Motorists lose again under new 'ten-year plan'

For years now, British motorists have suffered with what amounts to a persecution complex; believing that the powers that be are out to remove all the joy from travel and replace the car with the bicycle or bus.

And while for the most part such fears have been completely irrational, with cyclists still very much second-class citizens on UK roads and numerous forests and areas of outstanding natural beauty having been paved over with tarmac in spite of the protests of the green group, they are likely to be magnified now that the government has laid out its 'ten-year plan' for road safety.

While nobody in their right mind would disagree with the stated aim of reducing the number of road deaths to 2,000 a year from the current rate of 3,000, it is the way in which this will be achieved that has already got motorists on the defensive.

That is, the speed limit on a majority of A-roads across the country will be reduced to 50mph, while limits of 20mph will also be imposed in residential zones.

Notably, much of the power in implementing these changes will lie at local level, with councillors (many of whom are now 'green' and very much anti-car it should be remembered) given the ability to decide where limits should be imposed, though they will need to put a good case before the central government should they wish to keep things the way they are now on certain stretches of highway.

If that wasn't bad enough for the 'speed doesn't kill - bad driving kills' lobby, then they're likely to get even more hot under the collar once further proposals aimed at making the roads safer for everyone are rolled out.

For instance, the fixed penalty for driving just 15mph over the speed limit - so that's just 65mph on a straight stretch of empty A-road - will be doubled to six points, no arguments, while the fine for failing to wear a seatbelt will be similarly jacked up by 100 per cent to £60.

What's more, random breath tests will no longer be confined to just outside the car park of the local Wetherspoons in the week leading up to Christmas, but will instead become a way of life for the typical motorist.

Indeed, the police won't even need to suspect an offence has been committed in order to pull a driver over and test their alcohol levels, while the right to demand a blood test, which has literally served as a 'get out of jail free' card for many motorists over the years, will be taken away.

So, is it time just to give up and buy a bike or a bus pass? Or simply learn to drive like an automaton, crawling along empty roads at a snail's pace?

Maybe not just yet. For while the ten-year plan is largely bad news, the silver lining is that the days of 17-year-old racer boys causing grief for everyone could also become a thing of the past, with strict new courses, which will last for a year or more, set to be introduced, though whether they actually improve the driving skills of those new behind the wheel could be another matter altogether.