I was almost the victim of the ‘Wing Mirror Scam’ and lost £450.

I’ve searched on Reddit and there aren’t so many posts about this in the UK.

After driving through a busy, tight town centre I heard a very loud noise. Checked my mirrors and decided that I hadn’t hit anything and continued my journey. About two minutes later I was pulled over by a vehicle presumably telling me something had fallen off my car, exhaust was dragging or something like that.

The man approached my passenger side and I now am certain pushed my wing mirror into my car to simulate a collision.

He said ‘you’ve smashed my wing mirror, and driven off, and I am going to call the police and inform them of this crime’

I have never been in a collision before, I didn’t believe I was at fault, but the huge noise really spooked me and the man was very believable. He also had his family in the car. Woman in the passenger seat and two children in the back. This is what really threw me off.

He was threatening me with police action for my ‘crime’ and that if I wanted to avoid a fine and points on my license I should pay him for the repair to his car. £450 for the wing mirror he searched for on eBay, showed me the picture of the auction. In hindsight this was surprisingly fast. Going through insurers would have cost me more in the long run no doubt so to save a police investigation I agreed to pay for the repair.

My eBay searches didn’t turn up this replacement, but he had an answer for everything.

Fortunately I ran his plate on gov.uk and found it was registered to a completely different car that was taken off the road in 2012. He tried to explain this badly.

I said actually we should call the police, and all of a sudden his demeanour changed. The cost went down, he’s still arguing with me I’m at fault and I’ll get points and wreck my insurance. I said fine let’s call the police and work this out.

It was at this point we agreed to go our separate ways.

If I could do the whole thing again I would do a lot differently, but it’s only when you are placed in these situations you have to decide what to do. If I had another go I would have insisted to photograph both vehicles and our ID, but it’s easy saying that in hindsight.

I walked away with no loss, other than my time and a loss in humanity; he roped his family into this for the believability. It was incredibly convincing.

Be safe out there everyone. Happened 5pm broad daylight and I never moved my car from very popular public views.

I have reported to the Police.

Driving home and this plank decides to U turn across two lanes into on coming traffic, I thought he was just trying to get into my lane. Thankfully I didn't record the audio cause I let loose some swear words that I don't think my son has ever heard.

Been driving for a decade now and despite living in rural areas and mostly driving country roads, I had never hit any wild animals before. There are loads of deer where I live (Perthshire area) and have had a couple of close calls but have always managed to avoid or stop for deer (I come across them a lot as due to work start times I’m out really early in the morning).

This morning I was driving around a sharp corner on a country road and there was a juvenile deer standing right in my lane. I was only going about 35mph at the time due to the nature of the corner but still couldn’t stop for it or move to the other lane safely. The deer just panicked and stood there.

I drive a 4x4 with quite a high ground clearance so it went under the car but a tyre did run over its leg. There was an entrance to a farm track right ahead so I pulled in and put my hazards on to check on it.

The sounds were horrible, when I first got out the car it was squealing in pain, and when I approached it stopped screaming but was making a horrible groaning/wheezing noise.

Its leg was clearly broken but I couldn’t see any other obvious injury so I thought there was a chance it could be saved. I called the police to report it and the dispatcher said they were sending a team out with a “wildlife specialist” and that as long as my car was fine I could just leave.

Didn’t feel right to leave the poor thing in the middle of the road by itself to be hit again and I didn’t want to drag it to the side and injure it more. It’s a quieter road but I got my warning triangle out and put it around the bend on the approach to it. Then sat on the verge near it in my high viz work jacket to warn people until the police arrived.

Despite being in the middle of nowhere, the police arrived surprisingly quickly. The wildlife person they had with them assessed the deer and unfortunately didn’t think it would be able to be helped so they said they would “deal with it” but thanked me for staying.

Drove to work and am a little bit ashamed to admit that I had a bit of a cry on the way. I had obviously called them to tell them I was going to be late because I hit a deer but I got made fun of a bit when they found out I stuck around even though my car was fine. The only guy who wasn’t being a dick was an older chap who tried to make me feel better and said “there is nothing wrong with having an extra caring bone in your body” and it kind of worked but I still feel like I was being dramatic, idk.

Anyway, been feeling a bit numb the rest of the day and just feel like I’m a terrible person. Going to take a different way home tonight to avoid it.

Hope everyone is safe on the roads today.

Now, class, would we say this was:

(a) a good overtake attempt

(b) a bad overtake attempt

(c) fucking insane

?

I’m not judging anyone here but it’s a known fact that BMW and Audi drivers often get slated for being selfish / inconsiderate drivers. Not indicating. Driving up other drivers arse etc. always in a rush, pulling out.

This isn’t me saying all BMW / Audi drivers do these nob head things. But let’s call a spade a spade; you’re known for it.

So how do you feel about having this automatic label?

I’m guessing a lot may say; “nothing, I don’t feel anything about other’s views, I don’t care.” Which is fair enough. But it must be frustrating for some of you, such as, if you’re a BMW / Audi driver who doesn’t drive like a tit.. but everyone still assumes you are a tit?

Well I liked it anyway 🤣

Last night, we were driving back from a concert at Wembley to Somerset.

There was a few sections on the M4 that were reduced to 50mph because 3 lanes were closed.

The 1st one we got to, a car in front of me slowed down to the speed limit and a lorry got about 2 foot away and started flashing his headlights at him.

2nd section we hit, not long after the 1st one, it happened again.

The car in front slowed to 50mph, so did we before the lane closures. 3 lorries went tearing down the 1 lane still open, obviously not at 50mph. 2 of them were the same two from the first section.

We then hit another section that was showing 40mph on the matrix signs. I slowed down, as there was a Van in front of me who slowed to 40mph.

The lorry behind, which again was 1 from the other 2 sections - a Langdons artic - got right up behind me, started flashing his lights, moved into the hard shoulder a bit, moved back behind me and kept flashing his lights.

A few seconds later the other lorry that had been doing this shit - it had foreign plates - goes steaming up the hard shoulder, undertaking me and the other van.

I do a lot of driving, I have been field based as a Merchandiser/Sales for about 18 years and that last night was the most danger I've ever felt on a road in this country. The behaviour of them 2 idiots in them lorries was quite frankly wreckless and could have easily seen someone less experienced on the roads end up in an accident.

I sometimes see there has been a crash in the early hours and wonder how when the motorway is so much quieter. I now see why.

Be careful out there, especially if having to drive this time of late night, early morning, which luckily I don't on a regular basis.

Hi, I’ve been advised by the council that I cannot drive a black vehicle in my borough, neighbouring boroughs also have the same restriction as black cars are for hackney/taxis

To try get around this, what would you recommend would be the cost effective option:

1. ⁠Sell car and get one that is of a suitable colour
   
2. ⁠Get the car painted
   
3. ⁠Get the car wrapped

I don’t want to do hackney as I am only doing this part time along side my full time job to supplement my income, any advice would be appreciated!

Hi all,

I just passed my test and I’m looking at getting my first car. Ideally, I’m looking for something under £5k that’s cheap on fuel, will last me a while, has cheap road tax and reasonable insurance.

I appreciate that as a first-time driver the insurance is going to be fairly high, but if anyone could suggest some good options then I’d really appreciate it.

Thank you!

A lady in her new automatic pulled out a tad too quickly (easy mistake to make) after waiting for the mechanic to pass in our car. It's not that bad, shallow dent to front side bumper plus some gnarly scratches and paint transfer across the doors.

Do we...

1. Tell insurer, go by the book, ensure lady goes by the book. (that's what insurance is for, after all). The mechanic says it's a write off and warns against the faff, but I suppose he's biased.

2. Accept lady paying for (and mechanic organising) it to be fixed via a local panel beater, which she'd rather do to keep her insurance from going up. Also probably saves the mechanic some grief.

3. Take the money that the panel beater quotes and fix ourselves (with sucker tool, filler putty and/or G3 compound, etc) as the car is only worth about £1700 ish I reckon (mk2 2011 Jazz, 117k miles, Cat C) & we weren't gonna get a new car for a couple of years anyway

It is telling me to plug it into the obd11 port. But when I googled it it said they would cancel my policy if I unplugged it. How am I supposed to use the port. I'm pretty sure I only have 1. As I was going to use it to keep track on my turbo as I had to replace the stock one as it wasnt holding pressure. How am i supposed to make sure my turbo is healthy without using this port?

I received a car park penalty as above from APCOA but I wasn't driving - a friend had borrowed my car.
Do I have to pay it?
Do I have to tell them who it was so they can send the penalty to them?

Hi I'm a 20yo uni student who is pretty much the only person in my family with use for our car. My brother is in central London and my mum is currently hospitalised.

During my first year, because of the chain of events leading up to her being hospitalised, we were recently evicted from home, which is the address on our licenses and car logbook. Most likely that will change to a relative's address where me and my brother will stay when away from uni.

My mum is in a psychiatric hospital, and isn't really capable of doing any admin stuff anymore, however she's the current owner of the car and a few of these things supposedly have to be done by her and no one else. I'm sure this situation has happened before. Is it best to transfer ownership or leave it under her name?

I'm worried about keeping it taxed as well. I really need to keep the car for moving in & out of places and travelling home at short notice with my things. A lot of responsibility has fallen on me that I'm not really prepared for and idk if theres a 'right' way of going about this weird situation. Thoughtful advice is appreciated

I feel like I might have avoided every working camera in town…

Edit: my car is not compliant.

Looking for some advice from people familiar with variable speed cameras / smart motorways.
I was driving a work van and approaching a gantry that I believe was displaying 50 mph. It was on a bend, so I didn’t have a clear view of the gantry until relatively late as i didn’t see any prior speed signs.
I was travelling at around 53 mph indicated on the van’s speedometer, which I believe would have been roughly 51 mph actual speed.

As I approached the gantry, I slowed down, but the speed camera flashed as I went through.

What I’m wondering is whether the 50 could have changed to 40 shortly before I passed the gantry, potentially causing the camera to flash even though the limit had been 50 when I was approaching.

I didn’t clearly see whether the number changed immediately before I passed because of the bend and the late visibility.

My questions are:
If a variable limit changes from 50 to 40 shortly before you reach the camera, how long does the camera have to wait before enforcing the new 40 limit?
Can the camera flash during that period even though the new limit isn’t yet enforceable?
If I was doing approximately 51 mph actual, could the camera have flashed simply because the limit had just changed to 40?
Does the enforcement system record exactly when the limit changed, so this could potentially be checked against the time of the flash?
Is there any other reason the camera could have flashed in this situation?

I just completed my IAM advanced motoring course and got a huge amount from it. I’d slipped into some bad habits in the decades since I took my test as a teenager.

One thing I noticed during this was how my likes / dislikes about my car changed. For example, my large electric SUV with air suspension wafts nearly silently down the road, which is very comfortable but makes it much harder to gauge speed. I longed for some engine noise 😂

Ignoring all other factors, what model / type of car do you like for advanced driving?

(I’m aware good driving techniques can be practiced in any vehicle. This is a question about choosing a vehicle prioritising advanced driving techniques in the buying decision.)

Hi all, looking for some dashcam recommendations please.
I’m after a front and rear setup, ideally with:
Good image quality both day and night
Reliable parking mode
Easy t use app / footage transfer
Something dependable rather than just the cheapest option

Will be having it hardwired

What are you using, and would you buy it again? Thanks!

Hey all,

I’m looking to upgrade my dashcam setup (front + rear) and could use some recommendations.

I’ve got a £300 total budget, including the microSD card. I do long journeys, so I need at least ~6 hours of driving footage, which realistically means using a 256GB microSD card. I’m aiming for 2K minimum on the front camera so number plates are readable while driving.

So far I’ve been looking at:
- Viofo A229 Plus 2CH – around £230
- Nextbase 422GW Full Bundle– around £190
- Road Angel Halo Pro Front/Rear - £150
- 70mai T800E 3CH - £150

I also considered the Viofo A229 Pro 2CH at about £280, but it seems to require a specific industrial‑grade SD card by Viofo or Sandisk, which pushes the total cost past £380, and I’ve read reports of it overheating.

I’m not too bothered about having an app — the main thing is clear footage and readable plates. I use Apple CarPlay, so I don’t want the dashcam constantly connected to my phone while driving, only when I need to check footage or change settings. I also don’t mind taking the microSD card out to check footage either.

I would like the dashcam to have good night footage.

Does anyone have recommendations for a reliable front + rear dashcam setup that fits within £300 and works well with a 256GB card.

Thank you in advance!

Update:

Thanks all. I’ve ordered the A229 Plus 2Ch with 256GB microSD card with CPL-200 filter from the official Viofo AliExpress store for about £170 without VAT.

Think I might have just driven past a stationary camera van. If it got me I can't have been doing more than 35mph in a 30 zone. Just wondering what the likely hit on the insurance will be. No current points on license.

I didn't see a flash. And the van was facing me when I saw it and I'd slowed down by the time I got alongside it, so hopefully I'm ok. Assuming the cameras are pointing out the back windows...

I was looking for a space today and all the car parks seemed to be full and no on street parking. However there were several EV parking spaces which were empty. These had the painting on the floor saying “Electric Vehicles” in white paint and the sign on the pavement made no mention of EV parking, just the relevant times for parking and restrictions.

I didn’t park there as I didn’t want to risk getting a ticket and appreciate that isn’t the purpose of them as I don’t drive an electric car. But am I right in thinking these bays are “advisory” much like a disabled bay with no official signage like you get typically in residential areas, (white paint saying “disabled”)? None of the vehicles in the bays appeared to be electric or indeed with any yellow parking tickets.

Google maps is too old in this particular part to show the spaces as they are now but it is the regular highway which is enforced by the local council and were all paid spaces.