Group Social Event - Jack The Ripper

On a warm Sunday evening in March a group of 49 intrepid travellers gathered at Grove Green. We boarded Peter's coach for a trip to London, on arrival we met Shaun our Blue Badge guide for the evening.

A quick coffee and comfort break and we were off, into the gathering gloom of the evening. Shaun explained the living conditions in London at the time (Autumn 1888) the difference between the wealthy City and just a street away the absolute poverty of the Whitechapel area. We moved from the City and into Whitechapel, at the site of every one of Jack the Ripper victims, Shaun stopped and told us the details of the victim, the horrific and gory details of what was done to each victim.

The last was near Petticoat Lane and we left there and rejoined Peter on the coach, on the journey to the Strand Shaun told of the numerous theories about Jack the Ripper and as we reached the Strand we all agreed it remains a mystery. Shaun took us all up to a private room in the pub and before leaving us made sure we were all being fed, a very nice meal which everyone enjoyed. Then back on the Peter's coach for the journey home, a very good evening which all 49 people enjoyed.

If you need any information about Mid Kent's Social activities contact me at mkgam_vice_chair@yahoo.co.uk

UK to get Smart car sharing scheme

Daimler (the official name of Mercedes Benz's parent) will introduce its Car2go Smart car sharing scheme in Birmingham, after a highly successful start in America and Europe.

The scheme will allow Brummies to rent one of 250 petrol-powered Smart Fortwos within a 30 square mile operating zone in the city.

Launched in 2009 in Austin, Texas, the Car2go scheme has burgeoned in America and Europe, now boasting more than 70,000 members.

Birmingham City Council is the first in the UK to accept the scheme, which Daimler says is "the world's first mobility program...without fixed rental locations." The scheme was one of a few offered to Birmingham, after the council put out an invitation to car scheme companies to bid.

Due to begin this autumn, the scheme will see specific 'car2go edition' Smarts hit the Midlands, which can "be rented spontaneously inside an operating area of around 30 square miles, [covering] the city centre and several densely populated suburbs."

Drivers don't have a specific return location for the car, says Daimler, although we're certain that abandoning it in a random back lane isn't acceptable; Daimler has paid Birmingham council a fee so that the car can be left on the street, or in certain designated off-street parking spots.

The cost to the customer hasn't been announced yet - nor the mechanics of actually renting - but drivers will be charged for the distance they go in the car, and can rent for as little as a couple of minutes, it's claimed.

If successful, there's little doubt that Daimler will look to provide Car2go in other major UK cities

Training Day

On Saturday 31 March members of the observer team enjoyed a training day, delivered by Trevor Dickenson and his team. This evolved not only observer training but a drive coached by an examiner.This picture is of

Trevor and his wife accepting a bouquet from the group as it was also their 40 wedding anniversary.

 

 

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Older Drivers

There is an urgent need to develop a strategy for an ageing car-driving population, a report by a Whitehall advisory body has said.

The report from the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (Pacts) said that, whereas only 15% of over 70s held a driving licence in 1975, the figure for 2010 was nearly 60%, and will hit 80% within 10 years.

The report said that it was essential that planning decisions were "health-checked" for older people and that the medical profession becomes effective in giving advice on both physical and mental fitness to drive.

Over the next decade the balance of the population in this country will change. Older people need to be kept mobile and safe. Hopefully this report will generate a national discussion about the state of our pavements and the relevance of self-regulation when it comes to giving up your driving licence. We need to move beyond seeing older people as a problem to viewing them as contributing to a mixed society.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists said: "Rather than seeking to prevent older people from driving, we should make them more aware of the risks they face, and offer them driving assessments to help them eliminate bad habits. Driving helps older people play a full and active part in society."

Potholes

The government says we need to find growth industries to help us out of the financial crisis, but the growing number of potholes may not be it.

According to a survey of local authorities by the catchily-named Asphalt Industry Alliance, it would take 11 years to clear the backlog of potholes, given the current rate of pothole repair.

In Wales, it is even worse, at a scary 17 years – and there is no point in Welsh drivers hoping the whole road will be resurfaced to solve the problem. On average each Welsh road will be resurfaced once every 72 years, with the corresponding figure in England being "only" 58 years.

The alliance points out that we are in a downward spiral – more potholes means more emergency repairs, which means less money for resurfacing, which means more potholes.

Over 90% of local authorities outside London reckon there is a danger to road users because of poor maintenance and they believe they only get between 50% and 60% of the funding they need from central government for road repairs.

Surveys once again show that potholes blight our roads and are as much about lack of investment in proper road repairs as they are about bad winters and heavy traffic...We need a new approach to stop this vicious circle of decline which causes danger to all road users, particularly those on two wheels, and expensive damage to vehicles.

The government says it has increased spending on road repairs. Norman Baker, the local transport minister said: "We are providing £3 billion to councils for road maintenance between 2011 and 2015 which is more in cash terms than the previous four years."

Has your car been 'clocked' ?

The car history checkers over at HPI Check have said that more than one million of the cars it looked at last year had an inconsistent mileage reading, suggesting they'd been clocked.

The surprising number shows that, far from being an dying issue limited to older cars that are easier to fiddle with clocking is still rife.

Modern digital odometers make it easier for someone to clock a car without anyone noticing.

Over the last five years there has been a 10% increase in the number of cars whose mileages have been tampered with.

It is simply too easy for sellers to hike up the value of a car by turning back the miles on the odometer, making clocking one of the biggest risks for consumers

 

Worryingly, we are seeing a new trend whereby some owners are clocking a car regularly throughout their ownership, making it even harder for buyers to establish if a vehicle's mileage is correct.

 

The act of altering a car's mileage isn't illegal itself, but deceiving a buyer (or anyone) by not declaring it is; some contract hire users will 'hide' extra, penalty-incurring mileage by clocking their car before handing it back.

A few tips on spotting a clocked car:

Check the service history: Check the mileages displayed in the service history and look for invoices and service stamps from a genuine dealer

Speak to the previous keeper: Contact the previous keeper to confirm the mileage of the vehicle when they sold it.

Trust your judgement: Look for any evidence that indicates clocking – anything out of keeping with the general condition of the vehicle.

Check the mileage: Clockers sometimes wind back the mileage for the first viewing and then return it to its original value once you buy. Check the mileage is the same when you pick up the vehicle.

Look for signs of wear and tear: Does the wear and tear on areas such as seats and the steering wheel match its mileage? Look out for brand new easily replaceable parts, which don't match the vehicle's displayed mileage

Fog Causes Crashes.....

An online Kent newspaper reported today: "The southbound A249 Sheppey Crossing was shut after two separate crashes involving eight vehicles in hazardous conditions at about 8am. Thick fog is believed to have caused several crashes in Kent this morning".
(http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2012/march/15/fog_crashes.aspx)

Unfortunately this story simply goes to reinforce the mentality that it was not driver error - it was the fog's fault.

Let's be clear fog in itself does not cause crashes - its soft and fluffy how could it do any damage! The cause of the crash was of course motorists driving inappropriately for their skills, the conditions or both.

A skilled motorist would notice the conditions before they had started their journey and adjusted their speed accordingly. Ideally they would have noticed the fog warnings on the weather the night before and were therefore ready to leave the house earlier than usual recognising their journey would take a little longer.

Be careful out there.