| Author |
Message |
Anon
Guest
| | Posted on Friday, August 13, 2010 - 03:56 pm: |   |
THERE doesn’t seem to be a day goes by when, as I drive around the coast from home to work and back, I don’t encounter a scooter or motorcycle speeding past, or failing to stop at a junction, or pushing though filters without slowing.
As a motorist and the holder of a full motorcycle licence, I am very conscious of the limitations of two-wheeled transport and it causes me some concern to witness the lack of consideration of these riders.
We have visitors from the UK who are amazed to see riders of large, fast motorcycles with L-plates displayed and also amazed at the ages of the riders of the smaller but still-fast scooters.
As machines get faster, it requires greater responsibility from the rider and it seems that the law is unable to control the attitude of a minority of bike users.
The courts respond with fines but with little effect and I believe the only way to punish those breaking the law by speeding and reckless riding is to take away the only thing which is of greater value than money – initially the removal of the driving licence for a longer period than the couple of months the courts do now and for persistent or really serious offenders the confiscation of their vehicle also.
I think the law should be changed to make our roads safe and I propose:
1. The changing of the age for the issue of a bike licence to 16 years.
2. Provisional licences issued for a six-month period only and a requirement to take and pass a driving test within one year.
3. Revision of the scale of punishment for driving offences.
I think as a first step, the States should move to get something done quickly to keep those off the road who really should not be there and to make the roads safer for those who should be.
Name and address withheld. |
S. Lester
Guest
| | Posted on Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 03:22 pm: | |
WELL, here we go again. Should we wear helmets on quads?
As soon as it was mentioned on the English news, BBC Guernsey jumped on the bandwagon followed by the Guernsey Press and then the deputies.
If a quad has to park in a car space, what is a quad classed as? Yes, you got it right, so what next, helmets in cars? Most serious quad accidents happen off-road in muddy fields and on uneven surfaces.
I don’t wear a helmet on the road, but I do have the common sense to wear one when off-road riding.
S. LESTER |
Environment Dept Spokesman
Guest
| | Posted on Thursday, July 15, 2010 - 03:22 pm: | |
The Driving Licence Ordinance, 1995, as amended does not prevent the department from renewing full licences and provisional car and category two licences beyond the expiry date, albeit that the licence holder is not permitted to drive without a valid driving licence. It must therefore be assumed that your correspondent was applying for renewal of a provisional motorcycle licence.
Following an amendment to the aforementioned Ordinance in May 2007, provisional motorcycle licence holders may renew provisional licences in the same category provided that the application is submitted before the expiry of the old licence.* The Ordinance does not permit provisional motorcycle licences to be renewed in the same category after the expiry date and, therefore, it is not a case of ‘common sense’ but a matter of law. Notification of these requirements is issued when a provisional motorcycle licence is first taken out.
Notwithstanding the above, there is nothing currently preventing a person from applying for a provisional motorcycle licence in another sub-category if they so wish and provided that they meet the necessary age requirements for that category, a provisional licence will be issued (i.e. if a provisional licence is or was previously held in category ‘P’ then a provisional licence in category A1 could also be issued at any time) although that option is currently the subject of review.
Had the applicant taken and passed the relevant practical driving test within this two-year ‘provisional’ licence period, then this issue would also not have arisen.
The department does not currently issue reminders to provisional licence holders.
* Prior to May 2007, licence holders were not permitted to apply for the renewal of a provisional licence in the same category for a period of 12 months.
Environment Dept spokesman |
Angela Le Page
Guest
| | Posted on Thursday, July 15, 2010 - 03:20 pm: | |
I AM writing to your column because I am very surprised to find out that my daughter has been refused a new driving licence for a motorbike because she was two days late. She now has to wait one year before she can renew it again.
Her reason was she has been working nights as a nurse so she gets very tired and sleeps most of the day. She explained this to the driving licence department but she was still turned away with just a ‘sorry’ for an excuse. Do the licensing department send out reminders to renew licences, and if not, why not? Insurance companies always remind us at least two weeks before we need to renew.
It is so easy to overlook these things for whatever reasons.
What if she was ill, or something? Would she still have to wait another year? I think common sense should have been used in this case as it wasn’t entirely her fault. She has never missed a renewal before.
Some come on licensing department, be a little flexible in such cases, especially when it is only a day or two overlooked. My daughter needs her transport for work as she works odd hours and other transport such as buses do not always run at such times. Also she’d have to catch two or three buses to get to her place of work.
I know she probably won’t be the only one to miss the deadline for renewing her licence. Is everybody else going to be treated the same way, I wonder?
ANGELA LE PAGE. |
Martin Bishop
Guest
| | Posted on Monday, July 12, 2010 - 02:03 pm: | |
I HAVE always wondered why we never had proper speed cameras over here.
If people want to speed, and there will always be a hard core that will, why not make them pay for their crimes? At least put them off the roads for a little while they learn now they cannot get away with it.
In an interim period, people could be warned so no one can fairly feel hard done by if they ‘accidentally’ go over the limit.
I’m also in favour of a points system like they have in the UK so if you have repeat offenders, they would get greater fines, have longer off the road and pay more insurance. It would slow traffic down overnight and would probably pay for itself in a short time, making the main roads the safest for a change instead of the most dangerous.
MARTIN BISHOP |
A. P. Le Page
Guest
| | Posted on Saturday, July 10, 2010 - 10:37 am: | |
I REFER to the Guernsey Press article reporting the appointment of Iain Carse as the new GMTA chairman.
So, the new Guernsey Motor Trades Association chairman would not be surprised to see an MOT introduced in Guernsey as he concedes, not because we want it locally, ‘but more due to outside pressures’.
However, we needn’t worry, he comments, because due to the GMTA’s ‘expertise and knowledge’ they could broker it with the States so as us the dim motorist doesn’t get too disadvantaged. I think one can safely say that what Mr Carse is omitting to mention is that neither would Guernsey motor trades be too disadvantaged by a local MOT.
It gets better: ‘One 10-year-old car produces more pollution than 15 new cars.’ Right, so we can maybe presume that the 15 new cars are made in a powerless factory of recycled materials?
He then goes on to say he will be working with the States to encourage people to service their cars more regularly or to make sure they get them serviced when they are meant to because that in itself can have quite an impact on pollution.
So we are being told here we should service our cars more regularly and buy more new ones for the sake of the environment? Cars and the environment are not two words that live happily in the same sentence. I think we’re talking again more of the local traders’ profit margins here.
To conclude, as a motorist I would most certainly rather not have the likes of Iain Carse speaking to the States on our behalf.
A. P. LE PAGE |
Anon
Guest
| | Posted on Friday, July 02, 2010 - 02:37 pm: | |
AS ALL visitors and islanders alike know, Fermain Bay is one of the best places to spend a lovely day when the weather is as good as it has been for the last few day’s – long may it last – the only problem being, is getting there. My wife and I, who are in our 70s, regularly walk down, either along the cliff paths or down Fermain Lane. It is so annoying to see people, much younger than us, driving down and parking their cars, blatantly, at the bay. What is it they don’t understand about the traffic signs? Are the traffic signs in Guernsey different to any others in the UK? Where are the police when they are needed?
I’ll list the traffic signs that greet you on the way to the bay: at the very top of Fermain Lane, the first sign before you enter Fermain Lane tells you the lane is a ‘dead end’. As you turn to go down the lane you are greeted with another sign, it tells you ‘no motorcycles’. Under this sign there is a plate stating ‘no parking beyond this sign’. As one drives as far as the Chalet Hotel, you are greeted with a further two signs that tell you ‘no motor vehicles unless with a permit’. If one is going to visit the Chalet Hotel, you are allowed to drive a little further down the lane as far as the hotel’s car park. Just past the car park there are a further two more signs, one either side of the lane telling you, very clearly, ‘no entry unless with a permit’.
One day this week, my wife and I were having our lunch at Fermain Bay, enjoying the good food which is available from the cafe and enjoying the weather. While we were there, we saw at least three cars drive down and park. There were at least six vehicles already parked at the bottom of Fermain, local and English registrations. All the vehicles were large and expensive, no sign of any permits, wealthy owners no doubt, with no respect whatsoever for the Highway Code or anything else for that matter. Actually, we overheard the male of one young couple say to his partner, ‘you stay here while I go and get the car and come and pick you up’. Obviously, one assumes he is unable to read or understand the traffic signs. I wonder how he passed his driving test, being unable to understand traffic signs.
monvien@ yahoo.co.uk.
Name and address withheld.
GP Editor’s footnote: A spokesman from Guernsey Police responds: ‘Motorists are reminded that Fermain Lane, St Peter Port, is a “permit holders only” road once past the Chalet Hotel car park at all times of the day. Signs are clearly displayed indicating this restriction, but motorists are persistently ignoring them.
As the holiday season progresses, the police are receiving complaints regarding traffic in the lane and the number of illegally parked vehicles at the bottom of the lane outside the beach kiosk. Traffic wardens will be visiting the area on a regular basis to enforce the restrictions and offenders risk being issued with an on-the-spot fine.
Emergency access is required to the bay at all times.’ |
Ann Sandwith
Guest
| | Posted on Friday, July 02, 2010 - 02:29 pm: | |
I WRITE in answer to your anonymous correspondent who claims there is an irony in that two green methods of transport, buses and bikes, cause the most traffic congestion.
As a car driver myself, I know how annoying it can be to be stuck behind a bus or a cyclist and unable to overtake, but just suppose that all those cyclists and bus passengers were themselves driving a car instead, then how many more traffic jams would there be and how much more competition for those elusive parking places in Town? Yes, I agree that sometimes the buses are half empty, but surely the way to help resolve the problem of under-use is to encourage more people to travel by bus and the way to do this is not by raising the fares by 67% as suggested by Environment, but to make them as cheap, frequent and efficient as possible. We’re told that our bus fares are cheap compared to some places in the UK, but most towns and cities in Britain have paid parking. What incentive will there be for anyone to use the bus when they have to pay as much as £2 for a round trip to Town, whereas they can use their car and park for free?
ANN SANDWITH. |
Michael Phillips
Guest
| | Posted on Thursday, July 01, 2010 - 03:20 pm: | |
MY WIFE and I have just returned from four glorious days in Guernsey, excellent weather, wonderful places to eat and fantastic scenery. However, some things are going wrong on the public order scene.
Many motorists ignore the blanket speed limit of 35mph.
I saw some vehicles travelling at 45-50 mph. We encountered drunks on the High Street before 10pm and one evening I was woken in the early hours of the morning by vehicles hooting and people shouting. Where were the police?
The island's police force was guarding a venue with a 15mph speed limit set up in front. It was being totally ignored by passing motorists.
MICHAEL PHILLIPS,
Wigston,
Leicestershire. |
Anon
Guest
| | Posted on Monday, June 28, 2010 - 02:17 pm: | |
HAS nobody else been struck by the irony that the two forms of transport hailed as the greenest and most environmentally friendly are also those that cause the most traffic congestion?
I refer, of course, to the bus and the bicycle.
Name and address withheld. |
Martin Bishop
Guest
| | Posted on Monday, June 21, 2010 - 02:39 pm: | |
I WAS interested to read in today's paper (15 June) how a safety group was pushing for lower residential speed limits from 25mph down to 20. What it does not say is how this is going to stop speeding at the current limits.
I know, as a pedestrian, that most people use the speed limits as a guide rather than the rule of law and I dare say a good 80-90% break them to varying degrees throughout the day, so lowering them will be another good way of filling the island's black hole. Mind you, if they get any lower then the island will be truly green as it will be faster on a bike.
MARTIN BISHOP |
Anon
Guest
| | Posted on Monday, June 21, 2010 - 02:38 pm: | |
I FOR one cannot see where the suggested changes in the driving test will make any difference to the safety on our roads. Driving from A to B in a specified time, 10 minutes, using traffic signs and remembering directions. What if, during the 10 minutes allocated, one comes across a problem en route, traffic build up for instance? Would the candidate fail his/her driving test in not being able to get to B in 10 minutes? Absolute waste of time. All this work should have been done by the candidate's instructor before sitting a driving test. I cannot see putting candidates under more pressure than they are already under helps in any way.
Before any candidate goes for his/her driving test, he/she should prove with no shadow of doubt to his/her instructor that they are ready and safe to go on the roads and able to read and understand all traffic signs without instructions from whoever is sitting beside them at the time, e.g. instructor or examiner. If not, they should not be taking a driving test. Are the driving instructors qualified to teach people how to drive? Perhaps that's where the problem lies. I know for a fact it was put forward 20 years ago that all driving instructors should be registered and fully qualified to teach. To date, this has still not happened. Why? Soon he/she taking a driving test will have to know all the road names. Come on, let's draw a line here.
As a retired, fully qualified DSA driving examiner, I knew after being with a candidate for 10 minutes whether he/she was ready to go on the roads on their own without any supervision. Whether they could parallel park, reverse around a corner, turn in the road safely or make an emergency stop under full control was a different matter. Let's face it, how many, so-called fully qualified drivers can do all this when asked? I'm sure we have all seen many drivers clip or even finish with both near-side wheels on the pavement while attempting to park their car. Are they classed as not being safe on the roads?
There is a way to make our roads safer than they are now - make it compulsory for all driving licence holders to sit a driving assessment by a fully qualified DSA driving examiner before renewing their driving licence. This would not be a driving test, they would not lose their driving licence if they were found not to be up to the standard set by the DSA. If one is found not able to reach the standard of driving set by the DSA after three assessments then, and only then, would one have to sit another full, extended driving test, once again, by a fully qualified DSA driving examiner. This would, in no doubt, make our roads safer than they are.
Name and address withheld. |
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