And yet when people make any effort to make cities more people friendly we’re told of a “war on drivers” and global conspiracy. Well if it is a war one side is doing all the killing.
I can already smell the comments that will be here in a few hours time. Cue the weekly argument between cyclist vs pedestrian vs motorist.
Yeah but cyclist have the audacity to ask for space on the road.
I fail to see how slowing responsible drivers down is an effective strategy for dealing with the kind of person who would drive dangerously enough to hit someone and then speed off without stopping.
>John Cotton, leader of Birmingham city council, said councillors were working on refreshing the city’s road safety strategy with measures including reducing 40mph urban roads to 30mph and increased “green times” for active travel at junctions and crossings.
All of which is utterly pointless without any enforcement. The street I grew up on in Birmingham is a 40mph dual carriageway and even now it’s regularly full of people driving 60+ and bombing it through red and amber lights. And until there is enforcement people will keep doing it. My mind goes back to when they installed loads of 30mph average speed cameras round the city (several on roads that had been 30mph for years) which caught a ridiculous number of drivers in the first month.
There’s a hell of a lot of victim-blaming here. I wonder why?
Went to renew my passport in Birmingham and cars were literally zooming around with no care for people crossing the road or stop lights. Taxi driver told me it’s like a mini-Pakistan.
I live not far from there, am both a regular diver and cyclist in S. Brum, and I can say with certainty that it has gotten steadily worse over the past 10 years. Birmingham indeed was ‘designed’ (a very generous term) from the 60’s onwards around the motor vehicle but I really think this is papering over the real problem here.
There is 100% a culture of ‘lawlesness’ around Brum that I believe stems entirely from a lack of policing. Where I live (especially in summer) there is a -constant- stream of young lads on dirt bikes in parks, flying down 20mph roads on 600cc+ bikes, BMWs with blacked out windows doing 50 down a residential connecting road, overtaking cars in a 20 zone into incoming traffic because of the sheer imposition of having to wait. People are literally growing up here without consequences for not only bad but dangerously illegal behaviour because 1) Its fun so what, wanna get stabbed fam? 2) You can drive however you like because where are the cops to enforce anything?
We can scream to the rafters about a lack of opportunity, youth programs, education, all of it. But the fact remains that we barely have any cops round here at all, let alone cops with the time and capacity to do anything about dangerous driving. So for a decade plus, a culture forms and solidifies that you really can do whatever you want on the road. They’re right that this is an emergency and needs to be treated as such – it will take MUCH more than some painted cycle paths, cycle proficiency in schools, a few speed cameras (whats a speed camera?). It will definitely not just be fixed by magically giving people in Brum better transport options. I bloody hate the filth as much as many, but what it is going to take is some actual policing of the laws we already have for our highways.
Car drivers just dominate the streets. Even in dense urban areas.
It gets even worse with all these SUVs and trucks.
I can’t be alone is noticing the shocking decline in driving standards in and around Birmingham.
The police and DVLA should be doing more to ensure drivers are using the road correctly and actually hold a full UK licence.
I swear half of Birmingham drivers don’t know the rules of UK roads, or haven’t passed tests. Doesn’t help you can use a bike with a learners license pretty much indefinitely
Not from Birmingham but I think there has been a decline in the standard of driving for some time now. Partly due to the lack of respect and consideration people have for their communities and other people, so I am glad to see a community standing against it.
I am getting sick to the back teeth of drivers breaking the speed-limit on the 30MPH road outside of my house and treating it like a slip road onto the nearby dual carriageway.
haha – the Squid Games poster was absolute class and I absolutely agree!
I’ve seen the state of people’s driving around Birmingham and Dudley and I’m not surprised, it goes from boy racer to utterly cluess and unaware in seconds.
From Birmingham and the driving here has got worse and worse to the point many people I know hardly drive. The road I grew in Hodge Hill always had traffic however the last five six years it’s become a race track with cars bombing town at very high speeds.
Part of this is because people know they won’t be caught and as well as how safe newer cars feel
It used to be certain areas however all areas in Birmingham have this disease be it speeding, using a phone , running red lights etc
And it’s no longer just the wannabe bad boys but even older people .
There’s four simple easy quick fixes
1. Average speed cameras on the those roads with high speed and traffic
2. ANPR cameras to check insurance etc
3. Massive more traffic police
4. MUCH tougher punishment. If you can’t be trusted to use a car you get a long or even a permanent ban
All cyclists feel this one: if you’re going to kill someone, make sure they’re on a bike when you do it.
16 comments
And yet when people make any effort to make cities more people friendly we’re told of a “war on drivers” and global conspiracy. Well if it is a war one side is doing all the killing.
I can already smell the comments that will be here in a few hours time. Cue the weekly argument between cyclist vs pedestrian vs motorist.
Yeah but cyclist have the audacity to ask for space on the road.
I fail to see how slowing responsible drivers down is an effective strategy for dealing with the kind of person who would drive dangerously enough to hit someone and then speed off without stopping.
>John Cotton, leader of Birmingham city council, said councillors were working on refreshing the city’s road safety strategy with measures including reducing 40mph urban roads to 30mph and increased “green times” for active travel at junctions and crossings.
All of which is utterly pointless without any enforcement. The street I grew up on in Birmingham is a 40mph dual carriageway and even now it’s regularly full of people driving 60+ and bombing it through red and amber lights. And until there is enforcement people will keep doing it. My mind goes back to when they installed loads of 30mph average speed cameras round the city (several on roads that had been 30mph for years) which caught a ridiculous number of drivers in the first month.
There’s a hell of a lot of victim-blaming here. I wonder why?
Went to renew my passport in Birmingham and cars were literally zooming around with no care for people crossing the road or stop lights. Taxi driver told me it’s like a mini-Pakistan.
I live not far from there, am both a regular diver and cyclist in S. Brum, and I can say with certainty that it has gotten steadily worse over the past 10 years. Birmingham indeed was ‘designed’ (a very generous term) from the 60’s onwards around the motor vehicle but I really think this is papering over the real problem here.
There is 100% a culture of ‘lawlesness’ around Brum that I believe stems entirely from a lack of policing. Where I live (especially in summer) there is a -constant- stream of young lads on dirt bikes in parks, flying down 20mph roads on 600cc+ bikes, BMWs with blacked out windows doing 50 down a residential connecting road, overtaking cars in a 20 zone into incoming traffic because of the sheer imposition of having to wait. People are literally growing up here without consequences for not only bad but dangerously illegal behaviour because 1) Its fun so what, wanna get stabbed fam? 2) You can drive however you like because where are the cops to enforce anything?
We can scream to the rafters about a lack of opportunity, youth programs, education, all of it. But the fact remains that we barely have any cops round here at all, let alone cops with the time and capacity to do anything about dangerous driving. So for a decade plus, a culture forms and solidifies that you really can do whatever you want on the road. They’re right that this is an emergency and needs to be treated as such – it will take MUCH more than some painted cycle paths, cycle proficiency in schools, a few speed cameras (whats a speed camera?). It will definitely not just be fixed by magically giving people in Brum better transport options. I bloody hate the filth as much as many, but what it is going to take is some actual policing of the laws we already have for our highways.
Car drivers just dominate the streets. Even in dense urban areas.
It gets even worse with all these SUVs and trucks.
I can’t be alone is noticing the shocking decline in driving standards in and around Birmingham.
The police and DVLA should be doing more to ensure drivers are using the road correctly and actually hold a full UK licence.
I swear half of Birmingham drivers don’t know the rules of UK roads, or haven’t passed tests. Doesn’t help you can use a bike with a learners license pretty much indefinitely
Not from Birmingham but I think there has been a decline in the standard of driving for some time now. Partly due to the lack of respect and consideration people have for their communities and other people, so I am glad to see a community standing against it.
I am getting sick to the back teeth of drivers breaking the speed-limit on the 30MPH road outside of my house and treating it like a slip road onto the nearby dual carriageway.
haha – the Squid Games poster was absolute class and I absolutely agree!
I’ve seen the state of people’s driving around Birmingham and Dudley and I’m not surprised, it goes from boy racer to utterly cluess and unaware in seconds.
From Birmingham and the driving here has got worse and worse to the point many people I know hardly drive. The road I grew in Hodge Hill always had traffic however the last five six years it’s become a race track with cars bombing town at very high speeds.
Part of this is because people know they won’t be caught and as well as how safe newer cars feel
It used to be certain areas however all areas in Birmingham have this disease be it speeding, using a phone , running red lights etc
And it’s no longer just the wannabe bad boys but even older people .
There’s four simple easy quick fixes
1. Average speed cameras on the those roads with high speed and traffic
2. ANPR cameras to check insurance etc
3. Massive more traffic police
4. MUCH tougher punishment. If you can’t be trusted to use a car you get a long or even a permanent ban
All cyclists feel this one: if you’re going to kill someone, make sure they’re on a bike when you do it.