Speeding driver who blamed dead man jailed

A driver who blamed a dead man for his speeding offence has been jailed.

After Andrew Evans's car was caught by a speed camera travelling at 51mph in a 30mph zone in Plymouth in April, he claimed his neighbour Ben Hughes had been driving at the time.

It was only when police looked up Mr Hughes to pass on the prosecution they found he had died a few months before.

Evans, 48, of Ludlow, Shropshire, admitted perverting the course of justice and was jailed for six years...

source: BBC Devon

Can you drive your car after an MOT fail if the old test hasn’t expired?

Can you drive your car after an MOT fail if the old test hasn’t expired?

There is a lot of speculation around this topic online, some sites claim that drivers are within their rights to continue using a car with an in-date MOT certificate, even a tester has since deemed it unroadworthy.

The government has updated its guidelines warning motorists that they face prosecution if they drive their car following an MOT failure – even if its previous test hasn’t expired.

“You must not drive the vehicle on the road if it fails the test, even if the MOT hasn’t run out.”
It adds that the only exceptions are to drive to have the defects fixed, or to a pre-booked MOT appointment.

If you’re caught driving a car in a dangerous condition, you could face a fine of up to £2,500, a driving ban and three penalty points.

Source: http://www.motoringresearch.com

Unique Pothole Protest - Cock Drawing!

Bright white penises have been spray painted around more than a dozen potholes on Cock Lane. (yes that is the roads real name!).

Residents have been complaining about subsidence and the crumbling road surface for two years but the council has carried out no repairs.

Now motorists hope the images - which are different sizes and point in different directions - will spur authorities into action.

Polly Birkbeck, 49, spotted the obscene graffiti, in Fetcham, Surrey, while taking her daughter to school yesterday.

She said: "I drive down there every day on the school run and said to my daughter, 'hang on a minute, someone's drawn willies on the road'.

"There are about 15 of them, I stopped the car and counted.
"They're on all the bad bits of the road, it's a sort of protest by someone with a smutty sense of humour.

"That stretch of road is really annoying, it's terribly uneven, I guess the council will just scrub them off but I'm surprised they haven't fixed this bit of road because it's been like that for years.

"It's possibly a way to highlight the issue and galvanise someone into action.

"It did make me smile - it's quite surprising to see because you don't get much graffiti around here.

"I have absolutely no idea who did it, but it must have taken a while." Cllr Raj Haque said Surrey County Council had promised fix the road this month but it has now been put back to next year.

He said the delay was "a shock to many residents who were given reassurances that the work would be under way in September".

Ian Routledge, who lives on a road joining Cock Lane, said: “This has been an issue for at least two years.

"No-one from the council will have a sensible conversation with you about what needs to be done.
“We just get fobbed off all the time.”

Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk

Six Worst Traffic Jams Known To Mankind

We came across this article by shmee150 via thesupercarkids.com

I know we all like to think that we have sat in the worst traffic jam EVER! but get a load of these and start considering yourself lucky!

Lyon-Paris, France - February 1980

Bad weather, as well as masses of winter travelers returning to Paris created a traffic jam that became 109 miles long. Imagine that.

 

Bethel, New York - August 1969

This jam lasted three days, and was caused by over 500,000 people going to Max Yasgur’s famous farm for the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival. The traffic stretched back for over 20 miles and performers had to be flown via helicopter.

 

Sao Paulo, Brazil - June 2009

On June 10 2009 It was reported that there were more than 182 miles of traffic jams over 522 miles of road.

 

Kyoto, Japan - August 1990

In Japan, on August 12, 1990 more than 15,000 cars crawled along for greater than 84 miles on a highway between Hyogo and Shiga prefectures, caused by a mix of holiday revelers heading home and residents evacuating the city due to a typhoon warning

East/West Germany - April 1990

After the Berlin Wall, dividing the East and West of Germany had fallen, the holidays at Easter saw a large number of Germans desperate to reconnect with friends and family members located in the former East or West sides. April 12, 1990 saw a ridiculous 18 million cars on a roadway that usually averages half a million vehicles in a day.

Interstate 45, Texas - September 2005

The traffic jam that Interstate 45 saw was 100 miles long and congestion reportedly lasted 48 hours. It was caused by Houston residents evacuating due to Hurricane Rita approaching. The large number of people, thought to be 2.5 million meant that many motorists were left stranded for as long as 24 hours on the 300-mile route from Galveston to Dallas. The mass evacuation as clogged up as it was, is said to have probably saved the lives of many. 

Speed cameras being covered with bin liners in protest

France’s tobacconists are covering speed cameras with black bin liners in protest at plans to enforce the sale of cigarettes in plain packets. They say the "cover up" action is a symbolic move to reduce the government's revenue, similar to what they say will happen to their tobacco revenue.

The 2014  European Union law ordered that health warnings cover 65% of the front and back of cigarette packs with 50% of the sides - though member states are allowed to force completely plain packaging when "justified on grounds of public health".

Following the first action over a month ago, 20 of 97 districts have now been targeted.

So far three people have been arrested, but all were released without charge.

 

A car is as deadly as a loaded gun, especially at 96 miles per hour

The teenager was recorded on the 13th of this month by the PSNI’s Road Policing Unit who later tweeted an image of the speed gun reading, adding: “This speed was recorded on the M2 today by road policing officers. Driver was just 15 years of age.”

This speed was recorded on the M2 today by Road Policing officers. Driver was just 15 yrs of age.#KeepingPeopleSafe pic.twitter.com/jT6mX00NmK

— PSNI Road Policing (@PSNITraffic) May 13, 2015

MLA Trevor Clarke, whose constituency takes in a large part of the M2, said: “There are very serious questions to be asked about how someone of this age came into possession of a car.”

"A car is as deadly as a loaded gun, especially at 96 miles per hour. I want to commend the PSNI for stopping this young man before he injured himself or anyone else."

"Doing that kind of speed on a motorway is an accident waiting to happen. The last thing any of us want to see is another fatality."

It is illegal for a 15-year-old to drive, even as a learner. Normally, the earliest date a provisional licence can become valid is when the holder turns 17. But learner drivers are not permitted on motorways.

Stop a Douchebag

We have come across something quite interesting through "anonymous" about an issue in Russia where people are driving on pavements to avoid traffic.  A small group of people have come up with a great way to combat this problem 

On sidewalks and footpaths, the brave young protagonists stand in the way of bad drivers, politely ask them to head back to the road and if they refuse, plaster a hard-to-peel-off sticker (which proclaims in Russian: I Spit on Everybody, I Drive/Park However I Want) on the windshield, right in front of the driver’s seat.

"Stop a Douchebag" - is a Russian youth movement that attempts to enforce the road traffic regulations in Russia.

To read in more detail please visit the anonymous site

The Movement's channel on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/stopxamlive