Car Insurance advice for cheaper car insurance in South Africa

Who said the elderly are poor drivers?

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A friend and regular visitor to the Arrive Alive website emailed a rather nice video illustrating the driving ability of some of our elderly road users! We have previously on this blog referred to the elderly and how they use their experience to reduce collisions and car insurance claims.

This is not to be tried at home, or near the home or anywhere in the vicinity of other objects, vehicles or people – and definitely only for the advanced drivers amongst us!

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You better be insured when a grizzly bear gets trapped inside your car!

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A friend sent an email to the Arrive Alive website with images of what happens when a grizzly bear gets trapped inside a vehicle. Here is the story:

A Man in Waterton Park Alberta, came out to find the inside of his 18 month old Toyota Sequoia trashed.

A grizzly bear had somehow got a door open (easy considering the way the handles are) and once inside got trapped when the door shut behind him. Probably by the wind.

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The Toyota was a platinum edition, all the door panels were ripped off, the headliner torn to pieces, all headrests, the leather seats, the dash shredded.

The steering column was twisted sideways. Two of the six airbags went off, the other four the bear ripped to pieces. You can imagine a trapped grizzly being hit with an airbag in an enclosed space must have figured he was in for the fight of his life.

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When the bear ripped off the door panels he clawed all the wiring harnesses out. Toyota figures every wire he pulled or clawed at resulted in bells, voices or sparks.

The head mechanic at Calgary Toyota doubted if they had the expertise to put it back together.

To add insult to injury the bear took a big dump in the back of the SUV and then broke out the rear window. Fish and wildlife officers have inspected the damage and figure it was a 3 year old griz.

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From blood left behind they are doing DNA.

The vehicle has been written off, cost new over 70,000 they stopped counting repair costs at 60,000.

bear 5

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Those who are Dyslexic can take an Oral Learners Test

Question:

I really hope you can help me! My girlfriend is Dyslexic and has trouble learning and understanding the words from the learners book and i would just like to know if there is any way that she could do a oral test or something or if there is someone who could assist us in this matter?

Your assistance would be much appreciated.

Answer:

Yes the National Road Traffic Act makes provision for the application of an oral test to can be conducted. The applicant needs to make an application at any Driving Licence Testing Centre, who will forward the application to the MEC of the province concerned.

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A person may only do an oral test for a learner’s licence if he or she is illiterate and if the MEC has given permission.

Electronic learner’s licence test may also be used to examine a person for a learner’s licence.

I don’t see a definition of the word illiterate in the list if definitions in the Regulations.

Here are dictionary definitions:

illiterate adj 1: unable to read and write. (http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk)

dyslexia noun, psychol, medicine 1 a disorder characterized by difficulty in reading and writing, and in spelling correctly, although individual letters can be recognized, and other intellectual abilities are unimpaired. 2 popularly a term used for difficulties in reading and writing. (http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk)

I’m not sure how Regulation 104 is interpreted by the authorities in a case such as this. If the candidate can read and understand the printed questions, then the answers are multiple-choice options of which the correct answer must be selected. No writing is required. However, perhaps special oral testing can be arranged as noted above.

Gavin Hoole

The New K53 Manual
For Learner’s & Driver’s Licence Test Preparation

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3 Attorneys arrested in Pretoria for defrauding the Road Accident Fund

fraud Three attorneys were arrested in Pretoria on Thursday morning in connection with 54 counts of fraud amounting to about R6m, Gauteng police said.

They handed themselves over at the Pretoria Central police station following an investigation by the Gauteng Commercial Crime Unit, said Lieutenant Colonel Katlego Mogale.

Cases of fraud were opened in Brooklyn, Pretoria, last year in July and November by the Road Accident Fund.

Another attorney, a doctor and an agent acting as a middleman, were arrested on Tuesday and had appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.

The attorney and the doctor were granted bail of R10 000 and the agent bail of R1 500, said Mogale.

Two other attorneys were arrested on Wednesday. They appeared in court and were also granted bail of R10 000 each.

It was alleged that the six attorneys, the doctor and the agent were lodging claims on behalf of clients, said Mogale.

Third party claims lodged after an accident were referred to the same doctor, who in some instances provided medical certificates for claimants he had not physically examined.

In some instances, those claimants had not been involved in accidents, he said

All eight would appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on March 6.

- SAPA

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Could the size and shape of your buttocks become an anti-theft device?

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We have all kinds of unique identifying features! It is however not only fingerprints and eye scanning that can be used to identify a specific person.

Japanese scientists claim their pressure sensor sheet can accurately identify an individual’s backside and when placed on a driver’s seat could be used as a last line of defence to stop someone else driving away your motor.

Your buttocks may have 39 identifying features

“The sheet has 360 sensors, which collect data for 39 features to recognise a person, such as pressure patterns and the dimensions of the buttocks,” said Dr Shigeomi Koshimizu, who led the research.

Koshimizu, an associate professor at Tokyo-based Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology, said his device is 98% accurate and far less onerous than conventional biometrics as it requires nothing more than someone to sit naturally.

Clothing may present a challenge

But, he added, there are still a few hurdles to clear before the technology makes it to market.

“The recognition tends to be compromised by different clothes,” he said. “Sensors read different signals from a pair of trousers and a pair of jeans.”

Conclusion:

Few would have thought that the size and shape of your buttocks may one day be an anti-theft device! We believe that not only clothes might present a challenge – but also our ability to change shape with fitness exercises and weight loss programmes.

We look forward to seeing how these studies could impact on fighting vehicle theft and the potential benefits for car insurance!

[Information from a story that appeared via Sapa]

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BMW SA recalls 3,000 Mini Coopers for minor repairs

recall Around 3,000 Mini Cooper S cars will be affected by a global recall, BMW South Africa confirmed on Monday.

Globally, almost 200,000 vehicles have been ordered back to the manufacturer.

The models that will need to undergo minor repairs are the Turbocharged Mini Cooper S and the Mini John Cooper Works.

The cars were manufactured between March 2006 and October 2011.

BMW’s Guy Kilfoil said people could still drive their cars but only under extreme circumstances.

“Smoldering could occur and whenever that happens, chances of a fire cannot be completely excluded,” he said.

(Story by Alex Eliseev, Edited by Zethu Zulu appeared on Eyewitness News)

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Rules of the Road, Professional Driving Permits and transporting students to events

Question:

Please can you advise on what the regulations are with regards to the transporting of students to an event outside of the school. If a teacher uses their own vehicle to transport students, is there a minimum number of students they can transport, does the teacher need a PDP, what are the legal implications for the school and the teacher should the teacher be involved in a motor vehicle accident while transporting students?

If a teacher is using a school vehicle to transport students to an external event, again, what is the number of students they are allowed to transport, do they require a PDP if it’s more than this number, what are the legal implications if any?

Look forward to hearing your reply.

Answer:

Herewith is a response to the question asked below:

A professional Driving Permit is required for amongst others, the following:

• A minibus which has been designed or adapted for the conveyance of 12 or more persons, including the driver;
• A motor vehicle conveying 12 or more persons, including the driver;
• A motor vehicle used for the conveyance of persons for reward or is operated in terms of an operating licence issued in accordance with the provisions of the NLTTA.

So in answering the question below, if the vehicle used whether owned by the teacher or the school has any of the conditions as set out above applicable, then a PrDP will be required. In case of an accident, the Road Accident Fund Act then applies.

The application form for a PrDP can be accessed on the eNaTIS website at www.enatis.com.

Regards,

Clancinah Baloyi
Manager: Business Analysis
Tasima

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What are the Rules about the height of the high and low beam of headlights?

Question:

Where do i find the regulations to set the hight of the high beam and the low beam of my headlights. Shouldn’t this be advertised as well?

Answer:

They most certainly are published – in the National Road Traffic Regulations, which is freely available to anyone.

Here are the applicable regulations:

SnipImage Howard Dembovsky
National Chairman – Justice Project South Africa (NPC)
Association Not For Gain | Incorporated as a non-profit company under the Companies Act, 2008 | Registration Number 2010/019972/08

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What is the Operator card that must be displayed on a vehicle?

did_you_know782 Question:

Sir/Madam, can you please clarify the meaning of an offence “Drove motor vehicle on a public road. Operator card not displayed.”

Answer:

Dear Sir or Madam.

For a change, this particular question has an easy and straight-forward answer attached to it.

All motor vehicles which are classified as requiring an operator to be registered must undergo regular roadworthy tests and be issued with a current operator card when this happens. Operator class vehicles are defined under Regulation 265 of the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 as follows:

265. Classes of motor vehicles in respect of which operator to be registered
(1) An operator shall be registered in respect of a—
(a) goods vehicle, the gross vehicle mass of which exceeds 3 500 kilograms;
(b) breakdown vehicle;
(c) motor vehicle to which regulations 273 to 283 apply as contemplated in regulation 274;
(d) bus;
(e) midibus;
(f) mini-bus—
(i) the gross vehicle mass of which exceeds 3 500 kilograms; or
(ii) which is designed or adapted for the conveyance of 12 or more persons, including the driver; and
(g) motor vehicle used for the conveyance of persons for reward, registered in the Republic.

If your vehicle falls under any of the above classifications, then it requires an operator card (roadworthy disc) to be displayed in its windscreen, along with its license disc.

Best Regards,

Howard Dembovsky
National Chairman – Justice Project South Africa (NPC)

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Ford Recalls Nearly Half A Million vehicles

recall DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday that it’s recalling nearly half a million minivans and SUVs because of a pair of mechanical issues.

The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker is recalling 205,896 Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans made during the 2004 and 2005 model years, because their torque converter output shaft may fail. If that happens, there could be a sudden loss of power that could cause a crash, Ford said.

Ford is also recalling 244,530 Escape SUVs made during the 2001 and 2002 model years, because their brake master cylinder reservoir cap could leak brake fluid. If the fluid leaks, it could corrode electrical connectors in the vehicle’s breaking system and lead to melting, smoke, or a fire, Ford said.

Ford said that with both recalls, it will inform the affected owners, and dealers will replace the parts for free.

In the case of the Escape, Ford said it will begin notifying owners the week of Jan. 23, but because of a parts delay, Ford said it may not be able to fix some of the vehicles right away.

In those cases, Ford said it will tell owners to park their SUVs outside until the parts become available and the vehicles can be fixed.

[Info from Huffingtonpost]

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Alarming number of vehicle owners not responding to vehicle recalls

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