Right, so I am a motorist, an avid driver, and a self proclaimed Petrol head. I like driving, and for me driving is a fun experience. But, what the hell is the reason for Bus Lanes and Speed Bumps!
First, a rant on Speed Bumps. They (some idiot in the county council) decided it was a good idea to put speed bumps around my area. All down the main road and in the estate I live in (and surrounding estates, just in case you think I’m special). Anyway, we got a warning about these, but where told they where something completely different. They said they were putting in “Bus Pillows” which are kind of half speed bumps. If you position your car correctly (and your car is big enough) your wheels will miss the bump its self, which is nice, since you don’t have to slow down too much.
Now, just let me clarify: you can’t speed with the Bus Pillows. If you’re off by an inch or 2, or your car is too small, you get hit but the bump and it’s painful for both the passengers, and more importantly the car. Needless to say, we didn’t get Bus Pillows. We got proper pain in the arse, full on back jolting, front spoiler crunching speed bumps, and I am not happy! This is painful for both the car and my passengers. The speed limit on the road is 50KM (30MPH) and there is no way you can do this speed any more. So, couple of points in relation to this:
1. The flow of traffic has slowed dramatically, which now causes tail backs and traffic Jams. There are 4 schools on this road and if it’s raining and they let out, all hell breaks loose and no one is going anywhere fast.
2. Am I going to get compensated for my front spoiler, which is fairly low (this is standard BMW front spoiler, not some Honda Civic body kit job) and now fairly destroyed because of these fecking things?
3. What about my passengers well being? My mother’s back is not exactly in the best condition. It’s quite sore most of the time, and this is causing much pain for her, even when crawling over the speed bumps at 2MPH.
A friend had a good idea: a cement mixer and quite a lot of cement. Fill in the gaps between all the bumps, and just have one continuous speed bump. Interesting theory, but since the road is about 2 K long, by 3M wide, by about 20cm of “bump” (give or take) we may need quite a lot of concrete… 120 Square KM (if my math’s are correct…. Which they probably aren’t).
Anyway, this brings me on to my next rant: Bus Lanes. As I said, I’m a motorist. I pay road tax, tax on petrol for the car, tax on the insurance for the car, and when you buy a car, you pay a Tax called VRT (which is 25% of the car if it is under 1.9l and 30% of the car if it’s over 1.9l). So, that’s a lot of Tax. And all this Tax is to go on the road network, to ease the suffering of drivers (reduce congestion, etc). So, the road to the Dundrum Shopping Center has been widened, which you would this would be to allow 2x the amount of traffic to flow though. That would be the intelligent thing to do, right?
Right, but this is the County Council and the Government. They never do anything intelligent. Ever! So, it’s now a 24 hour Bus Lane. One either way. Thing is, we don’t have 24 hour buses, but we do have a 4 hour traffic jam around Dublin, twice a day, and sometimes longer. So, instead of having a bus lane, which is mostly empty, give us our bloody road back! Seriously, why am I paying for roads, which I am not, allowed use?! I get penalty points for driving in one, and a fine, which, god only knows where that money will go to. And all this because I have a car.
So, people who can’t afford a car, or who can’t drive, or who don’t want to drive, and most importantly, don’t actually pay road tax, have a dedicated lane, just for them, so they can get to work or go shopping or drinking, or whatever, quicker then I can, but I am paying for it. Why?!
