• I hear that motorway repairs are taking less time
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to complete thanks to a scheme giving contractors a bonus for finishing early.
I've been caught out too often on the A41 to believe this but assurances are made that the use of the 'lane rental' formula, conceived by the former Secretary of State Nicholas Ridley, has knocked up to 38% off the repair time and saved more than £8 million during 1985-86.
Contractors get extra pay for every day they finish ahead of target (this can mean up to £40,000 per day) but have to pay a penalty for every day they are late.
Some schemes are so large that it would be inadvisable to remove them during holiday periods and urgent repairs must always go on. However, road cones are to be given a break over the August Bank Holiday (they could do with a good scrubbing) and you should find motorways and trunk roads free of construction obstruction. • When driving in Sweden beware-25% of road accidents are caused by free-roaming moose. How all these wayward moose get their driving licences beats me_ • Cheshire County Council had the embarrassing duty of having to prosecute one of the local authorities in its area for overloading, and because of the licensing arrangement between the two authorities, they will have to bear part of the fines imposed.
Macclesfield Borough Council admitted gross and rear axle overloads in a prosecution brought by the county's Trading Standards department before the town's magistrates, being fined a total of £600. The court was told that when the 4-wheeled rigid vehicle was weighed at a refuse tip it was found to have a gross overload of 26% and a rear axle overload of 24%.
The Borough Council apologised for the embarrassing situation and said it was tightening up procedures.