This is my first post in what will become a regular series, If I Ruled the World. It is a game I have played, quietly, in my own head for a long time. What would I changed , who can I make the word a better place, how can I improve the lives of everyone, or at least, everyone who agrees with me, If I Ruled the World ?

Today I decided to commit, if not pen to paper, then fingers to keyboard and bring my thoughts to a grateful world. And the reason I decided to commit was triggered by the subject of my first post; bloody great big cars. 

This weekend I have done a lot of miles , kilometres, on my bike. I like cycling my bike. I get fit. I get from A to B quicker than most. I don’t get stuck in congestion. I do get rained on a lot though. Oh well. The city in which I am living is not a good city for cyclists. In fact, it is terrible. Very few bike lanes. When there are bike lanes, they are very often just paint on a road. Sometimes there are plastic bollards, mostly they have been flattened. One of the main culprits for the poor state of the cyclists world are bloody great big cars, SUVs, 4 x 4 ‘s. Two and a half, three tonne behemoths hogging the streets, very often with only one person in them. Shameful. 

So, If I Ruled the World, these vehicles will be banned from city centres and from most parts of the city, with few exceptions. On top of that, every car that is less than half full will have an ’empty car levy’ of €5.00 per trip. That could rack up; trip into work, €5.00, trip home, another €5.00. Trip to the coffee shop, €5.00. Trip to pilates, another €5.00.

All of of the €5.00 levies could pay for a new bike.