Nuxx:MPG.26ec65a075b8d35c9897d5@news.zen.co.uk

Path: num2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!num1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!number.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!newsfeed00.sul.t-online.de!newsfeed01.sul.t-online.de!t-online.de!dedekind.zen.co.uk!zen.net.uk!hamilton.zen.co.uk!reader02.news.zen.co.uk.POSTED!not-for-mail Message-ID:  From: Chapman Mao  Newsgroups: uk.rec.cycling,cam.transport,uk.rec.driving Subject: How To Discourage Motoring Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2010 15:18:48 +0100 Lines: 22 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit User-Agent: MicroPlanet-Gravity/2.9.14 Organization: Zen Internet NNTP-Posting-Host: 51487583.news.zen.co.uk X-Trace: DXC=EjM9_RWYDHHi>_65]9;HNIYjZGX^207PK`<MJMoM3PFM]cETS^;4chOBH4535cfTO@SD[UB;DPl?N_F5U3<joJ4J X-Complaints-To: abuse@zen.co.uk Bytes: 2219 Xref: perfectly-safe.chapmancentral.co.uk uk.rec.cycling:779103

Hey everyone, I've just thought of a really good way of bullying people out of their cars. What you do is set speed limits far lower than they need to be, then rigidly enforce them, and pretend to be sanctimoniously horrified at how many people are breaking the speed limit (because obviously if 80% of drivers are speeding at a particular place then that must be because at least 80% (and probably 100%) of drivers are homicidal maniacs, and not because the speed limit is incorrect, and never mind about well-researched principles like the 85th percentile).

Seems like a winner to me: we can ban drivers for doing a reasonable speed, and use "safety" as a catch-all excuse; if anyone dares criticise the new regime then we can just say they're irresponsible maniacs who want to be able to go as fast as they like. As for the consequences of telling lies about road safety in terms of avoidable deaths, well, that's a price worth paying to get the motorist scum off the roads, and in the long run, lives will be saved because there will no longer be nearly so many death-cars.

What do you think? Shall we try it? I know such an approach hasn't yet been tried because I'm told that there's no such thing as the authorities being anti-motorist. Doug, do you like the sound of my idea?