Covid-19 Megathread

[Onyx2]

6 hours ago, Steve Justice said:

I'm struggling to find an answer to this question, so someone might be able to help me with it. 

We've been taking our cars to be serviced and mot'd at the same garage for years. They're trustworthy and very well priced. The garage is 30 odd miles away though, and I don't know if it's OK to still travel there.

There's no justifiable reason why I can't take it somewhere local, other than it's my preference that I take it there. 

Is it allowed does anyone know, or should I not risk it? 

There are stories on the BBC site of people getting fined for shorter journeys. I don't know how true they are but it doesn't seem worth it for something as trivial as an MOT. 

[CAREBEAR LUVVA]

An MOT isn't trivial if you get caught driving without one...

Mine was due in November but I haven't been driving so I didn't bother sorting it out. The tax is now due at the end of this month, and I can't tax it without a valid MOT so I'll have to get it done, but I'm shielding again so according to the rules I can't even take the car to the garage. So fuck knows what I'm supposed to do with that one.

[Chest Rockwell]

19 minutes ago, Onyx2 said:

There are stories on the BBC site of people getting fined for shorter journeys. I don't know how true they are but it doesn't seem worth it for something as trivial as an MOT. 

I agree. If the car needs some proper work done I'd go to the garage I trust, but if it's just an MOT better to take it somewhere local.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

12 minutes ago, CAREBEAR LUVVA said:

An MOT isn't trivial if you get caught driving without one...

Mine was due in November but I haven't been driving so I didn't bother sorting it out. The tax is now due at the end of this month, and I can't tax it without a valid MOT so I'll have to get it done, but I'm shielding again so according to the rules I can't even take the car to the garage. So fuck knows what I'm supposed to do with that one.

If you are not using your car and it is not parked on a public road then SORN it until you need it. 

[PowerButchi]

3 hours ago, Keith Houchen said:

Yeah that’s all well and good but did you win the Mulvey Quiz five or six times?

I did two. Finished joint 1st the first time and lost on tiebreak, then 4th, then like everything else the pCc traditionally do I said I'd do it then fucked it off. 

[CAREBEAR LUVVA]

15 hours ago, Lion_of_the_Midlands said:

If you are not using your car and it is not parked on a public road then SORN it until you need it. 

Does that not mean that I'd need to drive it without tax or MOT when I eventually took it to the garage for an MOT before I can then tax the car and get it back on the road? I feel like that would probably be frowned upon if I ended up having an accident on the way. Not that that's massively likely to happen, but you never know, do you. I'll end up sorting it next week when this snow's fucked off, then leaving the car on the driveway where it's been since last March apart from two (or possibly three) trips to pick stuff up from work.

[Keith Houchen]

I’d give it a run out if only for the battery’s sake. 

[WyattSheepMask]

Absolutely. I was off work for nearly 3 months last year but still took the car out, even if just for 10 minutes, just to turn it over.

[Chili]

It's just made my depression swings and moods more erratic and lower if I'm honest. Ten months of this.

The enormity of the rest of it just makes it hard for me to process.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

10 minutes ago, CAREBEAR LUVVA said:

Does that not mean that I'd need to drive it without tax or MOT when I eventually took it to the garage for an MOT before I can then tax the car and get it back on the road? I feel like that would probably be frowned upon if I ended up having an accident on the way. Not that that's massively likely to happen, but you never know, do you. I'll end up sorting it next week when this snow's fucked off, then leaving the car on the driveway where it's been since last March apart from two (or possibly three) trips to pick stuff up from work.

When you take it off SORN you can book an MOT and drive it to the garage without an MOT but that is all you can do. You can't drive it anywhere else and the MOT has to be pre-booked. 

[Keith Houchen]

9 minutes ago, Chili said:

The enormity of the rest of it just makes it hard for me to process.

Oops. Sorry about that, meant to send that picture of my bell to someone else. 

[Chest Rockwell]

24 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

I’d give it a run out if only for the battery’s sake. 

You should just disconnect the battery if you're not using the car long-term, it's better for it.

Edited January 14, 2021 by Chest Rockwell

[Tommy!]

2 hours ago, CAREBEAR LUVVA said:

Does that not mean that I'd need to drive it without tax or MOT when I eventually took it to the garage for an MOT before I can then tax the car and get it back on the road?

You can drive a vehicle without tax or Mot to & from a test centre with the intention of having it tested and it's of understood as a layman to be of a roadworthiness standard to pass. You should inform your insurance that it is sorn, won't have an Mot and will only be driven to a test centre however to keep you insurance valid for that drive. 

Taken from Admiral:

Quote

You can only drive a vehicle with a SORN on a public road to go to or from a pre-booked MOT or other testing appointment.  

If you are taking it 30 miles away for that people might say you're not in the spirit of the law and in breach however. 

Edited January 14, 2021 by Tommy!
Completely missed LotM post there. Very sorry

[Keith Houchen]

3 minutes ago, Tommy! said:

spirit of the law 

This is just more Tory bullshit isn’t it. They can blame people for not sticking to rules that aren’t clearly defined. I mean what is local? (No league of gentlemen pics please). How can that be enforceable? It means something different to everyone because it’s not defined in distance. 

[Abe_Knuckleball_Schwartz]

One of my biggest arguments or bugbear if you like is all these rules are so wolley. What I may consider as "essential" may not be consider so by others.

Probably going off on a tangent here and for clarity this is not directed at anyone on here,  but I am seeing more and more comments on social media in which someone is questioning COVID or asking questions and they are immediately chastised and being labelled as part of the tin foil hat brigade. I'm not sure if it is society in general, social media or COVID that is to blame but we all seem to be turning on each other, which when you consider the #BeKind Caroline Flack movement (cannot think of a better term, sorry!) is just over a year old and the fact that most people are not able to see loved ones etc. is rather concerning.