That’s not a title I would usually use for one of my blog posts, but this is one rare case where it is appropriate.
Harriet Harman has been fined £350 and had three points added to her driving licence after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention – after a second charge of driving while using a mobile phone was withdrawn.
However, let’s have a look at the details of the “crash”:

Prosecutor Michael Jennings said Ms Harman had been involved in a minor collision… on 3 July, the day she …

According to the Watford Observer:

Hertfordshire County Council has been asked to respond to a Government consultation on plans “to encourage” the introduction of 20mph zones or limits in residential areas and where there are lots of pedestrians and cyclists, such as schools, shops, markets and playgrounds.

The problem I have with this is that 20mph limits will do little to improve safety. Speed isn’t the enemy, inappropriate speed and lack of awareness is.
30mph is fine for pretty much all roads pretty much all of the time. Slowing motorists down won’t automatically …

Then:

Now:

In a blow to the pride taken by Italy’s police in their two most glamorous patrol vehicles, one of the cars was clipped by a Seat as the more modest car was edging its way out of a petrol station near Cremona.
The impact sent the exotic police car flying into a line of parked cars. (The Telegraph)

The Budget proposal I referred to as “damn stupid” has, as I predicted, will fail. With the understated headline “car scrappage scheme ‘unpopular’”, the BBC reveals that

70% of respondents [to a survey] said the scheme was not generous enough, and overall 81% said they would not be taking advantage of it.

The problem with this proposal is that it simply doesn’t add up. We’re in the middle of a recession, when pretty much everyone is strapped for cash, and those who do aren’t flashing it around on luxuries such as a …

Is there such a thing as “natural traffic calming”? One parish council thinks that there is – and that it means they don’t have to spend any money on fixing the roads!
Ideal! If you’re a council. Not so ideal if you’re anyone else.
Potholes are dangerous things. There is no excuse not to fix them, especially on a faux “traffic calming” basis. If potholes aren’t fixed, it puts cyclits and pedestrians in danger of accidents. Even if it slows down motorists, it puts every other road user in danger.
Every councillor who …

Potentially controversial comment coming up.
The elderly are often found on "mobility scooters". They are a very useful tour for the disabled – more practical than an electric wheelchair, they almost certainly allow some people to "get out" who wouldn’t otherwise.
However, they are dangerous. They are a motor vehicle. Just today, I’ve seen another news story:
"An 87-year-old Cornish woman was rescued by police five miles from home when her mobility scooter sped off out of control.
Officers later found her heading along the A3075 towards Newquay.
A police community support officer …

A friend once told me that government logic works thus:
1. We must do something
2. This is something
3. We must do this
This is no more ably demonstrated than the recent news that the National Speed Limit is set to be reduced on rural roads from 60 to 50 mph. Jim Fitzpatrick is the roads minister:
"There will be some in the driving lobby who think this is a further attack and a restriction on people’s freedom,” he said. “But when you compare that to the fact we are killing 3,000 people …

The government is planning to create yet another database containing information about us – this time storing our international travel records, and keeping them for a decade.
But at the same time the Speaker of House of Commons is blocking the release of information about MPs international travel paid for by the British Council – a taxpayer-funded body.
So the Speaker has decided that MPs who get trips abroad paid for by our money isn’t any of our business, but the govenment has decided that any trip we make abroad, paid for …

The worst thing about this is that not being insured incurs a £100 fine followed by a maximum of £1,000 – and only if the case if taken to court. Plus the threat of having their car seized or clamped.
Are they serious?! A maximum of £1,000?! That hardly acts as a deterrent – my insurance on a 1.2 T-reg Corsa was nearly £800, so even if I chose not to insure my car and then they actually managed to catch me out, it could cost me a maximum of £200 …

Harmless or just armless?

Chinese police have pulled over a man driving a 4×4 only to find that he had no arms…
The man told traffic police that ever since he lost his arms in an industrial accident several years ago, he had used his feet to steer his vehicle without difficulty. He has no arms from the elbows down.
His car was an automatic so he did not have to concern himself with changing gear. (The Telegraph)

Look, no hands!