The [UK’s] Blackburn Citizen reports that Blackpool magistrates sent a bailiff to Andy Miller’s house to collect an overdue £60 speeding fine. Actually, £350, what with court costs and all. “Father-of-five Mr Miller was driven to Accrington town centre. The bailiff parked up and waited for Mr Miller, but he collapsed in Union Street before he reached a cashpoint.” The 78-year-old died of a heart attack. Although the coroner ruled out an inquest, Miller’s family feels the court contributed to his death. “His son Mick said he wanted answers from court bosses as their letter [to the court explaining why he hadn’t paid the fine] told them his father was suffering from memory loss and confusion. Mick, who lives in Lower Darwen, said: ‘Bailiffs should not be allowed to behave like this. Dad was put under incredible duress. I know how nervous he had been and what a strain this would have been on him.”
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I had read that bailiffs (debt collectors) had new wider reaching powers in Britain, but I didn’t know they had the power of life and death.
Big Gov’t Britain.
Can’t believe that they actually allow bailiffs to throw retirees in their cars.
What does this have to do with, you know, Truth, and Cars, and so on? A man who forgot to pay a fine and suffered an unrelated medical condition really doesn’t help me understand which $30 sport sedan has better steering feedback, or whether GM will survive long enough to ruin the Volt, or …
This post comes across as disingenuous and petty, really…
Try everything…
Most county and state governments consider car owners as a ‘revenue source’ instead of their constituents.
I was actually threatened with six months in the pokey and a $1000 fine for parking my own car on my driveway. Apparently I can park it in the street, at the side of the house, in the back of my house, or at a neighbor’s driveway. But not my own.
Why? Because my county has an ordinance now stating that you can’t keep a business vehicle on your driveway.
Who knew? The code enforcement folks. Who took an anonymous report by someone who didn’t even live in my county or my street (I had reported him to the police the day before for phone harassment), and used the law to levy a $405 fine for parking my own Mercedes on my own driveway. I kid you not. The kicker for me was that not only was the report altered to make the complainant anonymous. But the code enforcement officer saw fit to visit my house days on out before finally ‘catching’ me while I tended to one of my children who was sick at home.
The crap mentioned above is but a rain drop designed to make innocent and decent people into ‘criminals’. Pure and simple. I’m willing to bet that like yours truly, Mr. Miller had absolutely no criminal record of any type.
Oh and just to make you fully aware of the commonality of this thuggish anti-car attitude, one of my mom’s tenants in New Jersey can no longer park his car at the apartment complex… because it is a business vehicle. Not a commercial or construction vehicle, a business vehicle. Like Cobb County, Georgia, he was fined and harassed for having the nerve of being a self-employed entrepreneur who requires a special tag for his regular work.
A lot of state and county governments are simply trying to prey on folks in order to balance their inflated budgets. That’s it. The post above is another crystal clear example of this.
Isn’t there also a question here about how a 78 year old person with heart and memory problems was able to get a speeding ticket in the first place ? The family should have taken steps long before this happened to ensure his and everyone else’s safety on the road.
sitting@home: You’re obviously sitting at home, because in many parts of the UK and US, speeding limits are set way below what would be a normal velocity. Yes, even for 78-year-old retirees/grandparents going to the grocery store/bingo game/cigar shop.
Except, of course, in Ohio, where they really do drive 20 mph in 20 mph zones. man oh man.
Like the UK government really gives a shit. One less “subject” to take care of in the NHS. Real shame what happened to England, it’s gonna suck when this country becomes the same way.
Cyril Sneer :
What does this have to do with, you know, Truth, and Cars, and so on?
…
This post comes across as disingenuous and petty, really…
Okay, it was about speeding, courts, and fines. It’s related enough for me.
But we can argue that point until the cows come home, and in the long run it won’t matter who’s right or who wins the argument.
The bigger question (to me) is this: Are we now going to screen every single news item for tightly defined “car relevance”?
I really hope NOT.
I say we should all relax a little, lest we run the danger of taking all the fun out of TTAC. Yes, “fun” is one reason I come here; and if it’s not fun or whimsical from time to time, lots of people will just find other places to go.
That was one reason I didn’t want Robert to take that bumpy-ride Mustang (I think) video down a few weeks ago…
mtypex : you miss my point, his heart and memory problems probably have not appeared since he got the ticket but were present before he got it. His family should have been aware of such and stopped him from driving. It’s a nasty position to be in; we had to prevent my father in law from driving at around that age for similar reasons, but it was becoming apparent that if he continued then he would soon kill himself or someone else on the road.
Agreed with sitting@home.
He should have had his license revoked for confusion a long time ago. Furthermore, emotional stress does not provoke heart attacks, so that’s bullshit as well. Any physician who knows anything about the heart can tell you that.
So in the end, the city should sue the old man’s estate.
I’m starting to have serious doubts that Britain was worth saving from the Nazis
God, if I believed everything I read about the UK here I wouldn’t leave the house much. Just like if I believed all I saw about the US (and read here) I would start to think everyone on the street is “packing”.
This guy came up against a scum bailiff who will (hopefully) have his licence removed. The Bailiff does not have the legal right to demand someone goes to the cash machine immediately – there are instant fines in the UK but you never pay on the spot.
Court bailiffs are usually better than private ones – ones that go after loans and so forth but there are bad apples all over.
I’m starting to have serious doubts that Britain was worth saving from the Nazis
Funny, we were having the same thoughts about the rest of the world 39-42.
Like the UK government really gives a shit. One less “subject” to take care of in the NHS.
I agree, they probably don’t as long as they don’t get any blame.
Real shame what happened to England, it’s gonna suck when this country becomes the same way.
I’m more worried about the UK going more like the US. NewLabour are trying to take us in that direction. Having seen the mess that the private insurance style health stuff does to people who can’t get it I’d rather keep the NHS thanks.
DeanMTL
Furthermore, emotional stress does not provoke heart attacks, so that’s bullshit as well.
Uh, emotional stress triggers an increase in heart rate, secretion of adrenal hormones, and a host of other responses that CAN PROVOKE A HEART ATTACK. You obviously don’t read the literature on this subject or you would not make a statement that is equivalent to saying smoking does not cause heart disease or lung cancer.
Yes, David; I’ll grant that emotional stress can cause a heart attack.
But that doesn’t mean that we should refrain from reasonable enforcement of the law; just on the off-chance that the person being arrested/forced to pay for their infraction/crime isn’t equipped to handle it without having a heart attack.
Unreasonable enforcement is another matter, and I am not certain if enough of the facts were presented in the original article.
I’m with the others on the sentiment that the old fella maybe should have had his license revoked long ago due to his mental/emotional/lucidity problems.