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P AND FINALLY...
Page 14
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The numbers just don't add up
AMERICAN CRIME writer Rex Stout once said: "There are two kinds of statistics, the kind you look up, and the kind you make up."
With that fresh in your mind, statistics from the 35th edition of Transport Statistics Great Britain, published by the Department for Transport, reveal there are fewer goods vehicles on Britain's roads today than in 1950, when records began.
Fifty-nine years ago, there were 3.97 million vehicles, which included 439,000 goods vehicles and 1.98 million cars. By 2008, that number had swelled to 34.2 million vehicles, of which there were 27 million cars and... wait for it... 436,000 goods vehicles.
So, the next time a 'rail appreciation club member' tries to tell you that moving freight onto rail will help reduce congestion, kindly refer them to Rex Stout.