Errors and Emissions

I have been cycling to work for over 15 years. Some six miles there and six miles back.

The route takes me through the heart of London, passing the Albert Hall, the Serpentine, Hyde Park Corner, Buckingham Palace, Admiralty Arch, Nelson's Column and the Law Courts.

During those thousands of journeys it has always been blatently apparent that the worst pollution emanated from those vehicles using diesel engines - in particular buses, trucks and taxis. The state of one's clothing and accoutrements bear besmirched witness to the penetrative power of the black unburned diesel globules. When one empties a tea pot that has stood for some time the interior is stained dark brown by the tannin. 'What's it doing to my insides?' one wonders. Looking at the grime on a white cycling helmet gives one the same feeling of distinct unease.

The authorities thought otherwise, penalising the petrol engine as the big killer and purveyor of death through lead poisoning and heavy emissions of carbon monoxide and dioxide.

Now, suddenly, the experts have swung around to the opposite tack. Diesel is death. Petrol with the help of unleaded and catlysts is life. Quelle Surprise! An even less Queller Surprise is the knee-jerk reaction of Chancellor Ken - Tax the Bastards.

Any suggestion from any direction that something heretofore regarded as a Good Thing is now a Bad Thing produces one response. The use of the new Bad Thing has to be disencouraged. There is only one way known to man - TAX. Nothing is thought through. Just as much diesel will be used; the extra cost will merely be passed on to the consumer. Everything that is transported by diesel will cost more.

The right response is to correct the problem. Force the belching monsters off the roads. Less diesel will be used by correctly-tuned vehicles with less devastating results for the populus.

Diesel double-decker buses are among the dirtiest vehicles on the roads. Certainly my own research supports this. Any London Bus with SMK***F or CUV***C as a number plate smokes like an Orkney peat fire. These vehicles cannot be screened or properly maintained. The same applies to some 30% of London Taxis which do not go through the vetting system to ensure that their emissions are at an acceptable level.

Recent reports state that people sitting in cars in traffic are more vulnerable to pollution than pedestrians. They also state that cyclists' masks do not eliminate the tiny PM10 particles which are able to enter the narrowest airways of the lungs.

Following these reports the RAC is now suggesting that citizens should report 'stinking' vehicles. 'Anyone with a social conscience should not hesitate,' says the RAC.

Regular readers of Grey Fox will know that we at the London Mall set up Smogwatch some weeks ago to give the guy in the diesel fumes a simple method of reporting 'Stinkers'.

Don't hesitate to use it. We will forward your sightings to the correct authority.


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Grey Fox can be contacted at greyfox@londonmall.co.uk.

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