Wildwood entrance

[Gramaisc]

Therefore you can argue that pedestrians have more rights than those driving into Stafford.

I'll believe that when I see a driver have to push a button and wait ages in the pissing rain for the pedestrians to stop..

 

[henryscat]

If you actually add up all the misery, congestion, deaths, health problems from noise and air pollution and other negative effects of motor vehicles on our roads the figure is much less than all the taxation raised in total. Therefore people driving motor vehicles are subsidised by those who do not drive.

There was even more subsidisation recently with the car scrappage scheme, non-car drivers get sod all.

Yep, absolutely.

And public transport users have had decades of above inflation fare increases whilst car drivers enjoyed decades of no real terms increase in the cost of motoring until very recently and even then recent fuel price increases are nowhere near how much bus/train fares have gone up.

 

[henryscat]

Why should the flow of pedestrians be interrupted by cars?

Are you being deliberately obtuse in this discussion? If not, and you are genuinely expecting a reply to that comment I suppose you could argue that road users pay extortionate road taxes so the least they should be entitled to expect is a road network that sort of works, even if it is riddled with potholes and bizarre stripey lines! Until pedestrian taxes are introduced (which may only be a matter of time) I think motorists will have the upper hand.

No, not being in the least bit obtuse.

Why is your journey more important than a pedestrian's just because you are in a car? Why should the pedestrian's journey be delayed so you can enjoy a marginally more unimpeded journey?

The cost of driving isn't extortionate.

 

[staff4ord]

So lets put this into context on this particular junction. The width of the road around that area has been enough to have a slip road both coming onto and off the estate for some time. Unless henry can say otherwise there has not been any abnormal junction related accident. If your sat in the junction waiting to turn right it's your responsibility to ensure nothing is coming before you pull out.
If your turning left into the junction having come from cannock there is plenty of room to use the left side as a run off exit lane. It's always worked and prevents muppets not realising what your doing and running into the back of you. A type of accident that you as a driver can't really avoid.

So now when the council can't afford to fill pot holes they spend money on painting lines on a road that are completely useless. According to the highway code you can still enter that area and is not enforceable if you get stopped by the police. So in a nutshell a complete waste of our money.

 

[gilesjuk]

And public transport users have had decades of above inflation fare increases whilst car drivers enjoyed decades of no real terms increase in the cost of motoring until very recently and even then recent fuel price increases are nowhere near how much bus/train fares have gone up.

Well, rail fares have been going up recently as subsidies are being eliminated. But if the roads were in as bad a state as the railways were in the early 2000s then they would need huge subsidies too.

Sure, there's lots of roads with potholes but they aren't always that dangerous and can be avoided. The tarmac equivalent of the problems on the railways would be if you were driving along and the road collapsed rolling your car over.

Anyway, fuel price increases are largely due to the oil price, it's classic supply and demand. There's going to be a few more wars and conflicts in the oil producing parts of the world. I reckon it will be over £2 a litre in 10 years time.

 

[henryscat]

here has not been any abnormal junction related accident.

If you go onto http://localview.staffordshire.gov.uk/lvinternet/ there are accidents around that junction. I presume you don't sit and watch the junction all day every day, so you actually have no idea.

If your sat in the junction waiting

"You are" or "you're", not "your".

If your turning left into the junction having come from cannock there is plenty of room to use the left side as a run off exit lane. It's always worked and prevents muppets not realising what your doing and running into the back of you. A type of accident that you as a driver can't really avoid.

Complete red herring, as already discussed. If you have working brake lights and indicators, and you execute the turn properly, you will not get driven into the back of.

According to the highway code you can still enter that area and is not enforceable if you get stopped by the police. So in a nutshell a complete waste of our money.

No, you can enter "if necessary", and it isn't necessary to enter those markings to turn left.

 

[henryscat]

Anyway, fuel price increases are largely due to the oil price, it's classic supply and demand. There's going to be a few more wars and conflicts in the oil producing parts of the world. I reckon it will be over £2 a litre in 10 years time.

Could hit £2 a lot sooner!

Peak oil production has probably been hit, whilst governments bury their heads in the sand about it.

 

[Gramaisc]

Peak oil production has probably been hit, whilst governments bury their heads in the sand about it.

Perhaps, if they bury their heads in the Athabasca oil sands we'll be OK.?

 

[staff4ord]

Well henry your internet link was close to useless and shows nothing.

"Complete red herring, as already discussed. If you have working brake lights and indicators, and you execute the turn properly, you will not get driven into the back of."

Silly me the magic brake lights that work will stop people on mobile phones and those not paying attention crashing into you. Must get me a set

 

[henryscat]

The link works perfectly well.

Find Wildwood Drive junction on the map, then display accidents. Not that difficult.

 

[Glam]

Well henry your internet link was close to useless and shows nothing.

"Complete red herring, as already discussed. If you have working brake lights and indicators, and you execute the turn properly, you will not get driven into the back of."

Silly me the magic brake lights that work will stop people on mobile phones and those not paying attention crashing into you. Must get me a set

That could happen at any junction tho,why should the Wildwood one be so special? If drivers weren't going so fast and not going over the speed limit,which they do down that stretch of road,then they shouldn't run into the back of anyone.

 

[shoes]

Why should the flow of pedestrians be interrupted by cars?

Are you being deliberately obtuse in this discussion? If not, and you are genuinely expecting a reply to that comment I suppose you could argue that road users pay extortionate road taxes so the least they should be entitled to expect is a road network that sort of works, even if it is riddled with potholes and bizarre stripey lines! Until pedestrian taxes are introduced (which may only be a matter of time) I think motorists will have the upper hand.

Why is your journey more important than a pedestrian's just because you are in a car? Why should the pedestrian's journey be delayed so you can enjoy a marginally more unimpeded journey?

It's a fair point, and is down to learning to live and let live. Waiting at a pedestrian crossing for a red light is inconvenient. Waiting at a pedestrian crossing for a green light is inconvenient.

 

[gilesjuk]

It's a fair point, and is down to learning to live and let live. Waiting at a pedestrian crossing for a red light is inconvenient. Waiting at a pedestrian crossing for a green light is inconvenient.

Subways make things easier, except that they are usual dark, smell of urine and you can meet muggers or even worse buskers down there.

 

[Withnail]

If you go onto http://localview.staffordshire.gov.uk/lvinternet/ there are accidents around that junction.

I make it two 'serious' and seven 'slight' accidents in the last 10 years - is that a lot?

In the general scheme of things i mean, obviously one 'serious' accident is one too many if you happen to be in it.

 

[Gramaisc]

Waiting at a pedestrian crossing for a green light is inconvenient.

Pedestrian crossings may use the 'flashing amber' scenario that I have been promoting elsewhere.

 

[John Marwood]

Operant conditioning?

 

[gilesjuk]

In the general scheme of things i mean, obviously one 'serious' accident is one too many if you happen to be in it.

How does that compare with Brocton crossroads? There was a fatality there recently and nothing has been done there.

 

[henryscat]

I make it two 'serious' and seven 'slight' accidents in the last 10 years - is that a lot?

Not sure! I think it depends to some extent on if there are common factors which can be addressed.

 

[Jay]

Why is your journey more important than a pedestrian's just because you are in a car? Why should the pedestrian's journey be delayed so you can enjoy a marginally more unimpeded journey?

The cost of driving isn't extortionate.

Two things, firstly I spend as much time as a pedestrian as I do a driver so I can see the argument from both sides, and secondly as to the cost of motoring you are obviously considerably richer than me, I still think it's quite expensive to fuel, maintain, tax and insure a car..

 

[henryscat]

Two things, firstly I spend as much time as a pedestrian as I do a driver so I can see the argument from both sides

That's as may be, but that doesn't actually answer the question.

as to the cost of motoring you are obviously considerably richer than me, I still think it's quite expensive to fuel, maintain, tax and insure a car..

Yes running a car requires a fair chunk of cash, but that doesn't make the cost of motoring extortionate. Over the years the cost of motoring has remained pretty static (in real terms) whilst incomes (and disposable incomes) have risen. Public transport users, often (but not always) on lower incomes have been clobbered by significant rises in fares above inflation year after year.

The other way of looking at it is that the costs that motoring imposes are not covered by the costs paid by drivers (as was pointed out earlier), so in other words it is artificially cheap. If the cost of motoring were really extortionate there would be no congestion since at that price level demand for road space would be well below the supply. Since it is the opposite - demand for road space exceeds supply at peak times (causing congestion), the cost of driving is arguably too cheap on that basis alone.