LenT

You don’t mention how familiar you are with dashcams, Nick. So you may already be very familiar with some of the thoughts that I trot out on this subject. Dashcams are not that difficult to install. Personally I would find a good local auto electrician who is probably fitting them on a regular basis, rather than a Lexus mechanic who’s doing the occasional one. If you can negotiate an extra discount with Lexus on the basis that you’re buying a new car, then that may swing the balance. With regard to the SD Card, I would say buy the biggest one you can afford and that the system will take. It also pays to have a spare - say 32GB. In the event of an ‘incident’ and able to do so, swap the cards round. That way you have preserved the incident and kept the dashcam operational. in other words, don’t be swayed by the size of the supplied card. Because you’ll end up getting another one anyway! A spare is also useful when you have to reformat the card. In normal use most dashcams recommend doing this on a monthly basis. Some can be done in the camera and upgraded with the latest firmware in the same way. I do mine in a PC so once again I can put the smaller card in place. As for features such as Alexa, well I don’t know how reliable or effective it may be in a car environment. Personally,I’ve never had much success with even voice-operated phone dialling systems in cars - I just end up shouting at the dash! But maybe that’s just me! Finally, use the Parking Mode! This requires connection to a supply that’s live when the ignition is off. Again a good auto electrician will be familiar with this arrangement. Finally, good luck with the new car and well done for getting it camera-ready. As I found from personal experience, in the event of a claim, video evidence settles the matter - and it’ll only take one for the camera to have more than paid for itself! I hope this has been useful. 🙂

So he said, John.

What you want to do, Phil, is find yourself a nice pothole that has been reported to the local Roads Authority. They are obliged to repair specific potholes within a certain time of being reported. Otherwise they can become liable for any damage caused. When I had my car Detailed by a local chap, I was discussing the vulnerability of alloy wheels. He said that he had had two alloys on his Porsche broken while encountering a reported - but unrepaired - pothole and for which he claimed compensation from the Local Authority.

You may well be right, Ken. MrsT has a Suzuki 4x4 which is so good at negotiating rough terrain that she has developed a degree of disdain for road bumps. Over the years this has resulted in two broken front coil springs and thus the replacement of four! Unfortunately this didn’t result in any great deterioration in handling and only came to light during annual MoTs. So she didn’t feel compelled to revise her attitude to speed bumps! ☹️

Harrington’s paper, to which I provided a link, does indeed reference Hans Monderman’s philosophy which essentially appears to be that if you remove virtually all traffic controls then the uncertainty that’s introduced makes drivers more cautious - and thus safer. And I think he states that 400 towns across Europe are currently putting it to the test - with mainly positive results. But I wonder if it’s a ‘cultural’ thing. Here in the UK the concept that one is responsible for one’s own individual actions seems often to be replaced by the conviction that it’s always someone else’s fault! So at a junction where safe traffic flow now depends on the application of ‘common sense’, I wonder if there’s enough of it to go around?

If you expand this thought to consider how Excessive Road Signage produces Information Overload, then this is a very important and still somewhat under researched influence in road safety. A report by a Tom Harrington in April 2020 makes some very interesting observations: https://www.grahamfeest.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/excessive-road-signage-Information-overload.pdf For example: Over the last two decades the number of road signs in the UK has doubled to 4.3 million at the last count. According to the Department for Transport (DfT), the overuse of traffic signs blights the landscape, wastes taxpayer’s money and dilutes important safety-critical messages. Having too many signs can also distract drivers and increase the risks for road workers. Existing research shows that too much information may be a problem, as the efficiency cognition of drivers has been shown to decrease with an increase in the amount of information overload. Many road signs are repetitive, unnecessary and pointless. Repeated unnecessary signs can contribute to “information overload” and could cause drivers to miss an important sign hidden in their midst. And: A survey by Kwik Fit revealed that one in five road signs are a mystery to the average driver. It also found that while 70pc of people know UK road sign meanings, two in five are so baffled that it leads to problems on the road. Take for example the airborne motorcycle “no motor vehicles” sign which can be confusing especially for overseas visitors. Then we have the “no entry” sign which previously incorporated the words “no entry” in the rectangle. These words should be retained as even overseas motorists understand the word “no”. He quotes Edmond King, President of the AA, as saying: “You could get rid of about one-third of signs, no problem. Actually, reducing the number of signs will help drivers and lead to less confusion”. He cites that the removal of traffic lights, road markings and pedestrian crossings in Ashford, Kent, saw “a 60% drop in accidents in the first three years”. However, a survey in Ashford published by the University of West England found that "80% of respondents felt safer under the previous road layout. The lack of boundaries was a particular concern for blind people, those with disabilities and the elderly." It seems clear that the natural desire of civil servants to create rules instructing the Public how to behave - which here manifests itself as road signage - can be counter-productive when it comes to improving driver performance. In October 2015, at what was described as "Britain’s most chaotic junction", in the Yorkshire town of Beverley, when the 42 sets of traffic lights broke down at that junction, according to locals there was not a tailback in sight and traffic moved more smoothly! As someone who no longer has to be anywhere, you have my sympathy Linus. But all the best with your new job! 🙂

I trust you’ll both have a long and happy relationship, Phillip. 🙂

You’d have to be very lucky indeed! Average traffic speeds in London came up as a question in the GLA in 2019. Only in Outer London could you look forward to 20mph. Inner London would be about 12mph and Central around 8mph. So you could think of 20mph as being more like a target than a limit! https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2019/19767

This is a good, simple idea which seems to have gone out of fashion. I wonder why? I had a Lotus Elan convertible which I thought might be something of a theft magnet. So I fitted an isolator in the low tension supply to the distributor. It had a short tube into which you inserted a threaded rod. This completed the electrical circuit. When I left the car I unscrewed the rod and tucked it out of sight. The advantage of this system was that all a thief could do was get the starter to churn away - which wastes time. And suggests there’s an engine problem. Even if they guessed it was a switch, they’d have to find it first - and who carries a small threaded rod around with them? Of course, for all I know, my Lexus is now too sophisticated to use such simple solutions. It doesn’t have a low tension supply to a distributor, for a start! But is there a digital equivalent - assuming I can still get such an isolating switch?

Did you look under froglights?

Alan, Alan! What have you done?! Let’s hope this referring to Manuals business doesn’t catch on or the LOC might as well shut up shop. I know old Ph..arts like myself might suggest it, but that’s really only in jest. 😉

If it’s the same as my IS250, then it’s the reversing light on the nearside and the matching fog light on the offside. I’ve just replaced my reversing light bulb with an LED bulb - which has considerably improved the business of going backwards. https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/955-w16w-white-philips-ultinon-pro6000-led-bulbs-single.html Might do the same for the fog light.

😀😀😀

You’d think so, wouldn’t you. Now I’m not so sure! I think he should refer to some of the excellent home security advice that you can read on the AA website. Interestingly, the Mirror, for the sake of any potential burglars who might be confused as to what Faraday pouches in a red tin box and a microwave oven might look like, they ran this article with a helpful illustration. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/aa-boss-urges-drivers-keep-27667404#

One can but hope, Linus. At the very least, if caught, they should have their AA Memberships terminated - if appropriate. I certainly sympathise with your own frustrating experiences. It seems you’ve not been well-served and are justifiably aggrieved. Unfortunately, lack of evidence may be just that. But if it’s any consolation, most Police find it equally frustrating - often having a good idea who the culprits are, but not having evidence to the high standard required. Incidentally, I just came across your magnificent restoration project as detailed in another thread. Was this affected by the theft and fire that you mention?

Bit too racy for me, Malcolm. I picked this up while browsing DT Online at about 4am. It gives me time to decide if it’s worth getting up. 😊

It seems that Edmund King, President of the AA, is pretty annoyed that what is described as ‘wife Deirdre’s £50K Lexus’ was nicked off their Hertfordshire home’s drive one night. Despite the keys being secured in a Faraday pouch (AA brand one presumes) he believes the signal was captured when Deidre arrived home earlier in the day. King states that he has now taken to keeping his keys, in their Faraday pouches, inside a red metal box hidden inside a microwave oven located at the back of the house. So they’re now safe from car thieves. But burglars now know exactly where to find them.

Others may disagree, but my answer would be…not very much. The only thing wrong is that the supply is not regulated or switchable. My BlackVue has what they call a Power Magic Pro - a control box that would be connected to the constantly live fused supply you mention and monitors the current drain so that if the battery voltage drops below a preset level, it switches the camera off. It is itself switched so that you can turn the camera off completely if you so wish. But I’m an advocate of the ‘Parking Mode’. Cars are just as vulnerable to attack when stationary as when moving. Why would you want to leave it vulnerable just because you’ve parked to go shopping? This is the Power Magic Pro. I expect other systems are available! https://www.amazon.co.uk/BlackVue-Hardwire-Parking-Battery-Protection-PowerMagicPro/dp/B008B8ERIO/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=51589269765&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6I-Pl46u-QIVDO3tCh0_ewrvEAAYASAAEgL53fD_BwE&hvadid=578474420780&hvdev=t&hvlocphy=1006551&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13577846762901636763&hvtargid=kwd-295395143014&hydadcr=4646_2155423&keywords=blackvue+power+magic+pro&qid=1659647911&sr=8-1

Glad you thought so, Nick. Because I had another thought. Now you may already know all about this, in which you can stop reading after I mention the word…Detailing! If you have some spare cash and plan to keep the car for some time, now is the ideal time to have it Detailed. There’s nothing a Detailer likes better than to work on a new car. Get a really good ceramic finish applied to the bodywork and wheels. Possibly even get the front wrapped for extra protection. Right now the cost will represent a relatively small percentage of what you’ve already invested. I also invested in a set of Alloygators - plastic rim protectors for low profile alloys. If you get upset over a paint blemish on the wheel, I fear for your health if you kerb an alloy! Apart from which, just enjoy it!

I appreciate that this is very easy for me to say, Nick, but a chip on a wheel that can be effectively concealed by a spot of ink is possibly not the worst thing to fall out with the Dealer over. By the sounds of it, you’ve actually got virtually instant delivery of a brand new, well specified Lexus at a very attractive price. In the grand scheme of things…a rather sweet deal, I would have thought. I suspect those painted alloys will suffer further minor blemishes in the natural course of being used, so don’t let this one black mark take the shine off your pleasure in owning a fine, new car. 😊

Could they be the ones run by Bill Gates….possibly? In which case the millions he lobs at the likes of the BBC and such guardians of the Truth as….well, The Guardian, obviously buys a lot of silence….I imagine. 😉

Mrs T was of the same mind, Bill. Until she discovered that being uncontactable when mobile and therefore unaware that well-laid plans had had to be changed, was even more inconvenient! I certainly recall times driving out to meetings which were cancelled before I arrived. So a car phone saved me quite a few wasted hours. Personally I have no problem with being called while I’m out. I can always not answer it. 😊

A timely warning indeed Bobby. I thought I had plastic caps until, while topping up at our local BP, I discovered one was metal. And yes…it was frozen on to the stem. But no problem. A helpful lad produced a spanner from his van and - with a deft twist - snapped the stem off the valve! Still, he did help me put the SpaceSaver on. And a nearby tyre retailer had a replacement TPMS to fit for £65. The lad was very apologetic but I told him that had I had a suitable spanner, I would have undoubtedly done the same. But I did treat the car to a new set of plastic dust caps!

Glad to hear you’re making a good recovery, Mike. But don’t be tempted to do too much. Just enjoy whatever sunshine we get this month. And remember, there are still forms of Covid-19 around to which you could be particularly vulnerable at the moment. So take the usual precautions!

Drat! Now I see my mistake, Phil. Wrong type of accountant…. 😢