Has The Coalition Helped The Motorist As Promised?

Saturday, 5. February 2011

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Auto Express has reminded us that when the Tory led coalition came to power they were going to stop Labour’s war on the motorist but has that war ended? They analyse the key areas:

Speed Cameras: We already know that many of the UK’s cameras have been switched off but we also know that many local people are being trained up to use speed guns and some cameras are being switched back on again by locals collecting money to pay the camera operators since the Government removed their grants. Road sfety minister Mike Penning has announced that data on speed cameras will become public information including accident rates and the number of drivers caught on each site. This will make things more transparent and it certainly looks as though a softer approach is being taken but is it by design or simply lack of money?

Parking: Rules that encouraged local councils to fix higher parking charges have been scrapped by the coalition government. It now means that local councils can encourage people back into town centres by pricing town centre spaces more competitively. Whilst the theory sounds good it is unlikely to happen with every council fighting to make cost savings and increase revenues. At best it is felt that this may prevent councils from putting up parking charges.

Electric Charging Points: Councils and companies will find it easier later this year to install electric car charging points on their land as a planning permission requirement is lifted. This has been done to encourage the use of eco-friendly vehicles and reduce the Town Hall workload. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles confirmed the intentions of the coalition government by explaining that the moves are to stop penalising drivers but to provide them with greener choices. He is also set to axe current restrictions on the number of parking spaces in new housing developments. Have they done what they said they would? Nope! Sort out the fuel cost and take on the clampers, that would help motorists and don’t even think about getting me started on the pricing of cars in the UK compared with America. What do you think? By Graham Hill