Apart from a certain negativity towards life, held by a lot of its populace, one of the things I hated about living in Britain was the approach by the government, and some parts of society, towards people driving cars.
The British Government has spent years instilling in it's poor population the concept that:
I'm not sure about other European countries and their attitude on this matter, but it seems that just in case you haven't been overcharged enough for goods and services in Britain, the Government are there to fuck you up the arse, good and hard, when it comes to wanting to drive your (ridiculously over priced especially for the British market) car.
So now it would seem that, in addition to the £155 ($260) a year vehicle tax, toll boths are to be introduced as well. There are also plans to see if they can't force every vehicle to be fitted with a satellite tracking device to work out extra charges for use of Britain's roads.
Yes, they'll fuck you every which way, if you dare to try and drive a car in Britain.
And you wonder why I have no intention of ever living in Britain, ever again?
Well done Britain. fucking your population up the ass again. As if 17.5% sales tax (VAT) isn't harsh enough.
More information can be found here.
Posted by Max at May 07, 2003 12:43 AM | TrackbackMax, here is a study (in french) about the annual spending of a french motorist.
http://www.automobileclub.org/budget/index2.html
Basically it says that it cost 4500 E a year to own a renault Clio 1.2L ! (Notice to american readers : to do even try to imagine what a clio 1.2 is. You'll call that a lawn mover).
With a peugeot 607 2.2diesel, it's over 13000E.
The average spending for a brit is 6300 E, but whith a larger car on average.
Here we pay high tolls on the highways, as they are built and exploited by private companies. It cost maybe 50/60 euro to cross france from paris to marseilles. The upside is our highway are excellent : perfectly maintained, gas station and rest area everywhere and so on. Far better than yours. But, if you're travelling alone, it's cheaper to use the train.
Right. Thanks for the information Philippe. I had no idea of the comparative costs throughout mainland Europe, and I'm interested to know about it.
As you may have guessed, this wasn't a well-reasoned post, more of a rant about that British attitude of "Driving Is Evil" that I hate.
And what really makes me angry is that the UK Govt, claims they're doing everything for the sake of the environment, when in fact they're doing it to raise revenues.
I care about the environment, and recycle everything I can, try not to be wasteful of the Earth's resources, buy organic produce etc., but spent eight years driving to a job in the UK that was 35 miles away, and where using public transport would have cost three times as much as driving and taken twice as long (or longer) to get there. All that time, I was being "punished" by the Government for wanting to drive my car. Hello? I would have LOVED to take the train, but years of Government under-investment in both trains and buses meant that it was virtually an impossible option.
If they really were that concerned about the environment then there'd be lots of Government funding for research into non-petrol cars, such as electric ones.
But there isn't, because heaven forbid that they'd upset the oil or car-making industries.
Posted by: Max on May 7, 2003 08:44 AMAnd though the british really seem to love cars. You always see an unusualy high number of old cars on GB's roads. Not cheap pieces of junk, but carefully maintained old cars, even the most popular models. Cute woodie Morris Minors, MG's... just for the fun of it.
And on EU highways, it's not uncommon to meet some guy from england, blasting through the rain on an old roadster (top down of course) with a suitcase tigthed on a rack and a smile on his face (I extrapolate about the smile).... Motoring in style is still an english tradition, view from abroad.
:D
That's a very sweet view of the British Philippe!
I think someone (British) needs to phone the Daily Mail and give them the shock news that the French don't hate the British after all!
One day I'll write about that. I can't stand that "they hate us, we hate them" bullshit.
But for now, I'll say that I've never met a Frenchman I didn't like, and as long as you guys keep giving the world your excellent red wines and brie, we'll be alright!
And then there's French women.... with that damn cute accent. Zut alors! Excusez-moi! I'm getting hot under the collar just thinking about it!
Posted by: Max on May 8, 2003 03:40 AM