Back in January, I commented on plans to cut the speed limit on certain sections of motorway to 60mph. The argument given by the perpetrators was that it would reduce pollution, which was effectively a knee-jerk reaction to impending EU legislation that has been ignored until the last minute by our Mickey Mouse government. The proposal was all the more stupid because the same government was talking about increasing the limit only three years earlier.
In my article, I showed how the reduction in pollution resulting from lowering the speed limit was a) theoretical, because you can’t drive anywhere near the speed limit most of the day on the stretch of motorway in question; and b) even if you could, you’d be there for longer, and so this cancels out the initial gain completely.
Fortunately, the jokers who are still clinging to power have decided to scrap the idea. Well, “shelved” is the official term used. And quite right, too.
It made me laugh when I saw a single link from a cycling forum (I didn’t know cyclists could write) referring to me as a “petrolhead”, and suggesting I had provided “no citation”. In fact, I had. But what I also did was understand that citation, then apply it to the situation being discussed. It’s a cross you have to bear when you have an education – you know, understanding things with numbers in them, then applying them. That small detail is clearly beyond the wit of the average cyclist.