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having just watched Top Gear I was astounded to see the UK is to bring in something like the german system of plates but only the bad things .The announcer interviewed somebody from the dot who said we will make loads of money on private plates or words to that effect.In Germany private plates no matter what the number cost 75 dm over the normal cost.Plates are personnel and not car beholdent,you cannot register a car without proof off address and insurance plus tuv,you cannot cancel car insurance without a change of ownership certificate,you cannot buy plates only at the reg centre with the correct paper work from registered suppliers.you cannot leave the reg centre without the plates being stamped .I could go on.The reason police in europe want to see a green card of a uk vehicle is that they want to know that it is insured .I have not found away to put a vehicle in Germany on the road and keep it there without the correct paper work.Once again the uk driver must pay for a change of rules for absolutley no benifit.forged plates will still be made ,there will be no compulsory insurance register no proper mot checks .I was stopped in a normal polce check in Dresden they new my insurance company ,my class of insurance when I paid my road tax ,who I was ,where I lived .It is not big brother only a safe gaurd to the honest citizen.The uk once more missed the boat. A thieves charter but more money to the government
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A central register of insurance is on the way in the UK, run by a consortium of insurance companies but accessable by the police, so that from the roadside they will be able to check from the registration number who is covered on the insurance.
Always assuming that the registration number isn't cloned and you have identification on you, of course !
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Like I have said a mish mash ,no insurance company in the uk is allowed to give your personnel info if you have requested it not to do so .they could be sued for millions in extreme cases.The UK dot or Government have no interest in the honest working man only in gathering stealth taxes .Motoring crime figures in the uk along with unmarried pregnant girls under 16 is about the same for some reason 85% above the rest of Europe.Figures issued this week buy the eu stastical office ,along with 7776 road deaths in in Germany 6634 in Italy AND THE UK could not provide real figures (for the year 1999)but estimated at over 7500 the worst in Europe out side Portugal
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Seeeeee!!!!
They are even watching Top Gear in Germany where everything is great.
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I was waiting to see the following program on the bombing of Dresden a much more controversial point as I live here.Thats my excuse and I am sticking to it
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No offence meant, Guy.
Merely making the point that the axing of Top Gear had been covered in an earlier thread !!
Happy viewing. Adam
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i thought top gear was quite good tonight, when i first saw the TVR i thought it was going to be just like all the other top gears, fast cars that only about 1 percent of britain can afford, but it had things that the real motorist would like to know. i hope to see more stuff for the average motorist.
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No worries Adam - I never take offence!
How are things at Tune-Up? We don't see so many posts from you and your collegues these days.
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Busy as ever, thanks Guy. You may not see so many posts from me as I tend to stick to the technical stuff, and the site has been rather full of nonsense lately. I am getting a bit bored by the endless rants about speed cameras, the monsterous police state, and all the daft sniping and back biting. The last two customers to whom I recommended the site both said they thought most of the Back Room content was a waste of time, and neither got a sensible reply.
My colleague Andrew Moorey has more or less stopped visiting the site for the same reasons. I am holding on and hoping things get back to what they were. I am sure it will improve again in time.
Regards for now, Adam
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"no insurance company in the uk is allowed to give your personnel info if you have requested it not to do so .they could be sued for millions in extreme cases"
If only it were true. No insurance company will agree a policy unless this is a term of the contract.
Jon
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Believe it ,to divulge your personnel details to a third party in the uk is illegal unless you have given permissiion.Hence the voluntry code by the insurance companies,it only gives information if the customer has agreed in his policy application
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Let me put a theory to you.
In this country vehicle documentation is somewhat lax and relys on the honesty of the motoring public. The Police are frustrated and embroiled in further paper work by the 7 day rules by which time the offender cannot always be traced.
At a very rough estimate 75% of vehicles are legally on the road with all the required documentation. Thats 25% that are not. With the required legislation that means you could take 25% of the vehicles off the road. Would'nt that relieve congestion?
Well in that case why is Government not rushing to tighten up the legislation?
What you have to remember is that apart from 'drive offs' that 25% are still putting fuel in their cars therfore paying the government large ammount of tax.
OK what about the insurance aspect? If you are hit by an unisured driver you end up footing the bill ( or your insurance does ). If your claim meets the Motor Insurance Bureau criteria then that is paid by the insurance companies which is then passed on to the customer. Any legal wrangling is done by lawers who are paid either by legal protection schemes or out of your pocket. You are only 3rd party and loose everything - " Your fault should have got fully comp mate."
If an offender cannot be traced and prosecuted - well so what, not the end of the earth is it?
The only thing the government loses out on is VED. Few pence on a litre should cover that shortfall!
Abandoned vehicles which we are seeing a lot more of and the owners cannot be traced " Sold it to a guy in the pub mate." They are the responsibility of the local authority - thats the rate payer.
So you see the government have no financial vested interest in sorting out slack documentation procedures.
So whilst pay vast ammounts of our hard earned to keep our cars legal and get stressed out because so many dont just think of the bigger picture.
Anyway thats my theory.
Andrew.
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id like to know how comes ministerial jags carrying prescott and tony are allowed to use the precious bus lane on the M4 ?
that bus lane has got to be the biggest monument to prescotts crap in the country, you ever sat and watched it ?
but hey somebody votes for them?
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ci, not true. A car, carrying blair, en route to london used it once. It was in all the papers, apologies issued and not used, imho, since. Don't remember seeing anything about prescott and ministerial jags being giving pemission to use it regularly.
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More good sense from Adam, both his and Andrew M's help is some of the best on our (sic) site.
Listen, use them or lose them....
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Am I allowed a "H*********m" here, as I see (a number of?) others have been borrowing it in my absence :-) <------ smiley
I see one thread headed "Technical Question:..........." nearby!
How about clearer titling/categorising of new threads, eg:
"Another Speed Camera Moan about Hidden Signs"
"Tech Q re Jammed BMW Throttle/Failed Brake/Steering/Indicator problem" ;-)
Rant re another cop getting away with murder!!!!!
"Help re ................... needed"
Then people can pick and choose which threads to venture into.
Maybe a bit of warning within threads might not go amiss either:
New reply Subject of perhaps ARRGGgggggghhhhhhh might give fair warning that a technical thread is about to go off the rails (or perhaps even H****m or Er*****m ;-)
And if there's someone you don't like to read at all, or perhaps not in a particular mode, (you know who they are :-( people could always NOT read them when they see the (in ;-) appropriate name.
Might take newbies a week or two to get the hang of the second suggestion, but it takes all kinds, and you never know why people are visiting, or what they like, or don't like ;-)
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given that there has been a reduction in usage by some regulars, we know what type of postings are unpopular, don't we? (Clue - aggression, last wordism, anti-police rants, personal abuse..) There are plenty of boards for people who enjoy those, this isn't one of them. That makes this site unique and I, for one, would like to keep it that way.
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Hello Michael and Stu, nice to hear from you yet again.
I take it you are unhappy with my attempt at a constructive comment: if I have offended you I apologise profusely, I was just trying to be helpful, apparently without success.
If I have given you "personal abuse", or anyone else, in the past, again apologies.
I would welcome an indication of where that occured so that I can avoid making the same mistake again.
In future I shall try to model my posts on yours, as clearly I still have not got the hang of this.
Feel free to respond as I am also trying to avoid having the last word.
At least that is something that I can evalute more objectively than style or content.
Yours apologetically
bogush j mann
bogush@zyworld.com
Feel free to email me I there is anything you would like to discuss offline.
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hi bogush, thanks for the constructive note....and now you can't be accused of last wordism in this thread.....!
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Hi B,
Sorry, I just can't be bothered.
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Andy
Road deaths in the UK for 1999 would have been around 3,600, not 7,500. The actual figures are readily available.
Where on Earth did the 7,500come from?
The UK total is reducing by about 100 per year (but increased by the one that went under a lorry in Tottenham the other night).
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and the four on the A20 last night and the outcome of the pile up on the M11 this afternoon.
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I saw that on the Beeb site.
As I use the M11, I hope that it hasn't been closed northbound at the London end, otherwise I am going to have a slow journey home again tonight (and be late for the glass of port at the Vicarage)
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stationary traffic between jct 5 & 8 northbound. accident between 5&6 southbound. 3 dead, 1 seriously injured. Still moving the lorry off of the car.
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now 4 dead, 2 injured. 3 lorries, 5 cars some of which caught fire.
Is it me, or do modern cars catch fire easier than older ones?
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Saw a Volvo on the autobahn today with a special plate. It read 'SL OW 3'. I think the speed differential when we passed it was about 90mph.
HJ
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Hi Michael
I get the impression that modern cars do catch fire more easily, maybe due to crumple zones rupturing fuel lines, plastic fuel lines instead of steel and more electrics to produce sparks. (List not exhaustive)
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I thought cars were supposed to have fuel cut off and puncture proof tanks?
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I dont understand what this is? Please ignore, read completed post below
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I thought cars were supposed to have fuel cut off and puncture proof tanks?
Thinking about safety, does anyone agree with J Clarkson that a car has too many airbags nowadays? Why do we need so many? How many injuries have they caused? Baby seats, etc.
Dont forget that article in telegraph that they now have a 'used by' date on them, how much would it to replace 6 or so airbags?
Interesting point he made.
Kev
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