Registration Numbers Club

Ten out of ten

Reports from cherished number plate dealers indicate a high level of interest in the new ‘10’ series of registrations launched last December. Many RNC members successfully purchased the new registrations which can be assigned to vehicles registered from 1 March 2010. I even managed to secure one for myself: JR10 MAX (‘J R Lomax’) will eventually grace another vehicle somewhere down the line.

Wheel clamping update

In the 2009 Queen’s Speech, it was announced that a compulsory licensing scheme would soon be introduced for all wheel clamping businesses. Wheel clamping on private land has been illegal in Scotland since 1992, but has continued in England and Wales.
The legislation will also place a limit on clamping penalty charges, regulate towing-away practices and introduce an effective and fair appeals process, a move which has been welcomed by motoring organisations.

The RAC said that motorists everywhere will be relieved that this Government has at last listened to the hundreds of thousands of drivers who have been fleeced and sometimes threatened by rogue operators and is finally tackling the cowboy clamping menace.
The AA said that it is certainly a step in the right direction but is concerned about the level of fines to be imposed and hopes that the appeal process will be truly independent.

The bill should be published and put before parliament quickly to restore public confidence in this essentially lawless area.
It really is the last chance to sort this problem out for good and if it fails, clamping on private land should be made illegal as in Scotland.

Political correctness

Motorists were angered last October when police closed 27 miles of the M5 for a single vehicle crash which was not even blocking the road. A pickup truck had left the carriageway in Somerset at 4.20am and hit an electricity pylon in a field. Police decided that the pylon could be a danger to motorists, even though it was not on the motorway, and closed both carriageways of the M5 until lunchtime, causing gridlock around Bristol with some motorists stuck for five hours.

This closure came just a few weeks after drivers were caught in similar tailbacks when the same police force closed the M5 after a man threatened to jump from a bridge.

A local town councillor said that it was crazy and that the police had totally over-reacted to the situation, whilst a local driver commented that he couldn’t believe the M5 had been closed just because a pole had come down. The police, however, said that the cable could present a hazard to motorists. But is it really not just a case of political correctness and Health & Safety gone mad?

Everything has its price

Readers will no doubt remember Bradford entrepreneur Afzal Kahn purchasing the prestigious plate F 1 back in 2008. This plate now graces his white Bugatti Veyron which was recently on display at the MPH show in London. You might think that after eight years of negotiations with Essex County Council, who had owned it since 1904, he really wouldn’t want to part with it. Apparently though he has already turned down an offer of £5m for the plate, but says that everything has its price and that he would probably let it go for £10m, complete with the Bugatti!

Celebrating our 33rd anniversary

The RNC will hold its 2010 rally at the Haynes International Motor Museum at Sparkford near Yeovil in Somerset. Rally 2010 celebrates the 33rd year of the RNC and will be held on Sunday 20 June 2010.

As usual entries will be split into various classes and registrations voted on by members themselves with many trophies awarded. There will also be a prize draw for several high quality donated items which will help raise funds to support the club. Please keep checking the club website, www.TheRNC.co.uk, where full details will be posted. We look forward to meeting up with friends old and new at a venue which you are sure to find interesting.

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