BXProject

[mickey taker]

Just heard that police will be stopping people now starting from tomorrow who are driving with snow on roof of their car and will issue fixed penalty of £60+ and 3 points !!!

[Vanny]

on what grounds?

[mickey taker]

im guessing driving without due care, will try to find out more

[Vanny]

thats not driving without due care. Only thing i can think of would be 'unsecure load' and that isn't an offence that carries points i dont think.

Sounds like the usual scare mongering.


Having had no fucking snow yet, i doubt i have to worry!

[mickey taker]

it could be a hoax but

"If there is an excessive amount of snow on a vehicle's roof it could cause problems with visibility if the snow was to slide down over the windscreen or could cause problems to other road users if it lands on their vehicle.


In such a case the vehicle could be classed as being in a dangerous condition."

[Vanny]

Googling around it seems some AA idiot has said this on BBC breakfast this morning, and it's been blown out of all proportion.

You could be done for being overweight if the suspension is obviously compressed as well as unsecure load.

The idea that they can give you points and a fine for there being precipitation on the windows is also bollocks. They can stop you and tell you to remove it, detain you and the vehicle on the grounds that the vehicle is in an unfit state (assuming it is a suitably trained traffic copper) and thats about it. If you then persist you might get done for dangerous driving, but even then i'd be taking that striaght to court.

That said, having seen some idiots (on telly) with 5' of snow on the roof, the mind does boggle!

[jayw]

In all fairness, I reckon the coppers would only be interested in stopping the muppets who drive off with a couple of "peep holes" in the snow on the windscreen. Other than that, i think you'll find they're a bit on the busy side...

[Philhod]

I think that's about the strength of it. I mean without taking photos where would be the evidence.

We have no snö here either Lots of ice though. The only time we get any heavy snow is when the weather is coming from the NW. Any other direction we are protected by some hills

[mickey taker]

all traffic cops in thames valley and most other forces these days carry digital cameras ( primarily for accident scenes ) and most of the cars have video equipment so evidence gathering isnt an issue

[mickey taker]

I never leave home with snow on my car, after all it only takes a few minutes

( at least thats what my kids tell me when they come back in with freezing hands )

[docchevron132]

I've always cleared snow off the car before driving anywhere, it's just courteous to other road users really.
I also always de-ice EVERY window on the car before it turns a wheel, and usually by the time I've done that the heaters starting to blow warm air, so all is good.

[Philhod]

Have to do that in Sweden. Rachael has soft brush with a long handle for that very job.
Always break the icicles off the front where sno starts to melt of her bonnet, then freezes before it reaches the ground. She also has one of those throw over sheets with elastic hooks to grip at the wheelarches. Its handy for a quick getaway if you had a snow warning.
They have those plug in pre heaters too. It comes on 1/2 an hour before you are ready to leave and warms the water just below the thermostat opening temp. You start it up and have hot air immediately. less engine wear as well as the oil gets op to temp quickly.
Very handy when it's -20.

[Vanny]

warms the water just below the thermostat opening temp

Never heard of one like that, i've heard of block heaters (as fitted to most Siberian and Canadian cars) that plug into the mains and keep the engine warm and more specifically the oil warm, but never one that just heats the coolant. I can't see heating the coolant upto 60c then starting a solid cold engine to be a fantastic idea. Does it circulate the coolant as well?

[Philhod]

I don't know TBH Vanny. I'm over there in a couple of weeks so I'll investigate. I was going off what Björn told me but he's a parts manager so he's bound to have got it wrong

[mat_the_cat]

You've never heard of a Kenlowe Hotstart? They seem to have adverts in every single motoring magazine!

I'm thinking it would be a good idea to get one for the Disco - they only time we use petrol is with the engine cold (so it is quite pricey to leave it idling to defrost!), and with a coolant heater it would switch onto gas straight away. Currently spend about £5 a week on petrol, so assuming we could cut that by half it would pay for itself in about 2 years. If I can find a cheap one on eBay it'd be worth doing I think.

[Father Ted]

What about lorries and vans? Was sat behind a waggon on the M61 and it was raining chunks of ice off the top of its curtainsider.

[Madcav]

What about lorries and vans? Was sat behind a waggon on the M61 and it was raining chunks of ice off the top of its curtainsider.

Exactly, and I'd be fucking surprised if anyone wanted to climb on top of one to brush the snow off.

[Philhod]

Ah well see. That would probably involve some work for plod and he may have to stand outside for longer, so he will probably give them a miss.

[docchevron132]

I've got a Kenlowe unit on the ambulance, ok, it's not actually fitted, but I may reinstate it onday, the entire fleet had then so that even if they had been left overnight you could leap in it and give it the full beans from the get go, that said they must have been fucking brave driving those things flat out, they handle like a fucking boat and have no brakes!
It does go stupidly well though!

[Philhod]

I fitted one to my mini van back in the 60's when it was like this every year.
Worked a treat till I backed out the garage and ripped the plug off