Lorry racing daily 7am to 9pm
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THE Road Haulage Association, which also demands a public inquiry, expects something like the start of a Formula I grand prix race at 7am daily when the proposed ban, which would have begun at 9pm expired. The association paints for me a stirring picture of "a very large number of vehicles" parked overnight on the perimeter of the prohibited area, to the discomfort and annoyance of residents and local councils, their drivers blipping accelerators and listening intently for the Greenwich 7 o'clock time signal on the radio.
At the first pip, thousands of clutches are slammed in, tyres screech, exhausts roar and the race to restock shops and factories is on. Drivers weave and slide, and 20 tons of tinned rice pudding is shed on the first bend. Three artics plough into the pile, spinning helplessly in a mad pas de trois. Cursing back-markers mount the pavement to squeeze past while tachographs tick relentlessly against the daytime handicap.
Birmingham hopes to run the first motor road race in Britain, but it will have to take second place if the Greater London (Restriction of Goods Vehicles} Traffic Order is approved.