August
26th |
CLUB
INSURANCE SCHEME |
|
The
Federation have changed the brokers responsible for the
FBHVC public liability insurance scheme from Willis Ltd
to Aston Scott. The
underwriters, Zurich Insurance, have agreed to this change
and clubs’ existing cover is unaffected. The only
change is that the next renewal documents will come from
Aston Scott, to whom all enquiries should now be made.
The
change of brokerage is being undertaken with the co-operation
of Willis in the interests of improving quality of service.
Willis, a large global brokerage, have done an excellent
job arranging the policy with Zurich on favourable terms
but their size means they have difficulty providing specialist
individual advice that clubs sometimes need in a timely
and efficient manner.
The
team at Aston Scott, who many of you may already know,
have worked within the historic vehicle movement for 20
years and they have experience of many similar insurance
schemes.
This
change took place on 22 August 2008. If you have any queries
or concerns about the above please do contact the secretary,
or Denise Pitwell or Debbie Ayde at Aston Scott, Tel:
01483 899495.
|
| July
23rd |
| FBHVC
celebrates its 20th Anniversary |
The Federation celebrated its 20th anniversary on 23rd
July and marked the occasion with a cake, plus candles,
at the Board meeting on 22nd July. Vice president, Geoff
Smith, undertook the cake cutting ceremony on behalf
of the Board.
The cake was kindly provided by outgoing secretary
Jim Whyman and was much appreciated by all.
The
anniversary will also be marked at the FBHVC AGM on 18
October. |
|
July
18th |
| Trade
Supporter membership pays dividends |
We were delighted to
learn from the broker providing the special insurance
scheme for Trade Supporters that they have not only
managed to provide better cover for one recent addition
to the ranks but have also saved him over £3,000
a year in annual premium by re-analysing his needs and
taking a new approach to the problems. Not bad for a
subscription that works out at less than £20 a
year for anyone who is VAT registered.
Trade support
enquiries should be addressed to admin@fbhvc.co.uk
[Note: FBHVC earns no
commission from any of the services available to Trade
Supporters (or any other members) - the full benefits
of any savings our service providers are able to make
remain entirely with the member.]
|
July
8th |
New
resource - Trade Supporter contacts |
There is now a new trade page on our
website - a simple list of our Trade Supporters with
their website addresses (where known). Click HERE
At present, the list is purely alphabetical
and there are gaps in the description and website columns.
Over the next few months we aim to fill the gaps and
develop the list with a view to producing a more sophisticated
directory early in 2009. Visitors to the site, traders
and subscriber clubs can help in this effort by notifying
admin@fbhvc.co.uk
of any omissions or errors.
|
June
24th |
Private
Hire Vehicles - a warning |
| Readers
of recent newsletters will be aware that FBHVC has been
looking into the regulations governing the hire of vehicles
(usually cars) with drivers. We were not surprised to
learn of an impending court case where the owner of three
classic cars is facing eight charges in relation to a
hiring that took place in October last year, ostensibly
to take a group of people to the theatre.
Our view is that - at least in England and Wales - if
a car is hired out for the carriage of passengers with
the services of a driver, then the car, the driver and
the person collecting the fee must all be licensed for
the purpose with their local authority. The only exception
is for use in connection with weddings and funerals. That
means that casual hire of chauffeured classic or historic
vehicles for school proms, birthday treats, wedding anniversaries
and any other special occasions is illegal unless the
necessary licences have been obtained. "Private hire"
vehicle insurance may have been purchased, but is likely
to be invalidated if there is a failure to comply with
the licensing regulations.
The legislation under which PHV licences are issued draws
no distinction between old and new vehicles, but many
local authorities refuse to licence vehicles over five
or ten years old for PHV purposes, leaving anyone wanting
to operate a classic or historic car out in the cold.
Local authorities do, however, have an element of discretion
and it is possible they may be persuaded to make exemptions
or special cases.
The background reason for this legislation is to protect
the public from unscrupulous operators using unsafe vehicles
and/or providing criminal drivers. Those who make a living
from PHV spend a considerable sum on licensing and testing
before they can start to carry passengers, so it is hardly
surprising that they expect the authorities to enforce
the regulations so they do not face unfair competition
from those who ignore the rules.
|
May
29th |
FBHVC
raises cost of FIVA ID cards |
| The
base charge for an FIVA ID card will rise on 15 June from
£80 to £95, but members of FBHVC subscriber
clubs still qualify for a £25.00 discount, allowing
them to obtain cards for £70 each. The charge was
last increased two years ago. The above inflation increase
has been caused by a combination of three factors: FIVA
nearly doubled its charges (after a long period) in 2007;
the pound has fallen against the Euro; and FBHVC's own
administrative costs in processing applications have increased
|
May
28th |
Old
vehicle events in Northern Ireland |
Member clubs in Northern Ireland have
been bitterly disappointed to find that a recently published
interim report of the Strategic Review of Parading in
Northern Ireland makes no mention of their case for
old vehicle runs to be exempted from control under the
Public Processions (NI) Act of 1998 (the Act). FBHVC
will be drawing this failure to the attention of the
review panel and seeking support for exemption through
the All Party Parliamentary Historic Vehicle Group.
Background: it was not until 2005 that clubs in N Ireland
discovered that the Act covers events intended for vehicles
as well as events intended for pedestrians that happen
to include vehicles. Until 2005, clubs in NI had happily
organised the typical, often more or less impromptu,
weekend runs for old vehicles that happen without any
formality or regulation all over the rest of UK. Since
then, organisers have to give prior notice by means
of a complicated procedure that was clearly designed
for events taking place at pedestrian pace. FBHVC members,
the Association of Old Vehicle Clubs in Northern Ireland
(AOVCNI) lobbied to have the regulations changes, and
the Parades Commission, in a 2006 report, made a strong
recommendation that events for old vehicles should indeed
be taken out of the scope of the legislation.
The Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland at the time, Peter Hain, decided not to do so,
instead offering an ineffective 'simplification' of
the procedure. Early in 2007, it was announced there
would be a "strategic review" of parading
under the chairmanship of Lord Ashdown.
Armed with the Parades Commission's 2006 recommendation
and other supporting documentation, AOVCNI submitted
evidence to the strategic review panel, were congratulated
on the quality of their submission and given verbal
assurance that their case for exemption had been made.
Not only was their no mention of exemption in the interim
report, but there was also a proposal to extend the
application procedure, thus adding to the burden on
event organisers.
|
May
13th |
Leaded
petrol supply problem |
Bayford, the only UK
distributor of BS 4040 leaded petrol, wrote to all leaded
petrol outlets last month to explain that they had lost
their storage and blending facility at Harwich earlier
in the year, and had not been able to make alternative
arrangements. They have now distributed the last of
the leaded fuel they had in stock.
Their letter said they
were in discussion with suppliers as far away as Russia
and Israel with a view to importing the fuel by tanker,
but hinted heavily that this may prove economical even
if it was possible
|
| May
6th |
| FBHVC
CHANGES ADDRESS |
As part of the on-going
transfer of secretarial responsibilities from Jim Whyman
to Rosy Pugh, the FBHVC's registered office changes
today to
Stonewold
Berrick Salome
Wallingford
Oxfordshire
OX10 6JR
Telephone and fax: 01865 400845
e-mail: secretary@fbhvc.co.uk
Rosy is now dealing with all routine correspondence
and will take over as Company Secretary at the end of
May (the end of FBHVC's financial year). The 2008-9
subscription renewal forms will be mailed shortly and
should be returned to Rosy at the new address.
|
| April 21st |
| DRIVE IT DAY® |
Reports and photographs from 2008 Drive
It Day had started to come in even before DID was over.
A new page illustrating just some of the activities
can be found HERE.
For those who missed it
on the day, there is a link to a PDF file that can be
downloaded to create the Drive It Day leaflet on the
same page.
Drive It Day® in 2009 will
be on Sunday, 26 April.
We
did our bit on DID.
Here is Kirstie age 19 driving our 1929 Vintage
Austin 16/6. 52 miles driven never stalled once!
Thanks to RH Insurance for covering her for DID.
Garry & Kirstie Hellings
Members of Vintage Austin Register
and Austin Ten Drivers Club
|
 |
|
| April
17th |
| DVLA
V765/1 list review delayed |
The
forthcoming review of the list of clubs and organisations
registered to authenticate claims for the recovery of
lost registrations (the V765/1 list) has been delayed.
FBHVC's April newsletter suggested that clubs would be
receiving forms to enable them to apply for listing in
mid-April, but it seems some of the proposed wording has
given DVLA's legal team pause for thought. No new estimate
of a distribution date has been received.
Clubs can check their current listing HERE.
Applications to renew will go automatically to all
clubs currently listed, and to others on request. It is
suggested FBHVC subscriber clubs that are not on the current
list but who wish to apply for inclusion in future should
contact the secretary. Listing is only appropriate if
the following three conditions are met:-
1. The club concerned caters for vehicles made before
new registrations were computerised [say pre-1976]. There
is no point in a club that caters exclusively for later
vehicles registering as their numbers cannot have been
lost as a result of the computerisation.
2. The club has specialist expertise for a make of vehicle,
for a model of vehicle or for a specific type of vehicle
and has records or archives to support that expertise.
3. The club understands that the V765 scheme is a public
service and is willing to handle applications from anyone,
whether a member of not. Fees may be discounted for members
(i.e. non-members may be asked to pay more). Because it
is a public service, clubs must be willing to have their
contact details published.
|
| April 11th |
| Are
thefts of historic vehicles on the increase? |
A couple
of years ago, there was a sense that thefts of old vehicles,
particularly of higher performance cars of the 1960s,
was on the increase. We set up a system to enable victims
to report their losses to see if there was any pattern.
Over a period of about a year, we heard of fewer than
10 instances of theft, there was no pattern and we heard
nothing more. Then this week, two reports: first, a 1965
Austin Healey 3000 (red over black, blue seats - leather
in front, vinyl in back) stolen in West London in March
and then a full collection of early motorcycles
stolen in Gloucestershire early in April.
Click HERE
for details.
If similar thefts occur within one police region, it is
likely the police will notice a pattern and investigate
accordingly. If similar thefts occur in different areas,
it is unlikely that the pattern will emerge for some considerable
time - and that is why FBHVC asks to be informed of historic
vehicle thefts: we can't do anything with any one individual
case, but we might spot a pattern before the police are
able to do so.
|
| April 7th |
| DRIVE
IT DAY ®
FBHVC is pleased to announce that the words Drive It Day
are now a Trade Mark registered in the category relating
to the organisation of events, exhibitions, shows, competitions
and conferences. Notification of the registration was
received today, 7 April, and it means that the name Drive
It Day cannot be used as a title or slogan for any event
other than FBHVC's annual Drive It Day which occurs on
the Sunday nearest 23 April.
|
|
| 25 January 2008 |
| FBHVC getting tough
on mis-use of logo |
| FBHVC member clubs
and collections may use FBHVC's "Member"
logo |
 |
| Trade supporters
have the right to use the "Trade Supporter"
logo |
 |
| No-one
other than FBHVC itself has the right to use the main
FBHVC logo without specific permission, which is usually
only granted for a purpose where FBHVC has an active involvement.
Some of our member clubs may have missed our entreaties
over the years to use the correct logo, but we will be
chasing them up in the next few months.
The message is that if you see our logo in use on business
stationery or publication or in an advert or on a website
it is almost certainly unauthorised and we would like
to hear about it so we can take appropriate action.
|
|
| 22
January 2008 |
| Private
Hire Vehicles |
| Section
53 of the Road Safety Act of 2006 comes into force at
the end of January 2008. The notice from the Department
for Transport giving those involved in the private hire
business advance warning of this measure (which is intended
to close a loophole) suggests that the only exemptions
from PHV licensing requirements are in respect of cars
used for weddings and funerals. This has implications
for those who might offer chauffeured rides in older cars
to tourists. FBHVC is looking at the details, but meanwhile
the secretary would be pleased to hear from anyone who
feels they may be disadvantaged.
The DfT letter can
be seen at http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/taxis/changestaxiandphv
|
|
