For pity's sake

Tuesday, 16 September 2008

 For pity's sake

Here we go again. More rules for the sake of it. Another stick with which the state can beat ordinary citizens going about their business. It is getting to the stage where I am seriously considering if there is any point carrying on in local politics - especially when Conservative colleagues in another authority, in this case West Sussex, can give even a moment's thought to something as trivial and wasteful of resources as this:

Motorists who leave their engines running when stuck in traffic jams may receive £20 on-the-spot fines under a plan to cut down on pollution.

Traffic wardens will dole out the fines if they see drivers idling too long in traffic, especially in town centres.

Under the plan, wardens would be instructed to first issue a warning to any drivers they catch leaving their cars ticking over unnecessarily.

If the motorist refuses to comply with the instruction they will then be issued with a fixed penalty notice.

What other lunatic ideas will be forthcoming in the ongoing effort of civil servants, local authorities and central government to intrude into and govern every aspect of what we do and what we think? Instead of rolling back the state, we are having ever more government, laws and regulations forced upon us. Cars are far cleaner now than at any time in our history and manufacturers are constantly working to reduce the amount of emission pollutants. This is just a heavy handed idea dreamed up by some apparatchik looking to justify their taxpayer funded position. I really have had enough fighting what looks like a losing battle.

So when this trial takes place, what happens when engines are switched off and some poor driver finds they are unable to restart their car and the queue stays static? Has the County Council thought about how much extra pollution is emitted and extra fuel used by turning an engine on and off as a traffic jam slowly clears, or cars queue in a contraflow, rather than letting the engine idle? What about the traffic wardens? Are they simply going to descend on traffic jam hotspots in rush hour - that could be alleviated with investment - in the hope of dishing out more penalty notices to keep the contractor that employs them happy?

There only people who lose will be the poor bloody motorists as usual. Over taxed, forced to use a crumbling road infrastructure, milked at the pumps for outrageously high fuel duty, demonised if they buy a car with an engine over 950cc, fined and licence endorsed if they slip over the speed limit on an empty road, spied upon and recorded on many of their journeys and frowned upon for having to use a car to get to work as there is no public transport option available. Now this.

A spokesman for West Sussex County Council said: "We want to get people out of the habit of leaving their cars ticking over out of convenience.

"But we would hope that the vast majority of motorists would be willing to co-operate and not leave their engines idling."

Translation: We have a new way of telling people what they can and cannot do. People must comply. Failure to do so will result in a fine.

What next? Fingerprinting, photographing and taking DNA samples from drivers who do not change gear in a government approved fashion in a campaign to force us into automatics? The whole thing is pathetic.