S2C Forum Archives
Main Section => Workshop Wisdom => 602's Musings => Topic started by: cornicen on December 06, 2019, 10:39:54 AM
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Does anyone have experience of speed warning devices, like the head-up display gadgets on eBay? Not for me you understand. No, really not for me! Potential Christmas present. :RHD
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No but if there was one for getting the wife to avoid hitting other cars I'd buy it - this years "perfect" moment was hitting a unmarked police car....
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I could you the wife’s kerb detector gadget if they have one of those save the alloys on the other car
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Speeding? Speeding? Er, we have ask... you do know where you are?
It'd be the totem of a life's work. Sigh. Most of us dream of a speeding ticket.
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A mate of mine got caught out recently for 35 in a 30 limit aparrently ,
However, much to my surprise he could avoid getting points on his licence by electing to go to some "speed aware" bs chinwag nonsense....worth knowing tho.. ;)
ps, he wasn't driving a LR :-X ( some jap 4x4 I believe..)
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Some 'speed warning devices' have rear-facing cameras. Apparently.
Who are these people? Park by ear.
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My brother, a cab driver, recommended one of these (https://www.drivesmartdirect.com/product/drivesmart-pro-hd/) which includes forward facing camera. Audio and visual warnings which include previous mobile camera areas. Maybe closing the gate after horse has bolted, but have three years to wait before possibility of next kind offer of speed awareness course rather than points :whistle
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Oh, is the speed aware malarkey just a limited time gimmick then, not a general ongoing thing.. ???
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They've been around for quite a while:
http://www.nopenaltypoints.co.uk/speedawarenesscourse.html
My wife did one a couple of years ago (stop laughing at the back there), and was told that in this area (Cambridge) she would not have been offered one if the offence was committed in a 20mph zone. They take those more seriously, apparently.
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Interesting, I'd not been aware of these at all, until he told me that he'd got one instead of points etc...the 20 mph limits always made me smile, it's virtually impossible in a normally geared car to consistently drive at 20 on any clear road, hey ho...
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Yes, I have had to do a speed awareness course as well - mine sadly was because I was caught speeding... in the series 2.
Speed is no laughing matter, but the fact it was 34 in a 30, with no roof, door tops or windscreen on New Years Day was quite entertaining :-X
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Interesting, I'd not been aware of these at all, until he told me that he'd got one instead of points etc...
Yes, I seem to recall that the Speed Awareness Course is slightly more expensive than the speeding ticket, but you dont get any points, and avoid the potential of an increase in insurance premum that goes along with points.
Catch is that I understand if you are caught speeding again within 3 years of the course, the fine can be more because you should have learned your lesson.
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AFAIK although you avoid the licence points, you still have to declare the speeding offence to your insurer.
On second thoughts "Do I have to declare a speeding awareness course on my insurance?
Motorists frequently ask whether they need to disclose to their car insurance companies that they have received driver education as a result of speeding. Attending a speeding awareness course is not classed as a conviction, which requires the ticking of the box on insurance quotation forms to disclose such an offence in the last 5 years.
Choosing to attend a course will avoid penalty points being added to your licence, maintaining a clean licence in some cases, and because course data isn’t held by the DVLA, it can’t be checked by insurance companies."
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It's not a 'conviction' so I'd keep quiet about it, I'd have no qualms about witholding needless info from pond scum such as insurance companies.... ;)
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and avoid the potential of an increase in insurance premum that goes along with points.
When I renewed my insurance I was asked if I had been speedind and had been on a course, I said I believed I did not have to declaire a course but was told I had to and the premium would increase if I had, I did wonder if I lied would my insurace be void when I tried to claim ???
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Does anyone have experience of speed warning devices, like the head-up display gadgets on eBay? Not for me you understand. No, really not for me! Potential Christmas present. :RHD
Satnavs have a warning setting. Our TomTom will beep and flash an alert if we go 4mph above the speed limit we are in. It can also warn of fixed speed camera locations and the laybys etc used by mobile camera vans.
HTH
Dormy
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When I went on my awareness course the instructors told us we didn’t have to tell anyone, insurance, employer etc.
On renewing my policy with the NFU I did tell them but they said it made no difference ???
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Oh, is the speed aware malarkey just a limited time gimmick then, not a general ongoing thing.. ???
Keep up at the back, they have been going as an alternative to points for nearly 24 years ;)
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Having never been done for speeding I've no experience with the various bits of bs involved, interesting stuff tho..
The only time i ever flashed one of those yellow camera things was many years ago in some tunnel / underpass thing, and I luckily never heard anything back from them... so either it wasn't working or maybe i was so marginally over the limit that they let me off.. ???
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When I went on my awareness course the instructors told us we didn’t have to tell anyone, insurance, employer etc.
On renewing my policy with the NFU I did tell them but they said it made no difference ???
I'll second that and also say the instructor told us that the insurance companies have been told not to ask about speed awareness courses because it's not a conviction and if they do ask go somewhere else for insurance and this was 2 months ago in Carlisle.
Dave.
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I think you can only be offered a speed awareness course if you only a few miles over the limit. I forget the margin, but it's something like 34mph in a 30 mph limit. 35 mph and over and it's points and a fine - no option.
Having gone on one several years back (doing 34mph in a borrowed Lexus in an unfamiliar area) I have to say that I found it it quite useful and far from bs.
It's almost a "mini refresher" course to bring you up to date with the latest legislation, speeding facts & figures, and did send me away somewhat more contrite and careful than when I went in.
However, I don't believe the lessons and effects from the course last much longer than a few months maximum. In the case of persistent speeders, the courses are probably pretty useless.....
But as we all know if we're out & about driving daily, anything at all that could improve general road manners can't be a totally bad thing.
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Hi,
Ahem! Come and rub up against Barbara at the Xmas Bash. It might be contagious.
Some time ago, she was stopped on the M4, when returning from London. She wound her window down a couple of inches.
Plod demanded that she got out of her car.
Barbara asked for proof of identity.
Plod pointed at himself ... "Uniform!", the pointed at his car ... "Police car!" He didn't show his warrant card, or whatever they have nowadays, so Barbara stayed in her car. Words were exchanged. After quite a few minutes , Plod said .......
" I clocked you at 104mph. Don't let me catch you again!".
He then just disappeared ... she never saw him again. ???
Three assumptions.
1. He was following her without lights, before he stopped her.
2. He remained parked on the hard shoulder, also without lights.
3. He reversed back to the last slip road ... again without lights.
Or he was a bogus copper.
My last speeding ticket (1964) was on the A1, 1963, before the blanket 70 limit. I was not aware of the police car until he pulled alongside , and then switched all his lights on. Plod said he'd clocked me for one mile. My minimum speed was 72mph, my maximum speed was 80mph. I was driving a 1959 850cc Minivan containing 5 RAF bods, and their luggage. I went to court, pleaded NOT GUILTY (for reasons to numerous to explain here). Fined £2, and the Beaks apologised for the endorsement, said they had no option.
My first ticket was for doing 70 during Barbara Castle's "blanker" 50 limit ... an energy saving ploy. Fined £4 and endorsed. Yes, I should have seen him.
602
PS ... in those days, commercial vehicles (including car-based vans) were limited to 40mph. I once hitched a lift in a JENSEN lorry (Google). He was clocking 70mph through London ... and that was in 1958.
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These are the speed limit breaches in each of the limits where, if eligible, you will be offered a speed awareness course.
30 mph up to and including 42 mph
40 mph up to and including 53 mph
50 mph up to and including 64 mph
60 mph up to and including 75 mph
70 mph up to and including 86 mph
Usually (but not always) you are given a 10% +1 mph leeway though so the upper range would be 79 - 86 mph inclusive. Don't ask how I know this 😳
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Hi Richard,
You are allowed to have a speedometer that reads 10% fast. Some are out by a lot more than that. Apparently my Peugeot estate would cruise comfortably, at 120mph, in a 30 zone
Your speedometer MAY NOT read any amount of slow.
I wonder if the 10% concession is due to magistrates getting fed up with minor infringements?
Does the 10% cover ALL the various speed limits .... can you do 77 in the National Speed Limit zones?
602
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I've fitted a GPS speedo to the 88". Doesn't give a limit warning but does give a more stable reading and is in the corner of the driver's screen so less looking down. I do like the idea of the audible warning given the random 30-40-20 zones but without some guarantee of accuracy (the systems can't keep up with the council) so wonder if they're a bad idea overall.
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I believe the 43 police forces apply their own spin on the degree of "tolerance" they give... ???
I too have a GPS speedo :first
:gatso
Mind how you go ... :plod
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I believe the 43 police forces apply their own spin on the degree of "tolerance" they give..
Quite, don’t be fooled by the ‘threshold ‘ shown earlier. My wife was fined for 36 in a 30, and many will remember the North Wales zero-tolerance campaign a few years ago.
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O/T :-[ sorry
but I would like to see a law that insists all speed camera warning signs and backs of speed cameras display the speed limit
I hate seeing the sign or a camera and thinking "whats the limit" >:(
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I’ll give you one guess as to why they don’t :shakeinghead
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You're already meant to know the limit, they also have lots of tips for working it out if you missed it for any reason.
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My last but one neighbour got " done " for doing 32 in a 30 limit :stars
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My new Suzuki uses GPS and Traffic sign recognition to display the speed limit in the instrument panel.
Useful, but I can't help wondering how long it will be before the on board computer (OBC) adjusts the speed automatically....
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Hi.
My last (second) ticket was in 1964. As mentioned previously. I was in a 1959 850cc Minivan, fully loaded (us 5 RAF types, all our luggage, and my RAF tool box. Early hours of a Monday morning, on the A1.
I wished the officers a "Good evening!"
"Don'y you mean Good Morning? We have followed you for one mile. Your minimum speed was 70mph, your maximum speed was 80mph" ... followed by "Miranda UK".
Past experience had taught me that no matter what you say, it will sound incriminating (or stupid) when Plod reads it out in court. So I was recorded as saying "Nothing"
Come the day of my trial, I donned my "Best Blue", and drove about 60 miles to court. The morning started with listening to all the other crims appologising for exceeding a local 40mph. They all got fined £5 and endorsed ... apart from one bloke who asked for leniency, and was fined £3.
Then It was my turn. I pled (?) No Guilty. I explained that my Minivan was actually a Motor Car, as I had fitted extra seats in the back. I produced a letter from Customs and Excise, as evidence, which stated the fitting seats in the back of a van turned it into a Motor Car, and therfore not subject to the 40mph Goods Vehicle limit.
The Clerk of the Court did a frantic search through his law books, produced the RTA which said that to be exempt from the Goods Vehicle limit, my van would have needed both side windows and rear seats. "B****r!"
The beaks had a quick discussion, then told me I had been driving very fast ... and fined me £2. They apologised for the endorsement, but said they had no choice.
Fast? Fast? I've had that Minivan "off the clock" and "airbourne" on the hump-back bridge close to the main gates of RAF Barnham. (Ask Wittsend) Over my time of ownership, I had to replace the "balls" at the bottom of both front suspension trumpets.
It's now over 50 years since I last claimed off my insurance. (Rammed from behind by an old codger having a heart attack ... so not legally liable) I won't count the time that Barbara's SAAB ran amok in reverse gear, and wrote of my Disco ... I claimed off her... no point in both of us losing our NCD. Er ... there can't be many cars that have the upholsery ripped off the inside of the driver's door. (Her door was open. She turned the key. The car shot away in reverse. She spun the wheel, trying to miss my Disco. The SAAB missed my Disco, but it's driver's door didn't. The door was folded into the O/S front wing, tearing the L/H front corner of my Disco. Er, she also included the Transit type van parked on the other side of the road. I heard the "trump" type noise as it's front tyre deflated as the van was pushed across the kerb.
Can't be bad ... three vehicles written off, in about 15 to 20ft, from a standing start, in reverse.
Strangely, she'd be happy with a SAAB auto, as/when/if she gets her knees sorted.
602
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602
You're just unlucky.
Towards the end of the '60s I was stopped in my Minivan going a tad too fast in the early hours around Coventry.
The kindly policeman asked where I was going and did I know it was a 30 mph area. He told me to be careful and sent me on my way :first
My only other brush with the law is an unpaid parking ticket in a Spanish city - I had parked my motorbike at the side of the hotel door :thud
That's one place I can't go back to.
:RHD
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Obviously a mini fan of the minivan ???
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Post popped up twice ???
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My only other brush with the law is an unpaid parking ticket in a Spanish city - I had parked my motorbike at the side of the hotel door :thud
That's one place I can't go back to.
I'm sure you could.
Nowadays, motorcycles can be parked almost anywhere in most European countries without penalty. But, try parking (out of the way) on a pavement in the UK and you will definitely get a ticket !
By the way, my last speeding ticket was in 1983 when driving in the countryside, I exceeded a 30mph speed limit I wasn't even aware of (my lack of observance, obviously). I was proud of that ticket, whenever my friends told me "Your L/R is very slow !"
Nowadays I also try to avoid Suffolk, the 30mph speed limits run for miles between the villages !
Dormy
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North Wales is my Nemesis >:D
Trips there usually end up with a billy doo from the HEDDLU on the door mat >:D
Two bridges, one 15 mph, the other 50mph!
Coast road 70/50 with scattered 30 bits :whistle
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For those with limited linguistic abilities, perhaps I should point out that while Heddlu :plod is a welsh word, ‘billy doo’ is of french origin.
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North Wales is my Nemesis >:D
Trips there usually end up with a billy doo from the HEDDLU on the door mat >:D
Two bridges, one 15 mph, the other 50mph!
Coast road 70/50 with scattered 30 bits :whistle
And if you live in the areas you mention >:D >:D :thud
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For those with limited linguistic abilities, perhaps I should point out that while Heddlu :plod is a welsh word, ‘billy doo’ is of french origin.
Billet doux lit. Sweet note ie. A love letter,
Glad my sarcasm wasn't wasted Old Hywell :-X
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Still have my original driving licence :first
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A pre '48 half crown (like your 1929) is now worth more than 2/6!!! (12.5p)
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The Irish ones were better as they had a higher silver content... ;)
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Is this the family silver Porkster?
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Is this the family silver Porkster?
To be sure, it is not!... it's a whole 15/6...
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Does my 30/- trump that?
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Seeing as were now on the gold standard !..(subject to the customary trying to bend them with yer teeth test! ) ;)
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Does my 30/- trump that?
Is that £1.50 now Herald? Do you do PayPal ???
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Went on one of these courses a few years back. In response to a question the 'instructor' said the speed awareness course did NOT have to be declared to insurers.
I have been asked once by a potential insurer if I had been on a course.
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- this years "perfect" moment was hitting a unmarked police car....
Hi,
The above was in an earlier reply.
I once jumped to traffic lights, on a motorcycle, that were controlling traffic boarding the Penang ferry
I guessed wrong, and too late realised that the ramp was about three feet above the car deck, and too late to change my mind :agh I had no option but to grab a handful of twist grip, and then yank the brakes once airborne.
I done a successful Evil Knieval, and landed very close to the back bumper of the police car that had preceded me.
602
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Second time I went on the speed awareness course (they work obviously) the “instructor” said that a couple of companies actually reduced your premium if you said you had been on one as they thought the extra training made you safer. Never been gullible enough to test that out.
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Some years back I was driving Wife's car. Came round roundabout and joined dual carriageway, noticing Plod parked up on left.
As I joined Dual carriageway I saw him pull off, and thought this is me. he starts overtaking, gets two thirds past and starts slowing down. I was doing 60 at this point, so obviously to avoid undertaking I had to slow down. Got to 40 mph and I'm saying either pull me or *&%^$ orf !
He then slows, slots in behind and puts lights on. I duly pull onto hard shoulder.
I get out the car and walk to the nearside, passenger approaches and tells me my car is not insured. I assure him it is, giving my name, wife's name and insurer.
He explains ANPR to me, tells me the car is not insured, leans into my ear and says. "Is that the case" ?
I say No, definitely insured. At which point, the driver shouts "it's ok that one". The passenger PC, just turns around and walks back to the car.
Leaving me stood there. I shouted "ok, sorry about that, bye then" 1
No response was his firm reply ...
I'll tell you about the time I was pulled on M6 in 7,half tonner with passengers in back another time ...
???
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Does my 30/- trump that?
31/6 if I’m not mistaken.
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Hi,
I once did a crash stop, at the next motorway phone I came to ...
... I'd just passed a white face and thumb.
It was chucking down with rain, very dark. M4. Hitchiker! All my headlamps picked out were the face and thumb, so I guess he was wearing dark clothing. I reckoned he was about 12 years old.
602
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31/6 if I’m not mistaken.
:-\
They're a sovereign and half sovereign, not guineas! Face value is the 30/- quoted. Actual value depends on the gold content plus any rarity value.
:tiphat
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Hi Oilstain,
I understand that insurers find it very difficult to avoid paying out to Third Parties. if you hold a licence, or have held a licence and are not disqualified, they have to pay out. On the other hand, the RTA (I think Para 143, but check that) says that your insurers may sue you to recover their losses.
I read somewhere a long time ago, that Medical Debarment is not the same as Criminal Disqualification ... but check that has not changed.
UK police can tell if you are using a mobile phone, while driving. I understand that French police can tell if you have a radar detector in your car, even if you are not using it ... and will pull you. French police (and Customs Officers) carry ****** big guns, and are prepared to use them.
OT. My French farmer neighbour's dog (chained) savaged his daughter. Monsieur Plod was prepared to shoot the dog, there and then.
602
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^^^^ In a similar vein, a colleague carried a shotgun during the our Iraqi holidays, rather than a rifle. Aggressive street dogs got the good news, but without the chance of a high velocity round continuing on down range. I despatched a mine-struck deer with a 9mm in Bosnia. Fun explaining to the bullet-bean-counters how I had expended one of HM bullets on an injured deer while in the Norwegian area of operations with an American patrol... ( One of my US colleagues berated me for "dropping" the deer in the minefield, on the basis that it might have fallen on another mine and thereby injured us ... I countered with the though that it might just have easily hobbled onto another... and so on. It was hurt and we were a long way from the RSPCA.)
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Fun explaining to the bullet-bean-counters
Hi,
Can anybody refresh my memory about the worst defeat ever suffered by the British Army ... I can't even remember the name of the battle, but it happened the day before Rourkes Drift.
All I can remember is that a "jobsworth" refused to issue bullets, during the battle ... but I can't remember why. I bet somebody here knows.
602
Sounds similar to remembering that the prime objective is to drain the swamp ... when you are up to your "armpits" in alligators.
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^^^^ Isandlwana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Isandlwana
The "refusal to supply bullets" bit is probably a myth.
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The "refusal to supply bullets" bit is probably a myth.
Hi Gene,
Thanks for the "gen".
It was the British who lost that one. Somebody lower than a General had to take the blame.
Are they still arguing about who was to blame for the loss of the Light Brigade? My information is that they were ordered to "Charge The Guns", so charged the only guns that could be seen from where THEY were. I believe Lord Lucan was involved.
I assume we are all familiar with the origin of the "two fingered salute". and the French being unable to return English arrows? Probably another myth ... but fun.
My mate (Reg Gen Shipping) visited las weekend, told me about how decisions were made to fit British fighter aircraft with armour plating, in places where returning aircraft had bullet holes ... until somebody pointed out that the plating should be everywhere else ... because those aircraft didn't return
602
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Does anyone have experience of speed warning devices, like the head-up display gadgets on eBay? Not for me you understand. No, really not for me! Potential Christmas present. :RHD
Did you get any good suggestions ?
I also drive a 20 year old Mondeo with a speedo' that occasionally sticks.