[ABD Logo]The Association of British Drivers
Regional Issues — London
ABD Regional co-ordinator:    
This page encompasses driving issues pertaining to the whole of London, for example Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police, and the Speed Camera Partnership. For more local issues please see the links on the right.
 
We require Local co-ordinators for many London boroughs, ABD members should contact the regional co-ordinator.
 
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ABD London Campaigning Site
Run by ABD members in London, this site gives information about our current campaigning activities in London.

Ken Livingstone's idea of a ‘congestion free’ London.   © ABD 2007

 ABD London Press Releases      Congestion Charge      External Links      London Media Links  

 
2008-04-14
2 0 IS TOO SLOW
Ken Livingstone wants to impose a 20 mph speed limit on all residential roads in London.
There is one small problem — Ken (i.e. TfL) does not control residential roads — they are controlled by the London Boroughs. Ken however controls purse strings so will undoubtedly try to force these plans through, against local opinion, by his usual bullying tactics.
The unnecessarily low limit will also affect local bus services and even cyclists, who may suddenly find themselves falling foul of the law. You can download a large "2 0 IS TOO SLOW" (Spoken as 'Two-Oh Is Too Slow') sign from our Facebook page.
Print it and stick it in your car's rear window using double sided sellotape, available from any good stationers.
 
 
2008-04-07
New Statesman Article
Our London Regional Co-ordinator, Roger Lawson, has this article in the New Statesman:
2008-02-06
M25 To Get Digital Speed Cameras
The Highways Agency have confirmed to us that speed cameras on gantries over the M25 between junctions 10 and 16 are to be changed to digital operation.
They have not confirmed any timescale for this change, nor whether the cameras will begin operating when the variable speed limits are switched off, nor whether the cameras will be single point as at present, or average speed.
 
2007-10-23
Olympic Anti-Car Madness
Anti-car fanatics are already plotting to abuse the 2012 Olympics as an excuse to ram anti-car ideology down the throats of Londoners and sports fans. They are plotting a 3 mile exclusion zone around the Olympic park, effectively forcing spectators to travel by public transport. This despite the well documented financial failure of the dome due to similar stupid policies.
They are also planning to install special lanes for Olympic officials and competitors, from which the public will be banned. This concept is reminiscent of the traffic lanes created in Moscow in soviet times, that were for the exclusive use of communist party bosses — and woe betide any of the proletariat who dared to use them. No doubt Ken Livingstone will be able to use them though.
2007-08-20
Emissions Based Con Charge Unfair
The ABD has responded to TfL's consultation on its proposal to increase the congestion charge from £8 to an absurd £25 for vehicles that emit more than 225 grams of CO2 per km.
Emissions related Congestion Charge Consultation [pdf 34k]
 
 
2007-04-22
Tidal Flow in Blackwall Tunnel Ended
Transport for London have announced that the tidal flow system that operates during the morning rush hour at the Blackwall Tunnel is to end — in fact by the time you read this it will have already ceased as there was little notice given and no consultation on it took place.
It was announced on the 18th April and took effect on the 20th April.
TfL claim this was because the Metropolitan Police who monitor the tunnel had noticed an increasing number of dangerous incidents. TfL have released a video showing some of the incidents which can be seen on the Newsshopper website
In the video, a car has moved out from the left hand lane when entering the tunnel from the south bound slip road and will soon be running head on into a vehicle coming out of the tunnel north bound. The video in fact shows two near misses rather than accidents as in both cases the offending vehicles soon realised their mistake.
The tidal flow system has been in operation for almost 30 years and TfL have not reported on the actual accidents. In addition the contraflow system might well continue to be used when essential maintenance is required to be done within one of the tunnels.
The last time the tidal flow was suspended, which was during a fireman’s strike, it resulted in substantial lengthening in the queues of north bound traffic. These queues often stretch for more than a mile almost every day, and the slightest incident such as an “overheight” vehicle or minor traffic accident results in several miles of stationary traffic.
Of course, many people have jumped to a simple conclusion. Namely that this is another example of the Mayor and TfL deliberately making congestion worse so they can argue that a “congestion tax” is really needed. Congestion charging or tolls are already being considered for Greenwich and the Blackwall Tunnel approach road. Then after it is introduced, they can revert to the previous scenario to show how beneficial the tax is. This was alleged by many people to have taken place before the central London congestion charge was introduced. With more road works and deliberate manipulation of traffic light timings before the charge was introduced.
 

London and the M25 at 19:22 Tue 4th Feb 2003, photographed from the International Space Station.
 
Image courtesy of Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center.
ISS006-E-22939   Description   Details & enlargements
Ken Loses The Plot
Conservatives on the London Assembly have hit out at Ken Livingstone's latest lunacy. Having broken his own promises not to increase bus and tube fares, and the congestion charge, and having more than doubled the council tax precept since he came to power, you might think Ken would want to focus on what he was doing wrong, but no.
 
At a recent press conference Ken ranted on about adders risking 'extinction' in London. He suggested adders should be relocated from the countryside into London. No doubt he we will carrying out a 'consultation' to see what the adders think, and then ignoring it.
 
Leader of the Conservatives on the London Assembly, Bob Neill said:
"Take the Mayor's plan to transfer poisonous adders from outside the M25, into the City. Apart from the fact that this idea suggests he is losing the plot, it also shows his administration has no more answers to the transport and crime issues that consistently blight Londoners' lives.
Slippery politicians are clearly attracted to slippery creatures.”

Meanwhile Vernon Viper, an adder from Hertfordshire said (allegedly):
“I have consssulted with my fellow snakesss in our local pit and whilssst we would like to thank Mr Livingssstone for hisss concern about our welfare, we wisssh to advissse him that we are very happy ssstaying where we are.”

 
London's Crumbling Roads
The appalling state of London's roads has meant during 2004 councils had to fork out £13 million in compensation to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. Incidents causing injury or damage to vehicles have soared by 43% in the last decade, as anti-car fanaticism by the government has crushed common sense underfoot.
• £100 million budget shortfall.
• Only £30 million from central government.
• £300 million raised from parking fines and fees alone.
90% of council surveyors now believe roads in their borough pose a threat to the safety of the public.
TfL: 'Accidents Down'
TfL are making a song and dance about fatal accidents reducing from 271* in 2003 to 216† in 2004, and trying to claim all the credit.
Ken has seized upon this as an excuse to call for even more anti-car measures.
They 'forgot' to tell anyone that there were only 214 fatal accidents in 1995.
 
The figures TfL quote for 2004 are for "personal injury road traffic collisions occurring on the public highway, and reported to the police, in accordance with the Stats 19 national reporting system."
They are not the official government figures, which have yet to be released.
Source: National Statistics — Road Casualties in Great Britain
See also PR492 re hospital admission figures.

 
‘Pure Contempt’
... was how the Ealing & Acton Gazette described Ken Livingstone's attitude to democracy in London:
 
If people don't want the tram I won't pursue it.
Ken Livingstone, July 2003
Never mind public opinion, I want the tram.
Ken Livingstone, 2 March 2005

 
Ken to up the Toll
Ken Livingstone plans plans to increase the congestion charge shortly. He claims this will be 'painful' for him.
 
Ken attacks mums in 4x4s
In his latest anti-car rant, Red Ken has branded people who drive their kids to school in a 4x4 as "idiots", adding that such cars had no place in the city and were largely a status symbol for people with too much money".
Not content with charging all cars for using central London roads, Ken's control freak mentality now seems to extend to telling people what sort of car they ought to use for what purpose.
4x4s and "the school run" are favourite topics for irrational anti-car fanatics who try to whip up public hysteria with their rantings, and the combination has previously been attacked by LibDem MP Norman Baker.
 
 
TfL Director is anti-car campaigner
TfL's Director of Borough Partnerships is non other than Ben Plowden, better known as the former director of 'Living Streets' (formerly the Pedestrian's Association), a well known anti-car group whose website is full of vitriolic rubbish about how terrible cars and lorries are. Seems to be a blatant case of cronyism on Ken's part.
 
 
34% of Parking Ticket Appeals are Won
The unprofessional conduct of London's parking parasites continues to get worse as figures reveal that 34% of all appeals against unfair tickets are won by the public. The numbers of tickets issued soared by 78% in 2003. Businesses have warned that the spiralling cost of parking tax will have to be passed on to consumers.
Fined Outside The Zone
TfL are now fining people who've not entered the zone!
A university lecturer has won a case against Ken's anti-car charge after his investigations revealed that one of Ken's mobile camera vans had photographed him outside the zone. Dr Jon Thompson was fined for entering the zone without paying the £5 charge, but he knew he hadn't been in the zone and tracked down the spot where the photo was taken. He was amazed to find it was 100 yards outside the zone.
With all the signs about, we can't believe that a TfL camera van could park outside the zone accidently. The RAC Foundaton and the AA have demanded an investigation. TfL offered no apology for their chicanery.
x  None of the above
The ABD has discovered that Steven Norris, the conservative's choice for London mayor in 2004, is a non-executive director of 'Speed Check' — the company which makes the 'SPECS' digital speed cameras. These cameras use similar technology to those used by Ken Livingstone to enforce the congestion charge. In 2003 Norris gave a presentation for SpeedCheck at the Scottish Highways, Traffic & Transport Management Exhibition. He said: "In order to meet the Government's 2010 targets for the reduction of road accidents, Safety Camera Partnerships, and all those with a responsibility for road safety have to use more efficient and effective technologies to ensure the reduction of excessive speeding. Point to point speed enforcement is one such technology which offers a tremendous scope for casualty reduction".
Norris would appear to be as much a friend of the motorist as Livingstone, and seems to be somewhat confused as to which political party he is representing.
 
 
TopElsewhere on the ABD website:

"I hate cars. If I ever get any powers again I’d ban the lot."

Ken Livingstone, Sunday Times, 21 November 1999


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Our collection of Media articles about London has outgrown the London main page, and can now be found on it's own page.
 
 


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