Alliance of British Drivers

The Alliance of British Drivers (ABD) is a British not-for-profit organisation that lobbies 'for motorists' interests'. The organisation, operated by Pro-Motor, was formed in 1992 as the Association of British Drivers. In November 2012 it merged with the Drivers' Alliance and adopted the current name.

Alliance of British Drivers
AbbreviationABD
Formation1992 (1992)
Founders
  • Brian Gregory
  • Peter Roberts
Merger ofDrivers' Alliance
TypeNot-for-profit
PurposeLobby group
Director
Brian Gregory
Director
Brian MacDowall
Director
Ian Taylor
Director
Paul Biggs
Websitewww.abd.org.uk
Formerly called
Association of British Drivers

Background

The membership-based Association of British Drivers (ABD) was formed as a not-for-profit organisation by Brian Gregory in 1993.[1] It was later operated by Pro-Motor which was incorporated in 1994.[2]

The Drivers' Alliance was formed in 2008, to campaign against road pricing, by Peter Roberts.[1][3] In 2007, Roberts had authored an e-petition, on the government petitions website, opposing government plans to introduce road pricing in the UK.[3] The petition went on to attract almost 1.8 million signatures.[4]

In November 2012 the ABD and the Drivers' Alliance merged, adopting the name Alliance of British Drivers.[1] At the time of the merger, the organisation said "the 'war on the motorist' is still being fought by those opposed to individual freedom".[1]

Campaigns

Their campaigns on speed limits include opposing 20 mph speed limits "where they are not justified" and supporting the setting of speed limits to the 85% percentile of free-flowing traffic speeds.[5][6] In 2005 they called for the raising and eventual abolition of speed limits on motorways.[7][8]

Their campaigns for reduced traffic congestion argue for more investment in infrastructure for motor vehicles and opposing reduction in space for cars.[9][10]

Claims

In 1996 they claimed that human-created climate change is a myth;[11] as of October 2020 the claim is still on their website.[11] In 2004, The Guardian reported that Bernard Abrams, a scientist and a director of the ABD, had stated that global warming is a "sham" and that the world is getting cooler.[7][12]

In 2019, the ABD used its official Twitter account to personally attack those advocating 20mph speed limit areas in towns, saying it was "obvious to anyone with their brain switched on" that driving at higher speeds was safer. The group subsequently apologised for the tweet.[13]

Membership

In 2004, The Guardian said that the ABD claimed to have 9000 members (0.007% of the UK's 31.7 million drivers) and challenged this by saying that the group's filing at Companies House meant that the number was "far fewer". Brian Gregory, the group's CEO stated "It doesn't matter a fig to me whether we've got 1,500 members or 5,000 members."[7]

The ABD have taken joint legal action with FairFuelUK, another motoring organisation, against the Mayor of London for introducing temporary measures increasing the London Congestion Charge and extending its hours, without defining the end date.[14]

Reception

In 2004, the then chief constable of North Wales Police, Richard Brunstrom, described the Association of British Drivers as an "unduly influential … pressure group." He added, "They have less than 3,000 members, yet they are given enormous attention by the media. … It's ludicrous — this is a bunch of crackpots being given prime airtime. It's just because the media love a controversy."[15]

In 2020, Alan Wenban-Smith, visiting professor of planning at Birmingham City University and a consultant in urban and regional policy,[16] in a letter to the editor published in the Local Transport Today journal, described ABD as "climate change sceptics," who promote the idea that "climate science is not sufficiently robust to bear the weight placed upon it by decarbonisation." Wenban-Smith characterised the group as "lobbyists with obvious axes to grind, who have found ‘stuff on the internet’ from eccentrics and obsessives," and hold "biased and fringe views."[17] Paul Morozzo, a Greenpeace transport campaigner, called the ABD's intention to raise speed limits a "crackpot idea", while the London Cycling Campaign's Simon Munk called it "an organisation notorious for its fringe views on driving and road safety".[11]

References
  1. "ABD and DA announce merger". Road Safety GB. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  2. "Pro-Motor – Overview". Companies House. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  3. "Anti-congestion charge campaigner Peter Roberts takes Drivers' Alliance fight to the national stage". BusinessLive. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  4. Millward, David; Jones, George (27 February 2007). "Blair to defy 1.8m who signed road petition". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  5. "Blanket 20mph speed limits 'senseless': ABD". Road Safety GB. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  6. "Enforcement". 20s Senseless. Alliance of British Drivers. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  7. Clark, Andrew (3 February 2004). "They call themselves the voice of the driver. But who do they really represent?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  8. "Submission for the Raising of the Motorway Speed Limit". The Alliance of British Drivers (legacy). 6 November 2005. Retrieved 22 October 2020. The ABD recommends... consideration should be given to a further increase or removal of the limit altogether.
  9. "M11 London to Cambridge motorway named England's best". BBC News. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  10. "Coronavirus: Boom time for bikes as virus changes lifestyles". BBC News. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  11. Walker, Peter (21 October 2020). "Climate science deniers to give road safety evidence to MPs". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  12. "On trail of the men behind million voices who oppose road pricing". The Times. 17 February 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  13. Horne, Marc (9 March 2019). "Alliance of British Drivers apologises for cyclist tirade". The Times. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  14. Brooke, Mike. "Tower Bridge brought to grinding halt by minicab drivers' mass protest over Congestion Charge". East London Advertiser. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  15. Bennetto, Jason (20 July 2004). "My dispatches from the thin blue line". Independent. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  16. "Alan Wenban-Smith". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2020. Alan Wenban-Smith is a consultant in urban and regional policy and visiting professor of planning at Birmingham City University
  17. Wenban-Smith, Alan (29 May – 11 June 2020). "Letters to the editor: Climate change is too serious to permit dissenters a voice". Local Transport Today: 24. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
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