MVDA

MVDA

Tuesday 23 December 2014

New Drug Driving Law comes into force March 2015

A new offence, to make it easier for the police to arrest drivers who drive after taking illegal drugs or abuse medicinal drugs, will come into force in England and Wales on 2 March 2015.

The new law will make it an offence to drive while over specified limits for a total of 16 drugs. Eight of the drugs could be used for medicinal purposes although the specified limit allows for the normal recommended doses that most patients would be prescribed. Patients who take their medicines as intended should therefore not be affected by this legislation, provided the medicine does not affect their driving.

If in doubt – ask a pharmacist or Doctor (GP)
More information can be found on the Department For Transport website by clicking here.

Motor Vehicle Dismantlers Association of Great Britain Office 5, Top Floor,
Charrington House, 17A Market St, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 6JX, UK.
Email: info@mvda.org.uk
Tel: (01543) 254 254
Fax: (01543) 254 274 

Insurance Category B vehicles and body shells for sale on E-Bay

The MVDA register of Category B vehicles & body shells reported by members to be on sale on eBay has passed the 350 mark, in less than 6 months.  And these are just examples sent to MVDA by members – so they probably represent just the ‘tip of the iceberg’!

Members will be aware that MVDA has been pressing both Government & the Insurance industry to tighten up regulation surrounding motor salvage.  MVDA took the opportunity presented by the review of VIC to highlight the weakness of the current salvage CoP, especially relating to companies/ organisations that don’t adopt it (like some Police Forces & well known fleet & lease operators) and the handling of category A & B vehicles. But also the widespread ‘commercial’ mis-categorisation of salvage and the ‘disappearance’ of over 1 million category C vehicles.

Work undertaken by MVDA has already highlighted a number of problems, such as the significant amount of unrecorded salvage & the fact that every year thousands of category A & B vehicles are not issued with CODs.  On top of this, there is an active market in the export of category B vehicles, many of which are almost are certainly repaired overseas.  And it would appear that there has been a resurgence in the widespread availability of body shells (sometimes with V5s).

MVDA has called on all CoP stakeholders to support an overhaul of the Salvage CoP, & to provide much more transparency.  This must include ensuring that all organisations that produce salvage adopt the CoP, that categorisation is transparent & that the most contentious salvage - category A & B - is physically destroyed in the UK & can never be repaired .


It is encouraging to see that the insurance industry, via Thatcham, is currently undertaking a review of the Salvage CoP & ETC Guidelines, and we look forward to seeing its output.  But  to be clear, this is the insurance industry reviewing its own interpretation of a ‘voluntary’ agreement, so we should not automatically assume that this will result in any changes for the better.

Motor Vehicle Dismantlers Association of Great Britain Office 5, Top Floor,
Charrington House, 17A Market St, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 6JX, UK.
Email: info@mvda.org.uk
Tel: (01543) 254 254
Fax: (01543) 254 274 

Tuesday 16 December 2014

Consultation on new airbag regulations

In 2015 BIS plans to replace the 2010 Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations with an updated version - the 2015 Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations. This has implications for vehicle SRS (secondary restraint systems – including airbags).  This is being done because 2 new European Directives need to be implemented in the UK. Among other things this introduces new requirements to improve the traceability of pyrotechnic articles.

The main changes are that there will be new labelling requirements for manufacturers and importers and, along with distributors, they will also have to keep records (for 10 years) of the registration number of articles, who they have sold pyrotechnic articles to and who has supplied them.  They will also have new obligations to take action over unsafe articles that they have put on the market.  

The draft regulations can be viewed on the BIS website at: 

The closing date for receiving comments is Thursday 22nd January 2015.

Motor Vehicle Dismantlers Association of Great Britain Office 5, Top Floor,
Charrington House, 17A Market St, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 6JX, UK.
Email: info@mvda.org.uk
Tel: (01543) 254 254
Fax: (01543) 254 274 

Friday 12 December 2014

Recycled plastic inferior quality? NONSENSE

There is a long held view that vehicle components, in particular those made from recycled plastics, are inferior in quality to those made from premium grade ‘virgin’ plastics. This is an all too common misconception.
Luxus, the UK based plastic recycler, has produced competitively priced high-performance thermoplastic parts based on a recycled plastic for the auto industry for over a decade now.
The performance of recycled grades can in fact be enhanced so that superior components can be manufactured at a competitive cost. So it’s time that designers feel confident that there is no compromise in performance when specifying recycled plastics.
Historically, the automotive industry’s demand for plastic components made from recycled materials has been for non-visual (hidden) surfaces such as ‘under the bonnet’ or ‘behind the dashboard parts’. For higher profile visual (e.g. interior) parts however, it’s not been quite as common as you may think: Luxus is still the only company in Europe that’s able to meet the criteria for class A’ interior surfaces.
It’s never been possible to offer an inferior product to the automotive industry just because it’s ‘green’. Quite rightly, the expectation is that the product is ‘fit for purpose’, whether it made from recycled material or not. That’s why education by consultation at the very earliest stages of product design & development is crucial.; the Luxus technical team engages directly with designers and specifiers to explain the clear environmental and economic benefits of using recycled plastics right at the beginning of the product development process.  
Although price remains a major concern, it is gradually becoming more common to see many ‘prime’ material applications moving to recycled plastics, as they seek both sustainability and cost benefits without compromising quality. But development of sustainable recycled plastic products also has to take into account the security of supply in the current and future volumes of basic recycled raw materials.  
At the same time, demands for higher performance vehicle applications means higher specification recycled grades, more stringent testing and higher values for recycled products.
MVDA comment.  It’s been at least 20 years now that vehicle manufacturers have been looking at recycled plastic grades, and the apparent continued reluctance to specify these materials is very disappointing.  High quality end uses are essential in driving the value chain. Let’s hope the emerging post-shredder technologies can make a significant contribution.  If any of the parties involved in the automotive recycled plastics chain want to let us know how much recycled plastic they use, and in which applications, we’d be happy to update members.
Motor Vehicle Dismantlers Association of Great Britain Office 5, Top Floor,
Charrington House, 17A Market St, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 6JX, UK.
Email: info@mvda.org.uk
Tel: (01543) 254 254
Fax: (01543) 254 274 

Remove My Car announces 95% target service for its’ members

In a recent press release Remove My Car, the scrap car disposal network, has announced that it is offering its members a ‘Free of charge’ service to reach the 2015 95% recycling target.  Furthermore, RMC says that it has integrated its system with DVLA to allow members to issue Certificates of Destruction in a much more efficient manner than is possible using the DVLA system. At this stage details of the RMC scheme are unknown.
There seems to be an increasing number of organisations able to offer 95% target achievement. We are aware that EMR is making huge investment in their post-shredder technology, which is rumoured to be able to exceed these targets, but to our knowledge this is not yet fully operational or indeed proven.

Our understanding is that only CarTakeBack is currently able to guarantee its members achievement of the 95% target for 2014 & beyond.

It is not possible for ATFs to attain the 95% target without post-shredder evidence, & it is recommended that all members make clear their requirement for ‘evidence’ when selling their vehicle shells.

However, members are reminded that the 95% target applies to vehicles processed from 1st January 2015.  But the next BIS reporting requirement, due 30th June 2015, is for vehicles processed during 2014 and will still be at the 85% level.

Any member that is concerned about target achievement or needs assistance is invited to contact the MVDA office.

Motor Vehicle Dismantlers Association of Great Britain Office 5, Top Floor,
Charrington House, 17A Market St, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 6JX, UK.
Email: info@mvda.org.uk
Tel: (01543) 254 254
Fax: (01543) 254 274 

Monday 8 December 2014

Illegal car breaker receives jail sentence and fine

The owner of a car breaking business in Godstone (Surrey) has been sentenced to serve 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £34800 after pleading guilty at Guildford Crown Court to an illegal waste activity.
William Creasey, of South Godstone, was charged with operating a waste facility without the correct environmental permits in a manner likely to cause pollution after numerous complaints from members of the public and an investigation by the Environment Agency brought to light issues at the Surrey site, including fires burning in skips and oil escaping to nearby watercourses.
The local authority said that its officers have been working with Creasey since “a flurry of complaints” from the local community prompted a visit to the site in 2010. Subsequent investigations revealed the site being used to illegally burn waste scaffolding boards, store waste tyres and wheels, damaged vehicles, and skips full of waste metal.
Throughout the investigation the EA said it worked with Creasey to make him aware of his responsibilities, with little apparent affect, and between 19 March 2010 and 23 January 2013, 46 reports of illegal activity at the site were received.
Environment officers visited the site on 23 January 2013 with officers from Surrey Police and served Creasey with a court warrant.
A search carried out on that day found nine skips filled with broken car parts, car wheels, and vehicle parts strewn across the yard; there was an oily sheen covering many parts of the yard with a stream along the boundary also black and oily and rusty skip containing burnt remains.
MVDA comment: While its good to see illegal operators getting their ‘due deserts’ this case once again highlights the lacklustre performance of the Environment Agency and local enforcement authorities. It took 3 years & almost 50 separate complaints before decisive action was taken.
Motor Vehicle Dismantlers Association of Great Britain Office 5, Top Floor,
Charrington House, 17A Market St, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 6JX, UK.
Email: info@mvda.org.uk
Tel: (01543) 254 254
Fax: (01543) 254 274