Blatant disregard for car maintenance
Discussion
Had a car come in for an MOT today and I'm utterly horrified by it. Carried out the test, and the tester handed me the failure sheet.
001 Windscreen washers provide insufficient fluid
002 NS dipped beam not working
003 OS dipped beam not working
004 NS sidelight not working
So I called the owner to explain the failures, and started by saying "have you recently driven the car at night?"
Owner:"yeah all the time"
Me:"have you noticed very poor visibility?"
O:"No, not really"
M:"well when driving at night you will only have 1 sidelight, instead of 2 sidelights and 2 dipped beams"
O:"oh, right, I was hoping you wouldn't notice that"
This made me absolutely furious. The guy was knowingly driving around with almost zero visibility at night, tried to deny knowledge of it, then said he hoped we wouldn't notice how dangerous his car was when carrying out an essential test of roadworthiness.
And what made me more furious, was that he didn't seem to appreciate the potential concequences of this, as well as trying to make a bit of a joke out it!
001 Windscreen washers provide insufficient fluid
002 NS dipped beam not working
003 OS dipped beam not working
004 NS sidelight not working
So I called the owner to explain the failures, and started by saying "have you recently driven the car at night?"
Owner:"yeah all the time"
Me:"have you noticed very poor visibility?"
O:"No, not really"
M:"well when driving at night you will only have 1 sidelight, instead of 2 sidelights and 2 dipped beams"
O:"oh, right, I was hoping you wouldn't notice that"
This made me absolutely furious. The guy was knowingly driving around with almost zero visibility at night, tried to deny knowledge of it, then said he hoped we wouldn't notice how dangerous his car was when carrying out an essential test of roadworthiness.
And what made me more furious, was that he didn't seem to appreciate the potential concequences of this, as well as trying to make a bit of a joke out it!
I always make a point of flashing at vehicles with fubar headlights when they're oncoming (in the hope they'll eventually pull over and check them) and actually getting alongside cars with fubar brake lights (or other electrical faults) and telling the driver. Most people seem oblivious to it, but usually thank me for letting them know.
Given that the vast majority of cars built in the last 10 years have warning lights/displays that tell you when a bulb is gone people must know.
It just confirms my suspicion that most people on the road are
s and they usually back up this suspicion with some fk nut driving!
Apart from 206 drivers, i think having all 3 brakelights on all of the time must be part of the design!
It just confirms my suspicion that most people on the road are
s and they usually back up this suspicion with some fk nut driving!Apart from 206 drivers, i think having all 3 brakelights on all of the time must be part of the design!
Walking past one my work colleagues cars earlier this year, I happend to look at his
front tyres.
They were completely bald!!
Got into work and pointed out how worn his tyres were and he said,
"Well the were new 15K ago"
He hadn't checked his tyres in all that time, god knows how the car keeps going.
Needless to say he does keep an eye on his tyres now though.....
front tyres.
They were completely bald!!
Got into work and pointed out how worn his tyres were and he said,
"Well the were new 15K ago"
He hadn't checked his tyres in all that time, god knows how the car keeps going.
Needless to say he does keep an eye on his tyres now though.....
Acheron said:
I see a lot of cars with no brake lights working, just the high-line one.
Its beyond me how people cant notice, even things like brake lights should be checked or noticed now and then.
I also work in a garage with a mot station and you want to see some of the cars that come in but most people today dont look at a car my sister for one will moan everytime the smallest thing goes wrong why has it gone sort of attitude but how can you tell that your brake lights arent working if you dont check regulary you can only tell if someone points it out ive been driving around a couple of time with a brake light out and ony noticed when one of my work mates tell me. Then again i wish somepeople wouldnt atempt to do big jobs like changing the clutch if you dont have the experience in doing it. Had a focus in this week which had that done the starter motor wasnt connected up the drive shaft nuts werent even tight, gearbox mount lose if your going to do a job doing it properly or give it to an expert says people like me a lot of time Its beyond me how people cant notice, even things like brake lights should be checked or noticed now and then.
On a similar note, we recently had a guy in with tyres down to the cords on the front. He didn't batter an eyelid when we pointed this out, despite the fact he lives in the motorway, and came out with the corker, "that isn't my issue, that's the lease companies issue, phone them".
It would have been very much his issue in the form of 6 points and £120 fine if he'd been caught, or possibly a stint in prison if he'd caused a death in that car...
It would have been very much his issue in the form of 6 points and £120 fine if he'd been caught, or possibly a stint in prison if he'd caused a death in that car...
MG CHRIS said:
how can you tell that your brake lights arent working if you dont check regulary you can only tell if someone points it out ive been driving around a couple of time with a brake light out and ony noticed when one of my work mates tell me.
You can easily check brake lights on your own by simply reversing up to a wall/garage door etc (when it is dark) & applying the brakes whilst looking in the mirrors, you can't really fail to see if one or both aren't working. It's not exactly rocket science is it?
4lf4-155 said:
Apart from 206 drivers, i think having all 3 brakelights on all of the time must be part of the design!
Interesting you should say that. The OH's were on all the time so quick google found the solution. Unbeleivaby the brake master cylinder is on the passenger side and is operated by a long bar from the brake pedal. The brake light switch is right in line with the passengers feet, so one false move by the passenger and your switch gets pulled out and its lights on time. French st. 
PHmember said:
MG CHRIS said:
how can you tell that your brake lights arent working if you dont check regulary you can only tell if someone points it out ive been driving around a couple of time with a brake light out and ony noticed when one of my work mates tell me.
You can easily check brake lights on your own by simply reversing up to a wall/garage door etc (when it is dark) & applying the brakes whilst looking in the mirrors, you can't really fail to see if one or both aren't working. It's not exactly rocket science is it?MG CHRIS said:
PHmember said:
MG CHRIS said:
how can you tell that your brake lights arent working if you dont check regulary you can only tell if someone points it out ive been driving around a couple of time with a brake light out and ony noticed when one of my work mates tell me.
You can easily check brake lights on your own by simply reversing up to a wall/garage door etc (when it is dark) & applying the brakes whilst looking in the mirrors, you can't really fail to see if one or both aren't working. It's not exactly rocket science is it?plasticpig said:
MG CHRIS said:
PHmember said:
MG CHRIS said:
how can you tell that your brake lights arent working if you dont check regulary you can only tell if someone points it out ive been driving around a couple of time with a brake light out and ony noticed when one of my work mates tell me.
You can easily check brake lights on your own by simply reversing up to a wall/garage door etc (when it is dark) & applying the brakes whilst looking in the mirrors, you can't really fail to see if one or both aren't working. It's not exactly rocket science is it?Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff