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Saw this on an insurance site:
Independent petrol stations have pleaded with the government to make it illegal for drivers to wash their cars on Britain's streets.The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF), which represents these outlets, wants similar laws as parts of Germany to encourage car owners to pay to use their facilities.
They have also claimed that on-street cleaning by motorists and car insurance policy holders is damaging to the environment as cleaning chemicals can enter the water supply.
Mr Madderson, a representative of the RMIF, told The Daily Telegraph, "Our car washes have to be inspected by the Environment Agency and we have to have a method of catching the oil, grease and dirty water so it doesn't go into the main drainage system.
"My members are already under threat because of falling profits they make on selling fuel and now struggling because their car wash businesses, which were a good earner, are being decimated.
"We accept that this would be a difficult policy to sell to voters, but it should be examined."
The organisation additionally called for small scale unregulated 'pop up' car washes to be banned due to their lax environmental safety procedures.
A number of German cities, such as Dresden, have prohibited street car washing to prevent detritus from entering the local sewerage system. The activity has also been banned on Sundays in a number of other areas for religious reasons.
The idea of banning drivers from washing their own cars has been widely condemned by motorists groups, with AA president Edmund King commenting to The Daily Telegraph that, "It is a ritual and a fundamental right up there with the Magna Carta.
"With record fuel prices and chorus of complaints at the fuel price differences between towns, it doesn't exactly win the hearts and minds of drivers when the petrol retailers tell them they can't wash their cars in the street."
I smell shite 😯
Why should drivers feel ripped off? It's just a proposal from a bunch of clowns that won't get anywhere.
It does sound nonsense, a quick google revealed this comment on Telegraph
I don’t know what was said as I obviously wasn’t there, however I suspect that there may be some misquoting going on for a cheap headline, so I am going to put the record straight. There is no industry vendetta against people washing their own cars at home.
However what there is, and had Mr Millward done some research he would have easily have found out, a drive by ALL in the responsible vehicle washing industry to ensure that all vehicle washing companies conform to current legislation. This drive is supported by both legitimate hand car wash sites and mechanical washing sites.
So what does that mean? Currently it is against the law to allow trade effluent to flow untreated into surface water drains. For those of you who fancy a read look up PPG13 trade effluent on the internet and it explain the requirements that vehicle washing companies need to comply with.
In addition there are things like paying public liability and employers insurance, VAT and corporation tax, national insurance etc. that many unregulated vehicle washing companies don’t pay.
And please don’t think for one minute that I completely support one type of vehicle washing or the other I don’t, however as a specialist in the field of vehicle washing I can tell you that: some mechanical vehicle washes offer an excellent wash, assisted washing can be exceptional and I wouldn’t let anyone near my lovely car with a bucket and sponge unless high pressure water had been used to rinse of dirt and grime off first.
So i guess they're really annoyed about unregulated car wash places not obeying strict laws about the disposal of chemicals down drains and so on, so they undercut the fuel stations, not people washing their own cars on the street occasionaly. That kind of makes sense.
Its just a bit of hot air really - but theres a good point behind it which is that Car Wash businesses will be under pretty tight regulation in terms of what happens to the run-off which us civilians are free to ignore. But the issue for them is more with unlicensed competitors happily poluting than grandad polishing his Granada every third weekend. Aside from their run-off going unchecked into the drains I've seen places where the roads and pavements around the 'business' are collapsing because of the constant flow of water not being managed
I walked up a street in Nottingham that seemed like it had a dozen carwash businesses, one had a sign up saying they were the only legal operator in the street
And even if it did, drivers aren't a select group of individuals who are constantly targetted because of their radicals views or activities, they're just people. You and me. Screw 'em.
Cars are dirty, inefficient, damaging, dangerous and should be banned. Screw the drivers, screw me, screw the two cars I have parked outside my house right now. Their time has come. Bye bye.
Did molgrips ever wash his car in the street in Germany?
Yes obviously I need to take steps to protect the environment because I wash my car 4 times a year outside my house. 🙄
Where do they think the "detritus" has come from in the first place? Erm the street, where im now washing my car. Its just moving about the same crap, thats all.
All the crud that you wash off the outside of your car comes from the environment anyway. Apart from brake dust I suppose, but most of that ends up in the air anyway, only a bit gets left on your wheels to be washed off.
Did molgrips ever wash his car [s]in the street[/s] in Germany?
No.
(actually I did once!)
What did you do on Sunday mornings then?
What about the oil off my chain when I wash my bike?
You're meant to wash cars?! Surely that's what all the rain is for? No?
Where do they think the "detritus" has come from in the first place? Erm the street, where im now washing my car. Its just moving about the same crap, thats all.
thank god cars never leak any oil or other petro chemicals.
FWIW a mate, who works for the water board, said washing cars on streets causes more blockages to sewers than anything else because the oil accumulates and blocks drains.
However it is not just the case you are washing off a bit of dirt or the companies would not need a method to collect oil/grease as there would be none to collect.
Whether you care or not and how much of a problem you think it is is your call.
Of course I care, to a point. But given that the majority people in my street dont tend to wash their cars very often, the amount of crap we're going to generate is minimal in comparison to a business which washes 20-30+ cars daily.
Most oil or grease will come off a car whilst its moving, certainly there doesnt tend to be much on the bodywork.
deadlydarcy - MemberDid molgrips ever wash his car in the street in Germany?
Wasn't it a bike, on a balcony, on a Sunday? 😯
[i] the water board,[/i]
The what now? 😉
geoffj - Memberdeadlydarcy - Member
Did molgrips ever wash his car in the street in Germany?
Wasn't it a bike, on a balcony, on a Sunday?
Wasn't it Don Simon or iDave IIRC.
Molly washing Don Simon on a balcony on a Sunday 😯 😯 😯 😯
it was molly
Washing himself??? 😯
His bike on a balcony in germany ;his neighbours complained about the mess he made with the drips down the building etc
Yes except there were no drips down the building, only onto mud far below... 🙁
lesson is, dont believe what you read in the telegraph, its generally bollox and ultimately its all the fault of windfarms
Junkyard - Member
FWIW a mate, who works for the water board, said washing cars on streets causes more blockages to sewers than anything else because the oil accumulates and blocks drains.
Hard to believe, that oil would be the worst compared to all the leaves, fag ends etc which go down the drains.
When washing the car I'll try not to pour so much oil over it in future.
IIRC - and I am no expert here but had no reason to doubt his 20 + years experience- but it congeals and that is what blocks stuff.
Could have been a pet hate of his for all I know.
It's actually fats from cooking that block up the drainage system really badly, people tip them down the sink with warm water and then they congeal at cooler temperatures.
That said anywhere with a lot of run off from motor vehicles will cause pollution especially if you mix in cleaning chemicals. Should people wash their cars on the street (or drive) strictly speaking no, is it in anyway enforceable, no, are there bigger issues of environmental pollution we should tackling first, Yes.
As for the unregulated hand car wash outfits, should be easy to find and close them down if the councils / environment agency wanted to, they're not easy to hide what with having to advertise their location to get the punters in.
Don't know what they are suddenly moaning about - the current legislation on trade effluent vehicle cleaning has been in place for 20 years and effects many business, not just car wash operators.
AA president Edmund King commenting to The Daily Telegraph that, "It is a ritual and a fundamental right up there with the Magna Carta.
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FWIW a mate, who works for the water board, said washing cars on streets causes more blockages to sewers than anything else because the oil accumulates and blocks drains.
That may have been true in the 1940s when cars dripped oil a lot but nowadays what your mate takes for oil is actually hamburger grease from takeaways.
That said anywhere with a lot of run off from motor vehicles will cause pollution especially if you mix in cleaning chemicals. Should people wash their cars on the street (or drive) strictly speaking no, is it in anyway enforceable, no, are there bigger issues of environmental pollution we should tackling first, Yes.
As a Vehicle Valeter I spend a fortune on products that are safe to wash into drains, as all professionals are required to.
A lot of them don't bother though, as its cheaper not to.
So if the proposed rules are aimed to stop that practice, then I'm all for it.
I suggest an environmental carbon tax for people who exhale because they are polluting the air I am inhaling. 🙄