EDITORIAL

There was a nice, robust decision in the Court of Appeal the other day when a group of campaigners, who wanted their road closed in London when pollution was considered too high, were told To go away', as only a few moments attention was required to see any interpretation of S14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 in their favour would absurd results, i.e. increasing pollution in neighbouring roads. To impose such restrictions would lead to chaos. Whoopee for common sense!
It is important to remember that public roads are open to all and it is not up to individuals to deny this right to others, however much they feel entitled to. This country is the heart of democracy after all, and I suspect even the most vociferous of minority pressure groups would not have it any other way.

The observant amongst you may have noticed that the club now has two telephones numbers, the new one being 555251. So what, you say? I hope not, but newer numbers may not realise the significance of 251. Abingdon 251 was the 1930s phone No. for the M.G. Car Company Ltd. and from it sprang the chassis numbering sequence of M.G.s for many years, so the first run of a model began with chassis No. 0251 - i.e. TA 0251 etc. This was abandoned in the 1950s, but the MGF has rekindled the theme. So it is fitting that this number has come back to home ground', so to speak. We are grateful to the M.G. Museum organisers for the assignment of this number.

There has been a resurgence in the use and fitting of Mascots to M.G.s. You are reminded that their use is governed by the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, No.53 of which states: No Mascot or Emblem or other ornamental object shall be carried by a motor vehicle first used on or after 1st October 1937 in any position where it is likely to strike any person with whom the vehicle may collide, unless the mascot is not liable to cause injury to such person by reason of any projection there on.'
Hence this is a subjective interpretation, and officialdom being what it is, users of T-Types with the Midge mascot, for instance, should be wary of fitting these. It may even invalidate your insurance policy in the event of a 3rd party claim, unless disclosed to and accepted by your insurers beforehand.

Those of you with 1980s and 1990s M.G.s should be aware that their cars electrical and electronic systems are open to external fault cause, in that mobile telephones and other communication systems can effect fuel injection systems causing misfire and/or complete failure. Also the increasing fitment of car phones, in car faxes, security systems and remote key fobs are causing increasing breakdowns as batteries fail due to increasing load put upon them. Keep an eye on this much abused component and switch off all your Gizmos before leaving your car. With the sort of weather we've been having recently this is doubly important.
The increasing complexity of modern cars is a matter of great concern to those with a bit of foresight and could sound the death knell to motoring as they are now so complex and expensive to repair (new catalytic converters from £500 to £3000), private motorists will no longer be able to afford to run them. New ones will be run by companies for three years and then scrapped. The second-hand car trade will be decimated as private motorists, unless very wealthy will simply not be able to afford such cars. You can see what the SMMT is wanting with its idea that all old bangers, are scrapped and owners given £500 or whatever to buy a new car. It is the only way new cars will sell, but to unwilling purchasers. It is the ultimate way to reduce the number of cars on our roads, which I suspect the SMMT doesn't realise! Perhaps it could be just what we want. Imagine a scenario of new cars being company ones, private motorists running pre 1980 vehicles and maintaining them themselves and the rest of us in 25 years old and earlier cars. Four and perhaps five star would have to be available and our roads would become a pleasure to drive again, without all these weekend mimsers cluttering them up! Heyo, pigs might fly!

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