The AA: turning up late. As usual.

Just like the responsiveness of breakdown organisations is measured in time they take to turn up and fix the the problem, the competence of motoring press organisations ought to be assessed by how long they take to complain about something.

Last Friday, a whole week ago, we were complaining about pedestrians walking in our road space.

A whole week ago. Since then: more snow, more pedestrians in our way.

Yet it was only on Friday, seven days after we highlighted this issue that the AA, the nominal voice of the motorist, speaks out on this in a Daily Telegraph article:

And the AA warned pedestrians not to walk on gritted roads as a way of escaping icy pavements or mounds of snow piled high after roads had been ploughed.

See that? It took the AA a week to notice what a problem pedestrians were creating for us. And they weren't even specific about what they were threatening pedestrians with!

If the warning didn't say something like "or we will follow you home and cut the head of your household pet off and put in the bed" it isn't really a warning, is it? More a polite hint. Yet the pedestrians were out and about for a whole week. Above, in Alma Vale and St John's Roads in Clifton.

Below, in Cotham Hill. There you can see one man happily walking down the road, while a law-abiding pedestrian holds on to a lamppost to keep upright. She may not be able to get anywhere, but at least she won't be trying to use any zebra crossings or pressing buttons on pelican crossings.

The pedestrians should know that pavements are for them.

And for vehicles like P78RHW whose driver has struggled against adverse conditions to get to work at the NHS Hampton House facility. At least in these terrible conditions one part of the council -Bristol Parking Services- helped the motorists by staying in.

We're planning a little critique of the Association of British Drivers for being out of touch, but the AA, the big fault there is that despite their leader, Edmund King, being good at getting quotes into the printed news, if their quotes are a week behind the issues in our streets, what use is that? They are coming out and complaining about pedestrians in the roadway just when the snow and ice is all going away. And they don't even warn cyclists to stay off the roads as they aren't welcome in UK cities.

Bristol Traffic: up to date with the issues, timely with the news. Prepared to speak the truth. The real voice of Bristol's Motorists.