No steering wheel? Use vicegrips!

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Tue 2 Nov 2004 12:28
No steering wheel? Use vicegrips! - Ian (Cape Town)
YES! The front page of the local paper reports....

www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13

Police could not believe their eyes when they pulled over a dilapidated bakkie [pick up truck, Ian!] on the West Coast Road early today and discovered it had no steering wheel.

The driver, careering at a "considerable speed" towards Table View, had been keeping the hand-painted Ford Cortina bakkie on the road using a pair of vice-grip pliers clamped around the steering shaft. The steering wheel, with an anti-theft device in place, was next to him on the passenger seat.

When suspicious police flagged him down near Parklands they at first thought the vehicle had been stolen, but a check on the police computer system was negative.


The Melkbosstrand man explained that he had been fixing the bakkie and had not been able to find the key for the steering lock.

A Table View policeman said he slowly drove the "death trap" to his charge office, where Milnerton traffic officials were to examine the vehicle and charge the driver.
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Tue 2 Nov 2004 12:34
No steering wheel? Use vicegrips! - Aprilia
Blimey, that's an old trick. Been done in the UK years ago - more than once too!
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Tue 2 Nov 2004 13:32
No steering wheel? Use vicegrips! - Ian (Cape Town)
Well known here as well - minibus taxis like the vicegrip approach so they can get another passenger on the front benchseat...
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Tue 2 Nov 2004 13:36
No steering wheel? Use vicegrips! - Cliff Pope
Tiller steering predates wheel. Look at the entrants in the London-Brighton run. I don't think the MOT regulations actually say a car has to have a steering wheel?
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Tue 2 Nov 2004 20:50
No steering wheel? Use vicegrips! - Kevin
From todays Namibian:

www.namibian.com.na/

"Eleven die on Roads at Weekend."

"In another accident on the same road, four people died about 12 kilometres from Tsumeb on Saturday afternoon.

The deceased were identified as Shatika Titus, Johannes Nghifikwa (29), Natalia Hamutenya (age unknown) and 18-month-old Haina Eliakim.

Sixteen others travelling in the Toyota minibus were admitted to hospital.

A tyre burst is believed to have been the cause of the accident."

This type of accident is quite common in Namibia and the authorities still haven't cracked down on overloaded "taxi's".

Kevin...
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Tue 2 Nov 2004 13:35
No steering wheel? Use vicegrips! - henry k
I tried steering my car with Mole grips but NO seat to sit on. A most odd experience.
I had my Ford Crusader stolen one evening. Twelve hours later I was with the tow truck recovering it.
Two problems. It had no interior and it was in a valley across a field. I had to steer it while it was towed up and out of the site. Needless to say an insurance write off even no other damage. I certainly would not like to try it on the highway.
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Tue 2 Nov 2004 20:29
No steering wheel? Use vicegrips! - v8man
Many moons ago (1978ish) I was walking home from school and a SD1 drove past with the driver waving the steering wheel proudly out of the window and smiling!
--
\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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