12/03/12- THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A BIKER AND A "BIKERETTE"

9^th March 2012 : A new bike arrives (but only temporarily …..)

It’s been a while (well six months) since I’ve bought a bike and although an NVT Easy Rider barely qualifies under that description, as it’s got two wheels and an engine, it just about scrapes through.

So on Friday after work, saw me trundling down the M6/M5/A30/A39 and finally the A394 down the Helston in Cornwall – or put it another way, about 20 miles or so from Lands End.  It was the early hours of Saturday morning before I was home L.

My prize – a 1977 NVT easy Rider Moped JJ

For the princely sum of £137, I was the proud owner (albeit a temporary one) of a 1977 NVT Easy Rider.  I’d already sold the bike on even before collecting it (to Dave Bloor, a friend and an equally sad collector of mopeds) as actually, it wasn’t the bike that I was interested in, more what came with it – some original legshields and an original screen. 

Genuine Easy Rider Legshields

A genuine Easy Rider Windshield

So why did I travel a round trip of nearly 500 miles to pick up what most people would consider junk ? OK, actually it is junk ….. JJ

Well, last year, myself and an intrepid band of bikers (read : idiots) rode a similar moped from John O’Groats to Lands End over a 6 day period – I only rode the last 200 yards if I’m honest – and in the process raised over £10,000 for help for Heroes.

This year, we’re doing a similar ride, well actually rides.  The moped that completed the JOG-LE run, is being ridden from the Blackpool Tower to the Eiffel Tower (in Paris) over a 5 day period.  At the same time, another group of the lunatics that I’m proud to call my friends, will be riding a 1979 NVT Rambler 125cc from Nordcapp (that’s the very top of Norway) to Gibraltar.  Again, both of these rides are being done for charity and in due course I will be posting up the “JustGiving” page details here, so don’t worry too much about not being able to donate right at this very moment.

In the meantime, I’m preparing the bikes and this is where the legshields and windscreen come in as they’re to be fitted to the moped to make the pain of the journey, just that little bit less for the riders.

The NVT Moped at the end of last years ride

I spent the following day, cleaning up my newly acquired treasures ready for fitting.

Oh and for anyone following the story, there’s been no real developments of note this week regarding my “discussions” with Warwickshire Police Force ………….      

07/03/12 - THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A BIKER AND A “BIKERETTE”

1^st March 2012 : The Police, Speed Cameras and the 14 day rule (continued.)

Again the police responded quite quickly to my second letter, albeit again rather predictably.  The essence of their reply was that “they’d looked into the situation and the matter was to proceed”. 

They further went onto state that they would not supply me with a copy of any of the correspondence I had requested and only by pleading “not guilty” and asking for the case to be dealt with by a magistrates court, would I be allowed to see the purported papers.

I therefore tried a different approach.  Rather than writing for a copy of the claimed original N.I.P. as the subsequent nominated driver, I wrote to the Camera Unit as the Registered Keeper and therefore the original apparent intended recipient of the letter .

Copy of third letter sent to Warwickshire Police :  

Dear Sir/Madam,

Y***/**/**** - Notice of Intended Prosecution

It has been brought to our attention that a vehicle where we are shown at DVLA as the Registered Keeper has recently been involved in an alleged speeding offence.  The vehicle in question is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 SWB, registration number R111 BSA.

We have been informed that a Notice of Intended Prosecution was sent to the Registered Keeper following the alleged offence.

As the Registered Keeper, we would inform you that no such NIP was received by ourselves.

We are further informed that a person has been nominated at being the hirer/named driver (or possibly keeper) of the vehicle in question.  

As the Registered Keeper of the vehicle, we are informing you that no such nomination has been submitted by ourselves.

As Registered Keeper and the apparent intended recipient of an undelivered document, we would be grateful if you could supply us with a copy of the Notice in order for us to discharge our legal responsibilities under Sec 172 of the RTA 1988. 

In addition, I thought it was time to involve the Warwickshire Chief Constable …..

Copy of fourth letter sent to Warwickshire Police :  

Dear Mr Parker,

Y***/**/**** - Notice of Intended Prosecution

I have to begin by apologising to have to attempt to contact you directly for such a relatively trivial matter.  However, I find that this is my apparent final course of action available.

On 30^th January 2012, a vehicle R111 BSA was recorded at 47mph on the M42/M6 Toll.  The full and exact details of the alleged offence can obviously be accessed using the above reference.

I will now list in sequence what has happened since.  Please note that each point is only a brief summary.  Should you wish to see the full relevant correspondence, it can be supplied although I assume that there will be a copy in the files of the Camera Enforcement Unit.

1.      On 15^th February 2012, I personally received a N.I.P. regarding the offence.  The N.I.P. was dated 14^th February 2012.

2.      On 16^th February 2012, I wrote back to the Camera Enforcement Unit (CEU) advising then that this was the first Notice that was received and in my opinion it was time-barred.

3.      On 20^th February 2012, the CEU replied stating that the notice dated 14^th February 2012, albeit that in their letter they state it was sent out (and was therefore presumably dated) 13^th February 2012, was in fact a subsequent notice and therefore the offence stood.

4.      On 21^st February 2012, I again wrote back advising the CEU that the address of the Registered Keeper (Carelogic Limited) and my home address are actually the same and that no Notice had been received before the one referred to in (1) above.  I asked for a copy of the original notice and I also asked for a copy of the supposed nomination of myself as the hirer/named driver.

5.      On 27^th February 2012, the CEU wrote back, refusing to give me a copy of either document and refusing to discuss the matter further.  In addition, they state that the only way I can see the information I requested (information that I may add, they already claim to have sent to me/my company and further information that was presumably also received from me/my company), is if I request that my case is dealt with by the Magistrates Court.

So if I understand this correctly, the only way I can see who apparently has fraudulently given by name (as the hirer/named driver - which the police are saying has happened ) on behalf of the RK (Carelogic Ltd - my own company) or whether in fact the Notice of 14^th February 2012 was preceded by one or more other Notices, is if I plead not guilty to an offence that I’m not exactly sure I am actually not guilty of, but am also unsure of whether I should have been charged with in the first instance.

The stance taken by the Camera Enforcement Unit Manager in refusing to simply provide me with a copy of something they claim they have already sent all seems rather pointless and just a little pathetic. 

Of course like so many other Civil Servants, spending other people’s money is clearly of little concern to the Camera Enforcement Unit Manager and I now find myself in the position of having to take this matter to the Magistrates Court simply to discover the answer to what most people would consider a very reasonable request – in short, “you claim to have sent something to me, I haven’t received it, could I therefore have a copy please”.

I fully appreciate that you as Chief Constable will probably never even see this letter and at best, I’ll receive a reply back saying something along the lines of “I have looked into this matter and referred the case back to our CEU/CPS for consideration” and unfortunately this it seems these days, is the best any UK citizen can hope for.

On the other hand, when and if I am asked at some stage as to why I have apparently wasted court time on something as trivial as this, my response will be, because I simply asked for a copy of a document to be sent to me ……

Again, I apologise for having to concern you with something as trivial as this matter.

So we now again wait and see……..

So apart from furthering my fledgling career as a lawyer, what else did I get up to regarding two wheels during the week ? 

Well, not much really.  With nothing much on over the weekend, I decided to spend a couple of days working in the garage, primarily tinkering about with my Iron Butt Trident and re-commissioning it for the current year.  (The full story of my 9000 mile / 11 day trip across the USA last summer can be read on http://www.tr3oc.co.uk/ under the “features” section – you need to scroll down towards the bottom of the page to pick up the links)

Maybe next week, I’ll have something to write about ….. J