Association of British Drivers

The Association of British Drivers (ABD), founded in 1992, is a motorists' pressure group.

"The Association of British Drivers" is the sole operating name of "Pro-Motor", a company limited by guarantee and registered in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary non-profit making organization funded by subscriptions and donations from ordinary members of the public.

The ABD state that they are Britain's foremost campaigning group for drivers, and that they represent "the truly independent voice of the driver", receiving no funds from the government or from any companies.

The ABD's membership currently accounts for 0.007% of Britain's 31.7 million drivers.

History
The ABD was founded in 1992. In a 1997 item in The Guardian newspaper, about the introduction of the 400th Traffic enforcement camera in London, it was stated that the ABD was set up in 1992, the year of the introduction of the first Gatso speed camera in London, "to fight the spread of Gatso cameras". In 2004, Top Gear magazine stated that the ABD had been created in 1992, by Brian Gregory, as a reaction to his impression that drivers were continuing to be "fleeced while getting relatively little in return".

In 1999, the ABD were credited as "leading a backlash against speed cameras", in an item describing their intention to publish the locations of Britain's then, 2000 speed cameras. They were stated to be an organisation claiming to "stand up for the civil rights of the road user".

By 2000, they were countering what they were reported to have considered to be "anti-car propaganda" with an attack on Government activities which linked climate change to car use. Their spokesman was quoted to have said that, with buildings responsible for almost twice as much carbon dioxide emissions as transport, they should concentrate on explaining why the fuel used to heat buildings is taxed at 5%, yet the fuel used to "keep the nation moving" is taxed at 500%. In July 2000 they launched their "show the tax" campaign, an attempt to persuade petrol stations to display the amount of tax charged on petrol and diesel.

Membership
The membership numbers of the ABD have long been controversial, with mainstream media organizations accusing the ABD of inflating its membership numbers.

In a 1997 article in The Guardian about enforcement cameras in London, it was stated that the ABD was then a 300-strong organisation.

The Guardian has criticized the ABD for inflating its membership numbers. In 2004 the association claimed "more than 9,000 members" and later admitting that their total membership was "2,256 paying subscribers and 3,775 "affiliate" members who it said were automatically included by virtue of their membership of eight connected associations". Those organizations, including the Fiat Motor Club and the Renault Clio Owners' Club, have since distanced themselves from the ABD.

In response to the controversy surrounding its representation of its membership numbers, the ABD's chairman, Brian Gregory said, "It doesn't matter a fig to me whether we've got 1,500 members or 5,000 members." and adding "What's important is that if you go into any pub and listen to the views of the people at the bar, you'll find that their opinions are very much in line with ours." (See also logical fallacies, ad populum)

Campaigns
The ABD campaigns against what it sees as an anti-motorist bias in British government policy, the Carfree movement and the Campaign for Better Transport (UK). It argues that British fuel taxes are excessive, and has expressed scepticism of man-made global warming, which is often cited as a justification for policies aimed at reducing private car use

In August 2004, Richard Brunstrom, the then chief of road policing for the UK Association of Chief Police Officers, and said by the BBC in February 2004 to be "probably the most controversial senior police officer in Britain at the present time", is quoted on the ABD's own website as having said: "Some of the attacks by groups like the Association of British Drivers are so clearly crazy that it helps to cement an alliance in your favour. It's like having the BNP (British National Party) come out against you."

Brunstrom, referred to as the speed camera "godfather" by some in the UK press, also was quoted by the ABD as having said of them: "'Pressure groups such as the Association of British Drivers are unduly influential. They have less than 3,000 members, yet they are given enormous attention by the media. They appear on Radio 4's Today programme. It's ludicrous — this is a bunch of crackpots being given prime airtime. It's just because the media love a controversy.'"

Environment
The ABD state that they intend to "reveal the truth behind the scare stories about global warming, and the impact cars have on health and the environment."

The ABD describes, the apparently compulsory, presence of an 'environment' section on most car-orientated websites as "the latest form of political correctness". The association further says that their environment section "does not use the 'environment' as a weapon against drivers" and they invite readers to "find out how emotive scaremongering about pollution and man-made 'global warming' are being used to intimidate you out of your car".

The ABD official policy on climate change states that "Through radio commercials and online advertising, the government is encouraging drivers to "Act On CO2" — but don't worry, you don't need to. The government is lying to you. Climate change is an entirely natural process that has been going on for 4.5 billion years." They go on to state that "[UK] cars are responsible for only 0.01% of [global CO2] emissions". The ABD environmental policy further says that taking action to reduce climate change would be "big, pointless and ineffective sacrifices. Our country would be the first lemming over the economic cliff, based purely on ecohype and junk science. Those who think our country ought to be making a stand on its own should remember that the previous generation of CND unilateralist marchers and protesters are now in government deciding on a replacement for the UK's nuclear defence capability."

In an ABD press release responding to a newspaper report which they characterise as portraying the hypocrisy of an anti-car extremist group's president's excessive use of air travel, ABD chairman Brian Gregory is quoted as saying: "It is unfortunately typical of many 'environmentalists' that they are so busy preaching at the rest of us not to use our cars, they conveniently overlook the fact that their lifestyle choices are all too often more polluting and inefficient than those who choose to use their car. The modern car is extremely clean and efficient yet 'environmentalists' are often happy to use highly polluting buses, taxis, trains and trams which, except on the rare occasions when they are full to capacity are often far less efficient than the same journey taken by car. They want to flood our roads with these inefficient vehicles yet the more frequent and extensive the service, the more empty polluting monsters end up trundling around the country."

In the same press release their environment spokesman Ben Adams is quoted as saying: "The debate about man made global warming is not settled. There is no consensus that emission of carbon dioxide is the force that drives climate change" "'Any self-proclaimed environmentalists who really believe their own propaganda should set an example and refuse to use energy inefficient and polluting public transport. Also as more carbon dioxide is emitted by buildings than cars, one would expect these people who want to force austere changes on our lifestyles to live in very modest energy efficient houses and desist from journeys except for the most critical and fundamental reasons.'"

Traffic enforcement cameras
The ABD opposes the "inappropriate" use of speed cameras, claiming that cameras are used mainly as a means of raising revenue on roads where the risk of crashes is low.

The ABD claims that "speed cameras [are] used for the purpose of ruthlessly extorting money from drivers, a practice based upon a fanatical belief in 'speed' being the cause of all road accidents. [They] Terrorize drivers into gorping mindlessly at their speedometer instead of looking where they're going."

Affiliations
The ABD is a member of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS). The council's executive director, Rob Gifford, commented: "They are basically libertarians. They turn up at our meetings and make a nuisance of themselves".