If a traffic warden can do it, you can't use a CCTV car

In a recent decision of the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, it was held that when the driver of a council CCTV equipped car left his vehicle to check whether a parked car was displaying a disabled badge, it demonstrated that a traffic warden on foot would have been able to do the task. The motorist's appeal against the penalty he'd been given for parking on a yellow line was upheld. The story is on the Telegraph website here. There is nothing to be found on the Tribunal's website. 

Class action for loss of value of Toyota vehicles following recall rejected by judge

In another US class action, Toyota have won tentative dismissal of some claims by plaintiffs who said their vehicles lost value because of the automaker's recalls for sudden, unintended acceleration-related issues, Reuters reports. U.S. District Judge James Selna will hand down a definitive judgment shortly, after hearing oral argument. The case is Toyota Motor Corp Unintended Acceleration Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 10-ml-2151.

Should the block exemption be less generous to independent spares?

An article from law firm Reed Smith here argues that the way the block exemption deals with independent spares is out of step with the realities of a market in which people hold on to their cars for longer. In particular, because the Commission starts from the (rebuttable) assumption that authorised networks will have more than 30 per cent of the market, because the markets for spares and repairs are brand-specific, the block exemption will never apply. The article calls this "favouritism" towards the independent sector, and argues that manufacturers and their networks need to be able to recoup from the aftermarket what they don't make on the primary market when they sell vehicles.

Twas ever thus, wasn't it? I remember a few years ago hearing Prof Garel Rhys explaining how cross-subsidisation between was never a good idea: vehicle sales, parts sales and maintenance and repair have to stand on their own feet, and that is what the Commission is trying, with the blunt instruments at their disposal, to achieve.

Amendments to driving licences regulations

The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 implement Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences. They make a great many amendments to the  Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/2864) - far too many to try to set out here.