Politicians should stop declaring war on motorists to solve any crisis that comes along and should invest in alternatives instead, argues Herald columnist Alan Simpson

When Karl Benz invented the first-ever practical automobile in 1886, it is hard to envisage the havoc that he would subsequently cause on the world’s roads.

His 1885 “Motorwagen” integrated the engine and chassis as one, leading him to be known as the “father of the car”.

But it wasn’t really until 1908 that things started to get a little but silly when Ford revolutionised car production by developing and selling its Model T at a relatively modest price.

From 1913, introducing an advanced moving assembly line allowed Ford to lower the Model T’s price by almost 50%, making it the first mass-affordable automobile.

As Henry Ford is believed to have said at the time: “You can have any colour you like, as long as it’s black.”

Everyone who was anyone wanted a car and they became extremely popular as the prices tumbled, until eventually a car was seen as a necessity and not a luxury any more,

From this point, a new phrase began to be used every day – namely congestion as more cars on the roads meant, inevitably, more traffic jams.

The solution was to just build bigger roads, and then motorways, but still it made no difference as motorists increasingly found it difficult to get from A to B smoothly.

Now, of course, the steering wheel has turned full circle with governments and councils increasingly declaring war on the motorist, whom they blame for climate change.

Many daft schemes and elaborate ruses have been proposed in order to get folk out of their cars and onto public transport in a bid to save the planet.

If it also means that some revenue can be raised as well, then that’s a bonus.

One of the daftest schemes, however, is introducing a boundary charge to non-Glasgow city council residents whenever they enter the city.

Such is the bewilderment that a heated debate unfolded in Holyrood over the proposals from the Glasgow City Council to explore an at-city boundary........

© Herald Scotland