Observations of today Let's hit the Motorist, AGAIN!! - 8th March 2008

Here we are at the 8th of March already, and hasn't the first week of the month been quick. But also is this now the start of a concentrated assault on the "new villain" - the motorist.

The press is full of new ideas to tax, prosecute and make the motorist a social villain only fit to be scorned and treated with contempt.

As we sit here today petrol (and diesel) prices are at record highs, and yet despite the obvious distress this is causing, next weeks budget is set to see Mr. Darling add yet another 2p per litre on the price in what the government says highlights their green crudentials, whilst most people see the reality of the situation being one where another few million pounds per day is added to the coffers.

In reality is this new rise just another vote gaining situation? Who will this please and influence? The answer is the new breed of "environmentalist"if Alistair Darling follows the sensible path then he will hold off the additional duty. However, will this show the government, and especially, the chancellor, to be hypocritical. How can the government spout off their green crudentials and then u-turn on the rise? Well I say that the government is merely using this as a handy excuse to add yet more duty.

For the average person this is yet another nail in the coffin. However, despite the rise it is known that the world will still turn, and people will still need to fill their cars and vans. Business will still need to operate and journeys made. Is the answer public transport - trains and coaches? How can it be, the prices for these modes of transport will also have to rise, so fares will too. Public transport remains flaky and costly so why wouldn't I just bite the bullet and drive. In reality all I can do is load the prices I charge onto a customer so clients have to pay more. And so the cost of food will rise, the cost of living will rise and another nail goes in..........

Once the price of petrol has risen, the government will have to look for more revenue as the fuel rise has raised so much extra money....................

And so now a showroom tax will be announced adding around £2000 onto the price of new cars. Officially this tax will hit so called gas guzzlers listed in Group G, however to put this into perspective, a new petrol Mondeo or Vectra is Group E, a new Espace is Group G as well. So actually, and yet again, the person most hit is the man on the street who needs a family car. The owners of Porsches, Range Rovers and the suchlike are not really going to care about another couple of thousand pounds for the accountant to loose in the figures. £2000 on a much needed Mondeo for the average man will hurt, a lot, and all it will do is keep the man on the street running his older less efficient car as a new greener model is beyond their reach. So how is this tax going to help? Again I say it won't, but it will put more money into the treasury.

So fuel has gone up, new car prices have been taxed, what else can be done against the evil motorist?

I know, let's introduce average speed cameras to most motorways. Any motorist doing more than the variable speed over the measured distance will be fined and have points added to their licence. Now I am not saying that speeding is good, however, I would say that firstly often 70mph is too slow on motorways as a speed limit in todays society and that variable speed limits will merely add to the motorists pain as they drive. All that will be achieved is yet more revenue as more and more drivers fall victim to the variable speeds. This situation can therefore only be seen as a win-win. More revenue into the coffers and the constabularies hit their asigned quotas, which they have, even quicker.

Now call me an old sceptic, but why would the police want to go after violent and dangerous criminals like rapists, robbers and drug dealers when a few easy cameras can catch a few hundred motorists a day bring in lots of money and also ensure quotas are met. what a great situation.

What actually happens? Insurance prices rise so less people insure their cars, more people get the ritual 12 points, but take the risk anyway and just drive without a licence and who is left suffering? the poor man on the street, the average law abiding person who pays more fuel, pays more insurance and then gets hit by an uninsured driver and looses even more money as costs cannot be recouped.

So here is the only observation I can make, and I am afraid it is not a great one, I look around at the future and the present and I don't see a lot of fairness. I see the motorist being used as an excuse and I just can't see how this is right. Is it just a vote winner. All I can see is that despite everything and all that is said the only people really feeling the pain is just the common man on the street.

Not the rich who don't care, not the law breakers who also don't care, but just the average person already struggling. The people who will keep struggling, keep sticking to the law and probably keep voting into power parties that will hurt them.

I don't normally accept the whining sort of "it's not fair" type of statement, but, now even I have to question where we really are and how can this situation actually be fair?

I don't have an answer right now. I don't have a coherent theory as to what needs doing. I have never thought of the grass being greener elsewhere, however, right now, as I sit here even I have to ask is it time to start looking elsewhere and at other countries - New Zealand, Canada, Australia - as possibly offering a better solution to this issue.

I apologise for these thoughts and would welcome any views maybe a problem shared can be solved, but right now I don't know how...........