Round the bend

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly a party can make themselves unelectable. I actually voted for the Liberal Democrats in 2005 on the assumption that the murmers of it being a 'party full of loons' were created by Labour to make them less appealing to the electorate.

However since they got rid of Charles Kennedy they seem to be demonstrating to me that they're exactly that. They haven't come up with a decent policy since Ming was voted in and they've kicked out some of their better ones at the same time. The 50% income tax for earnings over £100,000 policy for example.

The freefall has continued with this stupid idea. Exactly how do you expect anyone to vote for you if you're intent on destroying peoples hopes and dreams?

Everyone aspires to owning a fast car like a Ferrari or a Porsche but the reality is that very few people actually do. Fast cars aren't the problem, the slow and heavy ones are.

If you limit every car to a top speed of 101mph you'll still have the same problem of suburbanites driving their children to school in tanks.

There are other issues with this speed limit as well. My car can do about 119mph (I don't know how much exactly as I rarely go above 90) but I still need every single horse in the engine to get me up the steep hills between Exeter & Plymouth. There are parts of Europe that are somewhat more 'hilly' than the Pennines where Chris Davies comes from.

This policy is stupid. It doesn't serve to protect the environment, it just serves to piss a lot of people off - myself included.

It isn't just the Lib Dems that are coming up with stupid motoring ideas though.

A road safety 'charity' (read lobby group) is suggesting more changes to the driving test.

I only took my driving test last year (and passed first time - piece of cake) but I found the amount of government tinkering with the test ridiculous.

One of the questions in my theory test asked me how I could reduce the amount I polluted and I had to answer by walking instead of driving. WTF does that have to do with learning how to be a safe driver?

I don't have the statistics to hand but I'm pretty sure that the best part of 100% of road accidents are caused by drivers who've already passed their tests.

It's difficult to get your license but easy to keep it. I would suggest a driving test every 5-10 years until you retire and then annually from then on. The tests would be free but you'd risk losing your license if you failed - you'd get a retest first. That'd stop bad habits creeping in and maybe take away a few licenses from those who really shouldn't have them.