LOL Sue - good thing you don't live over here then otherwise the air would be blue from morning until night.
1. Lorries are not allowed to travel on Sundays or Public Holidays except by special license limited to such things as fresh foods etc. Result, every lay-bye that ever there was, every service station on the motorway and every border crossing e.g. France > Germany is crammed full with poor lorry drivers attempting only to deliver what we the consumer are forever demanding in our insatiable greed. We treat these guys with such disdain in order that the roads are quite for us on these days in order that we can go out and burn yet more fuel. Last Thursday - Bank Holiday for us - lorries park up. Sunday - rest day - lorries park up. Monday - lorries on the move - absolute chocker block chaos.
2. Approx 6 months ago we introduced the Unwelt Zone sticker requirement - we're now going greener than green. Or so the Government would have you believe at least. In reality it's yet another money making exercise. On the approach road to many towns (expanding daily as more Town Halls find this is a good money spinner) you will find a shield containing either a Red, Green or Yellow circle under which is Frei, meaning free. Our cars now have to have one or other of these same stickers displayed on the front screen with the colour being determined by the type of exhaust fitted (found on the registration document). Cost for sticker, €7. Result - on approach to town look for sign and sticker. If it says Green Frei and your car has only a Yellow sticker then turn round and go home - you aint entering this town. Result - lots of relatively new cars, even Mercedes, banned from towns and cities. Effect - general uproar amongst the population. My car, a Golf V Diesel - no particle filter fitted and not worth it for €750. Result - I am a very bad boy - pay extra €30 per year road tax. At the same time however, the exhaust from my car is excellent - pay €7, get Green sticker and am allowed to drive everywhere.
3. The A8 which runs close to us is the main artery for traffic heading from Northern Europe to all points south. Want to go from England to Austria - use the A8. Need to travel from Paris to Prague - use the A8. You're getting the picture yes? Enter the Government who think this is a good way of making money let's introduce a Motorway Toll for lorries. Only lorries of course because lorries and their drivers are such nasty things and people aren't they by delivering goods that we demand? Result - haulage firms now purchase mass quantities of GPS devices, fit them to all the lorries in their fleet and programme them to avoid motorways. End result - monster juggernauts now diverting off motorways and cutting through housing estates, children's play streets and in fact all over the place. Now whose fault is this? People blame the lorry drivers but it is the Government who have forced up delivery costs with high fuel prices and now the motorway tolls. If the costs of goods in the shops increased to reflect the higher delivery charges then people would still complain so the poor old lorry driver/firm is in a no win situation.
So don't be too hard on 'Gordon Bean' Sue - each country has their own version and I think that they all originate from the same school for politicians.