Well it had to happen, and I am truly sorry for the family of the woman who was killed in Arizona by a driverless Uber vehicle, but it was an accident waiting to happen.
I am all for science and clever gadgets, but regrettably scientists and boffins who specialise in high tech inventions, in this case driverless cars, fail to have amongst their little grey cells, anything which resembles common sense.
Anyone who actually believes that a fully automated vehicle being operated by a computer can navigate along roads which are populated by people, who we all know are totally unpredictable, need their heads examined.
It is all very well to put driverless tractors or robots in an open field uncluttered by people or livestock for that matter, or on a static rail down the middle of a highway, but to let a driverless vehicle loose amongst defenceless people, either in cars, on bikes or walking, is completely bonkers and out of the question.
It is time for the Government to put ‘Food First’. The words of Chris Jeffries the newly elected chairman of East Sussex NFU – a man on a mission. As someone who entered the world of farming in later life, he is fired up with a passion to protect farmers and British food production.
They say there is no one as passionate as the converted, and here is a case where someone has moved from the city to farming and food production. If you had witnessed the passion expressed by Mr Jeffries at a recent Branch NFU supper, when delivering his speech, you would understand my point.
The current NFU leadership team appears to have gone very quiet, which is not unusual, so it is vital that Chris stirs them up. I wish him well in his quest.
Hopefully his path will cross the threshold of DEFRA and he will be allowed to deliver his message to Mr Gove. Time is running out and if we are not very careful the voices of traditional farmers who are trying to make a living producing ‘food’, which are currently being drowned out by the environmentalists and tree huggers, we will be consigned to history and food production will forever take second place to public access, soil protection, and supporting wildlife including an over population of badgers, many of which are riddled with TB, above sustainable food production.
I would of course never advocate civil disobedience, but I would suggest that the good people of Newcastle upon Tyne ignore their local council completely. Parents wishing to encourage their children to get out and play in quiet residential streets, occasionally cordoning them off so their kids can get outside and play, are being hampered.
The council have stated that anyone wanting to hold ‘play sessions’ have to submit a six-page application form, approach all residents and get their written agreement. Adults must supervise wearing high-viz jackets, with marshals stationed at every entry point, and they must also erect road signs and put out cones.
They must also carry out a risk assessment, the road closure must be advertised in the local press and on the street, and they must obtain public liability insurance of at least £5million!
This is Health and Safety gone mad. British kids are already labelled the most unfit and overweight. Their brains are being pickled as their lives are dominated by irrelevant rubbish emitted from smart phones and tablets, as many are trapped in their bedrooms during the most vulnerable years of their lives.
The public must be allowed to take responsibility for their own actions, decide when and where their children play, and not be dictated to by ‘nanny bureaucrats’.
I thoroughly recommend that the good people of Newcastle upon Tyne and anywhere else for that matter sort out their own street closures and ignore council diktats.
I am all for science and clever gadgets, but regrettably scientists and boffins who specialise in high tech inventions, in this case driverless cars, fail to have amongst their little grey cells, anything which resembles common sense.
Anyone who actually believes that a fully automated vehicle being operated by a computer can navigate along roads which are populated by people, who we all know are totally unpredictable, need their heads examined.
It is all very well to put driverless tractors or robots in an open field uncluttered by people or livestock for that matter, or on a static rail down the middle of a highway, but to let a driverless vehicle loose amongst defenceless people, either in cars, on bikes or walking, is completely bonkers and out of the question.
It is time for the Government to put ‘Food First’. The words of Chris Jeffries the newly elected chairman of East Sussex NFU – a man on a mission. As someone who entered the world of farming in later life, he is fired up with a passion to protect farmers and British food production.
They say there is no one as passionate as the converted, and here is a case where someone has moved from the city to farming and food production. If you had witnessed the passion expressed by Mr Jeffries at a recent Branch NFU supper, when delivering his speech, you would understand my point.
The current NFU leadership team appears to have gone very quiet, which is not unusual, so it is vital that Chris stirs them up. I wish him well in his quest.
Hopefully his path will cross the threshold of DEFRA and he will be allowed to deliver his message to Mr Gove. Time is running out and if we are not very careful the voices of traditional farmers who are trying to make a living producing ‘food’, which are currently being drowned out by the environmentalists and tree huggers, we will be consigned to history and food production will forever take second place to public access, soil protection, and supporting wildlife including an over population of badgers, many of which are riddled with TB, above sustainable food production.
I would of course never advocate civil disobedience, but I would suggest that the good people of Newcastle upon Tyne ignore their local council completely. Parents wishing to encourage their children to get out and play in quiet residential streets, occasionally cordoning them off so their kids can get outside and play, are being hampered.
The council have stated that anyone wanting to hold ‘play sessions’ have to submit a six-page application form, approach all residents and get their written agreement. Adults must supervise wearing high-viz jackets, with marshals stationed at every entry point, and they must also erect road signs and put out cones.
They must also carry out a risk assessment, the road closure must be advertised in the local press and on the street, and they must obtain public liability insurance of at least £5million!
This is Health and Safety gone mad. British kids are already labelled the most unfit and overweight. Their brains are being pickled as their lives are dominated by irrelevant rubbish emitted from smart phones and tablets, as many are trapped in their bedrooms during the most vulnerable years of their lives.
The public must be allowed to take responsibility for their own actions, decide when and where their children play, and not be dictated to by ‘nanny bureaucrats’.
I thoroughly recommend that the good people of Newcastle upon Tyne and anywhere else for that matter sort out their own street closures and ignore council diktats.
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