Oh bollards! - Page 2

timw · 20 November 2006, 14:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Talking of ridiculous new charges get a look at this. It's going to screw London for good-hauliers can't afford to buy new trucks to cmply with this so London might well become a ghost town. Even the supermarkets don't completely comply.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/low-emission-zone/default.asp

No this is not a ridiculous charge.

As a Londoner born, living and working in London, I would rather have better air quality, and if this goes someway to improving air quality then I'm all for it.

It may cause some hardship to commercial operators, but if they want to operate in our city, then they should only be allowed to do so in a less polluting way.

ADS · 20 November 2006, 16:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

You can't take the theory test if you can't read.

If you put the head phones on it reads the questions out to you, then is it A................., B........................, or C...........................

So providing you understand the question and you recognise the letter A, B or C, you could probably get through it.

codprawn · 20 November 2006, 17:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by timw

No this is not a ridiculous charge.

As a Londoner born, living and working in London, I would rather have better air quality, and if this goes someway to improving air quality then I'm all for it.

It may cause some hardship to commercial operators, but if they want to operate in our city, then they should only be allowed to do so in a less polluting way.

Gas cookers/heaters and especially BBQs are responsible for far more air pollution - should they be taxed in a similar way?

Biggles · 20 November 2006, 17:19

Maybe we should turn town centres in to Ghost Towns. Can't see what people see in them anyway. All overcrowded with dodgy people trying to empty your pockets and thats before you meet your local hoody.

timw · 20 November 2006, 17:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Gas cookers/heaters and especially BBQs are responsible for far more air pollution - should they be taxed in a similar way?

BBQ's? I had no idea they were so polluting!

I don't think residents of should be charged for these things, my point is that vehicles coming into London from outside and polluting our city should be charged if they are heavily polluting vehicles.

That's also why I am for the congestion charge...it stops a lot of people driving into london and congesting it even further. I think it should be raised much higher for non-residents.

Nos4r2 · 20 November 2006, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by timw

No this is not a ridiculous charge.

It may cause some hardship to commercial operators,

Don't be silly-we simply either won't go there or we'll pass the cost onto you.
It won't cause US any hardship at all but it'll sting YOU quite hard.

If you want it, you pay our prices. It's that simple. Without goods being transported in from outside you'll starve and freeze in the dark. If you make it impossible for us to make a profit by coming to London we'll just make it elsewhere. It's not a charity.

BTW-One 44 tonne artic carrying enough goods to fill 300 cars-or 25 transit vans uses the same amount of fuel as 3 medium sized cars. IE for the amount of space we take up on the road we actually use less fuel. There's a lot less trucks than there are cars too.

Nos4r2 · 20 November 2006, 17:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADS

If you put the head phones on it reads the questions out to you, then is it A................., B........................, or C...........................

So providing you understand the question and you recognise the letter A, B or C, you could probably get through it.

That's bonkers.

When I took my HGV theory you had to be able to read-and I did it in a room full of 17 year old L-platers who also had to be able to read.

codprawn · 20 November 2006, 18:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by timw

BBQ's? I had no idea they were so polluting!

Just LOOK at them and use some logic!!! To make matters worse when does everyone decide to light up their BBQ? When it's hot and sunny with no wind. Causes me to cough my lungs up - similar to asthma.

In studies in California they reckon as much as 21% of their smog is caused by Barbeques - that's quite a bit considering there are a lot more vehicles than BBQs.

In London in the 1950s almost 12,000 people died in 1 year from smog caused by coal fires - far more than caused by vehicles now!!!

Jono · 20 November 2006, 18:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

........BTW-One 44 tonne artic carrying enough goods to fill 300 cars-or 25 transit vans uses the same amount of fuel as 3 medium sized cars. IE for the amount of space we take up on the road we actually use less fuel. There's a lot less trucks than there are cars too.

Good point... but it overlooks a major problem that towns and cities.. especially the likes of London have and that is the roads are just not "big enough" for larger vehicles to negotiate easily.. they're not wide enough and the turns/islands are too "sharp".. not a lot can be done about it easily.. driving around some of the older parts of Birmingham over the weekend and you look at all the terraced housing with nothing but street parking available... add more than one car per household as the norm and you soon have congested, narrow streets.. add larger and larger vehicles and the result is chaos.
Trouble is no one (Government) has the balls to do something about it.. ban all private vehicle over a certain size.. there’s a start.. no off road parking for your house? No car!….or how about commercial vehicles making deliveries only between the hours of 3 and 5 in the morning.. so? …Who’s going to vote for this transport policy?

rickuk3 · 20 November 2006, 20:14

Quote:

how about commercial vehicles making deliveries only between the hours of 3 and 5 in the morning..

If memory serves me correctly, lorries are banned from London over night

Nos4r2 · 20 November 2006, 20:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jono

Good point... but it overlooks a major problem that towns and cities.. especially the likes of London have and that is the roads are just not "big enough" for larger vehicles to negotiate easily.. they're not wide enough and the turns/islands are too "sharp".. not a lot can be done about it easily..

I've never had a problem with it...but then I only drive them... The only problems I usually come across in Birmingham are idiots who think allah will protect them as they wander into the road without looking-and idiots in cars.