e-petition for modified historic vehicles

[Bob Pomeroy]

I have just come across the news that the EU are planning legislation to ban non-approved (ie non original equipment) modifications from all road worthy historic vehicles. Am I the victim of a spoof [quite possibly] or are the bureaucrats in Brussels really seeking to rid us of our pride and joy [quite probably]?

The link I have found is:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/37784

Please note the short deadline for signing up to this.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Bob Pomeroy

I have just come across the news that the EU are planning legislation to ban non-approved (ie non original equipment) modifications from all road worthy historic vehicles. Am I the victim of a spoof [quite possibly] or are the bureaucrats in Brussels really seeking to rid us of our pride and joy [quite probably]?

No, you are not vicim of a spoof. The FBHVC website documents the proposal HERE and you will note that it is only a draft at the moment.

I will be signing petition, regardless!

[terence]

DONE!

[Al Weyman]

Me too, time to get out of Europe, they were saying on BBC Breakfast this morning that 60% of the British public want out, I'm one of them.

[GORDON STREETER]

Bring back bent bananas !

[The SpeCTator]

Just signed

OK a V8 dropped into a Lotus 6 would be crazy but decent quality fuel and brake lines is common sense on most classics.

Maybe they want us to run on cross-ply too as they were factory fitted

[PeterMorley]

Don't forget that there are EU officials who drive classic cars and that lobbying groups have to justify their fund raising.

Such suggestions are only a starting point which will always be extreme and it's rather unlikely that countries like France with rather lenient MOT systems (especially for older cars) are going to accept a huge increase in standards so will water them down anyway.

Personally I've always wondered how people get away with completely re-engineering cars and doubt that an MOT test is capable of determining whether a car has been competently constructed (which is presumably the idea behind the SVA test in the UK) and think there should be a system of more detailed inspection for seriously modified cars.

Apart from the difficulties in making rules retrospective I think you will find they are more worried about highly tuned/modified recent cars (which are rather more common and faster than our old cars) - e.g. it is easy to double the power output of many modern road cars which are unlikely to have been built to cope with such increases.

[terence]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Me too, time to get out of Europe, they were saying on BBC Breakfast this morning that 60% of the British public want out, I'm one of them.

I,m not!! Best thing we ever did.should have done it years ago.

[FastDB2s]

Does that mean you want to be in or out Terry, I dont mind being in as long as we are in charge.
As the rescuer of Europe twice in the last century I think we have earned that right.

[terence]

Quite frankly I've grown sick and tired of the UK,attitudes amongst some of those I know also general are just sooo different to those in Germany. For instance,when some one tell's you they will do something,they do it !

[Tim Barry]

Signed and acknowledged!

[SAMD]

Originally Posted by Tim Barry

Signed and acknowledged!

Ditto

[nicanary]

Originally Posted by PeterMorley

Don't forget that there are EU officials who drive classic cars and that lobbying groups have to justify their fund raising.

Such suggestions are only a starting point which will always be extreme and it's rather unlikely that countries like France with rather lenient MOT systems (especially for older cars) are going to accept a huge increase in standards so will water them down anyway.

Personally I've always wondered how people get away with completely re-engineering cars and doubt that an MOT test is capable of determining whether a car has been competently constructed (which is presumably the idea behind the SVA test in the UK) and think there should be a system of more detailed inspection for seriously modified cars.

Apart from the difficulties in making rules retrospective I think you will find they are more worried about highly tuned/modified recent cars (which are rather more common and faster than our old cars) - e.g. it is easy to double the power output of many modern road cars which are unlikely to have been built to cope with such increases.

Hear,hear. This is only a proposal at present, and no doubt can be amended or even scrapped. On another website a barrister who is a site member has perused the whole shebang and reckons there's nothing to be worried about - the intention is to make sure that people who wish to modify their cars do so within safety limits. In other words, they're trying to stop the numpties who don't uprate braking and handling packages to suit an increase in power.

I have seen numerous examples of this on other sites, where the members are in awe of someone who has fitted a Cosworth motor in a Fiesta, or some such car, and done nothing about the rest . It's all about the "it's got 400bhp, and the tyres light up", just puerile nonsense, and no regard to the safety of occupants or other road users. We all know the type I mean.

These modified cars need thorough checks before they're allowed on the highway - I'm not convinced that the current MOT system is good enough to weed them out. It depends who you know at the garage, if you get the drift. (In Northern Ireland the tests are carried out at Government stations, and are VERY thorough. No chance of slipping through the net).

As you suggest, the modern car is so easily uprated by chipping, and I feel there will always be idiots who don't know when to stop - hopefully this legislation will be correctly applied to them ,and not to racing/classic car enthusiasts who know what they're doing.

[NaBUru38]

Why banning??? They could just tax them heavier.

[PeterMorley]

Originally Posted by nicanary

These modified cars need thorough checks before they're allowed on the highway - I'm not convinced that the current MOT system is good enough to weed them out. It depends who you know at the garage, if you get the drift. (In Northern Ireland the tests are carried out at Government stations, and are VERY thorough. No chance of slipping through the net).

Funny you should use the word drift, I met a classic car enthusiast in Northern Ireland whose son was into drifting which is apparently rather popular.

As you say, a system that doesn't use centrally ran MOT stations is always going to be open to exploitation and even that isn't foolproof.

[Al Weyman]

Drifting? What a waste of time that is, I just don't get it.

[nicanary]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Drifting? What a waste of time that is, I just don't get it.

There was a time when the Japanese copied us - now we copy them. Viz the camber/stretched tyres scene etc.

(My use of the word drift earlier had nothing to do with that "sport", more to do with the old chocolate bar ad "get ma drift?")

[terence]

Originally Posted by Terence Bower

I,m not!! Best thing we ever did.should have done it years ago.

Edited because of not being very clear: For "we" read my wife and I should have made the move years ago,far better way of life.

[medius]

Reports in the press that the European Commission has proposed to make modifications to cars illegal, or to ban classic cars unless they are unchanged since manufacture are entirely wrong.

The Commission’s proposals would not, if agreed by the Member States and the European Parliament, make any difference to the current situation regarding MOT testing in the UK except to make most classic cars more than 30 years old exempt from testing if they are not used day-to-day on the roads.

All other cars would remain subject to roadworthiness testing, just as they are now. Whether or not they have been modified is not of itself relevant: what counts is whether they are safe and that is what is assessed by MOT tests in the UK and by the equivalent tests elsewhere.

What the proposals will do is require all Member States to bring their road worthiness tests up to a certain level of rigour, already applied in the UK : for example, motorbikes will need to be tested regularly everywhere, as they are already in the UK. This will make driving safer for UK drivers at home and abroad.

The Commission is writing separately to all the newspapers concerned, none of which checked the facts with us before publication.

http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/ECintheUK/...are-incorrect/

Nothing to see here folks, just another internet hoax doing the rounds.

[John Turner]

Indeed, and just for the record, I think you'll find the 'straight banana' issue was product of the British tabloid press. I couldn't get a straight banana in Tescos if I tried. They are all beautifully curved as ever.

[FastDB2s]

I wouldn't trust any Euro Government or any government for that matter, they are all in it for what they can get out of it themselves - tax us to death

Sign the petition then it can be debated - if its not debated then they will do whatever they please

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by medius

Reports in the press that the European Commission has proposed to make modifications to cars illegal, or to ban classic cars unless they are unchanged since manufacture are entirely wrong.

The Commission’s proposals would not, if agreed by the Member States and the European Parliament, make any difference to the current situation regarding MOT testing in the UK except to make most classic cars more than 30 years old exempt from testing if they are not used day-to-day on the roads.

All other cars would remain subject to roadworthiness testing, just as they are now. Whether or not they have been modified is not of itself relevant: what counts is whether they are safe and that is what is assessed by MOT tests in the UK and by the equivalent tests elsewhere.

What the proposals will do is require all Member States to bring their road worthiness tests up to a certain level of rigour, already applied in the UK : for example, motorbikes will need to be tested regularly everywhere, as they are already in the UK. This will make driving safer for UK drivers at home and abroad.

The Commission is writing separately to all the newspapers concerned, none of which checked the facts with us before publication.

http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/ECintheUK/...are-incorrect/

Nothing to see here folks, just another internet hoax doing the rounds.

Agreed but let's not let the truth get in the way of a good story. Far from trying to ban classic cars the DfT have now exempt any car manufactured before 1960 from requiring an MOT test and track cars are exempt from some of the latest MOT requirements if and when they ever get added to the test.
As for testing trailers, sounds like a good idea to me and if we had trailer registration as in some parts of the EU it may cut down a lot of theft.

[Bucky.]

Hoax or not, I've signed.
Don't want the gov don't getting any ideas.

[midgetman]

Ah, then what you've done is alert the Government to the scale of the "problem". Multiply the number of signatures by what they think they can get away with as tax, gives the amount of potential MP bonus pot for next year

Free marketing survey!

[Mike Bell]

I glimpsed a headline in wednesday's Classic Car Weekly suggesting a visctory for common sense so checked out the FBHVC website. Their news page carries a statement confirming that some good work has and is still being done on our behalf! Here's hoping.