I followed a giant tractor doing 30mph on a long stretch of A road with double white lines. I know that one is allowed to cross the lines to pass stationary or slow moving vehicles, but how slow is slow? About half the cars in the queue overtook, the rest nervously hung back, for several miles. Read more

I recently drove from Cheshire to Nottingham. Surely this route deserves some road investment? Both the M1 and the M6 are completely out of the way; apart from last few miles to Nottingham. It seems to me that the only route that is sensibly direct is via Buxton, including treacherous mountain pass across Penines. Inevitably, I got stuck at 20 mph behind one of the many HGVs using that route. Sometimes you can't safely do more than 20 mph anyway; but the HGVs can't pick up much speed on the many safer stretches. Over taking is impossible for miles & miles.

What I would like is a nice new motorway from Cheshire through Derbyshire linking M6 to M1.

Can I squeeze in a couple of speed camera questions that arise from the above trip?

Travelling east towards Buxton (a few miles short) I noticed a speed camera on the OPPOSITE side of the road. I approached it, and saw it flash as I continued towards it. I am just about certain that there were no cars in the usual flash range in front of it: I remember an empty road. My question is this: could the camera have been flashing at me, on the other side of the road? I was doing less than indicated 40 in a 30 zone (I think. I'll take the lectures as read, thank you). Do cameras ever go off for no reason? I have not received any letters of an unChristmassy nature so far (nearly 2 weeks later).

In the next village that I passed through, there was a pair of speed cameras on each side of the road. However, on both sides of the road I noticed that the cameras were pointing in the OPPOSITE direction to where the white stripes were. I realize that you can get forward-facing speed cameras, but why paint stripes going in the opposite direction? My theory is that they started off with the usual 'flashing from behind' speed cameras and painted the road to go with it. Maybe later they updated the speed cameras to forward-facing ones but didn't repaint the road.

I am a bit worried now that the board moderators are going to politely but firmly tell me that speed-camera posts are now banned until further notice and that I should refer to Speed Camera Thread XVII. Read more

I have recently upgraded from an elderly '89 Scorpio to an, er, elderly '93 version of the same.

This is my fourth Scorp and they have all been different in engine and dashboard layout as well as other features.

What has me puzzled on this one is the aircon switch - press on and the light comes on, press off and the light flashes together with a loud ticking, like the indicator noise.

Naturally, neither the Ford manual or Haynes mention this.

Since the last owner told me "the system needs recharging" (or is totally shot!?) I'm guessing it might be trying to tell me this but I would appreciate info from someone who knows. Read more

Hi There

I wonder if anyone can help, my wife drives a L 94 Mondeo 20.Si which has just gained a fault. If you start the car with no throttle it starts fine and purrs like a pussy cat, but the second you press down the clutch or throttle it stalls. I think i had a simalar problem with a XR3i some years back and it was some little black box on the side of the engine which had cooked, but i'm not 100% sure. Any advice please !!

Cheers for now

Darren Read more

Polo failed his MOT today. He's had so much money spent on him over the last year or so, I was convinced he'd pass and am shocked about the reason why. Bit of background:

Aug 2003: Went to get tyres and balancing at Micheldever. They couldn't do the balancing because the front suspension was badly worn. Took Polo to a garage my dad has used for years and I trust completely, and he had new wishbones, bushes etc.

Later that month, a lorry took a shine to my car, which I thought would have ruined all the work done on the suspension, but it didn't and...

Jan 04: Passed MOT with flying colours.

Thought I'd get in early this time and get the MOT done with the service before it's due in Jan 05. (I had to take it VW because I still don't know any decent garages up here.) He's failed on front suspension "both bottom arm bushes split" and they say it's going to cost £270 to put right, in addition to the money I paid today. I'm gutted, and don't understand how the first set lasted 7 years, and the replacement set didn't even make it to 2. I just know that whoever it is in here who likes to give me grief about parking on the kurb outside my flat (there's nowhere else to park!) will be rubbing their hands with glee as I think it's that that's done it.

Polo also needs some sort of distributor and rotor arm but that is only £30 and not an MOT failure. I just hope they can do it this week because I don't fancy driving a car I know is poorly all the way south for Christmas, and I fancy the nasty 1.2 Polo they gave me today even less.

I'm just so annoyed! It's more than my half of the rent for a month and I'm so crap I haven't even managed to get a proper job yet after graduating. Cried in the traffic jam on the way home (which took an hour because some stupid yam yam decided to go through the roundabout rather than round it.) Phoned my dad and he's going to help me pay for it, but I'm supposed to be a grown up now and not need him to! (He insists this is what he signed up to the dad lark for, but I still feel awful.)

GRrr... I feel like leaving Polo unlocked with the key in the ignition as the excess on my insurance is less than the repair bill. I am an appalling mother and an even worse daughter. :( Read more