Green for go on yellow buses says IAM

THE IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) welcomed the Yellow School Bus Commission's findings that US style yellow buses will cut congestion and improve child pedestrian safety.

The number of children travelling to school by car has doubled in the last 20 years - 41% of primary and 21% of secondary school pupils are now being taken on the 'school run', according to research. This represents around 1 in 5 of car trips in the morning peak and on some roads journey times.

Many parents drive their child to school because of the poor supervision, image and quality of current school buses. Most parents do not want to contribute to pollution and congestion but often feel they have no real choice. High profile, clean and well maintained buses with well trained staff and safety features such as seatbelts are just the incentive that parents need to make the switch from car to public transport.

"It is disappointing that the Commission still supports the anachronistic 1 mile rule," said Neil Greig, Director of Policy and Research at the IAM.  "Under these proposals we will still see yellow buses driving past soaked children just because they live the wrong side of an arbitrary line."

Adds Greig:- "Access to yellow buses for all pupils would help to cut out the shortest and most polluting journeys by car and give choice for those days when walking or cycling is difficult. Ensuring that yellow bus drivers get training in advanced driving techniques as well as courtesy and child care would make them even more attractive to parents considering their future school run options."

Liverpool ONE

2008, has brought, and is still bringing spectacular events to the City as Liverpool continues to celebrate its European Capital of Culture status. The birthplace of The Beatles and England's most successful footballing city, it is also home to the largest collection of national museums and galleries outside of London and it is hosting the UK's only Biennial Festival of Contemporary Visual Art, the Liverpool Biennial.

Liverpool’s architecture is world-class, with more listed buildings than any city outside London. The heart of the city and its waterfront sit proudly alongside treasures like the Taj Mahal and Pyramids at Giza as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The new Liverpool ONE development offers more than 160 famous high street stores, ultra-hip fashion brands, cool independent boutiques, cafés and restaurants to the city centre. With phase one now open, visitors can enjoy many of the shops, including the flagship Debenhams and new John Lewis store! Shopaholics will be delighted even more when the rest of Liverpool ONE opens in full on 1 October, 2008, bringing the heart of the city to life, day and night. The stunning offer within Liverpool ONE covers a massive area modelled on new and historic streets, combining over 30 new and existing buildings. A sight well worth coming to see!

This weeks funny news report...

ONLY this is not truly funny, as it is a serious problem the emergency services get day in day out, nevertheless, it bought a smile to our faces when we heard about it. Police in Scotland, this week told the media that they had the emergency 999 number used by a woman to discuss her concerns about her new pet. She was hopping mad that the newspaper advert for her new rabbit had promised floppy ears, but they were not floppy enough for her. Central Scotland Police told the media that they were equally unimpressed by another caller who had used the 999 service to complain about a passing car that had splashed water on him. Even more worrying was when they also got a 999 call from someone else inquiring about the postal code for a town's post office. Chief Inspector, Alan Stewart, told the UK press that:- "Whilst officers and staff are dealing with these frivolous matters that a member of the public has deemed so serious as to call 999, they are not dealing with genuine emergency calls."

 AIRPORT FIREWORKS WARNING

BACK in July 2008, Manchester Airport issued new guidelines on the use of fireworks close to the airport and around its flight paths.  Manchester Airport would like to reminded people about the dangers of unauthorised fireworks to aircraft again as people start to plan bonfire parties. Manchester Airport said:- "Fireworks and displays are increasingly popular but they can be dangerous to planes.  Pilots can be dazzled by unexpected displays and we want to make sure that our aircraft are safe.  These rules offer very clear guidance on what people can do and we’re also suspending operations for 15 minutes on the two Saturday nights around 5 November 2008.  This will be to allow people to stage their displays.  We do not want to stop anyone’s fun, but safety must be kept up.” They also stressed that there will be no other suspensions if this goes ahead.  Under the new guidelines only small fireworks up to a category 2 and no rockets can be let off up to 1.1 miles to either side of Manchester Airport and their flight paths. Between 3 and 5 miles from the airport and under the flight path categories 1, 2 and 3 fireworks may be discharged, but no rockets!  Between 5 and 10 miles all category 1, 2 and 3 fireworks are permitted, but there are height restrictions on all fireworks in each of the distance bands.

If the display is to be held near any airport in the UK, not just Manchester, then you must inform the airport authority at least seven days in advance and ask for permission. Also to find out what rules apply for your location!   Alternatively, contact the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Safety Regulation Group, Aviation House, Gatwick Airport South, West Sussex, RH6 OYR, particularly if you are unsure whether there are airports near your display site. You must always adhere to height restrictions for aerial fireworks stipulated by the airport authority or CAA.

For more information about this, please use this link to Manchester Airport's website.

For more information about this, you can also contact the CAA Enquiry Team via phone on 01293 573725 or by email  and also by the CAA website.

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