DVLA are still around....

[Howard]

I'm pretty sure that I must have had that engine kicking about here for years in bits!!!!

Hi Timetraveller,

Was that the basket case engine I sold you in 1998? Have you still got the receipt? Do you want one? I bought that in 1980........ That's 30 years history for your engine Phil.

Vibrac, I think because we're out of the ordinary, we can easily get round these things, as a close knit family, and let's be honest, jackboots or not, these folks are only realy looking for the bad guys and an easy life.............. aren't they??

H

 

[timetraveller]

That's the one Howard. I will never forget that meal of fish and chips with mushy peas

 

[vibrac]

Vibrac, I think because we're out of the ordinary, we can easily get round these things, as a close knit family, and let's be honest, jackboots or not, these folks are only realy looking for the bad guys and an easy life.............. aren't they??

You are right about the easy life excentricity however mild we regard it is difficult to incorparate in legislation.However to find a way around an unjust law may be clever BUT it will only encourage more restrictions. unjust laws need to be opposed before they become laws.

I am always amazed how the legialators with helmet laws, cc restiction laws, increased complexity and levels of driving tests and miles of other legislation have managed to turn a whole 'rebellious' youth culture away from motorcycles and into fug boxes and drugs. No wonder youth are even more irresponsible than we were all their responsibility has been taken away.

And every step could be given a valid reason "You know it makes sense" and often got the response "it wont affect me"
We are exposed because we are a minority, we are a monority because we didnt make enough fuss and either conformed or "found a way round it".

 

[Tom Gaynor]

Firstly, if any of you planned to come to the Scottish Section AGM in Perth today, don't. For once the roads actually ARE blocked. Killer White Death really HAS struck Scotland, first time since last winter, but a week earlier than last year.

And now, back to our program on DVLA, part of the axis of incompetence, or "government agencies" if you prefer...

They aren't looking for bad guys, because bad guys don't pay fines. Britain has an illogical attraction to legislation that only works on those with no criminal intent - Bambi, our last PM but two, presided over the creation of 1200 new criminal offences. Most recent UK legislation seems to me to have been of the "we can't find the culprit so you'll all be punished" variety. Graham Stringer's private bill to register ALL bikes - to stamp out kids playing on waste ground on "field bikes" in his constituency - actually got through, because it was the last bill of Bambi's tenure, and the whips wanted him to go out on a high. As soon as he did go the bill was scrapped because it was totally impracticable and existing legislation served perfectly well. (This came from my own local (Labour, as it happened) M.P., to whom I'd written.) I am of course not naming Graham Stringer so that anyone can make a point of not voting for him.

The best solution I ever saw for the "matching numbers" problem was from an MOT tester (writing anonymously in one of the respectable mags) who suggested one made one's own VIN plate (like those on modern cars and bikes), which matched the numbers in the DVLA database, and fixed it where it was easily visible. Most testers belong to an age LONG after stamping numbers on frames where they are difficult to read ended. They expect a VIN plate. So give them one. If modern bikes have numbers, they're under fairings. And why should they check? The only way it could ever be brought home to them is if a Plod forensic team caught you actually leaving a testing station. An MOT says the vehicle was roadworthy WHEN TESTED.

Don't bother closing the stable door on your way out.

 

[John Appleton]

. An MOT says the vehicle was roadworthy WHEN TESTED.

Small but important correction here Tom. It actually says "An MOT test pass cofirms that, when the vehicle was examined in accordance with section 45 of the road traffic act, it met the MINIMUM legal requirements for THOSE ITEMS PRESCRIBED UNDER THE ACT."
These minimum requirements are so lenient that we must pass a car if it has "more than 1mm of brake pad left". If it is a rear wheel drive car, the prop shaft can be about to fall off and all we can do is advise this fact to the owner, and issue a pass certificate, unless the car has a transmission park brake, in which case the shaft is part of the braking system.
I can give many examples like this, where the vehicle is Not roadworthy but must still be given a pass certificate. It is now almost impossible to fail a brake disc, irrespective of how corroded it may be, provided that the performance readings reach the PRESCRIBED MINIMUM, but one wonders what would be the outcome if this vehicle caused an injury due to failure to stop for some other reason. A police traffic examiner would have a field day reporting on some of the discs that we see meeting the minimum requirements.
In all of these examples we should issue a pass certificate, but is it roadworthy? I don't think so. What about the case of a brake cable having some broken strands. We must ask ourselves if this "SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES ITS STRENGTH", and pass and advise if in doubt.
"ROADWORTHY AT TIME OF TEST", definitely not.
John

 

[vibrac]

Police examiners are rarely involved unless death or injury is involved
Imagine you are a busy cop arriving at the scene of a minor accident and nobody was drunk and there are 2 stories so what are you going to put down as a cause?
inatention?,vechicle malfunction?,satnav?,using phone?,talking to passenger?,listening to music so loud you cannot hear a horn?
No. you were not there and you need to avoid excessive costs paperwork and your time,so what are you going to put down a reason ? well that is a no -brainer
"most accidents are caused by excesssive speed" yeah right.

 

[bmetcalf]

In the US, vehicle inspections are at the discretion of the state legislatures. None of the three states I have lived in have inspections, so I don't know how thorough/realistic a US inspection is.

 

[John Cone]

It's seems that every where you go these days there are exceptions for example: If I drive my car i'm not required to wear my spectacles because I can read a number plate at the required distance. But when I drive my truck or a coach I am legally required to wear them and also have to carry a spare pair.Now the vision from a truck is far better than the car and am I more likely to hit someone or something in the truck bearing in mind in the past 12 month the truck has covered 248,000 Kms.

 

[vibrac]

And another el stupiedo
No dark Visors but sun glasses are OK
What consitutes sunglasses? -another 6 pen pushers to define that and for us to support while they do it.

 

[Howard]

Seeing the comments and definitions from these people reminded me.

A few years ago I got a fine for not declaring SORN (boy do I object to that little legislation).

When I read the form the charge was, that on the 1st of April I did not inform them of my intention to keep the motorcycle off the road (silly wording).

I rang them and asked how they knew my intentions on a specific date when I don't know my own intentions. I then pointed out that I intended to tax the bike on the 1st April, but couldn't get insurance without an alarm, and I couldn't get an alarm in time..... but at no time did I not intend to tax the bike. They dropped the case.

A couple of years later I got another SORN fine (different wording this time). I rang and said I'd posted the form. They said I was still liable because they hadn't received it. I said I only have to deal with one form, you must have thousands each day so it's much more likely you've lost it. They gave up.

When I taxed the Egli last year for the first time in ages, A little window popped up on the website saying this bike has not been taxed for 11 years and you have not declared SORN. You may be hearing from us.......... I think I've got a big red cross by my name in Swansea because they haven't been in touch.

Is it just me, or does everyone else hate SORN?

H