TOPS NEWS May 2004
The Police Complaints authority has said that 27 people died in the
past 12 months in police car pursuits.
It admitted that police drivers with only basic training were taking
part in the pursuits.
The EU have voted for a sweeping gender equality law
which forces insurance companies to treat men and women in the same way,
regardless of risk. At present 98% of
those convicted for dangerous driving in Britain are men.
The new Volvo coupe YCC has been designed for women, with
scratch-proof bumpers, lift-up doors, easy filling screen wash and flip-up back
seats for extra storage. Volvo claim
that its pièce de résistance is the autopark function – the car decides
if a potential parking space is large enough and then steers itself into the
spot
A policeman who accidentally switched on a sign on the rear of
his car saying “Police – Follow Me” collected a convoy as he drove to the pub.
Following the dropping of an inspection light, the breaking bulb ignited petrol
vapour in the Belgian workshop and car storage premises of members Paul and
Mary Grant. A number of cars were
severely burned but will eventually be repaired. No-one was hurt. This is
the second time we have had to report an alarming fire/explosion caused by a
spark which ignites petrol vapour. Be
warned.
Do you wonder why Coys has reduced its sellers’ commission
to 5%?
The Government has refused the recommendation by
the Office of Fair Trading to allow 15,000 new taxi licences to be issued by
Councils.
The Government Car and Despatch Agency has said that the average annual
cost of transport for a minister last year was £59,901 making a total of £5m
for their official cars - taxpayer’s money!
A Judge at Preston Crown Court has banned a woman from driving in
the hope that this would inconvenience her even though her crimes had nothing
to do with being in a car. Pamela
Moyers was convicted of falsely claiming £40,000 in benefits.
Gooch, a grandmother suspected of passing bad cheques to
a dozen car dealers has been dropped by her lawyer after the cheque she gave
him bounced. The white-haired septuagenarian, who gets around with a walking
frame and a portable oxygen cart, failed to appear in court for a bond hearing.
She has been charged with five felony counts of theft by deception and passing
bad cheques. She allegedly used bad cheques to pay for vehicles, including a
Toyota minivan, a Toyota Matrix car, a Mazda sport utility, and a Chrysler
minivan. An arrest warrant has been
issued.
February UK car output rose 3.5% to 141,093 units from 136,346
a year ago. Production for export rose 8% to 93,046. March output rose 7.4% to 163,123 units and export rose 11.7% to 114,297 units, up 10.7% to 303,372 for
the year so far.
Police
in Australia found 1,000 bicycles at the home of a man who died
while trying to steal one. It took
police four hours and two trucks to move the bicycles.
Johnny Dumfries has cancelled the popular Mount
Stuart event on the Isle of Bute because the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry company
has not been able to guarantee ‘smooth’ transportation of cars and visitors to
the island. The event is expected to
take place in 2005 and TOPS has been told that it may be linked with another
major event which we are likely to support - details as and when!
A man has pleaded guilty to drink driving after crashing
into 11 cars whilst moving his car ten yards to a better parking space, causing
damage estimated at £150,000.
Tokyo taxi cab driver Tsuyoshi Sakuma spent three months
driving 32,000 kilometres through eleven countries from Patagonia to New York
City. On arrival the meter showed six
million yen.
A Belgian motorist has been sent a speeding ticket for
travelling at 2,100 kph. The ticket
claimed he had been caught doing Mach 3 in his Mini in a Brussels city
suburb. Police have apologised for the
mistake, and blamed a faulty radar.
Control Plus parking enforcement agency ticketed a scooter as its rider was
being put into an ambulance in London.
Ticket prices for the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring on 30th May will
be reduced by almost 50% in an attempt to boost demand. The French are doing
the same for their G.P.
Traffic police in Germany have slapped a fine on Bobbie a dog
for not wearing a seatbelt. Bobbie was travelling in the back of his owner's
car when traffic police stopped the car and issued a fine saying:
"Anything that flies forward when you brake sharply can cause serious
injury and needs to be fixed securely, in accordance with road safety
regulations. Small dogs belong on the floor and larger dogs need to be kept in
a harness or in the boot."
Jacques Regis, the FFSA President responsible for
saving the French Grand Prix, said that his budget is $19 to 20m, of which
$11.9m will go to pay the fees for holding the race.
The EU has produced new legislation for the assembly and
construction of speed limiters on light commercial vehicles for passenger and
goods transport. Details from
admin@fbhvc.co.uk.
The Government has announced a £3.5 billion scheme to widen 67
miles of the M25 and 53 miles of the M1.
Most of the M25 will become four lanes in each direction. The M1 will be widened between Leicester and
Chesterfield.
Mr Ecclestone and the FOA have acquired the rights to the
British Grand Prix at Silverstone from the Interpublic Group which has paid
Ecclestone’s Formula One Administration company £51.8m in order to be released
from their contract. The BRDC issued a
statement welcoming the acquisition of the rights to the event by FOA in the expectation that Mr Ecclestone wishes
to retain the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. However Ecclestone, who wants the BRDC to invest considerable
money in improvements, does not wish to
do the G.P. promotion - nor does the BRDC who receive £7m p.a. for the circuit
use.
One thousand magistrates have been caught by speed cameras
in the past three years.
The 29th February (Leap Year) provided the Government
with an extra £53m in tax from 92 million litres of petrol and diesel. About four million drivers fill up each day
with an average of 23 litres of fuel.
While Traffic warden and scamera partnership van drivers
issue parking tickets, their vans are often now seen parked on double yellow
lines and zebra crossings, pavements and bus stops.
The FBHVC has again drawn attention to the Indemnity which
organisers expect motor event entrants to sign. They warn of the possibility of signing away legal rights if the
indemnity is not fair.
University lecturer Dr Jon Thompson decided to obtain photographic
proof that his Volvo was not inside the £5 London congestion zone for which he
was charged. He took his own pictures
at exactly the same points, using the local landmarks, where the camera had
shown his car and discovered that they were all outside the zone. His investigation also showed that the
congestion charge revenue was considerably lower than predicted because only
7,000 motorists had been expected to appeal against fines but the total is more
likely to be 35,000 – last year the motorist won 75% of the appeals.
Another piece of EU legislation to be enforced from May 2006
compels all children under 4’11” and 5st 9lb to use one of five types of
official child seat which have to be ‘built-in’. (That could be quite a large child). Specially designed
booster seats and seat belts will be compulsory in the back of the car. At present, child restraints in the back
seat must be used only if one is available. Seatbelt adaptors
will not be acceptable under the new law.
Ashley Carpenter, a cyclist who punctured 1,728 tyres
on 548 vehicles with a sharpened screwdriver has been jailed for 16 months.
The Financial Services Authority has joined a US fraud investigation
into Spear & Jackson, the oldest toolmaker in Britain employing 1,000
workers in Sheffield.
Jaguar has recalled 68,000 of its XJ model (14,000 in Britain), because a gearbox fault
could send the car into reverse at high speed.
The Bayerische Landesbank,
JP Morgan Chase
Bank and Lehmann Brothers, which together hold 75% of SLEC, the Ecclestone
family trust, filed a lawsuit in March
against Bernie Ecclestone, who holds the remaining 25% of the shares in the
Formula One group holding company. It is not clear what the lawsuit centres on
but the whisper at the Malaysian GP in March was that it is a challenge to
Ecclestone's management control of the business and the way in which directors
are appointed. Sources in Germany have confirmed that the banks want a ruling
on whether or not they have a right to make appointments to the board. The implications of the case are enormous because
if Ecclestone lost his control of the management of the Formula One group the
whole structure of the sport could change.
A new RNLI hovercraft designed to operate over mudflats
had to be pushed free when it became stuck in the mud.
Fiat's Italian factories have been forced to shut down
because they cannot get enough parts from a plant in southern Italy where
workers are striking for better pay and shift patterns. Fiat, deep into a
rescue plan to tackle losses at its car division, said the disruption had led
to lost production of 12,000 vehicles so far.
Lakshmi Mittal, an Indian steel tycoon, has bought
Bernie Ecclestone’s house near Kensington Palace, in London, for £70m; the most
expensive house sale ever recorded. It
has 12 bedrooms, garage space for 20 cars, Turkish baths, a ballroom, an
oak-panelled picture gallery and an ornate basement pool. In March Ecclestone sold a first-floor
Chelsea flat to a British financier for £27m in what is also believed to be the
most expensive deal of its kind.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has announced the appointment of
two new dealerships, which will serve the Italian market. Facilities are
currently under construction in Rome and Milan.
Jonathan Palmer has said that organisers must pay
an extra £20,000 at Brands Hatch if they want to use the Grand Prix loop for
races. At the recent Superbike meeting
people using a generator in the paddock were charged to do so.
From 1st June, Jean Todt will be Ferrari's new
managing director, which will make him second only to Ferrari President Luca
Montezemolo. Martin Leach, ex head of Ford is to be CEO of Maserati.
TOPS NEWS is an abridged version of one section of the
TOPS magazine sent to members.
Trisha Pilkington