Welcome to the Dorset Austin Seven Club

Welcome to

DA7C NEWS PAGE

last update: 16/07/10

EVENTS:

DA7C Committee meeting 21st July 2010 8 pm Tyrrell's Ford (Change of date)
Breamore Rally 18th July 2010. The rally raises many thousands of pounds every year for the Dorset Air Ambulance so please support this event by bringing your Austin to the show. The Show opens at 10 a.m. and you are requested to arrive before that time. Get your (free) entry ticket from me in advance on club night or telephone me on 01722-323570 if you wish to attend but are not going to club night. Tickets are limited so please do not ask for a ticket if you are not sure you will attend. Bring a picnic. Roger Ballard
The event at SMEDMORE HOUSE, KIMMERIDGE on September 5th will be more of a picnic at the house rather than a “classic car rally” as reported. The Dorset Austin Seven Club is the chosen Club this year for this charity event so please put it in your diaries! Phil Whitter will be organising our run to the venue. Bring a picnic.
DA7C XMAS DINNER & DANCE booked for December 10th at Tyrrell's Ford

ADMINISTRATION:

Technical Torque Articles - download a PDF copy of the INDEX of technical articles that have appeared in the DA7C Newsletter Click here. Members can request copies of any article for £1 each - contact the editor.
Newsletter by e-mail: You can receive the club's monthly newsletter in glorious Technicolor by e-mail. Just e-mail the editor and you'll be added to the circulation list. You will still get the hard copy by post, of course, and the electronic version doesn't arrive until after the normal posting so you won't get at the adverts any quicker. But it's all in colour.
PHOTOCARD DRIVING LICENCES EXPIRE: It would appear that some motorists face £1,000 fines as thousands of PHOTOCARD DRIVING LICENCES expire because they are unwittingly driving without a valid licence. They have failed to spot that their photocard licence automatically expires after ten years and has to be renewed. Motoring organisations said most drivers believed, wrongly, that their new-style licence was for life and blamed the Government for the fiasco. A mock-up driving licence from 1998 when the photocards were launched shows the imminent expiry date as item '4b' They said officials had failed to publicise the fact that photocard licences - unlike the old paper ones - expire after a set period and must be renewed. Drivers have to pay £17.50 to renew their card, which will earn the Treasury an estimated £437 million over 25 years. The first batch of ten-year photo licences was issued in July 1998, and the confusion has come to light as they start to expire. DVLA figures reveal that while 16,136 expired this summer, so far only 11,566 drivers have renewed, leaving 4,570 outstanding. With another 300,000 photocard licences due to expire over the coming year, the number of invalid licences could soar. A total of 25 million have been issued. At the heart of the confusion is the small print on the credit card size photo licence. Just below the driver's name is a numbered series of dates and details. 4b: The small print on the back of the driving licence is easy to miss. Number '4b' features a date in tiny writing but the significance is explained only if the driver turns over the card and reads the key on the back which states that '4b' means 'licence valid to'. Even more confusingly, a table on the rear of the card sets out how long the driver is registered to hold a licence - that is until their 70th birthday. Motorists who fail to renew their licences in time are allowed to continue driving but the DVLA says they could be charged with 'failing to surrender their licence', an offence carrying a £1,000 fine. Thanks to Ron Kentish of the A7OC for this timely warning
Breakdown Register: The A7CA Breakdown Register is being reissued and if you would like to offer help to someone who is in your area please let Phil Whitter know at clubnight or give him a ring on 01425 475558
Failure to be a member of a recognised Austin 7 Club may invalidate your insurance with Footman James or Richard Hoskins.
Richard Hoskins emergency breakdown numbers aren't given out every year so if you've lost yours, they are: 01277-720763 or 0800-783-3280. Also, if you break down in Europe the number is 00-31-26-355-3344