May 2007
Here's one that's bothered me on and off for a while, on which the Highway Code seems not to give a definitive answer. I'll illustrate it with a real-world example from last Sunday.
Driving through a village en route to lunch at a friend's house, I reached a crossroads and stopped at the give-way line, as there was traffic on the major road. I was turning right and signalling accordingly. As I waited for the traffic to clear, another car stopped at the give-way line on the opposite side, showing no signal and so apparently intending to go straight on.
When the main road cleared, I began my right-turn manoeuvre, but before I'd completed it, the other car also pulled out and indeed went straight across the junction. I'd half-anticipated this and was going slowly enough to stop and let it go, and we each went on our way.
My question is this: who should have waited for whom? All the HC offers is You MUST give way to traffic on the main road when emerging from a junction with broken white lines across the road, which we both did. Had we been at traffic lights, I would unquestionably have given way, but I took the view that we each had a give-way line to cross and I had reached the junction first, so I would set off first. (This, incidentally, is the rule that applies at 'four-way crossings' in the US.) And once I'd done that, you could argue that I was 'traffic on the main road' and the other driver should have waited for me. In the absence of eye contact, which the other driver carefully refused to make, what's the BR's view on what should happen here? Read more
Can someone tell me where the fuel filter on a 1998 corsa 1.0 ecotec is situated?
Thanx in advance! Read more
Much obliged Andrew, thank you.
Right then , Friday we're off driving down the to the Languedoc from Calais via a nice Chateau near Orleans, but the difference is this time we are hiring a 9 seater minivan rather than going in two cars.
Anyone any tips this year on the state of l'autoroutes and does anyone know if a Citroen Jumper or Mercedes Vito is charged higher on the tolls than a standard car so we can budget accordingly?
Already disabled the french camera bits on the TomTom and the vehicle is a LHD (pick up at Calais Ferryport) - we are crossing as foot passengers this time.
Much obliged Read more
There'a fixed camera on the autoroute near Boulogne,another on the auto route near Clermont Ferrand and have seen a mobile on the N154 near Dreux.The obvious route is south from Calais and head for Rouen-take the Paris autoroute there for a few miles,then onto the A154 which becomes the N154 all the way to Orleans-I use this route but stay in the Campanile at La Source which is in a forest.From there you get straight onto the Autoroute all the way to Languedoc.Take a 10 min.diversion to look at the Viaduct du Garabit-it's signposted and well worth it.
hi all,
i have just had my 51 plate Ford Focus MOT'd yesterday and it failed.
the reason for it failing was that the Technition could not get the revs to hold at 2500 rpm in order to perform the emissions test. ive since tried to do it and i cant either. it will flow nicely up to about 2100 rpm but when you try to give it a little more gas it shoots up to 3000 rpm.
over all it drives fine, starts fine every time and this is the first main problem that i have had with the focus.
ive been told it could be a tight spot in the air flap?? and also a possible air leak??
anyone with any ideas??
many thanks, jon B Read more
Jon
"A worn belt and tensioner?" I'll never say never on any car; but it'll take quite a stretch of the imagination to see the causality between that and an idle issue?
If a throttle sensor[??] was faulty; I would have expected other indications to show up first.
Still; glad to hear it's sorted - at quite a cost.
Lets treat this as hypothetical.
A 7.5 t Lorry fails to stop after an accident and someone gets the number.
Police ask the company for the drivers name and the company fails to disclose it. . .
The vehicle is subject to an O licence.
The qualified person named on the O licence is no longer responsible/involved in the transport operation.
Anyone tell me what offences have been committed (apart from failing to stop), and what happens next - i.e. who could get prosecuted and what effect might it have on the O license?
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Having held a CPC I agree with DVD - the O licence is a reddish herring. The directors / company secretary of the company (if Ltd) or the partners, on whose behalf someone will be signing as Regd Keeper are the people to focus on. Clearly the transport manager should have the info., but they may not be the person on the V5.
"With prices flirting near the $4.00 dollar a gallon mark, you'd think sales of SUV's would take a hit. but according to the automotive research website, edmonds.com , nationally large SUV's rose nearly 6 percent in the first quarter of 2007. "
This was also reported on the BBC.
A little surprising?
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Apparently they believe the $4 gas price is a temporary thing and it'll be $1.50 again soon.
They think SUV's are safer and more convenient (can just throw kids stuff etc into them). With their raised driving position, it's so easy to drive a large engined, power everything SUV in the US (none of the tiny parking space hassles etc that we get) that I'm not surprised by the reports.
Just had a note from my youngest boy - less than 1 yr old car parked at work on Friday - car park next door being relaid (unknown to him as he gets in at 7 am). Due to high winds the "grit and pink fluffy dice" form the relay has covered his and 20 other cars. The bill will be substantial.
Earlier this year eldest son's car parked at worl when somone decided to cut some pipes in the basement - he is now haviong windscreen, backscrenn & 2 x side windows repon inusrance claim. His wife's carw as washed at aMian dealere by the 16yr odl Saturday boy after getting a warrnty repair - this required a re-spray of roof, boot & one side.
A bit of thought could ahve saved £000's in just 3 cases
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Outcome of compalint re Car Park Grit covering cars
Owner of carpark agreed to clean cars thoroughly and allocated 1 hour for team of car cleaners to come to car park - absolute waste of time - one owner got his car back and not only was the body not clean they had not even managed to get the flies off the number plate.
My son booked his car - along with another 6-8 into a reputable valet company - magic but at a cost of £250 each + Super Polish for an RS4 & S8 took the bill to nearly £550 each.
So much for saving money by getting a carp[ark relaid on a Friday to save Overtime paymenst on a Saturday.
My ashtray won't stay shut on my 2001 Mondeo, nor will the sunglasses holder on the roof. They seem to have the same kind of mechanism. Anyone else had this happen? Tips on dealing with it much appreciated! Read more
ive ended up with lolly sticks in drink compartment on dash,pls dont tell me me sunglasses and ciggie box are next lol
I've got some wear on the drivers seat on my recaro interior , can the covers be changed on these i'm sure i've read somewhere that they can , if so how much of a job is it ? Read more
So what would happen if I stuck some aluminium foil to a large sheet of cardboard and then waved it in front of a speed camera? Would this trigger the camera? What about strips of foil similiar to those used by aircraft to defect enemy radar?
Second question - if the above can trigger the camera what would happen if for example I left strips of foil near the camera just blowing in the wind and randomly setting off the camera, assuming that at some point during the day a motorist speeds past the camera and gets a ticket, would the ticket be invalid?
Third question - If the camera was being triggered every few seconds I assume at some point it would run out of film or memory? Read more
Good luck with your research. Do write and tell us about it.
Is that not a typo? Didn't you mean 'Don't write and tell us about it'?
>>Good plan generally - but sometimes you just have to cross, even when you know there are crocodiles about.
Best to resist the desire for a drink first though(!)