And Another Idiot Being Towed

12/01/2010
DOAADI
Bad Drivers

In addition to the morons being towed by that other moron in the 4×4, here’s another prat without two brain cells to rub together.

It’s illegal and it’s dangerous. But hey.. HE wants to do it, so it must be all right, eh? The fact that this happened in Essex shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Last time I was down there you could always tell when a left or right turn was coming up because there was a burnt-out car on the verge to mark the spot.

Let’s hope the Police throw the book at him, too… except this might class as normal behaviour down there. In any case the Police reckon they can’t use the video as evidence. Yeah, right! What with one of them driving dangerously, one of them hanging out of the window, and the other acting illegally… you couldn’t make it up, could you?

Sledgers Being Towed By 4×4

12/01/2010
DOAADI
Bad Drivers

Another one from the papers – covered by quite a few, but this one from The Sun.

In most papers it says “police are searching for the pranksters”. But in the Halesowen News, it would appear someone has done the work for the Police already. The imbecile’s name appears to be Daniel Pearce.

Pearce said:

We’re just having a bit of fun. It’s a bit dangerous, but so what. I haven’t been nicked yet but I don’t care even if I am.

“At the end of the day if the police do anything it’ll be a slap on the wrist but it’ll be worth it.

“I’ve got a shotgun licence and they only give those out to responsible people like me.

“Of course I’d do it all over again but I’d go faster next time. I’ve got nothing to regret or be sorry about. I’m a good driver.

This pondlife has a shotgun licence? Let’s hope the Police review that decision, because he doesn’t deserve to be allowed out unsupervised, let alone to own a gun. If he behaves illegally in a 4×4 (yes, Danny Boy, what you did was illegal), what is he likely to get up to with a shotgun?

One of the chimpanzees Pearce was towing (Shaun Crumpton) said:

The first time I got in I thought I was going to die. It swerved round the corner and almost hit a car but everyone was having a laugh.

Yes, and just think if a child had walked out from behind the car you “almost” hit to see what was going on.

I would imagine that reading and other such activities don’t find themselves on Pearce’s list of skills, but I wonder if he is aware of the case from last year where a father killed his son doing something similar? I’m sure Pearce and his kind will argue it wasn’t the same. But then, it never is, is it?

Let’s hope the Police view on this is a little different to what Pearce thinks it will be.

Health & Safety (And Councils’ Incompetence)

12/01/2010
DOAADI
Latest Posts

Saw this in the Daily Mail today.

It seems that some councils are suspending waste collection for five weeks because it is too dangerous to collect. As the Mail points out, this means:

…many bins still have the remains of Christmas Day dinner rotting inside them.

The areas affected stretch across wide swathes of Britain, including parts of London, Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Hampshire, the Midlands, Bristol, Essex and Hertfordshire.

Councils have suspended services because refuse trucks are unable to make their way up icy streets and many binmen have been diverted to gritting duties instead.

To be fair, if it is just steep hills that are affected then you can see the councils’ concern (and I wouldn’t put it past the Mail to be missing that detail entirely and overstating the problem).

But I also wouldn’t be surprised if some councils use it as an excuse to delay collection. I love that part about staff having been diverted to “gritting duties”, when it is clear that the same councils have cut back on gritting as well (and a second comment on that, here).

Embarrassing Female Driver Confessions

12/01/2010
DOAADI
Latest Posts

It’s a bit of an old story, this one (from 2007), but it’s an insurance publicity thing. Women drivers confessing their most embarrassing faux pas when driving.

I have to say, the stories they have used are a bit tame – there are much better ones out there (don’t forget the Worst Parking Ever video). But I like the one where the woman was driving around a roundabout and got stuck. She says:

…when I somehow managed to mount a small roundabout in the college car park. I got a bit flustered when I realised that no matter how much I tried to go forwards or back, the wheels were completely stuck.

Perhaps I can help? Usually, this happens if you hit the roundabout and mount the kerb – which is something you shouldn’t do when driving.

The story was written BY a woman, FOR women. Just so you know.

AA Franchise And Bad Weather

12/01/2010
DOAADI
ADI

The AA LogoThis is interesting. I wrote recently about how BSM has changed its Bad Weather Policy – or rather, abolished it – for its franchisees, right in the middle of the heaviest snow for decades.

I’ve just been informed that the AA, which didn’t have a bad weather policy in its agreement as far as I know, has decided to defer £100 of the franchise fee for the first week after Christmas until later in the year to help instructors over the worst of the current very extreme weather. They’re spacing out the deferred payment over four weeks during March 2010. They even have an option to refuse the arrangement if the franchisee doesn’t need it.

BSM LogoWithout commenting too much, there is a very interesting but apparent difference in the way franchisees are treated on display here.

Worth pointing out, as well, that I have had a number of search enquiries for “bsm going down”. I think this illustrates clearly the mentality of some people out there. Frighteningly, some of them are driving instructors!

EDIT 22/12/2010: There is a December 2010 update to this story here . The AA has again deferred franchise payments to cover the worst of the winter weather that we are again experiencing across the country.

Moneygrabbing Vandals

11/01/2010
DOAADI
General

I saw this on the news today – you can view it on the BBC website.

On the Notts/Derbys border is a place called Toton. It’s not what you’d call ‘rural’, but it’s not in the city either. One of its poorer points is the fact that it has a railway going through it, and this involves ‘sidings’ which – as everyone knows – is railway-speak for “a bloody great Victorian mess that can only be described as a scrapyard”. Mind you, another bad point is the number of anoraks who spend their weekends with cameras and binoculars watching the trains… but that’s another story.

Anyway, near the sidings there was a large expanse of land which was filled with Silver Birch trees. Just look at the slideshow below to see what it looked like last week (in the snow)… then look at what they have done to it now.

[kml_flashembed movie=”/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/toton_sidings_slideshow.swf” height=”290″ width=”500″ /]

Apparently, the rail company sold it on to someone (who has not yet been identified), and they ripped all the trees down without warning. Obviously they are going to build something.

As the news report makes clear, no laws have been broken. But it is a shame that there are no laws which prevent this kind of thing.

The story is also covered by This Is Nottingham, and there they claim they spoke to two men who said they were the owners but who wouldn’t identify themselves, but who said they were doing a ‘mineral survey’ (what a way to do it, eh?) There is a suggestion that the site is going to be mined for low-grade coal!

BSM Franchise Bad Weather Policy

11/01/2010
DOAADI
ADI, Training

I hear that BSM has recently changed its policy with regards to bad weather (EDIT: This is an old story – The AA now owns BSM).

BSM LogoApparently, it was in the contract that if the local Test Centre didn’t do tests for a certain period then the franchise fee was adjusted. But recently, BSM has taken this clause out of the contract.

I don’t know (yet) what BSM franchisees are saying about this, but I can guess. Maybe some of them could let me know via the contact form?

The one thing to remember is that the weather is not in anyone’s control and all other instructors have to manage bad patches themselves. It is surprising BSM had this clause in anyway, although the franchise fee is somewhat higher than most others and I guess franchisees need something to show for the extra outlay.

Having said that, BSM franchisees ought to consider the financial impact paying out could have had on BSM as a whole if the clause had remained. Instead of just not getting a discount, they might have been not having a franchise to work for!

With the weather the way it has been no franchisee would have been paying anything from since before Christmas. BSM wouldn’t have survived.

On the other hand, franchisees can still teach – its only tests which are cancelled, which made the original deal a little unfair anyway.

EDIT 12/1/2010: On the flip side, look at this story.

Tests Cancelled – Colwick 10/01/2010

11/01/2010
DOAADI
ADI, Driving Tests

I had a test at 9.17am this morning, and it is cancelled. The examiner at Colwick said that the morning tests are likely to go to the wall, and this afternoon is looking highly unlikely as well.

He said it is looking good for tomorrow, though – but check first, because -2°C is forecast tonight.

Mind you, they forecast heavy snow – yet it spent most of yesterday and last night raining, sleeting, and thawing. But this has made a lot of roads more dangerous than ever (water on ice is not a good mix).

Having said that, as soon as you move out of the city it appears that the sleet was snow and it has settled again. About 0.5cm in Bunny. It is snowing in Wilford now (8.00am).

Call the Test Centre on 0115 961 1593 – remember they can only tell you if a test is on or not. They’e not there to get into a big debate over why the test is cancelled.

Dickheads In Snow

09/01/2010
DOAADI
ADI, Bad Drivers

Another one from the web. This one shows a couple of twats (it’s in London, so you’ll have to put up with the annoying nasal drivel coming out) driving in an extremely dangerous manner in February last year.

Notice how they have no regard whatsoever for the pedestrians at the crossings, or the motorcyclist to their right just after that. Even if they were driving safely, you could hardly say the driver was concentrating on the road.

The best part is that the idiot driving let the idiot filming show his face – so hopefully, the Police will have had something to say to him. This has to be one of the best examples of that type of low-life scum who should never be allowed out unsupervised, let alone get behind the wheel of a car.

Ice Dancing Seat On Hill

09/01/2010
DOAADI
Latest Posts

The weather really is helping some people in their quest for this year’s Darwin Award.

You have probably seen the video of the ice-skating Fiesta in Paignton, Devon. Well, here’s a new one – an ice-dancing Seat on a hill.

Again, the road is slick – and it must have a 25% gradient, so what he thought he was going to achieve is anyone’s guess.

The only thing is… I wish she’d kept the video running longer!

Don’t forget the Worst Parking Ever (Cars Remix)   video, also on this site.