WHATEVER!
As from July 1, 2011, the maximum speed limit throughout Spain will once again become 120 kph. This seems to me to be a case of all things changing to remain the same.
One newspaper headlined about the lower limit: “More people die on the roads, and no saving in fuel.” Another newspaper agreed that deaths on the road were up over the same period last year, but that drivers had saved 28 million euros in fuel expense.
When the government announced that they were lowering the limit to save fuel, suspicion centred around their true objective. Approximately half the cost of a litre of fuel is government tax, so the question was: are they serious? Clearly if I am buying less fuel they are earning less revenue at a time when they are desperate for funds.
Our thinking was that they wanted to be seen as being politically correct, while at the same time they expected to make up the difference in lost revenue through increased traffic fines, but drivers refused to cooperate. We drove slower and paid less in fines, and contrary to what one newspaper says, we must surely have used less fuel.
This situation could not be allowed to stand. It would be only a matter of time before the government gave in and changed their mind because they were losing much needed revenue in taxes and fines, which is, after all, another form of tax. At the time the limit was lowered in Spain it was increased in certain other countries, thus proving that nobody quite knows what the hell is going on.
On Thursday, June 30th, the process began to switch the signs to 120 kph. First the direction leaving the city was done, so that made driving out of town 120 kph, and driving into the city 110 kph. Admittedly, they did place paper to cover the 120 sign, but drivers knew what it said and acted accordingly.
Considering that it cost somewhere between 250,000 to 600,000 euros to make the first change, and now, after such a short time we are going back to the way we were, it just proves that no-one makes mistakes quite the way that government does.
I decided that I would simply ignore all of such nonsense and simply stick to my custom by driving at a maximum of 100 kph. I know I’m saving on fuel costs.
Copyright © 2011 Eugene Carmichael
As from July 1, 2011, the maximum speed limit throughout Spain will once again become 120 kph. This seems to me to be a case of all things changing to remain the same.
One newspaper headlined about the lower limit: “More people die on the roads, and no saving in fuel.” Another newspaper agreed that deaths on the road were up over the same period last year, but that drivers had saved 28 million euros in fuel expense.
When the government announced that they were lowering the limit to save fuel, suspicion centred around their true objective. Approximately half the cost of a litre of fuel is government tax, so the question was: are they serious? Clearly if I am buying less fuel they are earning less revenue at a time when they are desperate for funds.
Our thinking was that they wanted to be seen as being politically correct, while at the same time they expected to make up the difference in lost revenue through increased traffic fines, but drivers refused to cooperate. We drove slower and paid less in fines, and contrary to what one newspaper says, we must surely have used less fuel.
This situation could not be allowed to stand. It would be only a matter of time before the government gave in and changed their mind because they were losing much needed revenue in taxes and fines, which is, after all, another form of tax. At the time the limit was lowered in Spain it was increased in certain other countries, thus proving that nobody quite knows what the hell is going on.
On Thursday, June 30th, the process began to switch the signs to 120 kph. First the direction leaving the city was done, so that made driving out of town 120 kph, and driving into the city 110 kph. Admittedly, they did place paper to cover the 120 sign, but drivers knew what it said and acted accordingly.
Considering that it cost somewhere between 250,000 to 600,000 euros to make the first change, and now, after such a short time we are going back to the way we were, it just proves that no-one makes mistakes quite the way that government does.
I decided that I would simply ignore all of such nonsense and simply stick to my custom by driving at a maximum of 100 kph. I know I’m saving on fuel costs.
Copyright © 2011 Eugene Carmichael
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