For decades, they have targeted, disrespected, bullied and changed us in no time. But now, their malicious slaps became more and more full-blown kicks. And to add to the insult to trauma, the monetary pain we’ve been grappling with actually threatens to turn into financial ruin for many of us.
Just to be clear, ‘they’ are auto/car/road related politicians representing all major parties at national and local level. And who is ‘we’? Their easy targets – the humble, self-possessed, young and old, driving or traveling in a motor vehicle.
For nearly 40 years, I’ve interviewed professionals and amateurs tasked with running the show for – and taking large sums of money from – car owners, and consistently they’ve done much better than before. But in four decades working with everyone from local councilors to even a Prime Minister or two, I have never known a time as hostile to cars as this. The contempt for private motorists is at an all-time high. Never before have the fees, fines, tolls and penalties of legally dubious pedestrians been so large. The restrictions on our driving rights and freedoms are tighter than I’ve ever known.
To begin to understand how out of sync our politicians have become, get a feel for what’s going on in the mind of the (current) Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. I’ve listened to him speak for days of excruciating pain in recent weeks, and only once have I heard him express concern about traffic issues. “I am a bus fanatic,” he bellowed excitedly from the dispatch box. At the same time, when the private jet-obsessed Transport Secretary Grant Shapps was supposed to start rolling out the Highway Code 2022, he was playing silly detonators on TikTok.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that “drivers will pay the £1.5 billion black hole bill” during Transport for London’s funding crisis, caused by cars Unused buses, run-down trams and mass public transport ‘workers’ go on strike. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (another self-proclaimed bus employee who, like the Prime Minister, is driven in a Range Rover!) has slashed drivers due to congestion and emissions charges. But now he’s talking about the extra per-mile charges. All this over £50 to park in central London for a day. It’s legalized to steal.
Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham went down the 500 square mile ‘clean air zone’ route, with vehicles being charged between £7.50 and £60 per day (before parking fees). In other words, motorists are being undervalued on the streets of Manchester.
Away from the soulless Tories and misguided Labor mayors, we have the Lib Dems, who has one last message to me (from Department of Transport spokeswoman Sarah Olney, as she stands by her bike. her) is “Join me in celebrating World Car-Free Day”. No, thanks.
These politicians must change the way they hate their drivers. They have never lost touch with the vast majority of UK residents, some 50 million people who need to use their car almost daily in the UK. Believe me when I tell you that, at least in the last 40 years, drivers and their passengers have never had such a bad experience.
Do you agree with Mike? Let us know what you think in the comments section below…
