London needs a dedicated traffic police
Andrew Neil 12:29pm
On the way to a birthday party in Bucks on Sunday night we were delayed by a long tailback on the elevated section of the A4 out of London by what turned out to be a broken down van. On his way back to London over an hour later my driver reported that the van was still there, the police had eventually arrived but were doing nothing to move it and the tailback to get past it was now all the way back to the Hogarth roundabout.
Our inconvenience was small in the grand scheme of things: we were 45 minutes late for a party. But think of all the planes missed at Heathrow, the subsequent lost business appointments or family reunions, the delay in getting home for those who've been working all day -- or with a car full of tired kids who need to get to bed.
But nobody thinks of the cost and pain of such delays. In a rational world London would have a distinct traffic police force whose first priority would be to get the capital moving when vehicles block roads by breaking down or parking stupidly (which usually means illegally).
But instead we have a police force which never shows any urgency when it comes to unblocking the roads but is pretty quick to slow things down with its sneaky speed traps and endless roadblocks to check vehicle tax. On Sunday night it was just a breakdown, not even an accident, yet the vehicle was allowed to block one lane of a busy two-lane elevated section to the world's most important airport for two hours! An efficient traffic police would have towed the vehicle away in 15 minutes or so.
In New York (where I write these words) there is a distinct traffic police whose primary purpose is to keep traffic moving and clear bottlenecks. In London, nobody seems to care, certainly not the police and least of all Mayor Ken Livingstone, who maybe welcomes such snarl ups as the one on Sunday because he doesn't want us to use cars in the first place.
Tory candidate Boris Johnson still hasn't put much flesh on the bones of his London mayoral bid; maybe these few words will give him something to think about. A traffic police for London!
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TGF UKIP
December 18th, 2007 12:48pm Report this commentOn reading the first paragraph my immediate thought was the one you touch on in the penultimate para. Perhaps this really is Livingstone's new form of traffic control - broken down vans stategically parked by TfL. God, how I pity you poor sods who live and work in that hellhole.
mark
December 18th, 2007 2:08pm Report this commentthis makes a point that ocurred to me a few days ago - to the effect - what is the legal liability of someone who, perhaps through negligence (failing to check tyre pressures - whatever), causes a major hold up and the consequences outlined (missed flights etc etc). If I did that in my work environment, there would be consequences! I am not suggesting we start litigating all over the place - but it seems odd that the behaviour of an individual which can have huge personal and economic consequences can go completely unpunished.
Mike Kingscott
December 18th, 2007 3:51pm Report this commentHow about more traffic police for Britain? There is a world outside London, y'know ;-)
HF
December 18th, 2007 5:30pm Report this commentKen changed the traffic light timings inside London to deliberately slow down car speeds. So why would he care?
Cogito Ergosum
December 18th, 2007 9:15pm Report this commentIt's a national issue, not just for London alone. The police seem to block off roads for the slightest reason. We desperately need them to take the opposite stance: to do their utmost to keep the traffic moving.
I suspect the reason they close the roads is that they have to cover their backs against the defence lawyers they will encounter in court. There is a whole can of worms here which needs to be sorted out.
Patrick Fox
December 19th, 2007 3:50am Report this commentWelcome to Nairobi. This is a daily occurrence here with a supposedly dedicated traffic police more interested in shaking down motorists for chai (bribes) than keeping the traffic moving. We do however have better weather in which to be stuck.
Ed
December 19th, 2007 3:27pm Report this commentref HF Not only did KEN L organise the un-phasing of the traffic lights but he also destroyed the records just to make sure he could justify the congestion charge. His crazy regime thinks that delaying traffic is good so I am sure that the police are told not to be too hasty in clearing obstructions.
Mike Davies
December 19th, 2007 7:33pm Report this commentIf there was as much revenue in keeping the traffic flowing, as there is in issuing Fixed Penalty Notices (£60 a go), traffic jams/delays would be but a bad dream.
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