[jambutty]

he probably drives like he's steering a ship , sail before steam and all that

If that’s the best that you can do steeljack, then God help America. Oh! I get it! A lame attempt at taking the micky. It’s rather sad when someone doesn’t have the nous to take part in a serious discussion and can only resort to stupid remarks.

I’m not a crammed begger in the morning Ianto.W. Whatever gave you that idea?

I agree with WillowTheWhisp that car sharing is not the be all and end all solution primarily because many people have no option but to drive their car on their own. I’m one for a start. Do the advocates of car sharing suggest that I find me a passenger every time that I go out? Come on! Get real!

It is not the Motability car leasing scheme that needs reforming Neil it is the government department that hands out the Disability Living Allowance to anyone with athletes foot and worse. Or at least they used to. Things have tightened up a lot in recent years.

The Motability car leasing scheme enables people who qualify to be independent in their mobility. Would you deny someone that independence?

To qualify for the higher rate of DLA the applicant has to demonstrate severe walking difficulties. These are generally seen to be experiencing pain whilst walking or not being able to walk at all (like a lower limb amputee) or needing the assistance of someone else to walk. The distance is generally seen as about 50 yards. I think that there is also an age limit on first qualifying for DLA. Thus a 90 years old crippled with arthritis and barely able to stand let alone walk would not qualify for DLA. But I don’t know what that age limit is. To qualify for DLA an applicant has to go thorough medical tests as well as getting corroboration of their condition from their own doctor not just on the application form but also on an independent form that is sent to the doctor.

The Motability scheme allows recipients of the higher rate of DLA to use some or all of the 4 weekly allowance to lease a car and if they are prepared to they can add their own money to the allowance to lease a car that costs more than the full allowance.

The car is not replaced after 4,500 miles or any mileage. Now that is a stupid conclusion to come to Neil. The lease lasts for 3 years although there is a total mileage limit of 60,000 miles, I think it is. Anything above that amount incurs an extra charge per mile that has to be paid at the end of the lease. Like any car that is leased it comes taxed and insured, so we are not getting them FREE. They are paid for in the lease fee.

Your comments on insurance Neil do highlight a problem with multiple claims against one person. But as I have stated before, problems are there to be solved and not just dismissed out of hand and called daft. At least having a ‘daft’ idea is better than not having any ideas at all and just knocking other people’s attempts at finding a solution. In any case a so called ‘daft’ idea can and often does trigger a train of thought in someone else to come up with a different idea.

You seem intent on trying to put down my suggestions Neil but if you read my post carefully you will note or you should note that my calculations were just an example based on a countrywide average. In any average figure there will be highs and lows.

It seems that things have changed since the last time that I bought car insurance. Then I did not have to produce an MOT certificate to insure my car. I had to produce a valid MOT and Insurance to tax it though. Maybe you are getting confused in that if an insured car does not have a current valid MOT and a claim is made against it the insurance becomes invalid. The same would apply if it isn’t taxed.

When the MOT was first brought in the cars of the day were nowhere near as reliable as they are today. For a start off they had starting handles to crank the engine if the starter didn’t do its stuff. Nowadays you can get a manufacturer’s warranty for SEVEN YEARS.

However your argument that all cars should have an MOT after one year has some merit, although I would base the criterion for needing an MOT to be based on mileage AND time. I would suggest that a new car would need an MOT after 50,000 miles or three years whichever come first and thereafter at 10,000 miles intervals or one year, again whichever comes first.

Sorry to disappoint you Ianto.W. but the MOD won’t give me any more torpedoes. I’ll just have to use words instead.

It’s not only subs that have torpedoes ***Mr D***. Destroyers, Cruisers and even Battleships had torpedoes and not forgetting Motor Torpedo Boats better known as MTB’s. I don’t think that modern warships have torpedoes any more. With missiles they don’t need them.

Good win by the Rovers!