Monthly Archives: July 2012

Selling your car? Beware of thieves asking for test drives

July 18, 2012   simon

It is, alas, not unheard-of. Car thieves target car sellers, on the grounds that it is one of the few times they can get close to a car owner’s keys without raising suspicions. On one recent occasion, the thieves simply jumped the seller of a BMW M3, grabbed the keys and made off with the car. Another technique is for the thief to ask for a test drive, take the keys and drive off while the seller is still on the pavement, about to get in to the passenger seat. When a prospective buyer asks for a test drive, make sure you are sitting in the car whenever the keys are in his or her hands. That applies at the end of the test drive as well – a thief only needs you outside of the car for one second while they have the keys.
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Was the petrol price rigged, too?

July 18, 2012   simon

Hot on the heels of the LIBOR scandal (or Lie-bor, as some call it), comes news that the price of oil may not be truthfully set either. The G20 organisation which represents the 20 largest economies in the world (the UK is currently ranked at No. 7) asked the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to look into the oil reporting market. The initial report says the current system of oil price reporting is “susceptible to manipulation or distortion.”
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Video: Snakes on a bike

July 17, 2012   simon

Indiana Jones would not have liked this one: a motorcyclist suddenly sees a snake emerge from behind his speedometer.Just in case that idea is not scary enough, take a look at the speedometer, which is just about to go off the end of the scale. It seems to be reading 250 km/h, which is equivalent to 155 mph. So, in summary, biker overtakes on a single carriageway road doing an insane speed while snake hisses at him from the handlebars. Even Harrison Ford’s stunt double never had to face that.

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M25 to open the hard shoulder

July 17, 2012   simon

A large section of the M25 in Kent and Surrey will see its hard shoulder converted to become an extra lane, probably in 2014. The 15 mile stretch, between junctions 5 and 7 (Sevenoaks to the M23 junction) is a congestion blackspot at present, especially where traffic from Kent and the Channel Tunnel on the M20 merges with the M25 towards Gatwick and the west. According to the Highways Agency, there will be a consultation process, and then work will start in around 18 months time.
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Local speed limits to be reduced?

July 17, 2012   simon

Local councils are to be given more powers to introduce 20 mph zones in towns and also to reduce rural speed limits from 60 mph to as low as 40 mph. Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said: “It is vital that speed limits are suitable for local conditions and councils are best placed to determine what these limits are, based on local knowledge and the views of the community.
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