Damned if you do and damned
if you don't stick to the speed limit.
That's the message seemingly being sent out by the Johannesburg metro
police department, who apparently have started fining people for driving
too slowly.
Fernando dos Santos said he was shocked when he opened a fine his
brother received in the mail for R200.
His offence?
Driving at 78km/h in an 80km/h zone in Hans Strijdom Drive
in Robindale, Randburg.
"It is amusing to think we are now being fined for driving below the
speed limit, but it should teach people a lesson that they should check
their fines properly before paying them.
"Most people simply pay without even looking," he
said.
JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said it was an administrative error and
that the fine would probably be cancelled.
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Hybrid Cars, the
Disappointments
Hybrid cars proving to be not as fuel
efficient as expected. A hybrid is a car such as the Toyota Prius that
has a small petrol engine driving a generator that is used to power the
wheels with electric motors. Batteries are carried so the engine need
not be running all the time, and these can also be charged from a mains
outlet. The USA EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) standard testing
for motor vehicles has stated that this vehicle reached 60 mpg (US) or
25,5 km per litre according to their standard test. 25,5 mpg US
is the equivalent of 30,35 mpg Imperial. But this test does not include
open road driving including driving in traffic jams or at speeds the
normal motorist would use. A USA magazine tested the 2006 model and
found that the fuel consumption was near enough 45 mpg or 19, 3 km
per litre, not the 25, 5 published by the EPA. In other words it
was 24,3 % less than the EPA figures.
Our Ford Focus diesel, which is now six
years old, and for which I have kept accurate records of all costs, has
averaged 6, 2 litres per 100 km which is near enough 45 mpg, or 16,13
km per litre. This is being driven normally, no economy driving as
such, and a little higher speed sporty driving where safe, and allows
for actual conditions as found by most drivers including traffic jams
and use of the air-conditioner. So why pay more for the Prius and
other hybrids that are not supplying what is expected? Although
there may be marginal savings in fuel costs, the batteries are very
toxic and need special handling to safely scrap them. They are expected
to last the life of the car though or some 10 years (which probably
means about 6 to 8). The battery pack is expensive to replace though if
damaged: about €2.000 at this time.
Also, the fuss made about being able to
charge the batteries from a mains source forgets that the power stations
may be polluting depending on the type (nuclear are the best) and every
time that energy is exchanged as in charging, losses occur. Did
you know that a normally aspirated petrol engine sends about 35 to 40%
of its energy contained in the fuel out of the exhaust as heat?
Plus losses through the radiator and engine block, etc.
Hybrids cost about 20 to 25% more than the
equivalent petrol-engined version so unless you are able to save on road
taxes etc, it takes an awful lot of mileage to make up the difference in
costs. If adopted as standard vehicles so they are mass
manufactured, this premium could be reduced but where are we going
to throw all those toxic batteries?
A USA Washington DC Honda Civic owner, who
stopped driving his Mercedes E320 to save fuel found that instead of the
EPA fuel consumption figures, openly advertised by Honda Sales, instead
of getting of the advertised 49 and 51 mpg (city and highway fuel
consumptions), he only averaged 32 mpg overall, 36% less
than expected. He is now reported to be suing Honda in a class action
involving many other disappointed owners who have clubbed together.
The Honda Civic hybrid costs about 25% more than the petrol version
with the same options.
Thsi is why when you see fuel consumption
figures advertised by the manufacturers as tested by, in our case, the
EU, they never are as good as expected.
It looks as though we have a way to go yet
to achieve what the "greens" expect of our transportation, but I believe
that we will eventually settle on hydrogen, although we will need a lot
of nuclear power stations (electricity) to process the liquid hydrogen.
But the exhaust pollution in the street will be zero from this fuel
although excessive moisture may be a problem. At this time, the latest
diesel engines with particulate filters are the answer in my opinion.
It will take a long time to use bio-fuel (made from plants) as the
production is very low and outlets few, and with the fuss about (solar)
global warming causing droughts, more food is going to be needed to
supply countries adversely affected with their food production. The
same problem applies to LPG gas. This has been played with for 40 or
more years now (I can also remember seeing vehicles with big gas-bags
(instead of cylinders) on the roof during the Second World War.)
LPG gas works and it can be use where the driver can select gas or
petrol (but not diesel) and performance is about the same, but most of
it is imported.
Eventually and in
the not too distant future we need to get rid of oil as a fuel source
though.
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OCTOBER 2007
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