I hope Justice will prevail

8 November 2011

The M5 smash was an awful event, a tragedy for all concerned.  However, I am concerned that that the blame will unfairly fall on Taunton Rugby Club.  As far as I see it, they haven't done anything wrong.  Wind speed and direction cannot be guaranteed by anyone, so even if their firework display did cause a cloud of black smoke to drift over the motorway, there is nothing they could have done to prevent it.  No, they are not to blame!

How many other multi-vehicle smashes have there been on the motorway over the years?  Our motorway system is known for area where fog builds up in small banks, usually in dips in the road.  Those were caused by excess speed and driving too close to the vehicle in front, and ultimately that is what caused the M5 smash.  But my question is: "Why did they burn?"  In most of the others no fire happens, so what was it that cause the fireball on the M5?  Tragedy it may have been, but basically it was down to bad driving - just as all the other such multiple smashes.  No, the 'burn question' is one that needs answering most of all.  My hope is that the blame is not placed squarely on the rugby club.  That would be an grave injustice!   

Panorama last night was interesting.  Did you watch it?  If not you should think about catching it on BBC iPlayer.  It was about energy prices and how they are being kept up by government policy rather than by the energy companies.  The push for wind farms seems to be the major cause.  I can't remember the figure quoted now but it seems that the price per kilo-watt hour of produced electricity is over 100% higher from wind power than by traditionally generated  power.  More cost is then to added because there is a need to get the power generated out at sea into the national grid.  They are claiming that an extra 270 miles of overhead cables are needed to do that.  That means thousands of new pylons to be erected across some of Britain's most spectacular landscapes.  They could be buried but the energy companies are quoting a minimum of £1billion to do so as against the £100 million for overhead.  Of course it Joe Public who will pick up the bill for it anyway.

Nowt much going on in Dorktown right now.  The battle to save services at the George Eliot Hospital is ongoing.  A drug dealer was found with £1000 cash in his pockets and claimed it was a loan from and aunty to help his mum pay for something.  The courts weren't having it any of it.  Another guy's house was raided and 12 cannabis plants were removed.  The cops and the Dorktown News made a big thing of that one ... only another god-knows-how-many-more to go!