Tuesday 30 December 2008

Speed cameras don't work and oldies are forced from the road

To be filed under the 'tell us something we didn't already know' category.
The Mirror (and Telegraph where I read it) say that two out of five speed cameras are inactive but 'remain on road to scare motorists'
A Met source told the Mirror: "Loads of cameras were put up in the '90s but when new guidelines were set out six or seven years ago about where Gatsos could be put, loads of them didn't meet the criteria. They have been left in place to scare motorists. They have a deterrent effect and encourage safe driving."
Yes, they encourage safe driving in the few yards before the Gatso but they haven't improved road safety at all. These things are pointless and should be removed. Saying they act as a deterrent is just a smokescreen.
Here's another 'great idea' from the powers-that-be.
According to the Daily Mail, 'Motorists to undergo 'fit to drive' health checks every 10 years' would seem to be a good idea. It would get some of the really old drivers who shouldn't be on our roads off them. The notion that you have to tell the DVLA that you are ill isn't working. However, there is a cost to this (and, no doubt, another agency set up to monitor it) and even if it's just £80 there will be a lot of people unprepared to pay. Where will that leave everyone.
Also, this is more personal data going into a database for 400,000+ people to access.
The Mail says motorists will be able to choose whether to take the tests, but risk a criminal record if they are later found to fall short of standards. Hmmm, again it's down to decent people to play the game.
They will have to declare themselves fit to drive every decade, with the option of submitting themselves to the £80 examinations for new physical and mental requirements.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority is to issue a series of guidelines covering eyesight and reaction times.
It will means that tens of thousands of elderly people could be prevented from getting behind a wheel under the new restrictions. I'm surprised at Zanu Labour. This is a huge dent in their motoring income. Have you thought this one through properly fellas? Or is there something you aren't telling us yet?

http://captaingatso.net

Calls for 'speed limited' cars

So, let's get this straight then.
The Government's own statistics show that speed is a factor in just 3% of accidents and yet they want us to believe that by having speed regulated cars the accident rate would drop by 29%? Huh?
Thankfully the good people at SafeSpeed have warned against the move because it encourages people to enter 'zombie mode'. That is to say that once the car is governed by an outside force, some drivers will believe the car is not under their control and nothing bad will happen to them.
This situation has disaster written all over it.
And with this Government's mission creep mentality I wouldn't be surprised if this would be road charging by the back door; speed tickets in the post because a satellite watched you straying over the speed limit and, even worse, imagine trying to overtake someone and the limiter kicked in. It's a recipe for chaos!
Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7803997.stm

http://captaingatso.net

Sunday 28 December 2008

Zanu Labour 'morally corrupt' claim Bishops

It's taken them a while but five Bishops have now stepped forward to claim that Zanu Labour is 'morally corrupt'.

So, apart from telling us something we didn't already know, what else do they say?

Well, we shouldn't be trying to spend our way out of a recession and the say Labour is 'beguiled' by money (hence anyone with hard cash can buy 'favours' etc etc).

All this is nicely timed since Wee Gordon is about to claim that the recession is going to be a 'test of character'. He's OK with his mega wages and solid gold pension pot.

And especially since no-one has voted for him - anything he says is either a lie or spin.

The IMF have again slagged off our leaders and claim the 2.5% cut in VAT isn't worth anything.

I also meant last week to flag up the Arabs who told Gordon to stick his claims that they need to increase oil production and lower the price up his arse. They said (as most reasonable people do) that fuel prices are expensive here because of the ridiculous amount of tax Labour slap on. As the Arabs said: if you want cheaper fuel to boost the economy then lower pump prices.

Of course, the BBC ignored this and Labour spin their way to another disaster.

Only those who have worked hard and drive a vehicle have anything to fear in the coming weeks and months.

It's going to be a scary ride.

Friday 26 December 2008

A question of speed - a great blog

Apologies for missing this when it was published in The Guardian.

It's a very interesting blog and some of the comments below it are pertinent too.

You don't have to be a speedfreak to realise that speed cameras do not work. They don't do what the Government, Police and 'safety camera' partnerships insist on.

Their own figures don't even back up their argument.

Anyway, here's the beginning of the article:

A question of speed

It is becoming clear that speed cameras are not just cash cows for government – they don't even promote safety

Swindon today. Northamptonshire tomorrow. Where next? Some of our local elected representatives have bravely begun to question the wisdom of speed cameras. The revolution is in its early stages and has already shown a doctrinal split, with Swindon scrapping fixed-point cameras and mobile ones, while the Mensheviks of Northamptonshire are looking at ridding the county of just the mobile variety.

Read more here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/08/speed-cameras

Tuesday 23 December 2008

Bailiffs get power to use force on debtors

This government really are a buch of sneaky bastards. This story has been sneaked out this week and is outrageous. Do we really want to give these idiots access to our homes? Will they make mistakes? Will they chase up disputed car parking ticket on a flimsy pretence? Ridiculous.

The government has been accused of trampling on individual liberties by proposing wide-ranging new powers for bailiffs to break into homes and to use “reasonable force” against householders who try to protect their valuables.
Under the regulations, bailiffs for private firms would for the first time be given permission to restrain or pin down householders. They would also be able to force their way into homes to seize property to pay off debts, such as unpaid credit card bills and loans.
The government, which wants to crack down on people who evade debts, says the new powers would be overseen by a robust industry watchdog. However, the laws are being criticised as the latest erosion of the rights of the householder in his own home.

Bob Quick - oversensitive, overreactive 'copper'

More evidence that the police are a now a political branch of the Zanu Labour Party comes in the form of tetchy Asst Comm Bob Quick who slagged of the Tories for highlighting where he lives - forcing him to move his family at short notice.
He was reacting to a great story in the Mail on Sunday which revealed his wife was running a limo firm - from his home.
Errr, this bloke is the top anti-terrorist copper and is announcing his home address on the Internet and local newspaper adverts.
So his slagging of the Tories was unwelcome. And probably untrue since the story probably came from a colleague at Scotland Yard.
More importantly is his outrage that this was a political move to prevent his inquiry into the Damian Green MP affair.
This is balls. Raiding the House of Commons without a search warrant is a massive affront to democracy.
Because, believe me, if this lot get way with this and manage to charge Damian Green with something then we really are living in a police state.

Thursday 18 December 2008

Boris to scrap entire congestion zone?

This has got be good news. Boris has been asked outright what he intends to do and he's 'brooding' about it.
C'mon fella. I urge you to see sense. We must stop seeing the motorist as a means of raising revenue. If you want to ease congestion you have to encourage people from their vehicles by improving public transport. Stop hitting drivers with more taxes. Most of us need personal transport. It isn't a lifestyle choice.
Livingstone's congestion charge didn't improve traffic flow and became too expensive. It has destroyed businesses and burdened other businesses with unbelievable extra cost.
Remember that congestion is self-regulating. People won't drive if they can't get anywhere. With expensive car parking in city centres (which is so prohibitive it puts many drivers off from driving into them), the only view of congestion charging is that it's obviously anti-car and anti-motorist.

This is how today's Evening Standard reports it:

BORIS JOHNSON is considering scrapping the entire congestion zone to boost the London economy, he announced today.
The Mayor has already said he will get rid of the western extension zone, but has now pledged to look at abolishing the charge covering central London.
When asked about the issue at today's Mayor's Question Time he said he would "brood" on the matter but wanted to be convinced it would not have an adverse effect on congestion.


Captain Gatso
http://captaingatso.net

Monday 15 December 2008

Labour and their database obsession

One of the reasons we are against the building of a Big Brother database is that it's wide-open to abuse.
Countries in Europe can have access to details of British drivers via DVLA but we can't access foreign databses.
And Zanu Labour have just signed an agreement which leaves the door even wider open.
Basically, you could be accussed of a crime in the EU and face extradition without any recourse to 'justice'. For instance, a car with a false plate is spotted near a crime scene and hey presto you're winging your way to a foreign court to explain yourself.
You will be branded a criminal and there's sod all you can do about it. Well done to wee Gordon Clown.
Of course the worst aspect to this is to do something perfectly legal in this country (slag off a foreign head of state for instance) - but which is illegal in another country. And, bang, off you go to face a prison sentence. Again, well done to our lawmakers for their understanding of the legal process.
The Telegraph does quite a good piece on it (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/3761189/Innocent-Britons-may-be-branded-criminals-abroad-after-Big-Brother-databases-agreement.html)

** Whilst we are on the subject. Let's leave aside the Government's inability to keep private data private, or deliver a computer system on time or on budget and think again about the system to log every child in the UK.
This is obviously a database by the back door but our worry is that 330,000 people will have access to it. That's 330,000 nosey, bloody-minded civil and public servants snooping around for info on you and your family.
But wait!
The Government have just made clear the figure is closer 480,000 people. And, of course, not one of them will abuse the info or even, God forbid, be a paedo looking for disfunctional families to befriend.
This has disaster written all over it. And as usual with Zanu Labour we haven't voted for it and we haven't debated the merits of it.
Disgraceful.

Friday 12 December 2008

Congratulations to the people of Manchester

The vote on whether to install a congestion charge in Manchester had a higher turn-out than general elections and they have voted no.
They faced a £5 charge which would cover 80 square miles.
This goes to show the depth of feeling. Will Londoners get a chance to vote on their congestion charge?
Will the powers-that-be listen?
Instead of offering a stick and then a carrot why don't the government install better, cheaper public transport and encourage people to use that?
But no, they promiseg the better transport links if pepole vote yes.
No-one believes empty promises like that anymore. They just want to get to work without being hammered for yet more tax.
Hopefully, other cities will sit up and take notice of this result. It's unpopular and creates a divide between the people who have to pay it and their 'masters' who want to crush car ownership.
Blame Zanu Labour, that idiot Prescott for failing to create a decent public transport system (and then refusing to resign when he said he would shoudl he fail) and especially blame wee Gordon Clown.
More than a million people voted yesterday but I don't think we've heard the last of this. It's not how things work in the Britain created by Zanu Labour.
* See my earlier post about the £350 tax at work idea. This is now a runner - and it's obviously the Government's plan B should Manchester vote no.
I keep telling people: Zanu Labour don't like criticism and they don't like people standing up to them.
So now we face a tax on work. In a recession. You couldn't make it up.

Captain Gatso
http://captaingatso.net

Olympic lanes are a reality

So, not only do London's motorists have to pay congestion charges, face a crippling bill for the Olympics but it's now official that many roads will be cleared to allow Olympic officals to get where they want to be without hindrance.
Great.
That means massive congestion and inconvenience for the rest of us.
Mind you, there are quite a few motorways affected so it should all be very interesting.
It's like being in the old Soviet Union when the top brass had their own lanes. Will Zanu Labour keep the lanes for themselves and their 'friends'??
Oh and to cap it all the government yesterday announced a £350 tax for parking at work.
Are there no depths to which wee Gordon Clown will not stoop for cash?

Captain Gatso
http://captaingatso.net/

Contact Captain Gatso

We have had some really good letters from our site visitors recently and I intend to publish them next week.
Like me, they are from professional people angry at the way in which this country is going.
The spread of speed cameras has nothing to do with safety (accidents are increasing and speed - according to the Government is only a factor in less than 5% of accidents) and everything to do with raising cash and monitoring people.
The Government's intentions are always cloudy - take ANPR for instance. It's there to catch unlicensed drivers - but cops panicked when they realised it was colour-blind and was picking up more non-white drivers for offences.
Then they started connecting all of the CCTV systems, including those in supermarkets, and giving them ANPR facilities too.
Then they announce that cameras can recognise people.
How did we get here from speed camera installation? (And the big shame is that the cops weren't interested in running speed cameras until the Government gave them a slice of the revenue and hey presto! we have thousands of cameras appear for 'road safety'.)
This madness has to stop.

Captain Gatso
http://captaingatso.net

Thursday 11 December 2008

Germany questions UK rescue plan

It's not just me that's seen through wee Gordon Brown's 'financial genius then.
Today we have the Germans stepping into the debate - it's highly unusual for one country to criticise another.
Apparently, Germany's finance minister has strongly criticised Gordon Brown's plans for reviving the UK economy, describing them as a "breathtaking" and "crass". Peer Steinbruck had criticised the UK's decision to cut VAT and raise the national debt to record levels.
I'll say.
Let's get one thing straight - we are the most taxed nation in Europe and it's going to get worse. We are skint, the cupboard is bare and we are leaving our children (and if Gordon has anything to do with it our children's children) a huge burden of debt.
And this from a man who for years has said we shouldn't borrow too much money.
The man is an idiot, a clown, a plastic politician.
One trillion pounds of debt? That's just insane.
So for all you car drivers out there expect to keep paying high taxes for your fuel, road tax and no end of other taxes.
But don't worry - the 600,000 extra civil servants are OK with their gold plated pensions (but not for long fellas!!!) and the police will be 'encouraged' to put up more speed cameras.
People say we are going to hell in a handcart. I say we are already there.

CG
http://captaingatso.net/

Tuesday 9 December 2008

w*nker of the week

So Imran Hussain is having a wank at a steady 120mph, pissed out of his head, kills an innocent father and son by driving into the back of their car and only gets 8 years?
The real shame is he will be out in four.
Where is the justice in that?
Hussain, a dad of four, was twice the legal drink-drive limit.
He's only been banned for 15 years. Why should this idiot get behind the wheel of a car again?
On top of this he could have been sentenced for 14 years - so exactly what does someone have to do get the full sentence?
What a country. What a waste of decent peoples' lives.
I keep on saying it but we need more - not less- police patrolling our streets to stop things like this happening again.

Captian Gatso
The Motorists Friend
http://captaingatso.net

Monday 8 December 2008

Ho ho ho - the thin blue line gets thinner

Bizarrely, I thought this would make a much bigger story.
There are fewer police now - down at least 1,500 in a year.
But the number of PCSOs (Blunkett's plastic policemen) has DOUBLED.
This is just policing on the cheap and raises some worrying issues. Zanu Labour are forking out ever increasing amounts for policing and for what?
Civilian staff and well-paid middle management that's what.
We need more officers on streets, and we especially need officers patrolling our roads.

Friday 5 December 2008

Older drivers 'six times more likely' to be caught by speed cameras

Well, well, well. Who would have believed it?

The people most likely to be caught be speed cameras are elderly drivers.

They are six times more likely to be fined for speeding than a decade ago, outnumbering young offenders almost three times, a survey has found.

The number of men aged 60 and over receiving penalty points for speeding soared by 540 per cent, and among women of the same age by 1,200 per cent, though starting from a very low base.

By contrast, the number of drivers under 25 being caught for speeding grew by only 18 per cent in the past 10 years.

So let's not focus on 'boy racers' and consider why older people are being caught. Do we believe they are such a real problem on our roads? Are they bad drivers?

Or have they always been a problem but police were reluctant to ticket them? maybe we should be looking at preventing people over a certain age not having licences.

Don't expect an answer soon from ZANU Labour. Or the speed camera partnerships - not while so many grannies are racking up fines. Which they will always pay without complaint.

Cheers!

CG
The Motorists' Friend
http://captaingatso.net

Manchester congestion charge - the dirty war steps up

One thing about this government and most councils is that they hate public 'consultation'.

It's generally just a tick box exercise to agree with the decision that's already been taken.

And in Manchester this is being seen.

There's a vote about the proposed congestion charge about to be held so you would think there would be balanced debate and a chance for each side to promote its views.

You would be wrong. This is Britain under Zanu Labour.

So why am I not surprised that ITV has canned an advert for the charge from being broadcast.
Diabolical.

You can read more about what's going on at http://www.stopthecharge.co.uk/

CG
The Motorists' Friend
http://captaingatso.net/

Thursday 4 December 2008

DNA database 'breach of rights'

Here's a sensible decision from the the European Court of Human Rights.

Two British men should not have had their DNA and fingerprints retained by police,

The men's information was held by South Yorkshire Police, although neither was convicted of any offence.

The judgement could have major implications on how DNA records are stored in the UK's national database.

I'll say!

The judges said keeping the information "could not be regarded as necessary in a democratic society".

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she was "disappointed" by the European Court of Human Rights' decision.

Well she would be - as part of the Stasi and the 'mission creep' mentality of ZANU Labour they don't like people standing up to them.

The database may now have to be scaled back following the unanimous judgement by 17 senior judges from across Europe.

Under present laws, the DNA profiles of everyone arrested for a recordable offence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are kept on the database, regardless of whether they are charged or convicted.

In addition, it's got thousands of schoolchildren on it plus thousands of people who helped police inquiries - by giving their DNA to exclude them from an investigation.

It's a sick society which amasses information like this. Don't be fooled by these idiots who say it helps solve crime.

Crime is much higher that the Government admits (anyone for a caution instead of charged and brought before a court, anyone?)

I'll lay money now the police do not destroy the DNA for these two - found not guilty of any crime - and the police refuse all future cases.

UPDATE
I've just had a thought....if this database is open and meant to be for the power of good - then how come Tony Bliar and his cohorts in the 'Cash for Honours' scandal didn't have their DNA taken?

I only ask. All things being equal and all that.

10 reasons to scrap CONgestion charge

Well done to Kelvin Mackenzie in today's Sun for spelling out the horrors that await Manchester's population if they vote yes to a congestion charge being introduced.

Even with a fee of £5 a day it would cost around £100 a month extra getting to work. Not bad for a city where the average wage is £15,000.

As we at MAD keep saying, this is a tax which hits the poorest hardest. The roads then become freer for the better off. How is that fair under ZANU Labour?

But the most important reason for voting no is that this will nail the congestion charge being brought in to other cities like Leeds for example.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/kelvin_mackenzie/article2001330.ece

Global warming - it's snow joke!

So half of Britain is under deep layers of snow today (and for many not for the first time in the past few weeks) plus most of the ski resorts in Europe have had their best snow falls for over a decade.

That will be global warming then.

Wednesday 3 December 2008

Even the Keystone Cops are better than this lot

I did wonder why the acting Met commissioner was quite so mouthy this morning saying his officers were great, did nothing wrong with Damian Green MP and then this afternoon Gorbals Mick drops the ultimate bombshell in Parliament.

The Met police conducted their raids on a democratically elected MP without a search warrant! (Perhaps a judge would have asked too many sensible questions about the reasons why??)

You couldn't make it up!

After I had stopped laughing I realised this underlines what I have been saying in ths blog.

And that is that the police are out of control. They must be brought to book. Senior officers and civil servants need to be sacked over this.

On top of this the front page of the Daily Mail today announces that the march of Big Brother carries on. Police will be able to stop anyone and ask for their 'papers'. For this read ID card - and this really is a final nail in our democratic coffin.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the people the officials are after are legitimate British citizens (even if born abroad and take citizenship), they will have legit 'papers' so stopping people and arresting those who won't produce ID is just a farce. And then to threaten prison is a joke.

Again it will be the law-abiding masses who will get hit the hardest.

Surely, we can't be that far from a revolution, civil dissent or even a coup? (Mind you, the Army are stretched abroad so won't be able to do it - funny that).

We're doomed I tell you, doomed.

Captain Gatso
The Motorists Friend
http://captaingatso.net

Tuesday 2 December 2008

This Damian Green case just won't go away

Leaving aside the fact that the police are a law unto themselves, what are we to make of a top cop investigating how the police behaved in handling the Damian Green case?

The alarm bells must be ringing loud within ZANU Labour because they know they've made a wrong move (and of course it helps that the Home Secretary tells fibs and the Prime Minister remains silent).

The Met's acting commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, says "I am properly concerned about the issues being raised within the continuing debate." Which is his way of saying they hadn't thought it through and that to enter the Commons was a sign of intimidation. If MPs can't conduct their business, what hope is there for the rest of us?

The Speaker, Gorbals Mick is useless. He never letsthe Government be criticised and gave Tony Bliar such an easy ride that he's a disgrace to the position.

Come on boys bring on the vote of no confidence.

The real issue here is that ZANU Labour and their underlings have lost sight of thefact they work for us.

And not, as they think, the population are a distraction from their every day workings. I mean this shower have introduced 3,500 NEW offences since coming to power.

They've managed to criminalise thousands of ordinary, hard working people with their war on the motorist and yet they still don't get it. (And yet proper villians get cautions because to charge them would affect the crime statistics which would make them much worse than they already are).

They've lost most of their party membership and have to offer dodgy dealings to get money in the bank.

They also claim to have created jobs (yes, for migrants) but what they don't say that there are 600,000 more people working for the Government - and these people don't create wealth. They have no idea how to.

Darling's 'daring gamble' with the country's economy will come back to haunt us.
This country is morally bankrupt and it's the fault of Bliar and Mugabe Brown.

We're doomed I tell you, doomed.

Captain Gatso
The Motorists Friend
http://captaingatso.net

Monday 1 December 2008

Electric car target is just bonkers

This government, this bunch of incompetent no-hopers called ZANU Labour, just won't give up, will they?

News today is that everyone will have to drive an electric car by 2025 is just insane. And I have a number of reasons for offering my bile on this subject.

The idea is that we need to bring down CO2 levels. Cars, get this, are responsible for around 22 per cent of that figure. (And most of that is produced by dirty, inefficient buses and heavy lorries not cars (Indeed, in some parts of the world cars put out cleaner air than they take in!)).

And I have to laugh when the Daily Telegraph announces with a straight face that Gordon Mugabe Brown is 'an advocate of electric cars' - this from a man who can't drive!

So how will ditching petrol engines make a difference?

I'll give you some solutions without doing so: restrict air traffic (and increase their fuel duty); most CO2 in this country comes from homes so insulate better the ones we have by offering tax incentives and not building 3,000,000 more as promised by that thin-skinned buffoon Prescott; build more efficient power stations.

And lastly, the most effective way of them all: start culling cattle and sheep because they produce far more CO2 than cars ever will.

(I offer all these solutions despite not believing at all in the idea of man-made climate change. We are subject to natural changes in the earth's temperature: the Romans grew vineyards north of Newcastle and when the Vikings landed in Greenland it was actually green and not covered in ice.)

But wait...there are a number of political issues there aren't there?

As I keep saying - the Government isn't interested in using motorists to bring down CO2 levels. It's a gimmick. A lie. An untruth. It's political posturing and they need our road taxes. Mind you, looks like electricty will rocket in price between now and then. Mark my words!