News Archives - Environment

Transport poverty: Cars are making us poor

Running a car is the single largest household expense (excluding mortgage repayments) for rural families, and the second largest for urban ones. As a result, transport costs have pushed over 5 million people into poverty according to research by the Social Market Foundation. The average British household spends £5,740 on driving, but only £87 on bus travel. Poorer regions are…

Bicycle beaconisation’s the name, high-tech victim blaming’s the game

Everyone wants to stay safe on the roads. Unfortunately, there are wildly different ideas about how that’s best achieved. Beaonisation is a digital version of the red flag they waved ahead of early cars* – except this time it’s for cyclists. If you think fitting pedestrians and cyclists with transponders to prevent them being run over in the brave new…

Protest, paint and pop-up zebra crossings: How people power can make roads safer

20mph limits only work if they’re stuck to. A vocal minority of drivers have unusual ideas about why lower speeds in the areas people live, work and go to school are a bad idea, but what can be done to help those who are supportive of traffic calming measures? After all, everyone benefits from safer roads – however they travel.…

Darkness kills and sunshine saves; For safer roads, let’s call time on the clock change

The UK has already tried year-round BST – once during the war to maximise daylight working hours, and again between 1968-1971. The most recent trial saw an 11 per cent reduction in road traffic deaths and injuries thanks to lighter evenings, but was ended following pressure from the farming lobby and its objections to darker mornings in the north. It’s…

20mph limits: The heavier and faster a vehicle, the more danger it poses

When drivers question the case for 20mph limits, they risk overlooking the laws of physics. After all, it’s indisputable that the faster and heavier a vehicle, the more likely it is to cause injury or death in the event of a crash. It’s the reason the driver of a car who collides with a child is 7 times more likely…