It still only seems to be a rumour at the moment but there are mootings that insurance companies are planning to hike the insurance of those people that fix and service their own car. Now having had experience of woefully inadequate garages leaving dangerous faults on my car I wonder whether this will actually lead to an increase in accidents? Most people that repair their own vehicle are competant (it's their own safety on the line for a start) and often don't trust garages because of the likelihood of serious mistakes. Insurance companies do things to absolve themselves of responsibility which suggests to me that vehicle defects and accidents due to them must be on the increase, hence the desire to avoid paying out. Could this be in part due to the increased wear and tear on braking/suspension components with worsening roads and use of humps?
Of course it might entirely be due to lengthening servicing intervals so no-one looks at a car often enough so dangerous faults are being missed.
teabelly
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seems to be a rumour
>>
as heard/seen where?
if true, it might be against eu competition and human-rights rules. and more important, it would force the less rich non-mercedes driving people off the roads in to using public transport. that would be against all the principles of a socialist equal rights government.
and red-ken and the unions would be totally against it because then they would have to share their tubes and buses with the great unwashed. and so it will just not happen. how will all those labour councils then justify giving free driving lessons to the asylum seekers who cannot afford anything but diy?
i am all for the idea by the way. because i believe roads should only be used by those who can afford to pay for insurance, maintenance, and only for cars under 3 years old. ( that would must keep the economy booming with production lines at gm, ford, and other failing producers back in full swing. )
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i believe roads should only be used by those who can afford to pay for
insurance
Yup.
maintenance
With you there.
and only for cars under 3 years old.
"Riiiiiiiiiiiight."
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I'd assume that was a joke but with you Dalglish, I'm not so sure.
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adam - its no joke, really, honestly. ;-)
all new motoring laws and rules are designed to help the poor people of this country to get back to using public transport where they belong. you cannot own a car without insurance, you cannot go above 70mph as it causes global warming, you cannot drive into london unless you pay 2congestion" charges, and so on and so forth. new computerised mot means the cost of the mot can only be covered if the garage finds faults that they can repair at a very reasonable price.
soon you will have a databse that covers whether your car has an mot, has insurance, and when it was last serviced by an government or insurance approved garage.
you know how you cannnot diy-repair a gas boiler, or diy electrics in the home. well why should you be able to diy your brakes or anything mot-safety related on your car? for that matter, why not have a new law that says kitchen knives are so dangerous that you must employ a qualified chef to prepare and cook your food. i like this government. geting more and more like the true socialist "animal farm" model. the roads and bus-lanes on the m4 are meant only for government ministers or their rich friends.
i am not a cynic at all. and i don't like jokes.
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Petrol tax, road tax, the congestion charge are all regressive taxes. The burden falls most unfairly on the not so rich. The intention might not be to force the poor out of their cars, but that is the effect. Their is probably an unconscious assumption that a car is a 'luxury'. Local councils road policy isn't to make traffic flow smoothly and quickly, it's to make motoring as expensive, inconvenient and slow as possible to help the 'environment' by hoping that people will give up their cars.
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I do not know if this has been mentioned here,but in the Portsmouth and Havant area a new by-law has been introduced which makes it an offence to repair any motor vehicle on a public highway!.Fixed penalty tickets will be issued for this offence.
If you happen to break down on the road you will be expected to call a garage and have the vehicle taken away, any attempt to repair the car wil result in a ticket being issued.
As an owner of a few elderly vehicles whom "fail to proceed"sometimes I know an area i will be avoiding.
If and when all other councils adopt this policy i will have to expert in the art of lightning repairs.
Isnt it nice to know that those cuddly beaurocrats are there just to make life more pleasant and fun.
Glen
If this is a drum that has been already banged, then sorry, i am always a bit behind.
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I do not know if this has been mentioned here,but in the Portsmouth and Havant area a new by-law has been introduced which makes it an offence to repair any motor vehicle on a public highway!.Fixed penalty tickets will be issued for this offence.
I seem to recall a workmate being warned for repairing cars in the road back in the early 70's, admittedly he did it in his spare time for 'beer money' so was making it a bit of a business.
Not sure of the exact details but I do remember him being incensed that the council had written to him warning that it was against local bye-laws and if he continued they would prosecute, in the days before FPN's became the norm. Therefore it would appear that Portsmouth are only just catching on.
Mind you, with the advent of cars needing main dealers to do just about anything I would imagine this type of activity is dying out rather than increasing.
Just one last thought, will they come and ticket the AA, RAC, Green Flag, et al for trying to fix your car at the road, and does a flat count as 'broken down'?
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When changing an engine and gearbox on a Talbot Horizon circa 1990 in the road, I was approached by the local PC. That was when I lived in Leicester.
He advised me that it was illegal to repair the car in the road but wouldn't take any action if I got it finished in a week!
It was running two days later anyway.
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IIRC it's not only illegal to repair a car on the public highway, but also it's illegal to wash a car on the highway.
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Does changing a wheel if you get a puncture count as repairing a car on a public highway?
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They can introduce as many laws as they see fit,but as policing is really bad *ie* hardly any cops on the beat,traffic cops rarely seen, not really much chance of being caught using mobile phone whilst driving,let alone being fined for washing your car on the road.As for repairing your own car-well thats been going on for a long time,and doubt it will change
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Steve
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An elderly person once told me that the only laws worth obeying are those that you are likely to get caught out over. Didn't rub off on me though, I went back to the garage to inform them they had undercharged me. Now that's sad.
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