Those pesky laws

Health & Safety is often branded as the reason why children cannot learn in such a hands-on manner as their parents did; why sensible working practices are often outlawed; and why lengthy, time-consuming procedures must be followed for no noticeable end gain.

Second to H&S are actual laws that have been passed during yesteryear which actually hinder the manner in which the surroundings in which they sit operate today. These laws and legislative rulings are to be met head-on by the new Coaltion. They were a central part of the Conservative Party's manifesto and something that LibDem leader and Deputy PM Nick Clegg has been personally spearheading: Your Freedom.

Billed as the biggest-ever shake-up of the country's laws and regulations, the plan is to repeal what are commonly seen to be unnecessary legislation. Naturally, what one man considers unnecessary, another will believe it to be a fundamental requirement of his life. It's quite a contentious issue and one that the opinion polls suggest the Tories didn't get across as well as they might during the election campaign.

Transport - specifically public transport - has mercilessly few unnecessary laws and regulations that are latched onto by people in their millions. It has its fair share of H&S red tape though. Using the new Your Freedom webiste, that's proved very popular indeed thus far, citizens (or should that be subjects?) can log on and simply identify which laws and regs they'd like removed. At the time of writing, most transport-related pleas relate to motoring, though a few others exist.

• Bank Holidays should be classified as Sundays for parking and bus lane enforcement purposes, meaning greater choice for motorists to park their cars and more road space for motorists to utilise
• Nottingham's Workplace Parking Levy should be scrapped, which could have a considerable knock-on effect for public transport provision in the city (though perhaps less so now the NET extensions have been effectively cancelled)
• The scrapping of differing speed limits for different vehicle types; it would therefore be acceptable for a tanker or coach to travel at 70mph along the M11, for example
  
• Remove all speed humps
• Railways should not be able to issue their own penalty fares for ticket irregularities
• Railways should not be able to prosecute people; this would pass to the Police
• Taxi drivers would dearly love to see the Act that permits a local council the power to suspend a cabbie's licence for up to 28 days if photographed driving in a bus lane or parked on double-yellows
• Railway volunteers want to be able to do more in-depth work without the need for expensive insurance cover
• Receive a free bus pass for permanently surrendering your driving licence and means-testing those over 65 for theirs
• Include free home-to-school transport for those living within their school's catchment but on low incomes

However, a large number are in cloud cuckoo land, it has to be said. Take a look for yourself - and feel free to add your own.

Your Freedom website