Joe D » war on the motorist

AWWTM: “Driving has never cost more”

Joe — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 23:42:30 +0000

“End to the war on the motorists? No, driving’s never cost more,” declares Mark King, Money Editor, in The Observer today. To be fair to King, he doesn’t actually say anything as absurd as that driving has “never cost more” in his article — but newspaper headline writers have never let reality or the actual content of an article get in their way.

Why would a headline writer, having glanced at a boring but reasonable article about saving money, think to write “driving’s never cost more”? Where did they get that idea from?

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AWWTM: Punch and Judy town planning policy

Joe — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:14:05 +0000

“Pickles and Hammond to end the war on motorists.”

The Department for Communities and Local Government put these words in a press release and today 221 national and local newspaper journalists* copypasted them into their newspapers, noticing nothing nonsensical in their conjunction. Great job, The Media.

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At War With The Motorist: posts this week

Joe — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:46:46 +0000

A flurry of new posts this week to launch the blog that all the kids are already calling AWWTM:

On Tuesday, In pictures: Bollard collides with motor vehicle, an introductory post to a series that will discuss the complicated role of bollards in the history of the war.

On Wednesday, On Oxford Street asks whether it would help end TWOTM if we helped taxi drivers by banning them from the road they hate.

Later that day, the French sent naval support for the war, when they sailed this frigate up the river, halting rush hour traffic on Tower Bridge for half an hour.

Finally, the first weekly war bulletin rounds up this weeks traffic and transport news.

In pictures: Bollard collides with motor vehicle

New blog: At War With The Motorist

Joe — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:25:15 +0000

At War With The Motorist reports from the front line of the civil war for Britain’s city streets. We will uncover the bollocks public transport, bullshit cycling infrastructure, bad town planning, and injustice, given out by the Motorist government and local authorities. We’ll also be taking a skeptical, evidence-based, sometimes nerdy, and often sarcastic look at the reporting of the tabloid press, and at transport safety, economics and psychology. Science and statistics will be cited.

The first post sets out our manifesto — our demands if we are to enter into a ceasefire. Future posts will explore the four main issues outlined in greater detail.

Co-bloggers and occasional contributors will be welcome to report on the effects of the war in their own areas and cities — let me know if you are interested.