Supercar hire car drivers? Tougher restrictions needed?
Discussion
Read this in my local rag today and found it interesting and saddening; especially coinciding with the new tougher driver laws.
This is incredibly common around here - not just here but in other urban cities I'd hazard, you see them bombing up and down a lot of the A and B roads with no regard for anyone else - many of them with 18th birthday parties in them (maybe time to bring in them power measures motorcyclists are restricted to by age for drivers); many of them are not as straight as the road in question and a lot are residential areas where pedestrians regularly use traffic islands to cross, very little chance of seeing the car doing 56mph around the corner in a 30 zone when deciding if it's safe to go; step out into road and boom. What's the point of the new life sentences for dangerous driving if these types are just hiring cars willy nilly and doing this with not a police car in sight until they hit a kid?
What's the solution? Maybe only allow super-cars to be hired on tracks? However that's unfair on someone who intends to take it out on a motorway and behave responsibly with it (although how many could restrain themselves with a once in a life-time chance to drive a car capable of doing in excess of 200mph per hour?)
This is incredibly common around here - not just here but in other urban cities I'd hazard, you see them bombing up and down a lot of the A and B roads with no regard for anyone else - many of them with 18th birthday parties in them (maybe time to bring in them power measures motorcyclists are restricted to by age for drivers); many of them are not as straight as the road in question and a lot are residential areas where pedestrians regularly use traffic islands to cross, very little chance of seeing the car doing 56mph around the corner in a 30 zone when deciding if it's safe to go; step out into road and boom. What's the point of the new life sentences for dangerous driving if these types are just hiring cars willy nilly and doing this with not a police car in sight until they hit a kid?
What's the solution? Maybe only allow super-cars to be hired on tracks? However that's unfair on someone who intends to take it out on a motorway and behave responsibly with it (although how many could restrain themselves with a once in a life-time chance to drive a car capable of doing in excess of 200mph per hour?)
Edited by revvingit on Tuesday 17th October 12:48
Edited by revvingit on Tuesday 17th October 12:49
Edited by revvingit on Tuesday 17th October 12:50
Edited by revvingit on Tuesday 17th October 12:51
REALIST123 said:
Link didn't work for me so don't know what you're on about.
Should work now. Some random < u > tags cropped up in it. Sorry. Although my post makes it pretty obvious I'm on about young guns hiring supercars and revving them around inner city roads like they are on a track day.Edited by revvingit on Tuesday 17th October 13:03
There is a more politically incorrect answer that many others will probably discuss in more detail, however from inside the fleet rental industry things are quite different.
Most of these vehicles are hired to corporate hirers on their own fleet policy. The hire company has very little control over what happens the vehicle after this point, but anecdotally many of these vehicles are then sub-hired to friends and family, suddenly the employee list of a back street garage doubles in order to get named individuals on to fleet policies. All of this is beyond the control of the hire company.
Then there are a significant number of high profile rental companies that finance these vehicles and offer them for hire. Without fail the annual accounts to match up with their rental activity, and many rental outfits have silent partners listed at companies house, but have no day to day involvement in the business. This is not a crime in itself, but coupled with some other business practices, there are a lot of red flags to be seen.
There are also a lot of blind eyes being turned - the hire companies pretty much know what will happen to their car when the official hirer leaves, or has it delivered to them. But there will always be a fall guy or money man behind the rental in the event it gets damaged or seized by the police - a regular occurrence for these type of hires. If damage isn't paid for, the claim doesn't usually go through the proper channels, instead a few people will call round to discuss the matter in question. Unpaid debts are, shall we say, haram, and dealt with in various persuasive ways.
All that said, there is a demand for these type of cars to be rented or leased, besides showing off at weddings. A lot of my customers deal with high net worth individuals who prefer to rent a range of high end vehicles for the periods they are in the country, or for specific purposes such as a RR Vogue when they want to go off shooting for the weekend (actual call I overheard this morning).
A lot are used in the media for film or photo shoots, or magazine reviews, but a lot are also used as courtesy cars for accident or service replacements.
There is a genuine demand and opportunity to provide these type of vehicles for rental, and just because a certain minority of the customer bases abuses the crap out of them, shouldn't prevent the entire market sector from operating profitably.
Most of these vehicles are hired to corporate hirers on their own fleet policy. The hire company has very little control over what happens the vehicle after this point, but anecdotally many of these vehicles are then sub-hired to friends and family, suddenly the employee list of a back street garage doubles in order to get named individuals on to fleet policies. All of this is beyond the control of the hire company.
Then there are a significant number of high profile rental companies that finance these vehicles and offer them for hire. Without fail the annual accounts to match up with their rental activity, and many rental outfits have silent partners listed at companies house, but have no day to day involvement in the business. This is not a crime in itself, but coupled with some other business practices, there are a lot of red flags to be seen.
There are also a lot of blind eyes being turned - the hire companies pretty much know what will happen to their car when the official hirer leaves, or has it delivered to them. But there will always be a fall guy or money man behind the rental in the event it gets damaged or seized by the police - a regular occurrence for these type of hires. If damage isn't paid for, the claim doesn't usually go through the proper channels, instead a few people will call round to discuss the matter in question. Unpaid debts are, shall we say, haram, and dealt with in various persuasive ways.
All that said, there is a demand for these type of cars to be rented or leased, besides showing off at weddings. A lot of my customers deal with high net worth individuals who prefer to rent a range of high end vehicles for the periods they are in the country, or for specific purposes such as a RR Vogue when they want to go off shooting for the weekend (actual call I overheard this morning).
A lot are used in the media for film or photo shoots, or magazine reviews, but a lot are also used as courtesy cars for accident or service replacements.
There is a genuine demand and opportunity to provide these type of vehicles for rental, and just because a certain minority of the customer bases abuses the crap out of them, shouldn't prevent the entire market sector from operating profitably.
We get this near where I live, quite often the local DiD's hire a Lambo or something for whatever reason probably a kids birthday, and they race around the local area in it.
Seems to happen a few times a year, and no idea.
There are usually quite tight restrictions on mileage and the like, so they can't go too far without it costing them a lot.
I did interview a guy years ago who rented a Murci to a finance group in Luton for their top sales guy or whatever.
The car was delivered, and had a tracker on it. They realised it had gone over mileage, so tried to phone the guy to warn him, and the in car phone. Nothing. It kept going on and on. Rang the company, nothing.
By this time it had done something like 50 miles over the mileage limit, so they waited until it was parked at lights and immobilised it. Charged them for the recovery and a stupid per mile cost for the extra miles.
All their cars were leased!!!!!
Seems to happen a few times a year, and no idea.
There are usually quite tight restrictions on mileage and the like, so they can't go too far without it costing them a lot.
I did interview a guy years ago who rented a Murci to a finance group in Luton for their top sales guy or whatever.
The car was delivered, and had a tracker on it. They realised it had gone over mileage, so tried to phone the guy to warn him, and the in car phone. Nothing. It kept going on and on. Rang the company, nothing.
By this time it had done something like 50 miles over the mileage limit, so they waited until it was parked at lights and immobilised it. Charged them for the recovery and a stupid per mile cost for the extra miles.
All their cars were leased!!!!!
donkmeister said:
So where are all the Section 59 antisocial driving orders (not sure I've said that correctly)? I would think these cars would have such flags from these sorts of hirers and get stopped even when driving legally.
I understand that a certain self-titled person is a regular visitor to police seizure compounds after the drivers were found not to be insured.http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/1558329...
"A BRIDEGROOM had a wedding day to forget when police seized the Lamborghini he was driving because he had no insurance.
West Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Unit has revealed details of the incident which took place in Bingley on Saturday.
In a tweet, the unit wrote "Happy wedding day, can I have the keys please?,' the officer said to the groom! Seized for no insurance in Bingley. Driver reported."
A police spokesman today said: "The vehicle was hired out with insurance but not to the person who was found driving it. "
Apart from having to pay impound release fees, what other commupance befalls the leaser who gives the vehicle out to others?
"A BRIDEGROOM had a wedding day to forget when police seized the Lamborghini he was driving because he had no insurance.
West Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Unit has revealed details of the incident which took place in Bingley on Saturday.
In a tweet, the unit wrote "Happy wedding day, can I have the keys please?,' the officer said to the groom! Seized for no insurance in Bingley. Driver reported."
A police spokesman today said: "The vehicle was hired out with insurance but not to the person who was found driving it. "
Apart from having to pay impound release fees, what other commupance befalls the leaser who gives the vehicle out to others?
Edited by cootuk on Wednesday 18th October 03:35
anonymous said:
[redacted]
http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/downloads/file/1407/in...
Edited by andy.mod on Wednesday 18th October 15:02
andymc said:
tedious to you maybe, very true to others, there is a whole sub culture of drugs and money laundering built around this and once again Police are s
t scared due to the racism card.
Here's my own theory on it.t scared due to the racism card.The criminal activity that surrounds dodgy hire cars, money laundering, drug distribution, fraud etc, is complex and widespread. Trying to stop it completely is somewhat futile given the finite resources of the police forces, and the likelihood of a conviction given the financial resources and tactics of the criminals. Instead, the police forces are more intent on disruption, rather than conviction.
Occasionally the "whale" will be caught by the police, and they can build a case against this person, but in the meantime there are dozens, if not hundreds of people further down the chain who are re-grouping and constantly having change their methods of operation. Is it realistic to pull in all of those people and hope to secure a conviction, or is more effective to disrupt their activities and cause them hassle and grief amongst themselves as they try to stay one step ahead?
In the scheme of things, the car hire companies are only a small part of much wider OCG activities.
Despite the number of high profile drug busts across the country, supply to users has never been a problem, and if anything the street cost is falling, suggestion that supplies are not affected much by localised drug seizures.
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