Enforcing hands-free for car phone use is useless

Sweden is the only European country where using a hand-held cell phone while driving isn't illegal. All other countries require hands-free equipment. Now the lobby organization Motormännen demans similar legislation in Sweden. The questions is, why?

According to studies the distraction of talking on the phone is what causes undesirable behavior in traffic, not whether or not you're holding the phone in your hand. There are no facts to support banning the use of hand-held phones in favor of hands-free equipment.

Motormännen point out that between 10-20 people die or are severely injured in car accidents every year because of phone use, both talking and texting. First of all, between 10 and 20? The difference between those number is way to high to tell anything, really. Second, there is a huge difference between talking on the phone while keeping your eyes on the road, and writing a text message. Combining these two activities in the statistics is just plain wrong.

Let me point you guys to this report (PDF) prepared for the European Commission in June 2009:

Hands-free versus hand-held?
Studies indicate that the use of hands-free phones causes as much
important driver distraction as the use of hand-held phones. Some studies show that in-car telephone
conversations while driving can impair drivers more than listening to the radio or talking to passengers.
An epidemiological study of crash involvement found that mobile phone use was associated with a greater
likelihood of crash than passenger carriage and increasing numbers of passengers

and

Effects of texting?
Many young drivers admit to the largely illegal activity of texting while driving. Text
messaging has a detrimental effect on safety-critical driving tasks such as lane-keeping, hazard detection
and the detection and appropriate response to traffic signs.

There we are. So stop with the bullshit and focus on the facts. If you want to ban phone conversations in cars then by all means do so, but stop pretending that everything will be fine if we just use hands-free equipment. In all fairness, Sweden appears to be the only country in Europe that hasn't based a law on pure propaganda. That's probably a first, and they deserve credit for that.

Ban studded winter tires and brakes

Miljöpartiet, that bunch of no-good tree-huggers who are only out to make life more miserable for the average Swede, or so it seems, have announced that they would like a ban on studded winter tires in the entire city of Stockholm. Apparently creating chaos on just one street isn't enough.

What these morons fail to realize though is that car brakes, when used, emit an equal amount of polluting particles. So why not simply ban the use of car brakes as well, while you're at it? If any motorist is observed using the brakes he or she should be presented with a shockingly high fine, as well as a damn good beating. That'll teach those bastards to pollute the fresh Stockholm air.

Or you could do the smart thing and introduce a tax for using studded tires, making it possible for those who need such tires to actually travel to Stockholm without stopping along the way to change tires - provided they pay the mandatory studded tire tax. That way the use of studded tires will decline, the city will make some money out of it, and we won't be plagued by yet another stupid ban.

Gumball - what's the fuss about?

The infamous Gumball 3000 race has finally (?) reached Swedish soil. And I have to admit I was a bit disappointed when I read about it in Swedish newspapers SvD and DN: The maximum speed recorded through Skåne was 148 km/h, merely 38 km/h over the speed limit, on what I presume were pristine motorways with minimal risk of incidents. Not really what you'd expect from 300 supercars piloted by a bunch of crazy millionaires, and certainly nothing to get worked up about, like Jan Sanberg from NTF does:

– Det är ju helt befängt, bra att polisen har koll på dem. Men man kan ju undra vad det är för personer som utsätter andra bilförare för den här sortens risker, säger han till SvD.se. 

Come on. As if your average Volvo V70 doesn't do the same speed down E6... Give the millionaires a break.

Photo: tonylanciabeta

Tree-huggers without visions

Few things annoy me more than "environmentalists" who are unable to look further than the tip of their nose. One of these dumb tree-huggers, Mårten Wallenberg at Naturskyddsföreningen, lashes out at road investments, and insists that instead of building a smarter and sustainable road infrastructure we should be taxing the motorists to death, only allowing the wealthiest of Stockholmers to utilize a car in order to fulfill their daily transportation needs, whatever these may be:

– Förbifarten löser inte Stockholms trafikproblem. För att komma ned på en rimlig nivå när det gäller köer och framkomlighet räknar vi med att trängselavgifterna måste fördubblas till 2030, säger Mårten Wallberg.

Looking at a 20 year perspective I have to ask, what exactly is Wallberg so afraid of? Is it the mere sight of cars in and around the city that offends him? Is it the thought that people will be able to manage their time in a more efficient way? It can't be the pollution, because surely no-one in their right mind thinks that gasoline and diesel will be the prime means of propulsion in 2030, considering the massive technological advances that have been made in environmentally friendly fuels over just the last few years?

So why exactly is it you want to deny the less wealthy citizens of Stockholm the right to drive their zero-emissions car to and from work, kindergarten or the grocery store, Wallberg? Stop talking nonsense and focus your energy on how we can get the infrastructure in place to support the current environmentally friendly fuels, like biogas.

The Berlin Wall - coming to a city near you

Apparently Gothenburg motorists are next in line to be subdued by the Berlin Wall of traffic, the road tolls. This abomination is striking arbitrary and with no regard to people's personal economy, and is providing yet another means of surveillance for the government. All in the name of making money. Tons of money.

I've said it again, and I'll gladly repeat it: Have a look at what's in store for you Swedes now that the pandora's box has been opened with the "congestion charges" in Stockholm.


Yes, this is a map of road tolls in Norway, with tons more tolls being built as we speak. And if you're interested in why road tolls are the work of the devil, read my post about it here.

Why road tolls are the work of the devil

I've already written about how the Swedish politicians are increasingly adopting the terrible Norwegian way of financing basal infrastructure, where billions of kronor are wasted every single year in administration of toll roads and interest on loans.

It seems Socialdemokraterna are prepared to take this even a step further, because obviously increased income and housing taxes and a new net wealth tax that they've already promised isn't enough:

Kongressen fattade på torsdagen beslut om att i högre grad än i dag låta
bilisterna själva betala nya infrastruktursatsningar med så kallade brukar- och
trängselavgifter.

We need more road tolls, and we need to finance the roads in the worst possible way, both from a social point of view and from an economical point of view. If you're still wondering why this is such a bad idea, let me explain:

Socially
Road tolls are anti-social in nature, as they are a flat-rate tax on transportation that will hit low-income citizens unreasonably hard in comparison to the wealthier citizens. Would any social democratic politician dare to suggest a flat income tax of 100.000 SEK a year, no matter how much you actually make? Probably not.

Furthermore the tax hits you not based on income or wealth but solely based on where you live in relation to your job, the kindergarten, shops and public services.

I have to say I'm particularly shocked that a party claiming to be socialist is proposing something like this.

Economically
Now this, on the other hand, isn't really the socialist democratic party's strongest skills, but still... Collecting road tolls costs a lot of money. In 2008 the road tolls in Stockholm cost 380 million SEK, approximately 50% of the total income. In Norway, a country where they have made the collection of road tolls into an artform, 15,5 billion NOK out of 46 billion NOK that has been collected in road tolls during 1990-2007 was spent on administration and interest on loans. That's more or less 30% of tax payers money wasted on nothing. In one particular example the motorists are forced to pay 3,79 billion NOK in road tolls on a road that only costs 3,5 billion NOK to build...

There is absolutely no good reason to remove the building of new roads from the national budget and increase the costs of these dramatically by turning them into toll roads.

A ban is always best

So, the Swedish government has decided that cars on winter tires with studs can now be banned from entering certain streets in certain cities. Another brilliant decision by our finest.

This means everyone using studded tires will have to make unnecessary detours to avoid these regulated streets. It also means somebody will have to follow up and make sure that the ban is actually working, handing out fines to those who are caught driving in the "no studs" streets on studs. What an incredible waste of police resources.

Instead of this ridiculous ban, why not impose a charge for motorists who for whatever reason feel the need to use tires with studs during the winter? The driver could pay a fee of say 500 SEK per season in order to drive inside the Stockholm toll zone. This would definitely reduce the amount of people driving on studs, it would let those who still need the studs keep them, and it would generate money. But noooo, a ban is always best.

Miljöpartiet wants your money

Miljöpartiet (Mp) needs money to finance their highly hypothetical national budget. They've already promised their miserable, masochist voters higher income taxes, but obviously that's not enough. Now they want to increase the fuel taxes as well, which will add another 2 kronor on the petrol price.

My only question is why? It sure as hell isn't to save the environment. Today the first generation of "environment cars", miljöbilar, are already up to an impressive 37 percent market share, up 20 percent from last year. These cars are boring as hell, with tiny diesel engines (Volvo DRIVe) or poor handling (Toyota Prius), but people are still buying them - to contribute to the environment and to save money on fuel, on toll charges and on the company car taxation.

When plug-in hybrids hit the market around 2012 or so I suspect the environmental car market share will increase significantly. Seeing as these cars will cover most of their daily driving without burning as much as a liter of fuel not only will they make the fuel price less relevant, they will also contribute to less local pollution. Let us not forget that this second generation of environmentally friendly cars will also be bigger, perform better, and be more suited for a broader public.

And after the plug-in hybrid era perhaps we've got pure electric cars waiting around the corner? Powered by some new battery technology or by hydrogen? All I know is that the research is moving away from the traditional fossil fuel combustion engines fast, and that there is absolutely no sense in pestering the regular car owners with an increased fuel tax at this point. We're simply waiting for an environmentally friendly car that can suit our needs, ok? If anything go bother the car manufacturers to increase their R&D speed.

My guess is that Miljöpartiet is suggesting this moronic tax increase to satisfy their bitter, car-hating core voters. There simply is no other explanation.

Refuse / Resist - part 2

Speaking of grim dystopias, there seems to be no end to what lengths governments in previously civilized countries will go in order to control the population. Have a look at this depressing piece of reading on how Holland's citizens are on a highway to hell, quite literally. And what's really sad is that the road tolls in Stockholm are looked upon as a role model for all these new, oppressive regimes. Obviously a role model on how to monitor each citizens every move in order to maximize the tax revenues. Seriously, you stupid-ass politicians, this is nothing to be proud of.

It's for your own safety. And tax purposes.

Refuse / Resist

Yes, mangling the free Internet was just the beginning. Because, after all, people don't spend all there time on the web. They sometimes travel by car as well, and obviously they need to be closely monitored while doing so.

Det kallas Pay as you drive. Systemet registrerar hur fort du kör, var du kör, vilken tid på dygnet, och så vidare. Baserat på den informationen sätts sedan din försäkringspremie.

(...)

Och precis som med säkerhetsbältet en gång i tiden blir registreringen med tiden lagstiftad och obligatoriskt för alla, uppger Rode vidare i en längre intervju i tidningen På Väg.

Read the grim dystopia that would have George Orwell turn in his grave here. Haven't politicians seen from various dictatorships that have crumbled over the last couple of centuries that complete and total control over citizens is neither desirable nor possible?

I'll just take a deep breath and listen to this old Sepultura classic. These guys knew what they were talking about.

Stockholm needs infrastructure, not segregation

Lars Dahlberg, Social democratic politician, has a reader's letter published in Svenska Dagbladet today, where he argues that förbifart Stockholm, the planned motorway that will create a north-south passage outside the city of Stockholm, is necessary. All in all a fair letter, pointing out the importance of the infrastructure keeping up with the increasing population.

All except the following statement:

Utöver Förbifart Stockholm måste därför trängselskatten utvecklas så att ökningen av bilismen dämpas.

In other words: We need to build this motorway, but we also need new and increasingly expensive road-tolls, to further develop the segregation on the roads, where the wealthy, like Lars Dahlberg himself, will be driving around on half-empty roads with a big grin on their faces, while the rest of us can't afford it anymore, and are crowded together on uncomfortable and inconvenient public transportation, no matter what our transportation need actually is.

Thanks a lot, Dahlberg, but no thanks.

Trucks overtaking trucks

You're driving along the motorway, minding your own business, when you notice a cluster of ridiculously slow moving vehicles in front of you. Of course you prepare to overtake them, check your mirrors and blind zone, and change to the left lane.

As you're approaching these slow moving vehicles one of them suddenly decides to overtake the other, turning out into your lane right in front of you, at a speed 40-50 km/h slower than you. Thats like driving toward a brick wall in 50 km/h!!!

Sounds familiar?

Recovering from the shock of this neanderthal trailer truck driver nearly killing you, you're faced with his stupid truck blocking the road for several minutes desperately trying to overtake a vehicle moving perhaps 2-3 km/h slower than himself. And of course this couldn't wait until the coast was clear and no cars were in sight behind him.

I've often wondered what the qualifications are to become a trailer truck driver, and clearly there aren't that many: "Can you sit? Can you hold a steering wheel? That's good enough for us, you've got the job, Billy-Bob!". A monkey could probably do a better job.

At one point I got so fed up with these insane maneuvers that I couldn't control myself anymore. After finally overtaking one of these trucks and moved back into the right lane I slowly decreased my speed until he was right behind me, and I continued decreasing my speed, forcing him to brake. Of course when he started overtaking me I stepped on the throttle. I know it was childish, I know I shouldn't have stooped to his level, but seriously, it felt sooo good to finally show that son of a bitch just how annoying it is to have a moron block the road in front of you.

I should point out that this applies to you retards in the RV's as well. You know who you are. If you're unable to go faster than 80 km/h, don't try to overtake that truck going 79 km/h in a 120 km/h zone with traffic coming up behind you.

Satnav? Only with leather seats, my friend

I'm in the market for a new car, and I accidentally came across the facelifted Toyota RAV4. Browsing through the price list i noticed that satnav is only available as an option if you buy the business model with leather seats??? What is this, a joke? The skilled engineers at Toyota are unable to put a 17.900 SEK touchscreen on my dashboard and hook it up to a GPS receiver and DVD-player because I haven't paid 33.700 SEK for a styling package and those freakin' leather seats? What has one even remotely have to do with the other?

Stupid behaviour in traffic

Speaking of traffic, what the hell is going on with Quentin Tarantino's crew? Following a visit to the Rigoletto movie theater in Stockholm one of his not so bright bodyguards decided to walk straight out into the middle of the road to stop the traffic, like he's some kind of traffic police or something, while Tarantino's limo driver just put the pedal to the metal without checking his mirrors or blind zone, and got hit by a bus. Apparently Mr. Tarantino had a plane to catch...

What a bunch of morons.

Here are two tips if you ever come to Stockholm again:

1. Stay on the sidewalk, and use the pedestrian crossings to cross the road. Do not jump into traffic like a suicidal deer.
2. If you're going to drive around in Stockholm, please do us all a favor and read up on basic traffic rules. You are supposed to give way when moving into traffic from a parked state!!!

Car + cell phone = instant death

Apparently using your cell phone while driving is just as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol, and according to public campaigns that would mean instant death. You'd think using a hands-free set would make it safer, right? Wrong. According to the study referred to in the NY Times, it's the multitasking that causes a fatal distraction.

So, whether you're fiddling with your phone, fiddling with something else, or just having a conversation with one of your passengers, you're exposing yourself and fellow motorists to grave danger, equivalent to the risk of drunk driving!

Now, is it just me or does this study completely trivialize drunk driving? I mean, when was the last time you were driving a car and not multitasking, either by talking to someone, listening to the radio, doing your makeup, looking at the scenery or having a coffee? When did you ever focus 100% percent on the driving, unless you were participating in the Monaco Grand Prix? Exactly.

Darwinism at work

The new hip trend in Sweden seems to be "surfing" on the roof of a moving car (I know, it just sounds too dumb to be real, but it appears it is in fact true), quite often with serious injury or death as a result. What we're seeing here is a prime example of Darwinism at work, effectively weeding out the less intelligent, allowing mankind to evolve.

In fact, these guys should be honored with the Darwin Award for their commitment.