Issue 128 : April - May 2003
MAG News
Helmet Cases
Yamaha YZF-R6
Honda CBR600RR
Screamin' Eagle
Cycling Zealot
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MAG News
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London Congestion Charge & Rural Speed LimitGo straight to "Rural 40mph limit get's shelved" story. Clear the streetsJonathon Ross is a scooter boy and proud of it - London's congestion charging has started and so far things are looking better than expected
Congestion Charging will be operated from 7am until 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, excluding Public Holidays. For more information about the congestion charge and how to pay it, log onto www.cclondon.com TRANSPORT 2000 today welcomed the introduction of congestion charging in central London and said it was "the best idea since the Underground". Campaigners said it would improve the street environment for people in the centre of London, especially for pedestrians and cyclists, would lead to more and faster bus services and would reduce delays for essential vehicles. Stephen Joseph, Director of Transport 2000, said: "This is the best idea since the Underground. Charging is a bold vision that could help us rethink transport. It is a brave but essential step forward for a great city that has been blighted by high levels of traffic for too long. Charging is not anti-motorist but pro-people and it offers the chance to transform the streets of London. Ordinary Londoners will be congestion charging winners." Some teething troubles could inevitably be expected at the beginning, campaigners said, and the scheme should not be evaluated for three months to give motorists the chance to get used to it and the benefits time to become apparent. Details of the scheme such as zone boundary, cost and exemptions should be kept under review. The organisation challenged those who opposed charging to say how they would get London on the move again and said that people and organisations trying to undermine the scheme were "spoilers acting against the interests of the community". Special criticism was reserved for the Government which has failed to throw its weight behind the London scheme or encourage other local authorities around the country to follow suit. Transport 2000 believes congestion charging offers a new way forward for cities choked by traffic elsewhere around the country and although other local authorities are currently nervous about charging, success in London could see them coming down from the the fence and having the confidence to introduce schemes in their areas. Thirty-five local councils have already registered their interest in charging schemes with the Department for Transport, including Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds Leicester and Manchester. Durham has already launched a small charging scheme based on the historical core of the city. MAG position
 Rural 40mph limit get's shelvedA proposal to introduce blanket 40mph limits across rural roads has been withdrawn at committee stage in the House of Commons thanks to timely intervention by MAG. A proposal to introduce 40mph limits across much of rural Britain has been shelved in the wake of intensive lobbying from MAG. The proposal took the form of an amendment/clause to develop a Rural Road Speed Hierarchy through the Railways and Transport Safety Bill. Extreme though it sounded, MAG had to take the issue seriously as The Bill had reached the Standing Committee stage of its passage through the House of Commons. After being alerted to the situation MAG wrote to the nineteen member committee, describing our concerns about the proposed amendment. The transcript of the committee debate proves that lobbying and especially visiting your MP does work. Committee member Linda Perham MP for Ilford North mentioned MAG writing to the committee and also meeting MAG members who had visited her in her constituency. She mentioned that although there were many supporters of the clause there were constituents who did not support it and outlined MAG's concerns that the new clause would, far from assisting road safety, actually be counterproductive. MAG argued that the concept of such a low limit being applied regardless of circumstance was essentially flawed. In some circumstances, for example on very twisty B roads frequented by horse riders a 40mph limit might actually be too high while in others circumstances it would be unrealistically low. Enforcing a blanket limit on rural roads would be irrational, would fail to reflect the huge variation in road environment and would run counter to expert road safety advice given in the Department for Transports road circular 193. The circular argues that speed limits are not necessarily an effective way to reduce speed. Tom Brake MP for Carshalton & Wallington although not agreeing with MAG's view, pointed out that the proposal did not enjoy universal support and that MAG had contacted the committee and expressed their concern about the clause. MAG made the point that the law requires respect to be effective and if drivers feel limits are unrealistic that respect is diminished and can lead to widespread contempt for all limits. I was argued that it is inappropriate speed that should be the targeted. The government are working on the development of a framework to assess what speeds are appropriate together with what speeds are actually being driven on rural roads. The first results of that work are expected to be available by the middle of this year. That results will assist the formation of plans to revise the guidance on setting local speed limits more appropriately. It is also planned to publish advice on village entry signing later in 2003 to assist local authorities in introducing more 30 mph speed limits in rural villages. Anne McIntosh MP for Vale of York, proposer of the amendment, in response to the adverse reaction from MAG stated that she supported the motor cyclists as road users and hopes that they will use the roads as sensibly as they possibly can. She said 'Aggressive motor cyclists occasionally use roads in rural areas such as North Yorkshire and Cumbria and impair the enjoyment of other road users such as horse riders, cyclists and pedestrians.' It was reported that in previous discussions horse riders have gone on record as saying that motorcyclists are the most considerate road users when approaching and passing them. MAG Director of Public Affairs Trevor Baird said; 'This experience shows the value of the consultative status MAG now enjoys. It is far easier to stop bad legislation being enacted than to repeal it afterwards. '  |
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The first day of congestion charging in the nation's capital was marked by a photo call in Trafalgar Square where the MCI had laid on a giant inflatable motorcycle to remind motorists that 'Motorcycle Riders Don't Pay Fivers.' Helping attract attention to the message was media personality Jonathon Ross. Ross, who regularly uses a scooter to make appointments in London said 'scooters and motorcycles really are the only way to get around town these days and I feel quite smug from the smart approach I have adopted to that most stressful of modern pursuits, travelling to work. Lets face it, there are days when even the luckiest of us dread heading in to our first appointment for the day, we don't really want to get where we are going but all those car-owning commuters only make things worse. And this is why I first took up the scooter. Yes, it's out. I stand exposed before you. I am a scooter lover. As you sit and sulk, watching your life tick away rev by rev as you queue at the lights - I will whiz past using only a fraction of the full glorious 50cc available to me, beating London congestion and the London Congestion Charge."