Ruritania Discovers Motor Transport ----------------------------------- Once upon a time in the land of Ruritania (known for its transparent trees, but that's not today's story) the population were discovering motor transport. All kinds of good things became possible then, including faster and safer deliveries, new kinds of business carried out over distances (and with that opportunies for foreign trade) there was a lot of interest in the subject from far-sighted people. But the government of Ruritania concentrated on the problems they imagined plaguing the acceptance of this technology. (The government was a democratic one, that is to say a loosely-related band of popularity-seekers.) There were cries of how the added speed and load capacity of these newfangled cars would assist crime. A few wise men pointed out that though cars probably would be used in some crimes, the advantages were still clear. For one thing criminals might still be in the minority, while the people standing to gain would be practically everybody. Also the cars would prevent much crime. For example, people would be harder to attack than when walking home from the the supermarket carrying 6 heavy bags of food. They'd load up with other people nearby and be home sooner and more safely. The government agreed there were advantages, and certainly didn't wish to appear backward or oppressive, by prohibiting mere members of the public from driving. So a plan was made to permit driving, but with restrictions to suit the government's wishes. There was to be a police officer in every petrol station to record who went where, when and what they were doing. Only that didn't suit the public spending figures (nor probably the chief constables) so instead distribution of petrol was banned. Except, of course, for the petrol vendors who enrolled in the new branch of the Police force - the Traffic Tracking Police (or TTP). Members of this force had a bunch of qualifications; mainly to do with ensuring that they could be counted on to report on any traffic they'd observed - within an hour - to the great guardians of the common good. Surely nobody could fail to trust the government or any related body ? Weren't these the very people who had defended our health at the risk of their own reputations by stating that beef was certainly safe before any of the research was in ? [1] Or guided us to a right decision in a promised referendum (on our association with nearby countries) by not holding it. This petrol distribution network announced by the government (though not strictly a government body) was trumpeted as progress and encouragement, bringing the benefits of the technology to the public, business, and anywhere else benefits belong in a democracy. Sceptics viewed it as a costly restriction. People disinclined to join the TTP, or indeed who failed the in the recruitment process, were prohibited from supplying petrol (even free of charge). Criminals, so it was said, would be tracked as they bought petrol because they would not be able to run a black market in the petrol they needed for their crimes. This looked decidedly doubtful. The use of the petrol was also ignored - fixed security lighting by petrol lamps (hiding nothing, but rather the opposite) was also restricted by the new progressive legislation. Nor was that all. Not content with banning the provision of petrol, the ban also covered offering it. The wording of the act was so vague, causing concerned citizens to wonder whether answering the telephone would be viewed as supplying petrol (after all, it could save somebody a journey). And what about the scope for crime by people with access (legitimate or not) to the records of the TTP ? The legislation had a few things to say about that, but wouldn't it be safer not to have the records ? (Like the Ruritanian government had done with records of polluted sites - look no pollution!) So it was that Ruritania remained in the 1940's well into the 21st century. [1] See 'Health & Safety at Work' April 1997 for a grim view of this. ISSN: 0141 8246 HSW@tolley.co.uk -- ########################################################## # Antonomasia # # ant@notatla.demon.co.uk # ##########################################################