18/05/2012
Honda’s new…unicycle
Would you buy a car that had a top speed of 3.7mph? Can you cycle faster than a walking pace?Well if you answered no to the first and yes to the second, you might not be too gutted that Honda’s latest creation is not available for public purchase yet and has not been given a release date either.
The creation, the Uni-Cub, is a motorised unicycle. Riders can steer it by leaning to one side or another, just as you would on a peddle unicycle. The difference is that you don’t have to work your legs to move the machine and reportedly it is brilliantly easy to get the hand of riding one.
As clever an invention as the Uni-Cub is, I’m not surprised the manufacturer hasn’t come out with a release date yet. It doesn’t go any faster than 3.7mph – some people walk faster than that.
However, to give you a more balanced view of the machine, it apparently folds up into a carrycase, and is safe enough to use indoors.
I wonder how much it would cost to insure this strange machine? Would it even need insurance?
Photo © Gamma Man via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, cycle, Honda, insurance, insure, machine, motorised, rider, top speed, Uni-Cub, unicycle, walking
23/04/2012
Scooter safety deemed a serious issue
Motorised scooters have long been one of the most popular forms of transport among the elderly and people with mobility issues. Unfortunately media stories regarding the dangers posed by these slow-moving vehicles are all too common.
In 2010 an Essex resident sustained serious injuries after accidentally driving his scooter into a pothole and being jolted forward into the road. The following year a scooter user accidentally drove into an unsuspecting elderly shopper, who is yet to fully recover from her injuries.
It has been suggested that such accidents will keep happening until the scooter users are legally required to register for some form of on-road training. The Labour MP for Plymouth Davenport has also called for regular in-depth safety checks.
She said, “With an increasing ageing population, some action has to be taken to ensure that standards are maintained in terms of the safety of these vehicles and that some basic training is undertaken by all users.”
Any changes in the law are likely to be readily accepted by individuals who might have had to rely heavily upon friends and family if it hadn't been for their scooters. If the car world is anything to go by then training could even come with the incentive of a reduction in scooter insurance premiums.
In 2010 an Essex resident sustained serious injuries after accidentally driving his scooter into a pothole and being jolted forward into the road. The following year a scooter user accidentally drove into an unsuspecting elderly shopper, who is yet to fully recover from her injuries.
It has been suggested that such accidents will keep happening until the scooter users are legally required to register for some form of on-road training. The Labour MP for Plymouth Davenport has also called for regular in-depth safety checks.
She said, “With an increasing ageing population, some action has to be taken to ensure that standards are maintained in terms of the safety of these vehicles and that some basic training is undertaken by all users.”
Any changes in the law are likely to be readily accepted by individuals who might have had to rely heavily upon friends and family if it hadn't been for their scooters. If the car world is anything to go by then training could even come with the incentive of a reduction in scooter insurance premiums.
Photo © Lighthelper :) back at work for now. :) via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: insurance, mobility, pothole, premiums, road, scooters, transport, vehicles
04/11/2011
Jeeves, there’s a commoner towing away the carriage!
Having your car towed – if you’ve been unlucky enough to experience this you’ll know – is quite embarrassing.
So the owner of one Rolls Royce Phantom must have been hiding their red face in their hands when the very fancy £300,000 vehicle was dragged away from its parking space in Knightsbridge, London.
But wait! Before you start feeling sorry for them – if you could after reading ‘Rolls Royce Phantom’ – the car was towed because it had no tax disc and no insurance.
Now the owner will probably wish they’d followed the letter of the law instead of trying not to pay the money that they could – let’s admit it – probably afford to spend without any financial hardship.
The Phantom has a 26-speaker sound system, heated leather seats, a refrigerator, heated and cooled cup holders, and a button that retracts the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament from the hands of thieves when necessary.
If we could afford this car – we’d have paid the tax and insurance to make absolutely sure that we didn’t lose the vehicle under such avoidable circumstances.
Moral of the story: Tax discs and insurance aren’t just for the commoners.
So the owner of one Rolls Royce Phantom must have been hiding their red face in their hands when the very fancy £300,000 vehicle was dragged away from its parking space in Knightsbridge, London.
But wait! Before you start feeling sorry for them – if you could after reading ‘Rolls Royce Phantom’ – the car was towed because it had no tax disc and no insurance. Now the owner will probably wish they’d followed the letter of the law instead of trying not to pay the money that they could – let’s admit it – probably afford to spend without any financial hardship.
The Phantom has a 26-speaker sound system, heated leather seats, a refrigerator, heated and cooled cup holders, and a button that retracts the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament from the hands of thieves when necessary.
If we could afford this car – we’d have paid the tax and insurance to make absolutely sure that we didn’t lose the vehicle under such avoidable circumstances.
Moral of the story: Tax discs and insurance aren’t just for the commoners.
Photo © The Car Spy via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, insurance, law, Rolls Royce Phantom, Spirit of Ecstasy, tax disc, towed, vehicle
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