"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...
In article , Sacha
writes

Poor victim, you can't be surprised when innocent people take the law
into their own hands sometimes. It must be akin to mental torture to be
constantly harassed and burgled and your gardens/allotment vandalised
over a period of time.

I know some people feel that property is not worth injuring someone
over, but good grief there's always the last straw.............


What worries me more is the thought that if a burglar broke into my messy
shed, and accidentally got lime or something else in his eyes, then I could
be held liable for that injury. I could presumably end up in prison without
having taken any direct action against the burglar at all.

Some thing worries me with the local kids playing in the trees on my
boundary. If they fall and hurt themselves on my fence then I assume I'd be
held liable for that as well.

I certainly remember the case of a child who climbed over someones fence and
up their chestnut tree to get conkers. He fell and injured himself and then
sued the owner.

--
Martin & Anna Sykes
( Remove x's when replying )
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 09:31:00 -0000, "Martin Sykes"
wrote:

"Chris French and Helen Johnson" wrote in
message ...

Indeed it has, many thousands of people thinking it's ok to break all
sorts of laws, that 'don't really matter' just because they happen to
be driving a car.



But I'm sure it would be much cheaper for society and the over-burdoned
(sp?) prison service, and a much better deterrent if the punishment for not
paying a fine was a suspension of the licence instead of a jail term.

There are enough people on the roads without licenses already.
The guy is in prison for refusing to pay a fine. The cheap option
would be confiscation of the car.
--
Martin

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 09:31:00 -0000, "Martin Sykes"
wrote:

"Chris French and Helen Johnson" wrote in
message ...

Indeed it has, many thousands of people thinking it's ok to break all
sorts of laws, that 'don't really matter' just because they happen to
be driving a car.



But I'm sure it would be much cheaper for society and the over-burdoned
(sp?) prison service, and a much better deterrent if the punishment for not
paying a fine was a suspension of the licence instead of a jail term.

There are enough people on the roads without licenses already.
The guy is in prison for refusing to pay a fine. The cheap option
would be confiscation of the car.
--
Martin

martin wrote:

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 09:31:00 -0000, "Martin Sykes"
wrote:

But I'm sure it would be much cheaper for society and the over-burdoned
(sp?) prison service, and a much better deterrent if the punishment for
not paying a fine was a suspension of the licence instead of a jail term.

There are enough people on the roads without licenses already.
The guy is in prison for refusing to pay a fine. The cheap option
would be confiscation of the car.

So long as it's his car.
--
Nick Wagg

martin wrote:

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 09:31:00 -0000, "Martin Sykes"
wrote:

But I'm sure it would be much cheaper for society and the over-burdoned
(sp?) prison service, and a much better deterrent if the punishment for
not paying a fine was a suspension of the licence instead of a jail term.

There are enough people on the roads without licenses already.
The guy is in prison for refusing to pay a fine. The cheap option
would be confiscation of the car.

So long as it's his car.
--
Nick Wagg

There are enough people on the roads without licenses already.
The guy is in prison for refusing to pay a fine. The cheap option
would be confiscation of the car.
--
Martin

Funny you should say that. In 1975 I was in Camp Hill Prison and a young lad
was serving time for taking cars without permission. "It's a waste of money
sending me in here, it would be much cheaper for them to buy me a car"

I have to admit that on the financial side, he was correct :-}

Mike

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 10:24:07 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" wrote:




There are enough people on the roads without licenses already.
The guy is in prison for refusing to pay a fine. The cheap option
would be confiscation of the car.
--
Martin

Funny you should say that. In 1975 I was in Camp Hill Prison and a young lad
was serving time for taking cars without permission. "It's a waste of money
sending me in here, it would be much cheaper for them to buy me a car"

When I was a student I had a holiday job in a waterworks shovelling
wet sand, a rotten job, but it paid well. Also working there was a
kid of 18, who had stolen a police car during a disturbance outside a
pub, he got a year in borstal, mainly because it took the police about
3 hours to catch him and made them look stupid, he claimed to have
little driving experience before he took the car. He said he regretted
it what he had done as soon as he sobered up.

He spent nights and weekends locked up in borstal.
The cost of his upkeep was deducted from his salary and the rest put
in a deposit account, that he couldn't access until he finished his
sentence.
I found this a sensible punishment.


I have to admit that on the financial side, he was correct :-}

Mike


--
Martin

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 10:24:07 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" wrote:




There are enough people on the roads without licenses already.
The guy is in prison for refusing to pay a fine. The cheap option
would be confiscation of the car.
--
Martin

Funny you should say that. In 1975 I was in Camp Hill Prison and a young lad
was serving time for taking cars without permission. "It's a waste of money
sending me in here, it would be much cheaper for them to buy me a car"

When I was a student I had a holiday job in a waterworks shovelling
wet sand, a rotten job, but it paid well. Also working there was a
kid of 18, who had stolen a police car during a disturbance outside a
pub, he got a year in borstal, mainly because it took the police about
3 hours to catch him and made them look stupid, he claimed to have
little driving experience before he took the car. He said he regretted
it what he had done as soon as he sobered up.

He spent nights and weekends locked up in borstal.
The cost of his upkeep was deducted from his salary and the rest put
in a deposit account, that he couldn't access until he finished his
sentence.
I found this a sensible punishment.


I have to admit that on the financial side, he was correct :-}

Mike


--
Martin

The message
from "Andy Hunt" contains these words:

I played a gig in a bikers' pub once, and they had a big sign on the wall
saying, "SPEED KILLS - so get out of the way!"

An old biker fiend of mine used to declaim when he saw one of the 'Speed
Kills!' posters in the '60s: "Bloody fools! They tell you speed kills!
It isn't the speed, it's the sudden stop."

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In article , Martin Sykes
writes
"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
Have you read your Highways Code recently? para 103 'street lights
usually mean there is a 30 miles per hour limit unless there is a sign
showing another limit. Law RTRA sects 81 86 89 and sch6'

I always thought they had to be on both sides of the road though?

Pass. You'd have to look up the Act, which unfortunately is pre-86 so
not on line on the parliament website.

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article , Martin Sykes
writes
"Chris French and Helen Johnson" wrote in
message ...

Indeed it has, many thousands of people thinking it's ok to break all
sorts of laws, that 'don't really matter' just because they happen to
be driving a car.



But I'm sure it would be much cheaper for society and the over-burdoned
(sp?) prison service, and a much better deterrent if the punishment for not
paying a fine was a suspension of the licence instead of a jail term.


Given the high proportion of people who drive without a licence,
probably not.

Also, it would be unmanageable to have one sentence for failing to pay a
fine for a driving offence, and another for failing to pay a fine for
some other offence.

Finally, if you refuse to pay a fine, you are in effect refusing to
recognise the ruling of the courts, and once people can get away with
that, then law and order begins to crumble.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article , Martin Sykes
writes
"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
Have you read your Highways Code recently? para 103 'street lights
usually mean there is a 30 miles per hour limit unless there is a sign
showing another limit. Law RTRA sects 81 86 89 and sch6'

I always thought they had to be on both sides of the road though?

Pass. You'd have to look up the Act, which unfortunately is pre-86 so
not on line on the parliament website.

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article , Martin Sykes
writes
"Chris French and Helen Johnson" wrote in
message ...

Indeed it has, many thousands of people thinking it's ok to break all
sorts of laws, that 'don't really matter' just because they happen to
be driving a car.



But I'm sure it would be much cheaper for society and the over-burdoned
(sp?) prison service, and a much better deterrent if the punishment for not
paying a fine was a suspension of the licence instead of a jail term.


Given the high proportion of people who drive without a licence,
probably not.

Also, it would be unmanageable to have one sentence for failing to pay a
fine for a driving offence, and another for failing to pay a fine for
some other offence.

Finally, if you refuse to pay a fine, you are in effect refusing to
recognise the ruling of the courts, and once people can get away with
that, then law and order begins to crumble.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 22:34:09 +0000, Chris French and Helen Johnson
wrote:

I've not seen reports of the case. I'm pretty sure that if the signs
aren't visible as they should be then that is a defence. Obviously for
whatever reason, the court upheld the prosecution.

"The 30 mph limit applies to all traffic on all roads in England and
Wales (and Class C and unclassified roads in Scotland) with street
lighting unless signs show otherwise. " - Highway Code. The road did
have street lighting.

My nephew recently failed a driving test for not knowing this rule.

--

Julie S

(if you love the idea of free books click on www.bookcrossing.com)

On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 22:34:09 +0000, Chris French and Helen Johnson
wrote:

I've not seen reports of the case. I'm pretty sure that if the signs
aren't visible as they should be then that is a defence. Obviously for
whatever reason, the court upheld the prosecution.

"The 30 mph limit applies to all traffic on all roads in England and
Wales (and Class C and unclassified roads in Scotland) with street
lighting unless signs show otherwise. " - Highway Code. The road did
have street lighting.

My nephew recently failed a driving test for not knowing this rule.

--

Julie S

(if you love the idea of free books click on www.bookcrossing.com)