Vehicles (I am a criminal)

Last week we decided that we are fed up of making three trips in a Ford KA every time we take the family anywhere, and decided to re-insure and tax our minibus and get it back on the road and take the ford KA off the road.

While waiting for the quotes to come in, the kind local constabulary did a quick check on their database as I was passing and then stopped me to let me know that my MOT expired in July, when Iwas in the heat of my unemployment financial troubles with much bigger fish to fry than my MOT, which got forgotten.

The kind bobbies also gave me a £60 fine. (Funny how with British law you have to pay the fine even if it was a genuine oversight, wheras people expect God to let them off scott free with really pathetic excuses.) At least I can pay by installments.

Wouldn't it have been nice if the insurance quotes had come in earlier, then I would not have been in that car, which would have been off the road and not needing an MOT.

Now to get an MOT, I am fairly sure I would have to get that power steering leak fixed. So this compounds our decision to swap to the minibus.

Today, I have managed to get the minibus taxed and insured, and cancelled the insurance on the small car. Tomorrow, we're off!

Minibus speed limits

It turns out I have been wrong in my assumption that UK speed limits for minibuses are the same as for cars - it's actually 10mph less on A roads and dual carriageways.

My thanks to my colleague who told me he once got a ticket for the same misunderstanding, which I then checked on the web.

I hit a child with my minibus this morning.

I hit a child with my minibus this morning.

I was following another car, and the boy just ran out from behind a parked car. There was nothing I could do. Fortunately it was just the wing mirror that caught him, and that is hinged and folded back, so apart from a sore shoulder no harm done. But that boy was only inches from death. I was only inches from losing my license, hence my career, hence my home, and probably my wife and family too.

So if my driving has calmed down such a lot this year, why does God reward me with such a serious accident? I suppose my reward is that the child is not dead.

Whose fault was it? Well, the kid ran out and there was nothing I could do. Was I driving with due care and attention? This is where your memory starts to play tricks on you. I am fairly sure that I was following – tailgating – another car, but then, had it turned off and was I accelerating away? I am fairly sure that I was not speeding – at the time I had not the slightest twinge of guilt and felt satisfied that I had been within the limit. But then, was I? Or had I crept up to 35mph?

It happened right outside the boy’s house, so I was able to take him straight there and hand him over to his Mum, explaining what had happened. She took the news very well considering, but I suspect the shock may only now be beginning to sink in. Since the boy seemed OK we did not report it to the police, but of course he may deteriorate during the day or the Mum may realise she has an opportunity to make a fast buck by suing me. I suppose that’s what insurance is for.