November 2003
My journey to court today involved a trip round the M25 and up the M1. On the M25 there was heavy traffic, I was in the second lane doing about 60mph. The second lane was slowly moving past the "slow" lane and I was going as fast as the car in front.
In my mirror I noticed that a large lorry was quite close behind me, I didn't think too much of it as in heavy traffic people always seem to drive too close.
I then noticed that this large lorry had become a VERY large lorry in my rear veiw mirror, it was so close that I had to speed up and sit on the bumper of the car in front to stop it from hitting me. Then for about a mile or two this lorry kept driving up to my bumper (must have been inches away, and no I'm not joking) and backing off, then driving up again. Almost like he was trying to force me off the road. Then he got really close again, starting swerving over the road and flashing his lights, luckily at this point the traffic was starting to clear and I managed to get some distance between us.
I hadn't cut him up and I wasn't hogging the middle lane. I assume he was in a hurry and getting annoyed due to the heavy traffic.
On the way home I saw two accidents, both on the M25 and both involving large lorries. The one on the clockwise section looked like it involved a lorry and a car with the car being spun round and forced off the road. You could see the fresh skid marks very cleary. The other was on the other side and was an overturned lorry which had blocked all but one lane. The tailback was HUGE! and of course caused a tailback on my side as well from the rubbernecking.
I'd interested to hear your comments on this. Read more
Further to my previous thread, which can be found here:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=17476
I had my court case today regarding the road tax.
Firstly, the duty solicitor refused to assist me as I wasn\'t being charged with a criminal offence.
If you declare a SORN and use the car while it\'s in force then you are liable for any backduty up to a maximum of 2 years. This applies regardless of if the car was ever used or parked on a public road. They don\'t care if you used it or not, the law has changed and they WILL get \"their\" money. The maximum fine for this is £2,500.
Innocent until proven guilty? - no, just guilty.
If you have a second car like myself which is taken off the road then I recommend that you are very careful with the SORN forms. When you fill them in take them to post office and get a reciept. This also applies to cars over 25 years old that do not need road tax. You still have to get a tax disk/declare a SORN.
The court in the morning was an eye opener - never have I seen so many \"dodgy\" looking peeps in my life. In the afternoon when they were doing the motoring offences the court was full of \"normal\" everyday peeps.
The staff at the court (ushers etc) were all very freindly and helpful, even the women from the DVLA that I spoke to prior to going into court was helpful and freindly. My case was heard pretty much on time (30 mins late) and probably only took about half an hour.
The DVLA and the magistrates accepted that the car had never been used on the road while the SORN was in effect (I had loads of evidence), but it didn\'t really matter as they informed me that they had no discrestion on the amount of back duty - I had to pay the full whack.
The final cost to me was:
£320.84 - backduty
£45 - costs
£40 - fine
£20 - petrol getting to court (180 mile round trip)
£?? - three weeks of stress and worry
£?? - A days lost earnings
The magistrates gave a very small fine as they believed my story and felt that I was being punsihed quite harshly by having to pay the back duty, I\'m sure that if I hadn\'t been there (guilty by post) and told my side the fine would have been larger.
What do I think? - Well the british justice system worked well I think. I\'m happy that I did something wrong and I think that the fine was appropriate.
As for the back duty? - Well having to pay road tax for a car when it was in my garage for two years was a bit of a kick in the teeth. As if I havn\'t paid enough tax already in my lifetime.
It seems like yet again the honest hard working people get stuffed. I\'ve had cars for 14 years, always taxed, mot\'d and insured without fail. The one time I do something wrong I get caught. Of course if I was dishonest I would never have been to court and if I was low life scum leaching off society I could of paid the fine at £1 per week and had legal aid. Being an honest person I paid the fine in full with 5 minutes of leaving the courtroom.
BTW - See another thread for my \"experience\" on the M25 going up there.
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Seems obvious to me, the more you conform the easier it is to punish you and more severly. If you don't conform how can they, prison? Don't make me laugh!
Just look at the poll tax fiasco.
BTW living in Sheffield I realize that ALL motorists must be criminals, that's why the council treats us like they do!
Steve.
Insured!!!!
Over recent months, there have been numerous threads regarding the effectiveness of Road Angel. As somebody who has had a clean driving licence for the last 12 years and have now amassed 6 points in the last 6 months, I have decided that now is the time to purchase such a device.
Just before I release my hard-earned cash, can somebody confirm for me the Road Angel's effectiveness for the laser guns and mobile cameras ?? I know that it is very good on picking up the fixed-site devices.
Any updates from members of the BR will be much appreciated.
Thank You :) Read more
Talking of radar/laser detectors, anyone ever had a laser alert and in what circumstances. Mine's only ever gone off when pointing the TV remote at it. My understanding is that 90% of alerts mean your nicked, if over the limit obviously...
I am considering a V-class Merc, either a petrol model on an S/T plate for under £10k or a Cdi about £14k. Does anyone have any comments on these vehicles? Read more
Please don't put yourself through the anguish of owning a V class.
Ours was bought new and was faulty from the day we bought it.
Problems included faulty: Brakes, steering, Clutch, suspension links, central locking, oil level sensor. Amongst many others.
Sold it at 3 years old and only 18K miles.
Buy a VW Caravelle - more reliable, spacious and economical.
Last Sunday evening, my son, age 23,a self-employed musician,(jazz double bass) parked his car in a London pay-and?display car park while he played at the R.A.C.Club. (The car park is usually free on a Sunday.)
When he returned later in the evening, his car had been towed away, together with several others parked near it. There were no signs that parking was restricted other than a small notice on the ticket machine (which he hadn?t thought he needed to check as he had parked there before on a Sunday..) stating that parking was restricted ?opposite lamp post 12 on the 15th. and 16th. due to filming\'.. No tapes, barriers or cones were in evidence.
He phoned the number on the notice, and went to the pound, where he had to pay £200 for the release of the car (more than two days income)
He?s writing to complain to the council about the lack of visible warnings, and will probably send a copy of the letter to Ken Livingstone. Has anyone in the BR had a similar experience, if so, what are his chances of a result?
P. Read more
If this was a Council car park in London then you may have a right to ask the Council to reconsider and an appeal to an independent adjudicator if they still won't play ball. The adjudicators website www.parkingandtrafficappeals.gov.uk has some useful cases about suspended bays etc.
I have alway fancied buying something a bit special for peanuts, perhaps an old 7 series, an old e class, Audi A8, Jag, that sort of thing. Because of their complexity I know they depreciate like the clappers. Some of the second hand prices look like absurdly good value.I also know the flip side, their very complexity makes it more likely that one expensive problem can end up scrapping the car.
Lets say I have £5k, and I want to get as much luxury/toys/image that I can. I am not so concerned about age or mileage, and am completely unconcerned about resale. I am concerned about reliability and complexity.
What do people think? In particular, what do people in the trade think would be the best bet? Read more
Echo that. A pal of mine in Lincs has the same year/model. Bought it for chicken droppings as a second car, gentleman's transport, that kind of thing. He lent it to me last year for 4 days and it drove like a dream with the feeling it would go on for ever. I enjoyed every minute with it. His 19 year old daughter now rocks up to Uni in it every day (he has recently emigrated to the Philippines like me) and commands considerable respect as a result!
It was white which my pal said had something to do with the price he paid. As so many have said in these columns, he has a friendly local mechanic who does the needful at affordable prices. Last summer his Ball and Chain drove the family Galaxy to S. France and he followed in the 750. Effortless and completely painless was his description of the driving.
i seem to remember that these "wankel"(hope thats spelt right!)
engines first came out in the early sixties, but didn't seem to catch-on, for some reason. now, i've just seen a t.v ad, for some sporty-looking car with "the revolutionry new rotary engine".
questions:
why did they not catch-on?
do they produce more power than the equivalent piston engine?
with less individual moving parts, are they more reliable?
billy. Read more
My first car in 1977 was a 2 year old Mazda RX3 Coupe.Cost £400,seemed like the space age in comparison to mates Marina coupes and MK3 Cortina GTs.Ran on 2 star,120+MPH and very squeally Bridgestones,5 speed g/box,frameless doors,totally black 'sports' interior,Japanese Teak steering wheel(plastic)and well under 20MPG.Wish i could buy one now.
This morning on the M4 between Chippenham and Swindon I passed a "survey van" with a big sign on the back saying "Lane surveying in progress" It certainly seemed to be doing something as there was a large flashing strip light attached to the back with a piece of rubber hanging of the back of the van to hide it from drivers eyes.
I'm guessing that this is a precursor to another lane closure on that stretch for re-surfacing. Has anyone else seen these vans in their area, have they invariably been followed by roadwork's? Read more
They are at it all the time for the very reason you state. Highways Agency can then assess the state of wear, work out re-surfacing schedule and costings and when the time comes make the closure Order, engage Contractors etc etc.
DVD
on the way into work this morning -
I'm approaching a Y junction where the A571 and 49 join. 100 yds before the junction is a street used as a rat run. Traffic on the A49 is heavier so people cut through to save a few seconds over a hundred yards. Someone has come down the rat run and pulled out onto the A571 even though there is no room, so they are blocking the lane coming AWAY from the junction -
result, traffic coming out of the junction stops, the junctions blocked and nobody can go anywhere
Then there is the two-lane roundabout at Aspull, where traffic waiting to turn right can't because of the mondeo blocking the outside lane, even though he could have let it through by waiting for five seconds, and the queue of traffic he is in will be moving at walking pace for three miles
Then there is the person (gender unknown, totally black tinted windows on king-cab pickup truck) dropping kid off at school. School is on a traffic light controlled crossroads and opposing lane is full of queue of traffic. pickup driver could (a) pull up on pavement, allowing traffic to flow, (as most parents do, before pulling off pavement without indicating) (b) pull over into school drive, allowing traffic to flow, or (c) park across the end of the school drive whilst still blocking the road - would you like to guess which ?.
So now we've got stationary traffic backing up through the lights, the pickup driver pulls off all of two yards and tries to turn right through the queue of traffic in the opposing lane, that can't get through the lights because the junction is full of traffic that can't get past the pickup...... (who shouldn't be turning down that street as it's a no access/residents only street, and if the pickup drove 100 yards forward, they could turn right down a street not blocked by stationary traffic that they could use legitimately
Grrrrrr....
now, the question
Who'll support my application for a shotgun licence ;-)
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Or the idiot in a red T reg Mitsubishi Carisma (misnomer!) who pulled out in fromt of me in Liverpool yesterday afternoon at about 4:25pm, forcing me to take evasive action.
It looked deliberate. There were no cars behind me so there was no need to do that.
And who then made sure I couldn't get in the lane I needed when he was weaving all over the show whilst talking on his hand-held mobile.
Idiot.
With the new 'hands free' mobile phone legislation coming in , completely unnecessary IMO - my question to all you folks out there today is what is the stupidest reason you have seen for a driver to have at least one hand off the wheel.Keep it clean please.
I nominate the chap I used to see regularly commuting to work in a back lane having a shave at around 40mph ( no - not with the soap and cuthroat)but a battery operated razor.
I quite regularly see girls applying makeup , surely this and eating drinking and smoking at the wheel are all as potentially distracting as a mobile.
We have a charge 'Driving without due care and attention' which surely covers mobile use.
Who remembers the man who caused a major motorway accident reching for a packet of sweets.
Over to you. Read more
All bikers would have to be a bit lunatic anyway to want to ride in the UK winter in rain ,snow or ice or in London .You gotta be mad to like cold water trickling down your neck or into the nether regions when the rain gear doesn't do its job.Sure it can be a joy in the summer on the open road until that one second of inattention or stupidity that can write you off.
I just had a thought - maybe the biker ZZ11 saw was adjusting his video camera instead of the headlamp.
You've been framed? - You've been creamed more like.
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I had a lorry do the sitting on my bumper trick to me while going up the M6. On foreign plates and behaved like this through most of the road works going through thelwall. I find it is better to increase the gap in front and keep as steady speed. Try not to slow down or speed up. They get bored with behaving like cretins usually. If you can change lanes to get away from him, then do so, preferably into the fast lane where he can't legally follow you. As soon as the 70 limit appeared I booted it and left him way behind.
Did you get enough info on the lorry to identify them to their employer? If so try and report them for aggressive driving. If you were in the middle lane and weren't really getting passed those cars in the left then perhaps moving over to the left lane would have been the best option.
Should lorries should be fitted with radar so if they get too close the driver has to listen to a loud buzzer or a note of it is made on the tacho that they were driving too close?
teabelly