One for @Foxy , and since we are on Transport as the OT subthread.
I see that Oadby is about to get Leicestershire's first Cyclops junction (main change is protected mobility and pedestrian tracks around the junction on the A6), and that LCC (County) even though this is only their first seem to know what they are doing in that they are going for an "all round green" phase for the active travel modes, rather than making them wait 3 or 4 times to cross 2 roads. Unlike Liverpool City Regon who cocked up the lights and mobility track in St Helens, by requiring wheelers and cyclists to make a 180-turn on a radius only suitable for unicycles.
I gave them comments as a sometimes-visitor, especially about the importance of sweating the detail on stuff they have not done before.
Some interesting politics in local forums from the usual motor-orientated suspects, who will hardly be affected: "How DARE they not spend ALL the money on MEEEE".
It's a junction that I pass through most days. In Oadby there are some big housing estates on the East side of the A6, but all the main shops are on the West side, so making it easier to cross the dual carriageway of the A6 should do a lot for active travel.
It needs to link in better to the Leicester City cycle routes. Getting past the racecourse roundabout on a bike is no fun.
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Some people do have a talent for languages. My Dad and both my sons are like human chameleons. Drop them in another country and they are speaking the language within a week. Sadly I am not so skilled, but usually pick up enough for a tourist fairly quickly. For 30 years in Leicester my Gujerati is fairly poor too, I can follow it much better than I can speak it as my pronunciation of so many sounds is off.
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Some people do have a talent for languages. My Dad and both my sons are like human chameleons. Drop them in another country and they are speaking the language within a week. Sadly I am not so skilled, but usually pick up enough for a tourist fairly quickly. For 30 years in Leicester my Gujerati is fairly poor too, I can follow it much better than I can speak it as my pronunciation of so many sounds is off.
"Speaking the language within a week" doesn't mean that they've acquired any proficiency, just that they are not afraid of trying to communicate.
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Why italicise that?
If people choose to live on a main road, what's wrong with driving past their home at 30mph or 40mph or 50mph if that's the speed limit?
Main arterial roads should be 40 or 50mph through towns and 60 or 70mph outside of towns.
20 is plenty for residential streets, but arteries are not residential streets.
That does get more complicated in Wales, where the lack of bypasses means very often they are the same thing. Ponterwyd or Rhayader or Aberystwyth, for example.
There are some however classified as residential that really are not. The A44 at Llangurig where the 20mph zone goes past the church, the pub and a garage springs to mind. The village itself is on a back street...
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
The move is sensible, because they know that your average UK driver who does not look beyond the end of their bonnet will be racing up to that sign at 50 or 60mph than stand their car on its nose to slow down.
The real issue there is that UK roads are not designed to look like roads that are safe at the suitable speed limit eg through villages, so there are not the necessary visual cues for people driving through to slow down, and they go hooning through regardless.
That's down to the nature of LHAs being created to build roads, and ignore other interests - such as adequate consideration for pedestrians. It's also why junctions prioritise throughput over safety, and anyone asking for a Zebra crossing across a busy road to a primary school will be told in effect that not enough children under 10 have been killed or crippled to justify it yet.
Beyond the entrance to the estate? That's absurd, why should the main road outside the estate be a 20?
Inside the estate, sure, drive slowly on residential streets. But if you're driving past and not on the estate? Then keep driving past it.
Your whole argument for LTNs and one I can respect and agree with is it separates the residential from the traffic, but that becomes moot if you're making the main road be classed the same as the estate, its not.
Note I said I think 30mph would be appropriate there for the main road, not 20mph. I'd have left the limit at 30 and moved it further out of the village as the built-up zone expands.
(Aside: I didn't mention LTNs, though you are correct about my view. BTW LHA is Local Highways Authority - sorry, should have mentioned.)
The entrance to the estate is better into a 30mph limit on the major road rather than a 60mph because there will be something like 2-4 turning manoeuvres per day per household into and out of that estate road (standard road design assumption), and we know that junctions are where most collisions happen, and that they are significantly more dangerous into higher speed than lower speed major roads.
That's established design practise for safety, and reduced speed limits near junctions are a routine practise by Highways Authorities.
So extending the lower speed limit to beyond the entrance from the estate seems sensible.
Sorry I thought you were arguing it should be 20.
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
We can agree that 20 is preposterous outside estates can we not and it should be a 30 not a 20, right?
That seems broadly reasonable to me as a default. No doubt there will be exceptions.
30mph is in most circumstances a perfectly reasonable speed in an urban environment. The problem comes when this is flouted. But the correct response to this shouldn't be to say 'well in 30 zones some people go at 40, so we'll drop the limit to 20 so they go at 30' but to enforce laws and adjust behaviours so that the stated limits are adhered to. The alternative is punishing the law abiding but not the guilty.
30mph would be a perfectly reasonable speed limit in an urban environment if people treated it as it as the absolute limit it is supposed to be. ie as fast as is safe for the road conditions but never more than 30 mph. Instead of which people treat it as a recommendation and you'll be fine as long as you don't go above 35 mph.
So they set the limit to 20 mph, which no-one goes at, but it gets the 80% of all drivers line to where it needs to be, at about 27 mph.
One for @Foxy , and since we are on Transport as the OT subthread.
I see that Oadby is about to get Leicestershire's first Cyclops junction (main change is protected mobility and pedestrian tracks around the junction on the A6), and that LCC (County) even though this is only their first seem to know what they are doing in that they are going for an "all round green" phase for the active travel modes, rather than making them wait 3 or 4 times to cross 2 roads. Unlike Liverpool City Regon who cocked up the lights and mobility track in St Helens, by requiring wheelers and cyclists to make a 180-turn on a radius only suitable for unicycles.
I gave them comments as a sometimes-visitor, especially about the importance of sweating the detail on stuff they have not done before.
Some interesting politics in local forums from the usual motor-orientated suspects, who will hardly be affected: "How DARE they not spend ALL the money on MEEEE".
It's a junction that I pass through most days. In Oadby there are some big housing estates on the East side of the A6, but all the main shops are on the West side, so making it easier to cross the dual carriageway of the A6 should do a lot for active travel.
It needs to link in better to the Leicester City cycle routes. Getting past the racecourse roundabout on a bike is no fun.
Cyclopses seem in general to be a really good design (more successful than our versions of "Dutch Roundabouts" so far, though there is improved practise there too), and seem to work best with the mobility track on the outside, if the detail is done well.
One thing that has hardly been tackled in the UK yet is that if it is all-round-green for the mobility and pedestrian tracks, then there's no reason whatsoever why it shouldn't be OK simply to walk directly across the junction. As happens at Oxford Circus under crossing-control, for example.
At present the value of "keep the pedestrians off the carriageway and out of the way" is too strong in the road and institutional culture.
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Nope. It's just Denbigh and Flint have been apathetic about doing a proper in-depth study of speed limits, unlike say Gwynedd.
The reaction I'm seeing suggests this is pissing locals off more than tourists.
Compare and contrast to somewhere like Edinburgh, where almost everything inside the bypass is 20mph or moving towards it.
That map isn't correct. Of the 20mph zones I've been driving through, it's got Ruthin and Llanfiar MG but not Cerrigydrudion or Pwllglas.
Edit - on a double check, not Llanfair either
That would suggest they were 20mph limits already.
It might, but the signs all appear to be new. They might, of course, have been renewed at the same time, or only have been introduced just before. But if the latter, we're splitting hairs about the ubiquity of them.
Edit - I'm remembering that article you sent me by mistake for something else, about how important it was when changing speed limits to prepare the ground carefully and make sure everyone had bought into and understood the changes. The reaction I'm seeing here suggests that just hasn't happened. But equally, I seem to remember that wasn't a point of dispute.
I'm suggesting that much of the opposition to 20mph limits in Wales is based on false information. Indeed, what BigG describes as the perfect suite of speed limits is in effect what the Welsh government has introduced, given the very large number of existing exceptions (and perhaps more after the consultation).
Indeed, you've just demonstrated that a number of the limits were already in place, but are being falsely attributed to the new scheme. You can't cater for that kind of misinformation, and you either rely on your democratic mandate and tough it out, or capitulate.
Good morning
I would suggest you have no idea about the actual position in Wales both in public opinion which indicates 70% opposition to the way the scheme has been implemented from those actually living and driving in Wales, and you seem to ignore that the Welsh government itself concedes it is to change
You can go from 20mph to 30 mph to 40 mph back to 20mph over the Little Orme in a distance less than three quarters of a mie when the previous speed limit was 30 mph and 40mph
Look at the maps from Edinburgh as much as you want but that is not what is the experience nor is it some conspiracy theory that it is based on misinformation
Frankly the issue has been widely discussed in Wales by those living in Wales and the government have listened so little point in arguing an issue that the Welsh have dealt with
Hello BigG , hope you are well. We see yet again these anti - car nutters desperate to stop people being able to get around whilst they live in large cities and even different countries, they spout crap about using bikes and public transport. Bet they are worst polluters to boot as they fly off to the sun etc.
Morning Malc - thank you and considering my health issues I am very grateful to be plodding along
The argument over Wales 20mph zones has been widely discussed in Wales and recognised by the Welsh government it was not implemented properly and changes are being made
The conspiracy theory of misinformation is not valid as it is the day to day experience of Welsh drivers that has led to the changes accepted across the political divide and it has to be said nobody objects to 20mph zones near schools, hospitals, and villages
It is interesting that Starmer has avoided the same error by Drakeford and not mandating it for England from central government but leaving it to local councils to decide where these measures are best applied
I would just say about cycling there are many cycle paths now already separating them from road users, but in our area there are not a large number of cyclists on the roads anyway
Morning @Big_G_NorthWales (and everyone). Pleased that you are plodding along.
I'm interested in how you characterise the changes in the 20mph default limit initiative.
To me - and I've followed it though I'm not in Wales very often - the scheme introduced already has making-appropriate-exceptions as a feature already, and was a manifesto commitment for parties that received half of the vote.
So what they are doing is wait-and-see what Highways Authorities choose to do with the power to make exceptions, and they will be guided by data as it emerges, as well as local attitudes.
Politically I think that Reform Wales (what are they called?) in particular will try and use this as a wedge issue as their stuff about riots and the Two Tier Kier trope etc loses traction, as they go after the not-insubstantial former UKIP vote and Conservative vote in Wales. Lee Anderson has been noisy about their first Welsh Councillors.
The matter has largely been resolved by the Welsh Government's own admission it was not implemented properly, and the fact 70% of those living in Wales oppose the actual implementation having experienced it, rather than just sitting at maps in some office or home probably and in some cases not even in Wales
Furthermore, it is not political as all parties have accepted it needs to change and the change commence next month
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Nope. It's just Denbigh and Flint have been apathetic about doing a proper in-depth study of speed limits, unlike say Gwynedd.
The reaction I'm seeing suggests this is pissing locals off more than tourists.
Compare and contrast to somewhere like Edinburgh, where almost everything inside the bypass is 20mph or moving towards it.
That map isn't correct. Of the 20mph zones I've been driving through, it's got Ruthin and Llanfiar MG but not Cerrigydrudion or Pwllglas.
Edit - on a double check, not Llanfair either
That would suggest they were 20mph limits already.
It might, but the signs all appear to be new. They might, of course, have been renewed at the same time, or only have been introduced just before. But if the latter, we're splitting hairs about the ubiquity of them.
Edit - I'm remembering that article you sent me by mistake for something else, about how important it was when changing speed limits to prepare the ground carefully and make sure everyone had bought into and understood the changes. The reaction I'm seeing here suggests that just hasn't happened. But equally, I seem to remember that wasn't a point of dispute.
I'm suggesting that much of the opposition to 20mph limits in Wales is based on false information. Indeed, what BigG describes as the perfect suite of speed limits is in effect what the Welsh government has introduced, given the very large number of existing exceptions (and perhaps more after the consultation).
Indeed, you've just demonstrated that a number of the limits were already in place, but are being falsely attributed to the new scheme. You can't cater for that kind of misinformation, and you either rely on your democratic mandate and tough it out, or capitulate.
Good morning
I would suggest you have no idea about the actual position in Wales both in public opinion which indicates 70% opposition to the way the scheme has been implemented from those actually living and driving in Wales, and you seem to ignore that the Welsh government itself concedes it is to change
You can go from 20mph to 30 mph to 40 mph back to 20mph over the Little Orme in a distance less than three quarters of a mie when the previous speed limit was 30 mph and 40mph
Look at the maps from Edinburgh as much as you want but that is not what is the experience nor is it some conspiracy theory that it is based on misinformation
Frankly the issue has been widely discussed in Wales by those living in Wales and the government have listened so little point in arguing an issue that the Welsh have dealt with
Hello BigG , hope you are well. We see yet again these anti - car nutters desperate to stop people being able to get around whilst they live in large cities and even different countries, they spout crap about using bikes and public transport. Bet they are worst polluters to boot as they fly off to the sun etc.
Morning Malc - thank you and considering my health issues I am very grateful to be plodding along
The argument over Wales 20mph zones has been widely discussed in Wales and recognised by the Welsh government it was not implemented properly and changes are being made
The conspiracy theory of misinformation is not valid as it is the day to day experience of Welsh drivers that has led to the changes accepted across the political divide and it has to be said nobody objects to 20mph zones near schools, hospitals, and villages
It is interesting that Starmer has avoided the same error by Drakeford and not mandating it for England from central government but leaving it to local councils to decide where these measures are best applied
I would just say about cycling there are many cycle paths now already separating them from road users, but in our area there are not a large number of cyclists on the roads anyway
Morning @Big_G_NorthWales (and everyone). Pleased that you are plodding along.
I'm interested in how you characterise the changes in the 20mph default limit initiative.
To me - and I've followed it though I'm not in Wales very often - the scheme introduced already has making-appropriate-exceptions as a feature already, and was a manifesto commitment for parties that received half of the vote.
So what they are doing is wait-and-see what Highways Authorities choose to do with the power to make exceptions, and they will be guided by data as it emerges, as well as local attitudes.
Politically I think that Reform Wales (what are they called?) in particular will try and use this as a wedge issue as their stuff about riots and the Two Tier Kier trope etc loses traction, as they go after the not-insubstantial former UKIP vote and Conservative vote in Wales. Lee Anderson has been noisy about their first Welsh Councillors.
The matter has largely been resolved by the Welsh Government's own admission it was not implemented properly, and the fact 70% of those living in Wales oppose the actual implementation having experienced rit, rather than just sitting at maps in some office or home probably and in some cases not even in Wales
Furthermore, it is not political as all parties have accepted it needs to change and the change commence next month
Is there a clear idea of the changes to be implemented, such as the new guidance to be published? Thanks.
I've seen very little since the initial flurry of reports back in April.
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Yes, learning a new language is a lot of work, and most, perhaps all, people will never be as proficient in it as their native language. The other thing is that it is extremely difficult to maintain the motivation to learn unless you have a good reason for learning, like having to communicate in it in order to be able to eat, socialise, etc.
I'm interested in languages but wouldn't say I'm particularly talented at learning them. After 10 years in Germany, I had become pretty fluent and could think in German without translating to English, as it were, but it took a long time to get to that stage. I'm currently learning some Japanese in preparation for a holiday there this autumn. The language is quite fascinating, but the writing! Who thought two phonetic alphabets and an ideographic script, plus Roman letters and Arabic numerals, all mixed up together, was a good idea? I don't expect to be able to communicate much in the language, but some familiarity can't be a bad thing.
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Why italicise that?
If people choose to live on a main road, what's wrong with driving past their home at 30mph or 40mph or 50mph if that's the speed limit?
Main arterial roads should be 40 or 50mph through towns and 60 or 70mph outside of towns.
20 is plenty for residential streets, but arteries are not residential streets.
That does get more complicated in Wales, where the lack of bypasses means very often they are the same thing. Ponterwyd or Rhayader or Aberystwyth, for example.
There are some however classified as residential that really are not. The A44 at Llangurig where the 20mph zone goes past the church, the pub and a garage springs to mind. The village itself is on a back street...
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
The move is sensible, because they know that your average UK driver who does not look beyond the end of their bonnet will be racing up to that sign at 50 or 60mph than stand their car on its nose to slow down.
The real issue there is that UK roads are not designed to look like roads that are safe at the suitable speed limit eg through villages, so there are not the necessary visual cues for people driving through to slow down, and they go hooning through regardless.
That's down to the nature of LHAs being created to build roads, and ignore other interests - such as adequate consideration for pedestrians. It's also why junctions prioritise throughput over safety, and anyone asking for a Zebra crossing across a busy road to a primary school will be told in effect that not enough children under 10 have been killed or crippled to justify it yet.
Beyond the entrance to the estate? That's absurd, why should the main road outside the estate be a 20?
Inside the estate, sure, drive slowly on residential streets. But if you're driving past and not on the estate? Then keep driving past it.
Your whole argument for LTNs and one I can respect and agree with is it separates the residential from the traffic, but that becomes moot if you're making the main road be classed the same as the estate, its not.
Note I said I think 30mph would be appropriate there for the main road, not 20mph. I'd have left the limit at 30 and moved it further out of the village as the built-up zone expands.
(Aside: I didn't mention LTNs, though you are correct about my view. BTW LHA is Local Highways Authority - sorry, should have mentioned.)
The entrance to the estate is better into a 30mph limit on the major road rather than a 60mph because there will be something like 2-4 turning manoeuvres per day per household into and out of that estate road (standard road design assumption), and we know that junctions are where most collisions happen, and that they are significantly more dangerous into higher speed than lower speed major roads.
That's established design practise for safety, and reduced speed limits near junctions are a routine practise by Highways Authorities.
So extending the lower speed limit to beyond the entrance from the estate seems sensible.
Sorry I thought you were arguing it should be 20.
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
We can agree that 20 is preposterous outside estates can we not and it should be a 30 not a 20, right?
That seems broadly reasonable to me as a default. No doubt there will be exceptions.
30mph is in most circumstances a perfectly reasonable speed in an urban environment. The problem comes when this is flouted. But the correct response to this shouldn't be to say 'well in 30 zones some people go at 40, so we'll drop the limit to 20 so they go at 30' but to enforce laws and adjust behaviours so that the stated limits are adhered to. The alternative is punishing the law abiding but not the guilty.
30mph would be a perfectly reasonable speed limit in an urban environment if people treated it as it as the absolute limit it is supposed to be. ie as fast as is safe for the road conditions but never more than 30 mph. Instead of which people treat it as a recommendation and you'll be fine as long as you don't go above 35 mph.
So they set the limit to 20 mph, which no-one goes at, but it gets the 80% of all drivers line to where it needs to be, at about 27 mph.
Yes, but this is a stupid way of going about things. I am criticising both the lawmakers and the law-observers here.
The law-following at least has changed quite a lot in my lifetime. When I was growing up it was "30 but you'll be fine as long as you don't go above 49".
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Hm. Compared 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, you can see why Australia is a more attractive option than continental Europe.
Imagine if they had offered some similar constructive ideas to Cameron BEFORE the referendum happened...
In retrospect, what Cameron should have done is taken them by surprise by invoking Article 50 after Merkel opened the borders and then renegotiated from a position of strength.
Do you mean before we had a Brexit referendum?
I mean, that would be ballsy, but I think probably politically impractical.
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Nope. It's just Denbigh and Flint have been apathetic about doing a proper in-depth study of speed limits, unlike say Gwynedd.
The reaction I'm seeing suggests this is pissing locals off more than tourists.
Compare and contrast to somewhere like Edinburgh, where almost everything inside the bypass is 20mph or moving towards it.
That map isn't correct. Of the 20mph zones I've been driving through, it's got Ruthin and Llanfiar MG but not Cerrigydrudion or Pwllglas.
Edit - on a double check, not Llanfair either
That would suggest they were 20mph limits already.
It might, but the signs all appear to be new. They might, of course, have been renewed at the same time, or only have been introduced just before. But if the latter, we're splitting hairs about the ubiquity of them.
Edit - I'm remembering that article you sent me by mistake for something else, about how important it was when changing speed limits to prepare the ground carefully and make sure everyone had bought into and understood the changes. The reaction I'm seeing here suggests that just hasn't happened. But equally, I seem to remember that wasn't a point of dispute.
I'm suggesting that much of the opposition to 20mph limits in Wales is based on false information. Indeed, what BigG describes as the perfect suite of speed limits is in effect what the Welsh government has introduced, given the very large number of existing exceptions (and perhaps more after the consultation).
Indeed, you've just demonstrated that a number of the limits were already in place, but are being falsely attributed to the new scheme. You can't cater for that kind of misinformation, and you either rely on your democratic mandate and tough it out, or capitulate.
Good morning
I would suggest you have no idea about the actual position in Wales both in public opinion which indicates 70% opposition to the way the scheme has been implemented from those actually living and driving in Wales, and you seem to ignore that the Welsh government itself concedes it is to change
You can go from 20mph to 30 mph to 40 mph back to 20mph over the Little Orme in a distance less than three quarters of a mie when the previous speed limit was 30 mph and 40mph
Look at the maps from Edinburgh as much as you want but that is not what is the experience nor is it some conspiracy theory that it is based on misinformation
Frankly the issue has been widely discussed in Wales by those living in Wales and the government have listened so little point in arguing an issue that the Welsh have dealt with
Hello BigG , hope you are well. We see yet again these anti - car nutters desperate to stop people being able to get around whilst they live in large cities and even different countries, they spout crap about using bikes and public transport. Bet they are worst polluters to boot as they fly off to the sun etc.
Morning Malc - thank you and considering my health issues I am very grateful to be plodding along
The argument over Wales 20mph zones has been widely discussed in Wales and recognised by the Welsh government it was not implemented properly and changes are being made
The conspiracy theory of misinformation is not valid as it is the day to day experience of Welsh drivers that has led to the changes accepted across the political divide and it has to be said nobody objects to 20mph zones near schools, hospitals, and villages
It is interesting that Starmer has avoided the same error by Drakeford and not mandating it for England from central government but leaving it to local councils to decide where these measures are best applied
I would just say about cycling there are many cycle paths now already separating them from road users, but in our area there are not a large number of cyclists on the roads anyway
Morning @Big_G_NorthWales (and everyone). Pleased that you are plodding along.
I'm interested in how you characterise the changes in the 20mph default limit initiative.
To me - and I've followed it though I'm not in Wales very often - the scheme introduced already has making-appropriate-exceptions as a feature already, and was a manifesto commitment for parties that received half of the vote.
So what they are doing is wait-and-see what Highways Authorities choose to do with the power to make exceptions, and they will be guided by data as it emerges, as well as local attitudes.
Politically I think that Reform Wales (what are they called?) in particular will try and use this as a wedge issue as their stuff about riots and the Two Tier Kier trope etc loses traction, as they go after the not-insubstantial former UKIP vote and Conservative vote in Wales. Lee Anderson has been noisy about their first Welsh Councillors.
The matter has largely been resolved by the Welsh Government's own admission it was not implemented properly, and the fact 70% of those living in Wales oppose the actual implementation having experienced rit, rather than just sitting at maps in some office or home probably and in some cases not even in Wales
Furthermore, it is not political as all parties have accepted it needs to change and the change commence next month
Is there a clear idea of the changes to be implemented? Thanks.
I've seen very little since the initial flurry of reports back in April.
They will be announced from next month on each Authorities website site
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Hm. Compared 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, you can see why Australia is a more attractive option than continental Europe.
My German wasn't great at all when I first went to Germany (to work as a software developer), but that wasn't a problem since most international business in Germany communicate in English at a professional level. Learning the language properly over the following years was actually quite an enjoyable experience and something I'd have missed out on in an English-speaking country.
P.S. German is a lot easier than Arabic for an English speaker to learn!
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Some people do have a talent for languages. My Dad and both my sons are like human chameleons. Drop them in another country and they are speaking the language within a week. Sadly I am not so skilled, but usually pick up enough for a tourist fairly quickly. For 30 years in Leicester my Gujerati is fairly poor too, I can follow it much better than I can speak it as my pronunciation of so many sounds is off.
There are maybe 10% who have a talent for languages and another 10% who cannot do it at all. For the rest of us, it's as @Dura_Ace says, how much effort are you willing to put in?
The skills you need are listening and pattern matching that you get from repetition. An ability to think in the other language no matter what level you are at helps too.
"Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has said decisions on introducing road calming and safety schemes, such as 20mph zones, should remain with local communities rather than her department."
They seem to be doing a lot of basic, sensible things in this area that could have been done 2, 5 or 10 years ago - such as addressing motorcycle ASB, lithium battery safety, multi year budgets for local authorities, a review of road safety, and the rest.
I'm sure there are things I would like them to do, or not do, but the basic approach seems to be - at least - thoughtful and systematic.
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Why italicise that?
If people choose to live on a main road, what's wrong with driving past their home at 30mph or 40mph or 50mph if that's the speed limit?
Main arterial roads should be 40 or 50mph through towns and 60 or 70mph outside of towns.
20 is plenty for residential streets, but arteries are not residential streets.
That does get more complicated in Wales, where the lack of bypasses means very often they are the same thing. Ponterwyd or Rhayader or Aberystwyth, for example.
There are some however classified as residential that really are not. The A44 at Llangurig where the 20mph zone goes past the church, the pub and a garage springs to mind. The village itself is on a back street...
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
The move is sensible, because they know that your average UK driver who does not look beyond the end of their bonnet will be racing up to that sign at 50 or 60mph than stand their car on its nose to slow down.
The real issue there is that UK roads are not designed to look like roads that are safe at the suitable speed limit eg through villages, so there are not the necessary visual cues for people driving through to slow down, and they go hooning through regardless.
That's down to the nature of LHAs being created to build roads, and ignore other interests - such as adequate consideration for pedestrians. It's also why junctions prioritise throughput over safety, and anyone asking for a Zebra crossing across a busy road to a primary school will be told in effect that not enough children under 10 have been killed or crippled to justify it yet.
Beyond the entrance to the estate? That's absurd, why should the main road outside the estate be a 20?
Inside the estate, sure, drive slowly on residential streets. But if you're driving past and not on the estate? Then keep driving past it.
Your whole argument for LTNs and one I can respect and agree with is it separates the residential from the traffic, but that becomes moot if you're making the main road be classed the same as the estate, its not.
Note I said I think 30mph would be appropriate there for the main road, not 20mph. I'd have left the limit at 30 and moved it further out of the village as the built-up zone expands.
(Aside: I didn't mention LTNs, though you are correct about my view. BTW LHA is Local Highways Authority - sorry, should have mentioned.)
The entrance to the estate is better into a 30mph limit on the major road rather than a 60mph because there will be something like 2-4 turning manoeuvres per day per household into and out of that estate road (standard road design assumption), and we know that junctions are where most collisions happen, and that they are significantly more dangerous into higher speed than lower speed major roads.
That's established design practise for safety, and reduced speed limits near junctions are a routine practise by Highways Authorities.
So extending the lower speed limit to beyond the entrance from the estate seems sensible.
Sorry I thought you were arguing it should be 20.
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
We can agree that 20 is preposterous outside estates can we not and it should be a 30 not a 20, right?
That seems broadly reasonable to me as a default. No doubt there will be exceptions.
30mph is in most circumstances a perfectly reasonable speed in an urban environment. The problem comes when this is flouted. But the correct response to this shouldn't be to say 'well in 30 zones some people go at 40, so we'll drop the limit to 20 so they go at 30' but to enforce laws and adjust behaviours so that the stated limits are adhered to. The alternative is punishing the law abiding but not the guilty.
I prefer driving at 20 to 30 in built up areas. At that speed you feel completely in control and able to respond to anything unexpected, you find yourself changing speed less often, you spend less time worrying about overtaking cyclists and e bikes, and other drivers' behaviour becomes easier to predict and react to. Occasionally, eg on an A road or late at night, 20 can seem too slow, but its more common these days that I'm in a 30 zone and it feels dangerously fast.
Imagine if they had offered some similar constructive ideas to Cameron BEFORE the referendum happened...
In retrospect, what Cameron should have done is taken them by surprise by invoking Article 50 after Merkel opened the borders and then renegotiated from a position of strength.
Do you mean before we had a Brexit referendum?
I mean, that would be ballsy, but I think probably politically impractical.
Yes, before the referendum and in direct response to Merkel's decision.
It could have been framed as a necessary step to deal with an unacceptable unilateral decision on the part of the German Chancellor, and that in the absence of fundamental changes, we would cease to be members in two years (which would have been 2017).
The other political benefit of doing it this way is that if he'd held a referendum, it would have been the end of the saga rather than the beginning.
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Hm. Compared 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, you can see why Australia is a more attractive option than continental Europe.
My German wasn't great at all when I first went to Germany (to work as a software developer), but that wasn't a problem since most international business in Germany communicate in English at a professional level. Learning the language properly over the following years was actually quite an enjoyable experience and something I'd have missed out on in an English-speaking country.
P.S. German is a lot easier than Arabic for an English speaker to learn!
Arabic is pretty much impossible to learn, unless you’re in one of those countries where no-one speaks English. Picking up the gist of conversations isn’t too bad after a few years though.
And while I'm on the topic, I've seen some of the worst driving about while teaching her to drive. The L-plates seem like a red rag to a bull for some people. They think nothing of driving right on your tail, or cutting straight across in front of you. And if a learner has stalled their car on a hill in front of you, sitting two inches behind their bumper and leaning on your horn isn't going to help them get going any faster!
Unfortunately so true. I ride a motorcycle with L plates and they're a very effective arsehole magnet. Drivers regularly come right up to my rear wheel, revving the engine and jinking right looking for the slightest opportunity to get past. All too often 'opportunity' is a blind crest or sharp bend.
The sole reason I'm spending time and money doing my full license to get rid of those plates, because they're going to enrage someone into causing a nasty accident one day.
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Hm. Compared 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, you can see why Australia is a more attractive option than continental Europe.
My German wasn't great at all when I first went to Germany (to work as a software developer), but that wasn't a problem since most international business in Germany communicate in English at a professional level. Learning the language properly over the following years was actually quite an enjoyable experience and something I'd have missed out on in an English-speaking country.
P.S. German is a lot easier than Arabic for an English speaker to learn!
Arabic is pretty much impossible to learn, unless you’re in one of those countries where no-one speaks English. Picking up the gist of conversations isn’t too bad after a few years though.
There are no such countries left. Parachute in to an uncontacted tribe in PNG or up the Amazon and you will find nobody to talk to who doesn't want to practise their English by talking about Manchester United.
And while I'm on the topic, I've seen some of the worst driving about while teaching her to drive. The L-plates seem like a red rag to a bull for some people. They think nothing of driving right on your tail, or cutting straight across in front of you. And if a learner has stalled their car on a hill in front of you, sitting two inches behind their bumper and leaning on your horn isn't going to help them get going any faster!
Unfortunately so true. I ride a motorcycle with L plates and they're a very effective arsehole magnet. Drivers regularly come right up to my rear wheel, revving the engine and jinking right looking for the slightest opportunity to get past. All too often 'opportunity' is a blind crest or sharp bend.
The sole reason I'm spending time and money doing my full license to get rid of those plates, because they're going to enrage someone into causing a nasty accident one day.
Some of those should be amenable to reports via Operation SNAP, if you are so inclined - probably around driving without due care or consideration for other road users.
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Why italicise that?
If people choose to live on a main road, what's wrong with driving past their home at 30mph or 40mph or 50mph if that's the speed limit?
Main arterial roads should be 40 or 50mph through towns and 60 or 70mph outside of towns.
20 is plenty for residential streets, but arteries are not residential streets.
That does get more complicated in Wales, where the lack of bypasses means very often they are the same thing. Ponterwyd or Rhayader or Aberystwyth, for example.
There are some however classified as residential that really are not. The A44 at Llangurig where the 20mph zone goes past the church, the pub and a garage springs to mind. The village itself is on a back street...
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
The move of the sign further out is sensible, because they know that your average UK driver who does not look beyond the end of their bonnet will be racing up to that sign at 50 or 60mph than stand their car on its nose to slow down, or continue through the village (and it is through the village) at highway speeds.
I'd say that 30mph is a sensible limit there IF the limit is obeyed, but it will be ignored - because that is seen as acceptable behaviour.
The real issue there is that UK roads are not designed to look like roads that are safe at the suitable speed limit eg through villages, so there are not the necessary visual cues for people driving through to slow down, and they go hooning through regardless.
That's down to the nature of LHAs being created to build roads, and ignore other interests - such as adequate consideration for pedestrians. It's also why junctions prioritise throughput over safety, and anyone asking for a Zebra crossing across a busy road to a primary school will be told in effect that not enough children under 10 have been killed or crippled to justify it yet.
Bit in bold. The problem is, some people will obey a 20 limit and that annoys people.
Stick a speed camera in there and people will do 30.
I've been teaching my step-daughter to drive recently, and it is very noticeable that some people simply cannot stand to drive at the speed limit. My step-daughter obviously has to learn to drive at or just below the speed limit (since she'd otherwise fail her driving test), but whatever the speed limit, there's always some bozo behind who just has to get past and will drive right on our tail before overtaking at the next (barely) possible opportunity.
And while I'm on the topic, I've seen some of the worst driving about while teaching her to drive. The L-plates seem like a red rag to a bull for some people. They think nothing of driving right on your tail, or cutting straight across in front of you. And if a learner has stalled their car on a hill in front of you, sitting two inches behind their bumper and leaning on your horn isn't going to help them get going any faster!
People are bullying arseholes, especially when they feel safe from confrontation, such as in their car, or behind the boss’s desk.
My driving instructor liked my approach to people hammering the horn when I was doing 20.
I would, almost instinctively, slow down by about 1 mph, each time they sounded the horn.
I let them pass.
As a general rule I like dangerous idiots in front of me so I can watch them, rather than behind me where they are likely to rear-end me.
Letting people in is the best way to drive even if they're in the wrong.
The flipside is using the invariably empty lane for a road merger, don't be the arsehole hanging wheels over the white line to "block" people coming up the other lane in some sort of weird non highway code compliant moral queueing protocol.
That one annoys me. Using both lanes is quite explicitly the rule!
Recently spent forty minutes near-stationary in an unnecessary queue on the Oxford ring road. One lane was closed and it required people to merge into the outside line.
Due to a series of timid drivers at the front of the queue in the outside lane and a series of aggressive drivers coming up the inside lane to the front and shouldering in, one lane was in constant motion (with no chance of getting in as they were nose-to-tail) and the other lane was completely stationary.
This continued until one person managed to pull out into the moving lane and stopped. He then matched with the inside lane as it started up again (when the series of drivers ahead of him in it had got through), so both were moving at the same rate.
He would certainly have counted as "the arsehole" above, forcing a non highway-code compliant moral queueing protocol, but we were quite grateful. Especially as we'd missed the start of our movie already by then (having left plenty of time to get there)
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
There was an interview with a guy and his wife at one of the F1 races a couple of years ago. He’d just sold his business and was following F1 for the whole season, going to every race with Paddock Club hospitality.
Someone estimated that to fly to every race business class, stay in a 5* hotel, and buy Paddock Club tickets, would run to around $600k per person for the year.
That’s what I would do if I ever had £3.25m in the bank.
I’ve also heard of people spending a year on a cruise ship for retirement, which is cheaper than you might think it would be.
One for @Foxy , and since we are on Transport as the OT subthread.
I see that Oadby is about to get Leicestershire's first Cyclops junction (main change is protected mobility and pedestrian tracks around the junction on the A6), and that LCC (County) even though this is only their first seem to know what they are doing in that they are going for an "all round green" phase for the active travel modes, rather than making them wait 3 or 4 times to cross 2 roads. Unlike Liverpool City Regon who cocked up the lights and mobility track in St Helens, by requiring wheelers and cyclists to make a 180-turn on a radius only suitable for unicycles.
I gave them comments as a sometimes-visitor, especially about the importance of sweating the detail on stuff they have not done before.
Some interesting politics in local forums from the usual motor-orientated suspects, who will hardly be affected: "How DARE they not spend ALL the money on MEEEE".
It's a junction that I pass through most days. In Oadby there are some big housing estates on the East side of the A6, but all the main shops are on the West side, so making it easier to cross the dual carriageway of the A6 should do a lot for active travel.
It needs to link in better to the Leicester City cycle routes. Getting past the racecourse roundabout on a bike is no fun.
Cyclopses seem in general to be a really good design (more successful than our versions of "Dutch Roundabouts" so far, though there is improved practise there too), and seem to work best with the mobility track on the outside, if the detail is done well.
One thing that has hardly been tackled in the UK yet is that if it is all-round-green for the mobility and pedestrian tracks, then there's no reason whatsoever why it shouldn't be OK simply to walk directly across the junction. As happens at Oxford Circus under crossing-control, for example.
At present the value of "keep the pedestrians off the carriageway and out of the way" is too strong in the road and institutional culture.
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Some people do have a talent for languages. My Dad and both my sons are like human chameleons. Drop them in another country and they are speaking the language within a week. Sadly I am not so skilled, but usually pick up enough for a tourist fairly quickly. For 30 years in Leicester my Gujerati is fairly poor too, I can follow it much better than I can speak it as my pronunciation of so many sounds is off.
"Speaking the language within a week" doesn't mean that they've acquired any proficiency, just that they are not afraid of trying to communicate.
There's more to it than that. Some people just have a good 'ear', in that they can pick up unfamiliar vowel or consonant sounds and reproduce them; some people just can't even distinguish them without a lot of effort and practice.
That makes a huge difference to leaning a language, I think.
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Yes, learning a new language is a lot of work, and most, perhaps all, people will never be as proficient in it as their native language. The other thing is that it is extremely difficult to maintain the motivation to learn unless you have a good reason for learning, like having to communicate in it in order to be able to eat, socialise, etc.
I'm interested in languages but wouldn't say I'm particularly talented at learning them. After 10 years in Germany, I had become pretty fluent and could think in German without translating to English, as it were, but it took a long time to get to that stage. I'm currently learning some Japanese in preparation for a holiday there this autumn. The language is quite fascinating, but the writing! Who thought two phonetic alphabets and an ideographic script, plus Roman letters and Arabic numerals, all mixed up together, was a good idea? I don't expect to be able to communicate much in the language, but some familiarity can't be a bad thing.
Having some familiarity with the scripts is useful: makes Japan much less foreboding. Make sure to learn katakana, because if you can read the sounds in katakana, you can probably work out the word as it will probably be a loanword from English. There's a cultural belief in Japan that Japanese is very hard to learn (it's not), so the locals tend to be flattered and excited if you've learnt some, even if you're terrible.
Tip: the textbooks lie to you -- Japanese doesn't have any adjectives.
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Fusha or dialect (or both)?
Both. My degree course is taught in MSA and I plan to do my immersion in Hejazi/Masri in Saudi and Egypt.
One for @Foxy , and since we are on Transport as the OT subthread.
I see that Oadby is about to get Leicestershire's first Cyclops junction (main change is protected mobility and pedestrian tracks around the junction on the A6), and that LCC (County) even though this is only their first seem to know what they are doing in that they are going for an "all round green" phase for the active travel modes, rather than making them wait 3 or 4 times to cross 2 roads. Unlike Liverpool City Regon who cocked up the lights and mobility track in St Helens, by requiring wheelers and cyclists to make a 180-turn on a radius only suitable for unicycles.
I gave them comments as a sometimes-visitor, especially about the importance of sweating the detail on stuff they have not done before.
Some interesting politics in local forums from the usual motor-orientated suspects, who will hardly be affected: "How DARE they not spend ALL the money on MEEEE".
It's a junction that I pass through most days. In Oadby there are some big housing estates on the East side of the A6, but all the main shops are on the West side, so making it easier to cross the dual carriageway of the A6 should do a lot for active travel.
It needs to link in better to the Leicester City cycle routes. Getting past the racecourse roundabout on a bike is no fun.
Cyclopses seem in general to be a really good design (more successful than our versions of "Dutch Roundabouts" so far, though there is improved practise there too), and seem to work best with the mobility track on the outside, if the detail is done well.
One thing that has hardly been tackled in the UK yet is that if it is all-round-green for the mobility and pedestrian tracks, then there's no reason whatsoever why it shouldn't be OK simply to walk directly across the junction. As happens at Oxford Circus under crossing-control, for example.
At present the value of "keep the pedestrians off the carriageway and out of the way" is too strong in the road and institutional culture.
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Fusha or dialect (or both)?
Both. My degree course is taught in MSA and I plan to do my immersion in Hejazi/Masri in Saudi and Egypt.
A friend got very frustrated learning the formalisms of MSA and found Levantine Arabic much more fun... well, until recently as all the lessons now involve people talking depressingly about Gaza.
Looks like the EU want to thrust their young unemployed in to us.
I feel like I owe you a bit of an apology.
In the heat of the riots, I was pretty critical, on here, of Ayoub Khan's times radio interview. You jumped to his defence.
I still think what he said, especially his timing, wasn't helpful or appropriate, but he did subsequently go on to moderate his position. He's actually one of the more interesting new MP's.
Was his election a psephological anomaly, a result of the unusual potency of a foreign policy issue during an election campaign and a specific political/demographic context - or a sign of things to come?
Also interesting news in Scotland with a big increase in outright home ownership, even while private rented increases. Big squeeze on mortgages. Wealth inequality just keeps on going.
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Yes, learning a new language is a lot of work, and most, perhaps all, people will never be as proficient in it as their native language. The other thing is that it is extremely difficult to maintain the motivation to learn unless you have a good reason for learning, like having to communicate in it in order to be able to eat, socialise, etc.
I'm interested in languages but wouldn't say I'm particularly talented at learning them. After 10 years in Germany, I had become pretty fluent and could think in German without translating to English, as it were, but it took a long time to get to that stage. I'm currently learning some Japanese in preparation for a holiday there this autumn. The language is quite fascinating, but the writing! Who thought two phonetic alphabets and an ideographic script, plus Roman letters and Arabic numerals, all mixed up together, was a good idea? I don't expect to be able to communicate much in the language, but some familiarity can't be a bad thing.
Having some familiarity with the scripts is useful: makes Japan much less foreboding. Make sure to learn katakana, because if you can read the sounds in katakana, you can probably work out the word as it will probably be a loanword from English. There's a cultural belief in Japan that Japanese is very hard to learn (it's not), so the locals tend to be flattered and excited if you've learnt some, even if you're terrible.
Tip: the textbooks lie to you -- Japanese doesn't have any adjectives.
I pretty much know hiragana and katakana now, at least to read if not write, and I recognise maybe about 100 kanji, but that's obviously not enough to read much, though I can pick out the odd word, especially, as you say English loan words in katakana.
But the grammar is so different from English. I thought adjectives (if that's what they are) seemed OK, apart from never knowing if they are followed by na or not, but where are the pronouns? There don't seem to be any, apart from various words conventionally used to refer to oneself, the other, etc. And the lack of plurals. And the multitude of counting words. And all the homophones. And the word order, which mostly seems to be the reverse of English!
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Some people do have a talent for languages. My Dad and both my sons are like human chameleons. Drop them in another country and they are speaking the language within a week. Sadly I am not so skilled, but usually pick up enough for a tourist fairly quickly. For 30 years in Leicester my Gujerati is fairly poor too, I can follow it much better than I can speak it as my pronunciation of so many sounds is off.
"Speaking the language within a week" doesn't mean that they've acquired any proficiency, just that they are not afraid of trying to communicate.
There's more to it than that. Some people just have a good 'ear', in that they can pick up unfamiliar vowel or consonant sounds and reproduce them; some people just can't even distinguish them without a lot of effort and practice.
That makes a huge difference to leaning a language, I think.
But yes, no substitute for just doing the work,
Plenty of people have told me they are jealous of my language proficiencies. Nobody is fucking jealous of what I had to do to get them.
I'm not like this because I'm in Van Halen. I'm in Van Halen because I'm like this.
The government doesn't seem serious about mitigating Brexit damage. I think they are storing up problems for themselves.
Such a scheme would cause huge damage for British youth, trying to compete with a million Romanians for jobs in the UK
I doubt it and young people are keen on freedom of movement anyway. My point however is you don't get anywhere if you don't negotiate, and bear in mind the EU has a stronger negotiating position.
So Labour could say, actually we don't want a reset in relations with the EU as we promised in our manifesto. This rejection is effectively saying that, but it is a problem for them, given most British people and almost all current Labour voters think Brexit was damaging and a mistake.
The government doesn't seem serious about mitigating Brexit damage. I think they are storing up problems for themselves.
Such a scheme would cause huge damage for British youth, trying to compete with a million Romanians for jobs in the UK
I doubt it and young people are keen on freedom of movement anyway. My point however is if you don't negotiate you don't get anywhere, and bear in mind the EU has a stronger negotiating position.
So Labour could say, actually we don't want a reset in relations with the EU as we promised in our manifesto. This rejection is effectively saying that, but it is a problem for them, given most British people and almost all current Labour voters think Brexit was damaging and a mistake.
A similar number of British people think that not executing child killers is a mistake.
FPT: One point in that news about TN Trawlers reminded me of a strategy used by some unscrupulous mine owners in the US, way back when. They would deliberately hire a mix of ethnicities in order to make it harder to unionize the miners. (The Balkans, in particular, as you would know, would offer many possibilities.)
The mix might make team work more difficult, but presumably the mine owners thought keeping unions out was worth that loss.
(From the BBC article: "Dozens of workers from around the world may have been trafficked into the UK to work for a small family-owned Scottish fishing firm, a BBC investigation has revealed. Thirty-five men from the Philippines, Ghana, India and Sri Lanka were recognised as victims of modern slavery by the Home Office after being referred to it between 2012 and 2020." https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9dnk34k41o )
Now, a thought that some of you may find uncomfortable. Could some employers now be using the D in DEI, for a similar reason?
The government doesn't seem serious about mitigating Brexit damage. I think they are storing up problems for themselves.
Such a scheme would cause huge damage for British youth, trying to compete with a million Romanians for jobs in the UK
I doubt it and young people are keen on freedom of movement anyway. My point however is if you don't negotiate you don't get anywhere, and bear in mind the EU has a stronger negotiating position.
So Labour could say, actually we don't want a reset in relations with the EU as we promised in our manifesto. This rejection is effectively saying that, but it is a problem for them, given most British people and almost all current Labour voters think Brexit was damaging and a mistake.
A similar number of British people think that not executing child killers is a mistake.
The logic here is that no-one, ever, no matter how hard they try, can make a mistake as long as child killers aren't executed?
I'm just catching up with the demented reaction in some of the papers to Louise Haigh' statement that LTN decisions should be left to local councils to make accounting for the local wishes of the local people.
Astonishing.
I would be for stronger "pro" guidance form the centre than that, since my local authority often opposes safer arrangements for mobility aid users outright as a matter of local populism.
Bill Kristol @BillKristol · 8h Trump says he is “the best friend that Israel, and the Jewish people, ever had.” And that he has “done more for Israel than any person, and it’s not even close.”
The delusional narcissism is out of control. Will any Trump supporter say this? Will any Jewish Trump apologist?
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Yes, learning a new language is a lot of work, and most, perhaps all, people will never be as proficient in it as their native language. The other thing is that it is extremely difficult to maintain the motivation to learn unless you have a good reason for learning, like having to communicate in it in order to be able to eat, socialise, etc.
I'm interested in languages but wouldn't say I'm particularly talented at learning them. After 10 years in Germany, I had become pretty fluent and could think in German without translating to English, as it were, but it took a long time to get to that stage. I'm currently learning some Japanese in preparation for a holiday there this autumn. The language is quite fascinating, but the writing! Who thought two phonetic alphabets and an ideographic script, plus Roman letters and Arabic numerals, all mixed up together, was a good idea? I don't expect to be able to communicate much in the language, but some familiarity can't be a bad thing.
Having some familiarity with the scripts is useful: makes Japan much less foreboding. Make sure to learn katakana, because if you can read the sounds in katakana, you can probably work out the word as it will probably be a loanword from English. There's a cultural belief in Japan that Japanese is very hard to learn (it's not), so the locals tend to be flattered and excited if you've learnt some, even if you're terrible.
Tip: the textbooks lie to you -- Japanese doesn't have any adjectives.
I pretty much know hiragana and katakana now, at least to read if not write, and I recognise maybe about 100 kanji, but that's obviously not enough to read much, though I can pick out the odd word, especially, as you say English loan words in katakana.
But the grammar is so different from English. I thought adjectives (if that's what they are) seemed OK, apart from never knowing if they are followed by na or not, but where are the pronouns? There don't seem to be any, apart from various words conventionally used to refer to oneself, the other, etc. And the lack of plurals. And the multitude of counting words. And all the homophones. And the word order, which mostly seems to be the reverse of English!
There are no adjectives.
The things they tell you are い-type adjectives are really verbs. Or specifically participles (like "the running cat"). That's why they take past forms, because they're really just verbs.
The な-type adjectives are really nouns + な. な is a particle that makes something adjectival, but you can use it on any noun. Indeed, you can append it to a whole phrase. So, you get taught that "handsome" is "ハンサムな", but really "ハンサム" means "handsomeness" (a noun) and な makes it adjectival.
No plurals is a blessing! Makes life simpler. Counting words, yeah, they're just bonkers.
The government doesn't seem serious about mitigating Brexit damage. I think they are storing up problems for themselves.
Such a scheme would cause huge damage for British youth, trying to compete with a million Romanians for jobs in the UK
I doubt it and young people are keen on freedom of movement anyway. My point however is if you don't negotiate you don't get anywhere, and bear in mind the EU has a stronger negotiating position.
So Labour could say, actually we don't want a reset in relations with the EU as we promised in our manifesto. This rejection is effectively saying that, but it is a problem for them, given most British people and almost all current Labour voters think Brexit was damaging and a mistake.
A similar number of British people think that not executing child killers is a mistake.
Not that similar, unless you have different numbers to these.
The government doesn't seem serious about mitigating Brexit damage. I think they are storing up problems for themselves.
Such a scheme would cause huge damage for British youth, trying to compete with a million Romanians for jobs in the UK
I doubt it and young people are keen on freedom of movement anyway. My point however is if you don't negotiate you don't get anywhere, and bear in mind the EU has a stronger negotiating position.
So Labour could say, actually we don't want a reset in relations with the EU as we promised in our manifesto. This rejection is effectively saying that, but it is a problem for them, given most British people and almost all current Labour voters think Brexit was damaging and a mistake.
A similar number of British people think that not executing child killers is a mistake.
Not that similar, unless you have different numbers to these.
The government doesn't seem serious about mitigating Brexit damage. I think they are storing up problems for themselves.
Such a scheme would cause huge damage for British youth, trying to compete with a million Romanians for jobs in the UK
I doubt it and young people are keen on freedom of movement anyway. My point however is if you don't negotiate you don't get anywhere, and bear in mind the EU has a stronger negotiating position.
So Labour could say, actually we don't want a reset in relations with the EU as we promised in our manifesto. This rejection is effectively saying that, but it is a problem for them, given most British people and almost all current Labour voters think Brexit was damaging and a mistake.
A similar number of British people think that not executing child killers is a mistake.
Not that similar, unless you have different numbers to these.
That Brexit number is quite extraordinary. I always thought that the Rhees-Mogg sovereignty approach- 'Brexit will always be great even if it fails to delivery any benefits for fifty years' - would make it hover at about 40%. The British public just aren't that romantic I guess.
I'm just catching up with the demented reaction in some of the papers to Louise Haigh' statement that LTN decisions should be left to local councils to make accounting for the local wishes of the local people.
Astonishing.
I would be for stronger "pro" guidance form the centre than that, since my local authority often opposes safer arrangements for mobility aid users outright as a matter of local populism.
The government doesn't seem serious about mitigating Brexit damage. I think they are storing up problems for themselves.
Such a scheme would cause huge damage for British youth, trying to compete with a million Romanians for jobs in the UK
I doubt it and young people are keen on freedom of movement anyway. My point however is if you don't negotiate you don't get anywhere, and bear in mind the EU has a stronger negotiating position.
So Labour could say, actually we don't want a reset in relations with the EU as we promised in our manifesto. This rejection is effectively saying that, but it is a problem for them, given most British people and almost all current Labour voters think Brexit was damaging and a mistake.
A similar number of British people think that not executing child killers is a mistake.
Not that similar, unless you have different numbers to these.
I see a tracker "The most important issues facing the country: Britain leaving the EU" down to 12%, a few days ago.
and "Do you think, so far, the benefits of Brexit have outweighed the negatives, or the other way round?" 15-53, ie, overwhelmingly negatives outweigh benefits, but that was back on 12 June.
On our earlier conversation wrt the Welsh 20mph speed limit, here is comment from late May on likely "roll backs", which seems quite sensible to me. I'd punt that about 10-15% of changes may get reversed.
A review into guidance on 20mph speed limits in Wales has concluded that most roads will not need to be reassessed.
But it suggests 30mph exceptions might apply to main roads outside urban centres or high streets, and on bus or key transport routes which have seen journey times rise significantly.
Transport Secretary Ken Skates said proposals would be published before the summer although it is "likely to take several months" before we see results of changes.
A default 20mph speed limit came in last September, covering 37% of the Welsh road network, but has proved controversial.
The review, external found a "broad consensus" that 20mph was the right speed limit for residential roads which were not of strategic importance.
But it admitted difficulties on main roads which were shared by buses, freight and delivery drivers.
That was set against roads which had housing, shops and schools and were used by cyclists and pedestrians.
This would "inevitably mean weighing different obligations and priorities the highway authorities have", the report said.
There was an interview with a guy and his wife at one of the F1 races a couple of years ago. He’d just sold his business and was following F1 for the whole season, going to every race with Paddock Club hospitality.
Someone estimated that to fly to every race business class, stay in a 5* hotel, and buy Paddock Club tickets, would run to around $600k per person for the year.
That’s what I would do if I ever had £3.25m in the bank.
I’ve also heard of people spending a year on a cruise ship for retirement, which is cheaper than you might think it would be.
Just imagine what the world could look like if such folk spent their money on something useful and sustainable. Philanthropy seems to be a dead letter these days.
The government doesn't seem serious about mitigating Brexit damage. I think they are storing up problems for themselves.
Such a scheme would cause huge damage for British youth, trying to compete with a million Romanians for jobs in the UK
I doubt it and young people are keen on freedom of movement anyway. My point however is if you don't negotiate you don't get anywhere, and bear in mind the EU has a stronger negotiating position.
So Labour could say, actually we don't want a reset in relations with the EU as we promised in our manifesto. This rejection is effectively saying that, but it is a problem for them, given most British people and almost all current Labour voters think Brexit was damaging and a mistake.
A similar number of British people think that not executing child killers is a mistake.
Not that similar, unless you have different numbers to these.
That Brexit number is quite extraordinary. I always thought that the Rhees-Mogg sovereignty approach- 'Brexit will always be great even if it fails to delivery any benefits for fifty years' - would make it hover at about 40%. The British public just aren't that romantic I guess.
More a matter of being realistic, no? It's only the over-60s who were the majority Brexiters ...
On our earlier conversation wrt the Welsh 20mph speed limit, here is comment from late May on likely "roll backs", which seems quite sensible to me. I'd punt that about 10-15% of changes may get reversed.
A review into guidance on 20mph speed limits in Wales has concluded that most roads will not need to be reassessed.
But it suggests 30mph exceptions might apply to main roads outside urban centres or high streets, and on bus or key transport routes which have seen journey times rise significantly.
Transport Secretary Ken Skates said proposals would be published before the summer although it is "likely to take several months" before we see results of changes.
A default 20mph speed limit came in last September, covering 37% of the Welsh road network, but has proved controversial.
The review, external found a "broad consensus" that 20mph was the right speed limit for residential roads which were not of strategic importance.
But it admitted difficulties on main roads which were shared by buses, freight and delivery drivers.
That was set against roads which had housing, shops and schools and were used by cyclists and pedestrians.
This would "inevitably mean weighing different obligations and priorities the highway authorities have", the report said.
They had a similar exercise in Scotland where one single road in Glenrothes was rolled back to the previous higher speed limit. It wasn't by objections raised. The planners noticed no-one was going at the new speed so they accepted reality.
The government doesn't seem serious about mitigating Brexit damage. I think they are storing up problems for themselves.
Such a scheme would cause huge damage for British youth, trying to compete with a million Romanians for jobs in the UK
You think that half of Romania's 20-30yo population wouldn't move to the UK if this scheme were introduced?
Only 50,000 were expected from eastern europe in 2004, we ended up with 6,000,000.
It would certainly be a boon for English viticulture. We really miss the Romanians, the established European vineyard work specialists.
That said much manual contract labour has been getting a bit expensive for vineyards anyway regardless of workforce availability - hence greater recent mechanisation both here and on the continent.
I'm just catching up with the demented reaction in some of the papers to Louise Haigh' statement that LTN decisions should be left to local councils to make accounting for the local wishes of the local people.
Astonishing.
I would be for stronger "pro" guidance form the centre than that, since my local authority often opposes safer arrangements for mobility aid users outright as a matter of local populism.
I think this is one Reform will jump on as an issue for their culture war. I'm not sure whether the Conservatives will continue to do so.
The current Tories have, but that doesn't really count until they have a new leader.
The political process about this has been interesting.
Someone lent Louise Haigh a pedelec in Sheffield in the Spring, and someone gave her a copy of Laura Laker's excellent book more recently - which addressed a lot of the political, historical and safety issues around UK active travel a narrative based on cycling on the National Cycle Network across the country during Covid. LH then tweeted it as her "weekend reading". There was quite a bit I learnt from it, especially around NCN history and the costs of short-termist policy.
I'm not sure how influential that was, but Laura Laker is one of the most knowledgeable commentators for her to be getting insights from.
On our earlier conversation wrt the Welsh 20mph speed limit, here is comment from late May on likely "roll backs", which seems quite sensible to me. I'd punt that about 10-15% of changes may get reversed.
A review into guidance on 20mph speed limits in Wales has concluded that most roads will not need to be reassessed.
But it suggests 30mph exceptions might apply to main roads outside urban centres or high streets, and on bus or key transport routes which have seen journey times rise significantly.
Transport Secretary Ken Skates said proposals would be published before the summer although it is "likely to take several months" before we see results of changes.
A default 20mph speed limit came in last September, covering 37% of the Welsh road network, but has proved controversial.
The review, external found a "broad consensus" that 20mph was the right speed limit for residential roads which were not of strategic importance.
But it admitted difficulties on main roads which were shared by buses, freight and delivery drivers.
That was set against roads which had housing, shops and schools and were used by cyclists and pedestrians.
This would "inevitably mean weighing different obligations and priorities the highway authorities have", the report said.
They had a similar exercise in Scotland where one single road in Glenrothes was rolled back to the previous higher speed limit. It wasn't by objections raised. The planners noticed no-one was going at the new speed so they accepted reality.
I'd argue that that is backwards, and reflects a speed limit policy based on the 85%-ile of the speed they drive, which is the metric used since the 1960s. That is still default practice in the UK road-design profession - that is one reason I want Local Highays Authorities recreated from scratch, with more modern values.
I'd suggest a better approach is to start from "what speed is appropriate for this road, here?", and then design the road so that is the natural felt-safe speed. But when Continuing Education for road designers is not a requirement in most places, any more than it is for those of us who drive, it's a big change.
On 20mph limits, there was a study by Queens Uni, Belfast, much mis-cited by the antolobby to "prove they don't work", which showed that *signs alone" don't cause a behaviour change.
That would be great. One of my grandchildren, having just got his degree, wants to see a bit of the world before settling down, and at time of writing is planning to go to Australia for a year or so. That seems, apparently, his nearest practical option. He doesn't fancy N. America.
I know I keep banging on about this - but for 95% of us, a country which speaks the same language is a far more practical option for living/working abroad than a country which happens to be close.
It would do wonders for language teaching in this country for a start. During my working life I hosted, or participated in hosting, students from various European countries, most of who spoke quite good English and it was a pleasure to see the interest they took in the world around them.
As a general observation - I absolutely cannot fathom how people can master a language other than their own. I can see that people do - but the ability to do so utterly evaded me at school. I could learn to write and (clumsily) speak words in other languages, and at a push I could sometimes understand what a piece of writing was about - but picking out meaning from sentences spoken in other languages utterly eluded me. Measured objectively, I'm quite clever - but languages defeat me. I did manage an A in GCSE German, but the listening bit was entirely guesswork.
There are no miracles or mysteries in language learning. Just work harder. Some people find it easier than others but proficiency in a language is just an indication of how badly you want it.
I've studied Arabic for 4-6 hours a day for two years without a single day off, even when I was driving across Ukraine. I think I will have to do another two years with some extended bouts of immersion before I am confident and comfortable teaching it. I will freely admit that this is not everybody's idea of a good time.
Yes, learning a new language is a lot of work, and most, perhaps all, people will never be as proficient in it as their native language. The other thing is that it is extremely difficult to maintain the motivation to learn unless you have a good reason for learning, like having to communicate in it in order to be able to eat, socialise, etc.
I'm interested in languages but wouldn't say I'm particularly talented at learning them. After 10 years in Germany, I had become pretty fluent and could think in German without translating to English, as it were, but it took a long time to get to that stage. I'm currently learning some Japanese in preparation for a holiday there this autumn. The language is quite fascinating, but the writing! Who thought two phonetic alphabets and an ideographic script, plus Roman letters and Arabic numerals, all mixed up together, was a good idea? I don't expect to be able to communicate much in the language, but some familiarity can't be a bad thing.
Having some familiarity with the scripts is useful: makes Japan much less foreboding. Make sure to learn katakana, because if you can read the sounds in katakana, you can probably work out the word as it will probably be a loanword from English. There's a cultural belief in Japan that Japanese is very hard to learn (it's not), so the locals tend to be flattered and excited if you've learnt some, even if you're terrible.
Tip: the textbooks lie to you -- Japanese doesn't have any adjectives.
I pretty much know hiragana and katakana now, at least to read if not write, and I recognise maybe about 100 kanji, but that's obviously not enough to read much, though I can pick out the odd word, especially, as you say English loan words in katakana.
But the grammar is so different from English. I thought adjectives (if that's what they are) seemed OK, apart from never knowing if they are followed by na or not, but where are the pronouns? There don't seem to be any, apart from various words conventionally used to refer to oneself, the other, etc. And the lack of plurals. And the multitude of counting words. And all the homophones. And the word order, which mostly seems to be the reverse of English!
There are no adjectives.
The things they tell you are い-type adjectives are really verbs. Or specifically participles (like "the running cat"). That's why they take past forms, because they're really just verbs.
The な-type adjectives are really nouns + な. な is a particle that makes something adjectival, but you can use it on any noun. Indeed, you can append it to a whole phrase. So, you get taught that "handsome" is "ハンサムな", but really "ハンサム" means "handsomeness" (a noun) and な makes it adjectival.
No plurals is a blessing! Makes life simpler. Counting words, yeah, they're just bonkers.
(I was simplifying, because to actually say "handsomeness", you have to say "ハンサムさ". So, there is a bit of a difference between な-type adjectives and regular nouns.)
On our earlier conversation wrt the Welsh 20mph speed limit, here is comment from late May on likely "roll backs", which seems quite sensible to me. I'd punt that about 10-15% of changes may get reversed.
A review into guidance on 20mph speed limits in Wales has concluded that most roads will not need to be reassessed.
But it suggests 30mph exceptions might apply to main roads outside urban centres or high streets, and on bus or key transport routes which have seen journey times rise significantly.
Transport Secretary Ken Skates said proposals would be published before the summer although it is "likely to take several months" before we see results of changes.
A default 20mph speed limit came in last September, covering 37% of the Welsh road network, but has proved controversial.
The review, external found a "broad consensus" that 20mph was the right speed limit for residential roads which were not of strategic importance.
But it admitted difficulties on main roads which were shared by buses, freight and delivery drivers.
That was set against roads which had housing, shops and schools and were used by cyclists and pedestrians.
This would "inevitably mean weighing different obligations and priorities the highway authorities have", the report said.
They had a similar exercise in Scotland where one single road in Glenrothes was rolled back to the previous higher speed limit. It wasn't by objections raised. The planners noticed no-one was going at the new speed so they accepted reality.
I'd argue that that is backwards, and reflects a speed limit policy based on the 85%-ile of the speed they drive, which is the metric used since the 1960s. That is still default practice in the UK road-design profession - that is one reason I want Local Highays Authorities recreated from scratch, with more modern values.
I'd suggest a better approach is to start from "what speed is appropriate for this road, here?", and then design the road so that is the natural felt-safe speed. But when Continuing Education for road designers is not a requirement in most places, any more than it is for those of us who drive, it's a big change.
On 20mph limits, there was a study by Queens Uni, Belfast, much mis-cited by the antolobby to "prove they don't work", which showed that *signs alone" don't cause a behaviour change.
On our earlier conversation wrt the Welsh 20mph speed limit, here is comment from late May on likely "roll backs", which seems quite sensible to me. I'd punt that about 10-15% of changes may get reversed.
A review into guidance on 20mph speed limits in Wales has concluded that most roads will not need to be reassessed.
But it suggests 30mph exceptions might apply to main roads outside urban centres or high streets, and on bus or key transport routes which have seen journey times rise significantly.
Transport Secretary Ken Skates said proposals would be published before the summer although it is "likely to take several months" before we see results of changes.
A default 20mph speed limit came in last September, covering 37% of the Welsh road network, but has proved controversial.
The review, external found a "broad consensus" that 20mph was the right speed limit for residential roads which were not of strategic importance.
But it admitted difficulties on main roads which were shared by buses, freight and delivery drivers.
That was set against roads which had housing, shops and schools and were used by cyclists and pedestrians.
This would "inevitably mean weighing different obligations and priorities the highway authorities have", the report said.
They had a similar exercise in Scotland where one single road in Glenrothes was rolled back to the previous higher speed limit. It wasn't by objections raised. The planners noticed no-one was going at the new speed so they accepted reality.
I'd argue that that is backwards, and reflects a speed limit policy based on the 85%-ile of the speed they drive, which is the metric used since the 1960s.
I'd suggest a better approach is to start from "what speed is appropriate for this road, here", and then design the road so that is the natural felt-safe speed.
I agree. The anecdata was really indicating very little appetite for raising speed limits after they have been lowered, excepting this anomaly.
I suspect relatively few streets in Wales will be reverted. We're talking about main roads in built up areas not normally used by pedestrians and where cyclists aren't separated.
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Why italicise that?
If people choose to live on a main road, what's wrong with driving past their home at 30mph or 40mph or 50mph if that's the speed limit?
Main arterial roads should be 40 or 50mph through towns and 60 or 70mph outside of towns.
20 is plenty for residential streets, but arteries are not residential streets.
That does get more complicated in Wales, where the lack of bypasses means very often they are the same thing. Ponterwyd or Rhayader or Aberystwyth, for example.
There are some however classified as residential that really are not. The A44 at Llangurig where the 20mph zone goes past the church, the pub and a garage springs to mind. The village itself is on a back street...
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
The move of the sign further out is sensible, because they know that your average UK driver who does not look beyond the end of their bonnet will be racing up to that sign at 50 or 60mph than stand their car on its nose to slow down, or continue through the village (and it is through the village) at highway speeds.
I'd say that 30mph is a sensible limit there IF the limit is obeyed, but it will be ignored - because that is seen as acceptable behaviour.
The real issue there is that UK roads are not designed to look like roads that are safe at the suitable speed limit eg through villages, so there are not the necessary visual cues for people driving through to slow down, and they go hooning through regardless.
That's down to the nature of LHAs being created to build roads, and ignore other interests - such as adequate consideration for pedestrians. It's also why junctions prioritise throughput over safety, and anyone asking for a Zebra crossing across a busy road to a primary school will be told in effect that not enough children under 10 have been killed or crippled to justify it yet.
Bit in bold. The problem is, some people will obey a 20 limit and that annoys people.
Stick a speed camera in there and people will do 30.
I've been teaching my step-daughter to drive recently, and it is very noticeable that some people simply cannot stand to drive at the speed limit. My step-daughter obviously has to learn to drive at or just below the speed limit (since she'd otherwise fail her driving test), but whatever the speed limit, there's always some bozo behind who just has to get past and will drive right on our tail before overtaking at the next (barely) possible opportunity.
And while I'm on the topic, I've seen some of the worst driving about while teaching her to drive. The L-plates seem like a red rag to a bull for some people. They think nothing of driving right on your tail, or cutting straight across in front of you. And if a learner has stalled their car on a hill in front of you, sitting two inches behind their bumper and leaning on your horn isn't going to help them get going any faster!
People are bullying arseholes, especially when they feel safe from confrontation, such as in their car, or behind the boss’s desk.
My driving instructor liked my approach to people hammering the horn when I was doing 20.
I would, almost instinctively, slow down by about 1 mph, each time they sounded the horn.
I let them pass.
As a general rule I like dangerous idiots in front of me so I can watch them, rather than behind me where they are likely to rear-end me.
Letting people in is the best way to drive even if they're in the wrong.
The flipside is using the invariably empty lane for a road merger, don't be the arsehole hanging wheels over the white line to "block" people coming up the other lane in some sort of weird non highway code compliant moral queueing protocol.
That one annoys me. Using both lanes is quite explicitly the rule!
Recently spent forty minutes near-stationary in an unnecessary queue on the Oxford ring road. One lane was closed and it required people to merge into the outside line.
Due to a series of timid drivers at the front of the queue in the outside lane and a series of aggressive drivers coming up the inside lane to the front and shouldering in, one lane was in constant motion (with no chance of getting in as they were nose-to-tail) and the other lane was completely stationary.
This continued until one person managed to pull out into the moving lane and stopped. He then matched with the inside lane as it started up again (when the series of drivers ahead of him in it had got through), so both were moving at the same rate.
He would certainly have counted as "the arsehole" above, forcing a non highway-code compliant moral queueing protocol, but we were quite grateful. Especially as we'd missed the start of our movie already by then (having left plenty of time to get there)
The "aggressive" drivers are doing the right thing. You're supposed to use both lanes until the merge point!
If they wanted the merge point a mile back, they'd have put it a mile back. But then idiots would try and force a premature merge two miles back.
Why didn't you just use the moving lane? As you're supposed to!
why do so many people post links to this nonsensical site?
You wouldn't know they were nonsensical if they didn't post them !!!!!
i'd be v happy if the pensioners on the site stopped posting the daily telegraph nonsense they read each morning
So long as the tele has some influence, it's worth the occasional skim-read. Especially if you can read it for free, by enabling "reader view" and refreshing the page.
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Why italicise that?
If people choose to live on a main road, what's wrong with driving past their home at 30mph or 40mph or 50mph if that's the speed limit?
Main arterial roads should be 40 or 50mph through towns and 60 or 70mph outside of towns.
20 is plenty for residential streets, but arteries are not residential streets.
That does get more complicated in Wales, where the lack of bypasses means very often they are the same thing. Ponterwyd or Rhayader or Aberystwyth, for example.
There are some however classified as residential that really are not. The A44 at Llangurig where the 20mph zone goes past the church, the pub and a garage springs to mind. The village itself is on a back street...
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
The move of the sign further out is sensible, because they know that your average UK driver who does not look beyond the end of their bonnet will be racing up to that sign at 50 or 60mph than stand their car on its nose to slow down, or continue through the village (and it is through the village) at highway speeds.
I'd say that 30mph is a sensible limit there IF the limit is obeyed, but it will be ignored - because that is seen as acceptable behaviour.
The real issue there is that UK roads are not designed to look like roads that are safe at the suitable speed limit eg through villages, so there are not the necessary visual cues for people driving through to slow down, and they go hooning through regardless.
That's down to the nature of LHAs being created to build roads, and ignore other interests - such as adequate consideration for pedestrians. It's also why junctions prioritise throughput over safety, and anyone asking for a Zebra crossing across a busy road to a primary school will be told in effect that not enough children under 10 have been killed or crippled to justify it yet.
Bit in bold. The problem is, some people will obey a 20 limit and that annoys people.
Stick a speed camera in there and people will do 30.
I've been teaching my step-daughter to drive recently, and it is very noticeable that some people simply cannot stand to drive at the speed limit. My step-daughter obviously has to learn to drive at or just below the speed limit (since she'd otherwise fail her driving test), but whatever the speed limit, there's always some bozo behind who just has to get past and will drive right on our tail before overtaking at the next (barely) possible opportunity.
And while I'm on the topic, I've seen some of the worst driving about while teaching her to drive. The L-plates seem like a red rag to a bull for some people. They think nothing of driving right on your tail, or cutting straight across in front of you. And if a learner has stalled their car on a hill in front of you, sitting two inches behind their bumper and leaning on your horn isn't going to help them get going any faster!
People are bullying arseholes, especially when they feel safe from confrontation, such as in their car, or behind the boss’s desk.
My driving instructor liked my approach to people hammering the horn when I was doing 20.
I would, almost instinctively, slow down by about 1 mph, each time they sounded the horn.
I let them pass.
As a general rule I like dangerous idiots in front of me so I can watch them, rather than behind me where they are likely to rear-end me.
Letting people in is the best way to drive even if they're in the wrong.
The flipside is using the invariably empty lane for a road merger, don't be the arsehole hanging wheels over the white line to "block" people coming up the other lane in some sort of weird non highway code compliant moral queueing protocol.
That one annoys me. Using both lanes is quite explicitly the rule!
Recently spent forty minutes near-stationary in an unnecessary queue on the Oxford ring road. One lane was closed and it required people to merge into the outside line.
Due to a series of timid drivers at the front of the queue in the outside lane and a series of aggressive drivers coming up the inside lane to the front and shouldering in, one lane was in constant motion (with no chance of getting in as they were nose-to-tail) and the other lane was completely stationary.
This continued until one person managed to pull out into the moving lane and stopped. He then matched with the inside lane as it started up again (when the series of drivers ahead of him in it had got through), so both were moving at the same rate.
He would certainly have counted as "the arsehole" above, forcing a non highway-code compliant moral queueing protocol, but we were quite grateful. Especially as we'd missed the start of our movie already by then (having left plenty of time to get there)
The "aggressive" drivers are doing the right thing. You're supposed to use both lanes until the merge point!
If they wanted the merge point a mile back, they'd have put it a mile back. But then idiots would try and force a premature merge two miles back.
Why didn't you just use the moving lane? As you're supposed to!
In this case, it sounds like the aggressive drivers were the ones in the inside lane refusing to merge in turn with those in the outside lane.
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Why italicise that?
If people choose to live on a main road, what's wrong with driving past their home at 30mph or 40mph or 50mph if that's the speed limit?
Main arterial roads should be 40 or 50mph through towns and 60 or 70mph outside of towns.
20 is plenty for residential streets, but arteries are not residential streets.
That does get more complicated in Wales, where the lack of bypasses means very often they are the same thing. Ponterwyd or Rhayader or Aberystwyth, for example.
There are some however classified as residential that really are not. The A44 at Llangurig where the 20mph zone goes past the church, the pub and a garage springs to mind. The village itself is on a back street...
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
The move of the sign further out is sensible, because they know that your average UK driver who does not look beyond the end of their bonnet will be racing up to that sign at 50 or 60mph than stand their car on its nose to slow down, or continue through the village (and it is through the village) at highway speeds.
I'd say that 30mph is a sensible limit there IF the limit is obeyed, but it will be ignored - because that is seen as acceptable behaviour.
The real issue there is that UK roads are not designed to look like roads that are safe at the suitable speed limit eg through villages, so there are not the necessary visual cues for people driving through to slow down, and they go hooning through regardless.
That's down to the nature of LHAs being created to build roads, and ignore other interests - such as adequate consideration for pedestrians. It's also why junctions prioritise throughput over safety, and anyone asking for a Zebra crossing across a busy road to a primary school will be told in effect that not enough children under 10 have been killed or crippled to justify it yet.
Bit in bold. The problem is, some people will obey a 20 limit and that annoys people.
Stick a speed camera in there and people will do 30.
I've been teaching my step-daughter to drive recently, and it is very noticeable that some people simply cannot stand to drive at the speed limit. My step-daughter obviously has to learn to drive at or just below the speed limit (since she'd otherwise fail her driving test), but whatever the speed limit, there's always some bozo behind who just has to get past and will drive right on our tail before overtaking at the next (barely) possible opportunity.
And while I'm on the topic, I've seen some of the worst driving about while teaching her to drive. The L-plates seem like a red rag to a bull for some people. They think nothing of driving right on your tail, or cutting straight across in front of you. And if a learner has stalled their car on a hill in front of you, sitting two inches behind their bumper and leaning on your horn isn't going to help them get going any faster!
People are bullying arseholes, especially when they feel safe from confrontation, such as in their car, or behind the boss’s desk.
My driving instructor liked my approach to people hammering the horn when I was doing 20.
I would, almost instinctively, slow down by about 1 mph, each time they sounded the horn.
I let them pass.
As a general rule I like dangerous idiots in front of me so I can watch them, rather than behind me where they are likely to rear-end me.
Letting people in is the best way to drive even if they're in the wrong.
The flipside is using the invariably empty lane for a road merger, don't be the arsehole hanging wheels over the white line to "block" people coming up the other lane in some sort of weird non highway code compliant moral queueing protocol.
That one annoys me. Using both lanes is quite explicitly the rule!
Recently spent forty minutes near-stationary in an unnecessary queue on the Oxford ring road. One lane was closed and it required people to merge into the outside line.
Due to a series of timid drivers at the front of the queue in the outside lane and a series of aggressive drivers coming up the inside lane to the front and shouldering in, one lane was in constant motion (with no chance of getting in as they were nose-to-tail) and the other lane was completely stationary.
This continued until one person managed to pull out into the moving lane and stopped. He then matched with the inside lane as it started up again (when the series of drivers ahead of him in it had got through), so both were moving at the same rate.
He would certainly have counted as "the arsehole" above, forcing a non highway-code compliant moral queueing protocol, but we were quite grateful. Especially as we'd missed the start of our movie already by then (having left plenty of time to get there)
The "aggressive" drivers are doing the right thing. You're supposed to use both lanes until the merge point!
If they wanted the merge point a mile back, they'd have put it a mile back. But then idiots would try and force a premature merge two miles back.
Why didn't you just use the moving lane? As you're supposed to!
In this case, it sounds like the aggressive drivers were the ones in the inside lane refusing to merge in turn with those in the outside lane.
Indeed. Use both lanes until the merge point and merge in turn at the merge point - that's the Highway Code.
Those using an open lane to move are doing what they're supposed to do. The lane is open, its not closed.
They should have a sterilization programme for owners of XL bully’s . The dogs should all be rounded up and put down . This works to protect the public from these four legged killing machines and it also protects the public from the morons who thought having one of these dogs was a good idea . The country needs to reduce the level of breeding by said dog owners , too many thick in bred trailer trash are popping out babies who are then socialized into being morons by their parents .
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Why italicise that?
If people choose to live on a main road, what's wrong with driving past their home at 30mph or 40mph or 50mph if that's the speed limit?
Main arterial roads should be 40 or 50mph through towns and 60 or 70mph outside of towns.
20 is plenty for residential streets, but arteries are not residential streets.
That does get more complicated in Wales, where the lack of bypasses means very often they are the same thing. Ponterwyd or Rhayader or Aberystwyth, for example.
There are some however classified as residential that really are not. The A44 at Llangurig where the 20mph zone goes past the church, the pub and a garage springs to mind. The village itself is on a back street...
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
The move of the sign further out is sensible, because they know that your average UK driver who does not look beyond the end of their bonnet will be racing up to that sign at 50 or 60mph than stand their car on its nose to slow down, or continue through the village (and it is through the village) at highway speeds.
I'd say that 30mph is a sensible limit there IF the limit is obeyed, but it will be ignored - because that is seen as acceptable behaviour.
The real issue there is that UK roads are not designed to look like roads that are safe at the suitable speed limit eg through villages, so there are not the necessary visual cues for people driving through to slow down, and they go hooning through regardless.
That's down to the nature of LHAs being created to build roads, and ignore other interests - such as adequate consideration for pedestrians. It's also why junctions prioritise throughput over safety, and anyone asking for a Zebra crossing across a busy road to a primary school will be told in effect that not enough children under 10 have been killed or crippled to justify it yet.
Bit in bold. The problem is, some people will obey a 20 limit and that annoys people.
Stick a speed camera in there and people will do 30.
I've been teaching my step-daughter to drive recently, and it is very noticeable that some people simply cannot stand to drive at the speed limit. My step-daughter obviously has to learn to drive at or just below the speed limit (since she'd otherwise fail her driving test), but whatever the speed limit, there's always some bozo behind who just has to get past and will drive right on our tail before overtaking at the next (barely) possible opportunity.
And while I'm on the topic, I've seen some of the worst driving about while teaching her to drive. The L-plates seem like a red rag to a bull for some people. They think nothing of driving right on your tail, or cutting straight across in front of you. And if a learner has stalled their car on a hill in front of you, sitting two inches behind their bumper and leaning on your horn isn't going to help them get going any faster!
People are bullying arseholes, especially when they feel safe from confrontation, such as in their car, or behind the boss’s desk.
My driving instructor liked my approach to people hammering the horn when I was doing 20.
I would, almost instinctively, slow down by about 1 mph, each time they sounded the horn.
I let them pass.
As a general rule I like dangerous idiots in front of me so I can watch them, rather than behind me where they are likely to rear-end me.
Letting people in is the best way to drive even if they're in the wrong.
The flipside is using the invariably empty lane for a road merger, don't be the arsehole hanging wheels over the white line to "block" people coming up the other lane in some sort of weird non highway code compliant moral queueing protocol.
That one annoys me. Using both lanes is quite explicitly the rule!
Recently spent forty minutes near-stationary in an unnecessary queue on the Oxford ring road. One lane was closed and it required people to merge into the outside line.
Due to a series of timid drivers at the front of the queue in the outside lane and a series of aggressive drivers coming up the inside lane to the front and shouldering in, one lane was in constant motion (with no chance of getting in as they were nose-to-tail) and the other lane was completely stationary.
This continued until one person managed to pull out into the moving lane and stopped. He then matched with the inside lane as it started up again (when the series of drivers ahead of him in it had got through), so both were moving at the same rate.
He would certainly have counted as "the arsehole" above, forcing a non highway-code compliant moral queueing protocol, but we were quite grateful. Especially as we'd missed the start of our movie already by then (having left plenty of time to get there)
The "aggressive" drivers are doing the right thing. You're supposed to use both lanes until the merge point!
If they wanted the merge point a mile back, they'd have put it a mile back. But then idiots would try and force a premature merge two miles back.
Why didn't you just use the moving lane? As you're supposed to!
In this case, it sounds like the aggressive drivers were the ones in the inside lane refusing to merge in turn with those in the outside lane.
I agree on this, and Bart’s original point. The most efficient use of road is for everyone to keep in all the lanes until the merge point.
I think there are different moral codes in different parts of the country though on the wider issue of “cutting up” vs “letting in”. Crudely, in big cities it is considered impolite not to make space for someone to change lane, merge or come out of a turning. In the more rural districts it’s the opposite: it is considered rude to cut in front of someone. The urban cultural code just reflects the reality that without the ability to squeeze in, nobody would ever get anywhere.
They should have a sterilization programme for owners of XL bully’s . The dogs should all be rounded up and put down . This works to protect the public from these four legged killing machines and it also protects the public from the morons who thought having one of these dogs was a good idea . The country needs to reduce the level of breeding by said dog owners , too many thick in bred trailer trash are popping out babies who are then socialized into being morons by their parents .
They should have a sterilization programme for owners of XL bully’s . The dogs should all be rounded up and put down . This works to protect the public from these four legged killing machines and it also protects the public from the morons who thought having one of these dogs was a good idea . The country needs to reduce the level of breeding by said dog owners , too many thick in bred trailer trash are popping out babies who are then socialized into being morons by their parents .
They should have a sterilization programme for owners of XL bully’s . The dogs should all be rounded up and put down . This works to protect the public from these four legged killing machines and it also protects the public from the morons who thought having one of these dogs was a good idea . The country needs to reduce the level of breeding by said dog owners , too many thick in bred trailer trash are popping out babies who are then socialized into being morons by their parents .
Lordy, these softy liberal types.
Very funny . Sadly the birth rates amongst the saner section of the public are dropping . Birth rates are too high in the sections of the population who add nothing to society and are most responsible for anti -social behaviour .
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Why italicise that?
If people choose to live on a main road, what's wrong with driving past their home at 30mph or 40mph or 50mph if that's the speed limit?
Main arterial roads should be 40 or 50mph through towns and 60 or 70mph outside of towns.
20 is plenty for residential streets, but arteries are not residential streets.
That does get more complicated in Wales, where the lack of bypasses means very often they are the same thing. Ponterwyd or Rhayader or Aberystwyth, for example.
There are some however classified as residential that really are not. The A44 at Llangurig where the 20mph zone goes past the church, the pub and a garage springs to mind. The village itself is on a back street...
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
The move of the sign further out is sensible, because they know that your average UK driver who does not look beyond the end of their bonnet will be racing up to that sign at 50 or 60mph than stand their car on its nose to slow down, or continue through the village (and it is through the village) at highway speeds.
I'd say that 30mph is a sensible limit there IF the limit is obeyed, but it will be ignored - because that is seen as acceptable behaviour.
The real issue there is that UK roads are not designed to look like roads that are safe at the suitable speed limit eg through villages, so there are not the necessary visual cues for people driving through to slow down, and they go hooning through regardless.
That's down to the nature of LHAs being created to build roads, and ignore other interests - such as adequate consideration for pedestrians. It's also why junctions prioritise throughput over safety, and anyone asking for a Zebra crossing across a busy road to a primary school will be told in effect that not enough children under 10 have been killed or crippled to justify it yet.
Bit in bold. The problem is, some people will obey a 20 limit and that annoys people.
Stick a speed camera in there and people will do 30.
I've been teaching my step-daughter to drive recently, and it is very noticeable that some people simply cannot stand to drive at the speed limit. My step-daughter obviously has to learn to drive at or just below the speed limit (since she'd otherwise fail her driving test), but whatever the speed limit, there's always some bozo behind who just has to get past and will drive right on our tail before overtaking at the next (barely) possible opportunity.
And while I'm on the topic, I've seen some of the worst driving about while teaching her to drive. The L-plates seem like a red rag to a bull for some people. They think nothing of driving right on your tail, or cutting straight across in front of you. And if a learner has stalled their car on a hill in front of you, sitting two inches behind their bumper and leaning on your horn isn't going to help them get going any faster!
People are bullying arseholes, especially when they feel safe from confrontation, such as in their car, or behind the boss’s desk.
My driving instructor liked my approach to people hammering the horn when I was doing 20.
I would, almost instinctively, slow down by about 1 mph, each time they sounded the horn.
I let them pass.
As a general rule I like dangerous idiots in front of me so I can watch them, rather than behind me where they are likely to rear-end me.
Letting people in is the best way to drive even if they're in the wrong.
The flipside is using the invariably empty lane for a road merger, don't be the arsehole hanging wheels over the white line to "block" people coming up the other lane in some sort of weird non highway code compliant moral queueing protocol.
That one annoys me. Using both lanes is quite explicitly the rule!
Recently spent forty minutes near-stationary in an unnecessary queue on the Oxford ring road. One lane was closed and it required people to merge into the outside line.
Due to a series of timid drivers at the front of the queue in the outside lane and a series of aggressive drivers coming up the inside lane to the front and shouldering in, one lane was in constant motion (with no chance of getting in as they were nose-to-tail) and the other lane was completely stationary.
This continued until one person managed to pull out into the moving lane and stopped. He then matched with the inside lane as it started up again (when the series of drivers ahead of him in it had got through), so both were moving at the same rate.
He would certainly have counted as "the arsehole" above, forcing a non highway-code compliant moral queueing protocol, but we were quite grateful. Especially as we'd missed the start of our movie already by then (having left plenty of time to get there)
The "aggressive" drivers are doing the right thing. You're supposed to use both lanes until the merge point!
If they wanted the merge point a mile back, they'd have put it a mile back. But then idiots would try and force a premature merge two miles back.
Why didn't you just use the moving lane? As you're supposed to!
In this case, it sounds like the aggressive drivers were the ones in the inside lane refusing to merge in turn with those in the outside lane.
I agree on this, and Bart’s original point. The most efficient use of road is for everyone to keep in all the lanes until the merge point.
I think there are different moral codes in different parts of the country though on the wider issue of “cutting up” vs “letting in”. Crudely, in big cities it is considered impolite not to make space for someone to change lane, merge or come out of a turning. In the more rural districts it’s the opposite: it is considered rude to cut in front of someone. The urban cultural code just reflects the reality that without the ability to squeeze in, nobody would ever get anywhere.
I'm always bemused by the juxtaposition of "big city" versus "rural". Most of the country's population lives in neither, suburban towns.
As a suburban driver I have what you'd call an urban attitude then. I will happily let anyone in, in front of me. If someone is waiting at a junction without a light I will flash them and let them pull in front of me. I will equally happily cut in front of anyone and will drive until the merge point at any junction as you're supposed to and pass anyone tailing back in a stationary lane while there's an open lane available which is supposed to be used, and then merge in turn at the actual merge point.
The government doesn't seem serious about mitigating Brexit damage. I think they are storing up problems for themselves.
Such a scheme would cause huge damage for British youth, trying to compete with a million Romanians for jobs in the UK
I doubt it and young people are keen on freedom of movement anyway. My point however is if you don't negotiate you don't get anywhere, and bear in mind the EU has a stronger negotiating position.
So Labour could say, actually we don't want a reset in relations with the EU as we promised in our manifesto. This rejection is effectively saying that, but it is a problem for them, given most British people and almost all current Labour voters think Brexit was damaging and a mistake.
A similar number of British people think that not executing child killers is a mistake.
Not that similar, unless you have different numbers to these.
It is interesting being in Wales for a few days and obeying the new 20mph speed limit. Everywhere I seem to build up massive queues of irritable locals.
This is in the north-east, so one of the areas worst affected and where the three local councils have been most resistant to making adjustments.
Good on you! It only takes one law abiding driver (or commercial/emergency vehicle) to enforce them.
Given the number of roads that are already excepted from 20mph, I suspected that councils would find it difficult to find any more without pissing off local residents (people like driving at 30mph past other people's houses). I'd guess that is what is happening here?
Why italicise that?
If people choose to live on a main road, what's wrong with driving past their home at 30mph or 40mph or 50mph if that's the speed limit?
Main arterial roads should be 40 or 50mph through towns and 60 or 70mph outside of towns.
20 is plenty for residential streets, but arteries are not residential streets.
That does get more complicated in Wales, where the lack of bypasses means very often they are the same thing. Ponterwyd or Rhayader or Aberystwyth, for example.
There are some however classified as residential that really are not. The A44 at Llangurig where the 20mph zone goes past the church, the pub and a garage springs to mind. The village itself is on a back street...
That used to be 30 (below), and the limit has been dropped to 20 and moved a little further out of the village to be beyond the entrance to a housing estate which looks like it is due for a lot more expansion.
The move of the sign further out is sensible, because they know that your average UK driver who does not look beyond the end of their bonnet will be racing up to that sign at 50 or 60mph than stand their car on its nose to slow down, or continue through the village (and it is through the village) at highway speeds.
I'd say that 30mph is a sensible limit there IF the limit is obeyed, but it will be ignored - because that is seen as acceptable behaviour.
The real issue there is that UK roads are not designed to look like roads that are safe at the suitable speed limit eg through villages, so there are not the necessary visual cues for people driving through to slow down, and they go hooning through regardless.
That's down to the nature of LHAs being created to build roads, and ignore other interests - such as adequate consideration for pedestrians. It's also why junctions prioritise throughput over safety, and anyone asking for a Zebra crossing across a busy road to a primary school will be told in effect that not enough children under 10 have been killed or crippled to justify it yet.
Bit in bold. The problem is, some people will obey a 20 limit and that annoys people.
Stick a speed camera in there and people will do 30.
I've been teaching my step-daughter to drive recently, and it is very noticeable that some people simply cannot stand to drive at the speed limit. My step-daughter obviously has to learn to drive at or just below the speed limit (since she'd otherwise fail her driving test), but whatever the speed limit, there's always some bozo behind who just has to get past and will drive right on our tail before overtaking at the next (barely) possible opportunity.
And while I'm on the topic, I've seen some of the worst driving about while teaching her to drive. The L-plates seem like a red rag to a bull for some people. They think nothing of driving right on your tail, or cutting straight across in front of you. And if a learner has stalled their car on a hill in front of you, sitting two inches behind their bumper and leaning on your horn isn't going to help them get going any faster!
People are bullying arseholes, especially when they feel safe from confrontation, such as in their car, or behind the boss’s desk.
My driving instructor liked my approach to people hammering the horn when I was doing 20.
I would, almost instinctively, slow down by about 1 mph, each time they sounded the horn.
I let them pass.
As a general rule I like dangerous idiots in front of me so I can watch them, rather than behind me where they are likely to rear-end me.
Letting people in is the best way to drive even if they're in the wrong.
The flipside is using the invariably empty lane for a road merger, don't be the arsehole hanging wheels over the white line to "block" people coming up the other lane in some sort of weird non highway code compliant moral queueing protocol.
That one annoys me. Using both lanes is quite explicitly the rule!
Recently spent forty minutes near-stationary in an unnecessary queue on the Oxford ring road. One lane was closed and it required people to merge into the outside line.
Due to a series of timid drivers at the front of the queue in the outside lane and a series of aggressive drivers coming up the inside lane to the front and shouldering in, one lane was in constant motion (with no chance of getting in as they were nose-to-tail) and the other lane was completely stationary.
This continued until one person managed to pull out into the moving lane and stopped. He then matched with the inside lane as it started up again (when the series of drivers ahead of him in it had got through), so both were moving at the same rate.
He would certainly have counted as "the arsehole" above, forcing a non highway-code compliant moral queueing protocol, but we were quite grateful. Especially as we'd missed the start of our movie already by then (having left plenty of time to get there)
The "aggressive" drivers are doing the right thing. You're supposed to use both lanes until the merge point!
If they wanted the merge point a mile back, they'd have put it a mile back. But then idiots would try and force a premature merge two miles back.
Why didn't you just use the moving lane? As you're supposed to!
In this case, it sounds like the aggressive drivers were the ones in the inside lane refusing to merge in turn with those in the outside lane.
I agree on this, and Bart’s original point. The most efficient use of road is for everyone to keep in all the lanes until the merge point.
I think there are different moral codes in different parts of the country though on the wider issue of “cutting up” vs “letting in”. Crudely, in big cities it is considered impolite not to make space for someone to change lane, merge or come out of a turning. In the more rural districts it’s the opposite: it is considered rude to cut in front of someone. The urban cultural code just reflects the reality that without the ability to squeeze in, nobody would ever get anywhere.
I'm always bemused by the juxtaposition of "big city" versus "rural". Most of the country's population lives in neither, suburban towns.
As a suburban driver I have what you'd call an urban attitude then. I will happily let anyone in, in front of me. If someone is waiting at a junction without a light I will flash them and let them pull in front of me. I will equally happily cut in front of anyone and will drive until the merge point at any junction as you're supposed to and pass anyone tailing back in a stationary lane while there's an open lane available which is supposed to be used, and then merge in turn at the actual merge point.
You really must show us some of your early ekphrastic poetry. It must tend to the sublime.
Comments
It needs to link in better to the Leicester City cycle routes. Getting past the racecourse roundabout on a bike is no fun.
So they set the limit to 20 mph, which no-one goes at, but it gets the 80% of all drivers line to where it needs to be, at about 27 mph.
One thing that has hardly been tackled in the UK yet is that if it is all-round-green for the mobility and pedestrian tracks, then there's no reason whatsoever why it shouldn't be OK simply to walk directly across the junction. As happens at Oxford Circus under crossing-control, for example.
At present the value of "keep the pedestrians off the carriageway and out of the way" is too strong in the road and institutional culture.
For rabbit-holers on this subject: Innie vs Outie
https://therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2022/05/traffic-signal-pie-innie-vs-outie.html
Furthermore, it is not political as all parties have accepted it needs to change and the change commence next month
I've seen very little since the initial flurry of reports back in April.
I'm interested in languages but wouldn't say I'm particularly talented at learning them. After 10 years in Germany, I had become pretty fluent and could think in German without translating to English, as it were, but it took a long time to get to that stage. I'm currently learning some Japanese in preparation for a holiday there this autumn. The language is quite fascinating, but the writing! Who thought two phonetic alphabets and an ideographic script, plus Roman letters and Arabic numerals, all mixed up together, was a good idea? I don't expect to be able to communicate much in the language, but some familiarity can't be a bad thing.
The law-following at least has changed quite a lot in my lifetime. When I was growing up it was "30 but you'll be fine as long as you don't go above 49".
My turn next year.
I mean, that would be ballsy, but I think probably politically impractical.
P.S. German is a lot easier than Arabic for an English speaker to learn!
The skills you need are listening and pattern matching that you get from repetition. An ability to think in the other language no matter what level you are at helps too.
I'm sure there are things I would like them to do, or not do, but the basic approach seems to be - at least - thoughtful and systematic.
It could have been framed as a necessary step to deal with an unacceptable unilateral decision on the part of the German Chancellor, and that in the absence of fundamental changes, we would cease to be members in two years (which would have been 2017).
The other political benefit of doing it this way is that if he'd held a referendum, it would have been the end of the saga rather than the beginning.
The sole reason I'm spending time and money doing my full license to get rid of those plates, because they're going to enrage someone into causing a nasty accident one day.
Glamorgan 38-6
Derbyshire will probably still find a way not to win.
They havent won a 4 day game at Derby since September 2019
‘We have £3.25m, no mortgage and no kids – do we have enough to retire?’
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/investing/stocks-shares/325m-investments-no-mortgage-children-enough-retire/
Due to a series of timid drivers at the front of the queue in the outside lane and a series of aggressive drivers coming up the inside lane to the front and shouldering in, one lane was in constant motion (with no chance of getting in as they were nose-to-tail) and the other lane was completely stationary.
This continued until one person managed to pull out into the moving lane and stopped. He then matched with the inside lane as it started up again (when the series of drivers ahead of him in it had got through), so both were moving at the same rate.
He would certainly have counted as "the arsehole" above, forcing a non highway-code compliant moral queueing protocol, but we were quite grateful. Especially as we'd missed the start of our movie already by then (having left plenty of time to get there)
The government doesn't seem serious about mitigating Brexit damage. I think they are storing up problems for themselves.
Someone estimated that to fly to every race business class, stay in a 5* hotel, and buy Paddock Club tickets, would run to around $600k per person for the year.
That’s what I would do if I ever had £3.25m in the bank.
I’ve also heard of people spending a year on a cruise ship for retirement, which is cheaper than you might think it would be.
Some people just have a good 'ear', in that they can pick up unfamiliar vowel or consonant sounds and reproduce them; some people just can't even distinguish them without a lot of effort and practice.
That makes a huge difference to leaning a language, I think.
But yes, no substitute for just doing the work,
Tip: the textbooks lie to you -- Japanese doesn't have any adjectives.
It's a semi-acronym that may have turned into a word, ish. The second S is part of the acronym. CYCLOPS is singular.
"Cycle Optimised Protected Signals (CYCLOPS)"
I think the P should be for Pedestrian, as it's for both. And it needs an M for mobility or a W for wheeling.
So, probably CYCLOMPS is better.
I asked Gollum.
BBC News - Hunt for two dogs suspected of killing man
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c80egr50vmmo
In the heat of the riots, I was pretty critical, on here, of Ayoub Khan's times radio interview. You jumped to his defence.
I still think what he said, especially his timing, wasn't helpful or appropriate, but he did subsequently go on to moderate his position. He's actually one of the more interesting new MP's.
Was his election a psephological anomaly, a result of the unusual potency of a foreign policy issue during an election campaign and a specific political/demographic context - or a sign of things to come?
Interesting times.
BBC News - Scotland Census 2022: Numbers in private rented homes on the rise - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0rw7klz7rxo
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/international/survey-results/daily/2024/04/22/4091e/2
Possibly they're stupid, possibly they are more optimistic and don't fear competition.
But the grammar is so different from English. I thought adjectives (if that's what they are) seemed OK, apart from never knowing if they are followed by na or not, but where are the pronouns? There don't seem to be any, apart from various words conventionally used to refer to oneself, the other, etc. And the lack of plurals. And the multitude of counting words. And all the homophones. And the word order, which mostly seems to be the reverse of English!
I'm not like this because I'm in Van Halen. I'm in Van Halen because I'm like this.
So Labour could say, actually we don't want a reset in relations with the EU as we promised in our manifesto. This rejection is effectively saying that, but it is a problem for them, given most British people and almost all current Labour voters think Brexit was damaging and a mistake.
The mix might make team work more difficult, but presumably the mine owners thought keeping unions out was worth that loss.
(From the BBC article: "Dozens of workers from around the world may have been trafficked into the UK to work for a small family-owned Scottish fishing firm, a BBC investigation has revealed.
Thirty-five men from the Philippines, Ghana, India and Sri Lanka were recognised as victims of modern slavery by the Home Office after being referred to it between 2012 and 2020."
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9dnk34k41o )
Now, a thought that some of you may find uncomfortable. Could some employers now be using the D in DEI, for a similar reason?
Astonishing.
I would be for stronger "pro" guidance form the centre than that, since my local authority often opposes safer arrangements for mobility aid users outright as a matter of local populism.
The Streets Ahead podcast where she commented is here:
https://shows.acast.com/streets-ahead/episodes/louise-haigh-mp-secretary-of-state-for-transport
I think this is one Reform will jump on as an issue for their culture war. I'm not sure whether the Conservatives will continue to do so.
Maybe the new owners - if they ever find some - will rescue it?
Bill Kristol
@BillKristol
·
8h
Trump says he is “the best friend that Israel, and the Jewish people, ever had.” And that he has “done more for Israel than any person, and it’s not even close.”
The delusional narcissism is out of control. Will any Trump supporter say this? Will any Jewish Trump apologist?
https://x.com/BillKristol/status/1826478194867810564
The things they tell you are い-type adjectives are really verbs. Or specifically participles (like "the running cat"). That's why they take past forms, because they're really just verbs.
The な-type adjectives are really nouns + な. な is a particle that makes something adjectival, but you can use it on any noun. Indeed, you can append it to a whole phrase. So, you get taught that "handsome" is "ハンサムな", but really "ハンサム" means "handsomeness" (a noun) and な makes it adjectival.
No plurals is a blessing! Makes life simpler. Counting words, yeah, they're just bonkers.
Brexit a mistake is now running at 70-20.
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/explore/issue/Brexit
Death penalty for child killers is 54-35 in favour.
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/explore/topic/Death_Penalty
The most recent Brexit right/wrong numbers are 34/53, almost exactly in line with the polling on the death penalty for child killers.
https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/YG_Trackers_-_EU_Tracker_Questions_W_GaoVkMX.pdf
I see a tracker "The most important issues facing the country: Britain leaving the EU" down to 12%, a few days ago.
and "Do you think, so far, the benefits of Brexit have outweighed the negatives, or the other way round?" 15-53, ie, overwhelmingly negatives outweigh benefits, but that was back on 12 June.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj55ren8229o
A review into guidance on 20mph speed limits in Wales has concluded that most roads will not need to be reassessed.
But it suggests 30mph exceptions might apply to main roads outside urban centres or high streets, and on bus or key transport routes which have seen journey times rise significantly.
Transport Secretary Ken Skates said proposals would be published before the summer although it is "likely to take several months" before we see results of changes.
A default 20mph speed limit came in last September, covering 37% of the Welsh road network, but has proved controversial.
The review, external found a "broad consensus" that 20mph was the right speed limit for residential roads which were not of strategic importance.
But it admitted difficulties on main roads which were shared by buses, freight and delivery drivers.
That was set against roads which had housing, shops and schools and were used by cyclists and pedestrians.
This would "inevitably mean weighing different obligations and priorities the highway authorities have", the report said.
Poor chap, though.
That said much manual contract labour has been getting a bit expensive for vineyards anyway regardless of workforce availability - hence greater recent mechanisation both here and on the continent.
Someone lent Louise Haigh a pedelec in Sheffield in the Spring, and someone gave her a copy of Laura Laker's excellent book more recently - which addressed a lot of the political, historical and safety issues around UK active travel a narrative based on cycling on the National Cycle Network across the country during Covid. LH then tweeted it as her "weekend reading". There was quite a bit I learnt from it, especially around NCN history and the costs of short-termist policy.
I'm not sure how influential that was, but Laura Laker is one of the most knowledgeable commentators for her to be getting insights from.
#my20mph
I'd suggest a better approach is to start from "what speed is appropriate for this road, here?", and then design the road so that is the natural felt-safe speed. But when Continuing Education for road designers is not a requirement in most places, any more than it is for those of us who drive, it's a big change.
On 20mph limits, there was a study by Queens Uni, Belfast, much mis-cited by the antolobby to "prove they don't work", which showed that *signs alone" don't cause a behaviour change.
Antolobbey / Anti-lobby.
I suspect relatively few streets in Wales will be reverted. We're talking about main roads in built up areas not normally used by pedestrians and where cyclists aren't separated.
If they wanted the merge point a mile back, they'd have put it a mile back. But then idiots would try and force a premature merge two miles back.
Why didn't you just use the moving lane? As you're supposed to!
Its a shadow of its former self, though.
Those using an open lane to move are doing what they're supposed to do. The lane is open, its not closed.
I think there are different moral codes in different parts of the country though on the wider issue of “cutting up” vs “letting in”. Crudely, in big cities it is considered impolite not to make space for someone to change lane, merge or come out of a turning. In the more rural districts it’s the opposite: it is considered rude to cut in front of someone. The urban cultural code just reflects the reality that without the ability to squeeze in, nobody would ever get anywhere.
As a suburban driver I have what you'd call an urban attitude then. I will happily let anyone in, in front of me. If someone is waiting at a junction without a light I will flash them and let them pull in front of me. I will equally happily cut in front of anyone and will drive until the merge point at any junction as you're supposed to and pass anyone tailing back in a stationary lane while there's an open lane available which is supposed to be used, and then merge in turn at the actual merge point.