Many drivers forget or otherwise fail to turn their lights on as soon as daylight begins to fade. A simple automatic light-sensitive switch — similar to household security lights — could therefore be made compulsory on all cars.

New Cars Required To Separate Indicators From Headlights/Taillights

Whilst some modern cars already incorporate this feature, most older cars house indicator lenses in the same unit as the headlight or taillight, often making the indicators very difficult to see at night-time as they are obscured by the bright headlights/taillights. Legislation will therefore be brought forward requiring car manufacturers selling to the British market to incorporate this safety feature into their future designs. Alternatively, again, as some manufacturers of modern cars already do, this safety requirement could be met by incorporating taillights that briefly extinguish when the indicator is flashing.

All Bull-Bars To Be Made of Hollow Plastic or Foam

In spite of safety concerns raised many years ago, many 4 x 4-styled vehicles still incorporate metal bull-bars which have been shown to significantly increase injuries to pedestrians. Legislation could therefore require all vehicles — new or used — to replace metal bull-bars with either hollow plastic or foam bull-bars.

To Reduce Road Rage, All New Cars To Come With 2-Tone Horns — With (Noisy) Standard and (Quieter) 'Polite' Settings !

The present horn sounds on cars are appropriate for warning and reprimanding other road users but too shrill-sounding for the more frequent use of gentle reminders if someone is slow to see green traffic lights or the progress of a queue or for saying thank you for being shown an act of road courtesy or for the simple acknowledgement of friends seen walking down the local high street. A more friendly horn sound could therefore be fitted — in addition to the standard formal alert — enabling drivers to more accurately reflect their personalities behind the wheel and hopefully help reduce the incidence of road rage confrontations which can be sparked by reprimands that are perceived to be unjustified or overly severe.

Car Design Standards To Require The Secure Attachment of Hub-Caps

Detached hub-caps litter Britain's roads. This road debris requires drivers to swerve to avoid damaging their vehicle and for cyclists they are positively dangerous. Even when crushed by vehicles, the sharp plastic shards and tangles wire clips still threaten to cause problems for weeks until they are finally removed. We will therefore require car manufacturers to modify their hub-cap designs to prevent this unnecessary danger on Britain's roads.

Review of Pedal Heights To Maximise The Ability Of Drivers To Make An Emergency Stop

Current design permits the height of the brake pedal to be positioned several inches above the typical height of the foot when depressing the accelerator pedal when driving. Consequently, in order to brake, drivers must both move the foot across to the brake pedal and also raise it several inches. This takes extra time — time that delays the start of braking, and increasing the likelihood and speed of any resulting impact. We will therefore commission a review of pedal heights and legislate for changes so as to maximise the ability of drivers to brake quickly and easily in an emergency.

Protruding Van Running Boards Required To Fold Away When The Vehicle Is In Motion

Some vans currently have large running boards that whilst both a valuable passenger-assist and welcome styling feature, protrude several inches beyond the door sills and side of the vehicle, making them a significant ankle-chopping hazard to cyclists and pedestrians alike. Future designs will be required to either make the boards lie flush with the side of the vehicle, or retract when the vehicle is in motion.

ROAD BUILDING, DESIGN and MAINTENANCE

Road Building and Road Maintenance

Britain already has an advanced road network and given the expense of building new roads, except for known bottlenecks along major routes, the presumption should be to not build bypasses for small towns etc. Measures for total flexitime working for employees would help spread the morning and evening rush hours and longer-term plans to increase the availability of jobs working from home, decrease housing density and move jobs to deprived areas should eventually significantly reduce rush-hour congestion across the country.

The priority should be to properly maintain the existing road network which in many areas is falling into a state of dangerous disrepair — often as a result of councillors pursuing 'grand plan' public transport schemes leaving insufficient funds available for essential maintenance.

Traffic Disruption Minimised During Road Maintenance

After years of complaints and campaigns and the powers that be assuring us that things will be different, it is still a commonplace in every town in the country for work on even a minor section of road to require inordinate coning and road closures in both directions for interminable weeks on end. Invariably there is little or no activity within the coned section for most of the time either. Not good enough.

We will make it a condition of all road maintenance contracts that contractors complete the work with minimum disruption to the traffic flow or face heavy fines.

All Bus Lanes and 'Car-Sharer' Lanes Abolished

Leaving entire lanes almost completely unused most of the day so a fundamentally unpopular means of transport can receive preferential treatment whilst car drivers (the vast majority) are made to sit fuming in cars every rush hour, is no way to maximise the utility of the scarce fundamental resource that is the road network or build a sensible democratic transport policy. The complicated variable days and hours of use for such lanes succeed in adding a final farcical flourish. Most recently, as if to heap even more misery on motorists' heads, many bus lanes have now been equipped with there own cameras and strict penalty fine regimes put in place to catch any driver momentarily venturing into the 'sacred' area at the wrong time. Unbelievable. Little wonder there is a growing divide between government and the governed. The government should abolish all bus lanes and 'car-sharer' lanes immediately.

Review of 2-Into-1 Junctions and Overly Complex Junctions

Many newly built road schemes across the country require drivers from 2 lanes from different directions to merge into a single lane whilst travelling at speed. Whilst locals may find the degree of difficulty acceptable, drivers passing through the area can have a very difficult time of it, particularly when the roads are busy. Conversely, other junctions seem to be confusingly over-elaborate with several little islands dotted about, separate filter lanes and assorted road markings splashed all over the road just so that a relatively straightforward turn can be made. A review should be conducted of the key road junctions in every major town to ensure that they are simple, unambiguous and safe.

New Materials Used For Drain Covers and Pedestrian Crossing Studs

Anyone regularly using the roads on 2 wheels knows that drain gratings, drain covers and the silver metal stud markers at pedestrian crossings become like glass in the wet. The possible use of alternative non-slippery materials for construction or a coating should therefore be investigated.

Noisy Click-Clack Drive-U-Mad Drain Covers Repaired Within 48 Hours

The design of the drain covers themselves should also be reviewed as they often work loose becoming a serious noise nuisance to those living nearby or pop-out of the manhole completely and become potentially lethal. Due to the extreme click-clack noise nuisance produced by badly-fitting drain covers in residential areas, our aim is to have them repaired (if only with a temporary repair) within 48 hours of a repair report to local councils.

A Rolling Programme of Fitting Cat's Eyes To Country Roads

Most country roads have no street lights or cat's eyes or even lane markings and so are dangerous for cyclists and motorcyclists to use after dark, for riders' underpowered lights are unable to adequately light the way ahead. With no lighting at all, travelling in the countryside at night also has an unwelcome spooky feel. The government could therefore investigate the possible costs associated with installing cat's eyes (or new-style solar-powered lights) along the outside edges of all major country roads — given the scale of the task, this would probably need to be completed in a staged manner over a number of years.

Laybys To Have Basic Toilet Facilities

It is completely unacceptable that car drivers often have to drive many uncomfortable miles before finding a toilet. Unacceptable too is the smell of laybys that car and lorry drivers have used as unofficial urinals. The government should immediately begin a rolling programme of providing toilet facilities in laybys so that drivers are never more than 3 miles from the nearest loo.