The Department of Environment has fined its Minister, Sammy Wilson, for driving a motorcycle without tax and MOT. Keen motorcyclist Sammy Wilson said he was taking the bike to be prepared for an MOT due four days after the offence. The motorcycle should have been taken on a trailer.
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I wouldn’t normally jump to the defence of Sammy Wilson but in this case I will.
How many people are aware that the law surrounding taking vehicles for MOT test/MOT test preparation was different depending on the type of vehicle?
Why should car owners be able to drive a vehicle in this situation but bike owners have to use a trailer? Why don’t cars have to be loaded onto a trailer? How many bike owners have access to a trailer that will safely transport it?
Can DCAL not fine Gregory Campbell for being a complete philistine then?
Just a thought.
If a Minister is found guilty of breaching a traffic regulation, providing it was deemed a minor trangression as this surely was, we would not necessarily call for his resignignation. But there is one important exception to that and that is when the offence falls within the remit of the department which he leads.
I accept that it’s tough, that it is bad luck, but, tough, Sammy, we now expect your resignation and if that is not forthcoming, your dismissal.
Apologies for misspelling “resignation” in the first paragraph above.
could you imagine the conflagration if this was Marty
Sorry to split hairs FD, but surely this is a criminal offence and would have been dealt with by the CPS? I didn’t realise that the DOE could levy fines apart from parking. Has it been de-criminalised?
Why don’t cars have to be loaded onto a trailer?
Don’t go putting ideas into the heads of bureaucrats, Mark.
D minus.
Can I also ask why we are discussing woodpeckers, squirrels and Sammy Wilson and not the appalling situation at Movilla High?
Poor Sammy, he’s always in trouble.
willis
“Sorry to split hairs FD, but surely this is a criminal offence and would have been dealt with by the CPS? I didn’t realise that the DOE could levy fines apart from parking. Has it been de-criminalised?”
I honestly dont know. Maybe one of our legal eagles could clarify.
Do the same rules not apply for cars. I thought you were only allowed to drive a car with no mot to the test centre. Any preperation surely should be done before your old mot lapses.
By the way, why did he not get any penalty points?
[b]Sammy Wilson fined for no tax on motorbike[/b]
“I just forgot to put my clothes on,” says Environment Minister
(surely ‘forgot to pay it?’)
Is your insurance not invalid when you’ve no tax or MOT? Has Sammy got five motorcycle insurance policies? Or does he substitute bikes that have been off the road for some time? Get my drift?
I’m just curious to know if this was for a renewal of an existing policy, or if he takes his bikes out on a whim, and keeps changing the insurance over.
Even the Test Certificate states clearly that a vehicle can not be used on a public road unless a test certificate is in force for the vehicle. No differentiation is made between Cars and Motorcycles. ( Although it easier to put a motor cycle in a trailer !)
The only time a vehicle subject to a periodic test can be driven on a public road without a valid Test Certificate is between the address of the registered keeper or that at which SORN has been declared and the address of the test centre where a pre booked test is due to be carried out. This should be within a reasonable time of the test on the day of the test and the route should not unreasonably detour from the shortest distance between the two.
DVA as an agency of DOE prosecutes through the magistrates courts only those offenders who do not settle before their court date by means of a mitigated penalty including all arrears.
Sammy Wilson ‘taking a bike to be prepared for MOT’ shocker. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein PIRA bomber and junior minister Gerry Kelly can brag on TV about shooting a prison officer in the head.
Sammy’s a bit of a glamour model, photos’ in the nude and now astride a motorbike, with that stiking facial hair I’d be surprised if he wasn’t a pin-up for a section of the community that Iris doesn’t approve off. Is anyone aware of him planning a 2009 “Sammy does NI” calendar.
Perhaps there is a unionist movie to be made, with a leading role for Sammy.
P&J;Sammy broke out of the Maze – surely not. No No I get your drift, he must have been like Steve McQueen in the Great Escape. Didn’t he just direct a movie about the Hunger strikes? Or is he dead?
I confidently assume that nobody has ever been convicted of such an offence in the republic.
Sammy must resign forthwith, or ask Robbo for directions to Clontibret, where nude, unregulated motorcyclists are welcome. (prods dress to the left).
Geez, I’m sure the manufacturer of Sammy’s motorcycle is hoping that no newspaper shows a photo on Sammy with the logo visible… what a way to kill sales based on the anti-coolness factor. Even though the only thing Sammy has in common with Marlon Brando is 150lbs of useless blubber, I’m sure he still clings to his delusional belief that he is young, thin and sexy like it was the last cherry-topped chocolate éclair on earth.
“The only time a vehicle subject to a periodic test can be driven on a public road without a valid Test Certificate is between the address of the registered keeper or that at which SORN has been declared and the address of the test centre where a pre booked test is due to be carried out. This should be within a reasonable time of the test on the day of the test and the route should not unreasonably detour from the shortest distance between the two.”
This would appear to be ridiculous as any car which fails a test is impossible to remove from the test centre, or repair without the use of a low loader. This is clearly not what happens in reality.
This would appear to be ridiculous as any car which fails a test is impossible to remove from the test centre, or repair without the use of a low loader. This is clearly not what happens in reality.
Posted by Mark Simpson on Oct 20, 2008 @ 09:21 AM
Mark……..
You fail to understand the word “Between”. It does not imply “one-way”. You may return having failed your Mot clutching your failure notice subject to the conditions of the outward journey. Even if detected on route home and issued with any kind of notice then DVA will not take enforcement action in the circumstances. As you say it would be ridiculous to have to have a car low loaded on return from the test centre after failure. Obviously it would be no more in possession of a valid certificate on the way home than it was on the way to the centre.
Note also that the whole business of bringing vehicles to and from your home address to a garage can be overcome by the garage collecting the vehicle using trade plates and returning using same.
“If a Minister is found guilty of breaching a traffic regulation, providing it was deemed a minor trangression as this surely was, we would not necessarily call for his resignignation. But there is one important exception to that and that is when the offence falls within the remit of the department which he leads.”
I’m glad to see Rory call for such measures, I am sure that he also would like to ensure that any future Minister in charge of Policing and Justice has no criminal record as obviously this “falls within the remit of the department which he leads.”
II
Good point well made – it would also mean that Conor Murphy would be forced to resign were he to get a parking ticket.
After all, that’s within DRD’s remit isn’t it…..
Indeed Carson’s Cat, and far be it from me to suggest that our Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development would have any knowledge of illegal dumping.
Insider, surely what you meant to say was that any minister holding the p&j;office should resign if they break the law while in office. After all past record is not a bar to any ministry at the minute so why should that change?
And carson, I may be wrong but parking violations are not endorseable offences, only punished with a fine.So I think resigning over this would be a bit much.
Sammy taking the oul bike out for a quick ride – And I thought him and Rhonda were history