Watch that Mini-strip

Sir,

I see in “Letters from Readers”, February, 1971, that one gentleman feels that he has been persecuted for removing the front bumpers and trim from his Mini. I would say that he was unlucky in his choice of “copper”. It is, in fact, written in the RTA (no numbers I’m afraid) that “Thou shalt not drive a vehicle on the road with dangerous protrusions on the front thereof”.

If the front bumper is removed there remains a ledge which, if left uncovered, could cause very serious damage to a human being if involved in an accident. The same applies to the side-trim.

I was stopped in my own Mini, for the same reason, in Glasgow. I was preparing the car for a complete strip and rebuild to rally specifications. My rear bumper was removed as well as the other gear, the only difference between your writer and myself being the choice of “nabbing copper”. Mine said that I was breaking the law, and that he would book me if he saw the car again with said protrusions. He then went on to suggest removing the offending lips, flattening them with a hammer, or best of all (if I wished to retain them), splitting a piece of garden hose, and sliding that over the lips.

This I did, and when the same copper stopped me for doing 40 m.p.h. in a 30 m.p.h. limit, he said that he was glad to see that he didn’t have to book me for dangerous bodywork as well as speeding.

So, I’m afraid your writer has been fairly done under the RTA, but was unlucky that his “copper” had a chip on his shoulder.

Thank you for a very good magazine, which always has plenty of interesting articles, although race reports tend to be a bit old by the time I get them.

Jeremy Ard.
Dorking.