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i apologize if this has been posted before. --- Hurray for database on bad drivers By Christopher Tan A FEW months ago, a colleague lost control of his car and almost ended up in a ditch. He was trying to avoid a taxi that had swerved suddenly into his path to pick up a fare. My colleague's insurer has since paid for the repairs, and did not cut his no-claims discount, largely because there were witnesses who corroborated his account of the potentially fatal incident. However, my colleague is adamant that the taxi's insurer should provide full compensation, and he is pursuing this through a lawyer. Every so often, I would receive mail from readers who have had minor accidents, which end up with the other party filing exaggerated claims. I can feel the frustration in their words. So, it is comforting to learn that the General Insurance Association (GIA) is setting up a high-tech database to keep track of bad drivers. These include drivers who meet with accidents frequently, drivers who have made inflated or fraudulent claims in the past, and drivers who refuse to cooperate with accident investigations. The database, which should be up in about a year's time, is expected to work like the credit bureau which banks and other financial institutions tap into when checking the creditworthiness of a potential client. Insurers in the United States, Britain and other parts of Europe have such systems in place to help them manage their exposure to risk. It will also help to keep premium costs down for the majority of good and honest drivers. Bad and dishonest drivers can expect their premiums to soar and, in the worst-case scenario, even find themselves uninsurable. This stance may seem a tad draconian to some, but it is the right approach. Decent drivers have had to bear the cost burden of folks with a poor regard for safety - and a low degree of integrity to match - for too long. The database will allow insurers to take targeted action against these parties. Together with the demerit point system the Traffic Police have in place, it will hopefully bring about better driving and roads that are safer for all. It would be a bonus if it could also put a lid on exaggerated claims - maybe $5,000 for a slightly scratched bumper, or $50,000 for a medically unsubstantiated whiplash injury. Hopefully, the GIA will be transparent in the way it decides who makes it to the roll of dishonour. And whether the information in the database differentiates between motorists who are habitually getting into accidents, and those who have suffered a stroke of bad luck (for example, 20 years of a clean record prior to two accidents in the past year). OUT NOW: This month's issue of Torque magazine is out on news-stands. On average, drivers here get into an accident once every five years. So, if you're involved in more than one crash in five years, will you be blacklisted automatically? Will every accident you meet with haunt you? Or only those in which you have been found to be more than 50 per cent at fault? Methinks honest drivers need not worry too much. The GIA's top priority, after all, is to weed out the fraudsters. On my part, I have decided to install a video surveillance system in my car. It will not only provide irrefutable evidence that will come in handy the next time I need to make an insurance claim, but it is also a supplementary security device for the home (as the vehicle is parked in my porch). [email protected]

finally! my 5th tank of SPC92 returned 12.88km/L...but i did try my best to let the car roll (neutral gear) down slopes whenever possible...I drive 70% of the time, wife 30%. She dun care abt FC and rams engine to 3.5k-4k RPM change gear...

who is next in line?... .... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ home > Breaking News > Singapore > Story Oct 6, 2008 SingTel raises phone rates First rate revision in 18 years . SINGAPORE Telecommunications (SingTel) on Monday announced its first rate revision in 18 years for its fixed-line telephone subscription and call charges, and said it will offer $1 million worth of credit vouchers to needy households. From Jan 1, fixed-line telephone customers will pay $10 more a year in subscription rates - an increase of 83 cents a month. With this revision, residential customers will pay $110 a year and business customers will pay $160. Call charges will increase to 0.8 cents from 0.7 cents per 30-second block during peak hours and per 60-second block during off-peak hours. To reflect changes in call traffic patterns, peak hours will be revised to 9am to 7pm from 8am to 6pm, Mondays to Fridays. Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays are off-peak. With the new rates, most customers will pay not more than an additional $1.50 a month, said SingTel in a statement. In a statement, the telco said it had been able to hold off any rate increase earlier through productivity improvement and network rationalisation by reducing the number of exchange buildings. Mr Allen Lew, SingTel's CEO Singapore, said: 'We have held off rate revisions for 18 years despite rising costs. Over the years, the two main cost components, manpower and materials, have increased substantially. The recent rapid increase in utility costs has also pushed up our running costs.' SingTel said the average annual wage has risen 52 per cent between 1997 and 2007, according to Ministry of Manpower statistics. But the cost of copper, a key material component in the fixed-line network, tripled from 1991 to 2007, according to the benchmark London Metal Exchange. 'While we are committed to delivering affordable and good quality fixed-line services, the service must remain sustainable. SingTel is among the last remaining operators in this region to revise telephone charges. With this adjustment, our charges continue to be one of the lowest in this region,' Mr Lew added. To help needy households, SingTel will provide $1 million worth of credit vouchers, each worth $10, to these residents. Those who need assistance can approach their Citizens' Consultative Committees or People's Association grassroots leaders. Said Mr Lew: 'We hope to cushion the effect of the rate revisions on our customers by providing $1 million worth of credit vouchers to those who need financial assistance.' In addition, fixed-line residential customers who sign up for both SingTel's electronic bill statement (www.singtel.com/myBill) and GIRO before March 31 will enjoy a one-time $10 discount on their annual subscription. http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNew...ory_286545.html

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/041220...n-age-row.html I mean they were the only team left to beat. the rest 8 all got disqualified. Eight teams expelled in Asian age row Tue 04 Dec, 07:45 AM Singapore defeated Kuwait by six wickets to win the ACC Under-15 Elite Cup in Bhaktapur, Nepal. It was, however, a slightly hollow victory, as eight of the ten competing sides had earlier been disqualified for fielding over-age players, and so Singapore and Kuwait contested the final as they were the only teams remaining in the competition. The Asian Cricket Council had taken drastic action on Saturday and kicked out hosts and defending champions Nepal as well as Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Thailand after its medical board reported that all the squads from those countries contained players over the stipulated age limit. Sunday's semi-finals - Nepal v Singapore and Afghanistan v Hong Kong - were scrapped. "In instances where more than two players in each 14-man squad have been found to be over-aged, the teams have been disqualified from the competition," an ACC media spokesman explained. He added that some teams contained as many as nine over-age players. "One hundred and forty radiology examinations have been conducted in Nepal since the team's arrival with all the players from the ten participating teams," he added. Ashraful Haq, the ACC's chief executive, met team managers to explain the decision. "Our age-verification protocols have been tested and proven to work," he said. "We stand by the results found. In the long-run, cricket in Asia will benefit. Results such as this should act an eye-opener to all our members." The tournament had already got off to a bad start when UAE were sent home as their squad did not contain any UAE passport-holders. An ACC spokesman explained that age verification was not easy in some areas. "All countries were asked to provide the appropriate medical data on each of their players before the tournament started. They did not comply."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/08/07...tion/index.html NEW YORK (CNN) -- Liz and Rocky Rothwell, a retired couple from Orlando, Florida, thought they could save money on gas by dropping a little green pill called BioPerformance in their car's tank. "When it goes in your gasoline, it disperses out. It's supposed to increase the mileage in your car from anywhere from 25 to 30 percent," Rocky Rothwell said. The Rothwells had such high hopes for this product that they went to a company presentation and signed on as distributors in a multilevel marketing plan. But the pill turned out to be a dud, according to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Abbott had the pills tested. He concluded that the pills didn't work and he found they were made mostly of naphthalene, the same stuff that used to go in mothballs. Abbott shut down the Texas-based BioPerformance and is suing the company and its owners for allegedly running a scam that cost people such as the Rothwells thousands of dollars. Responding to inquiries via a letter, an attorney for Gustavo Romero, one of BioPerformance's founders and owners, writes: "It is our expectation that additional scientific testing will answer the issue once and for all." At a time when gas prices are near record highs, many people are searching for ways to make their gas money go a little bit further. And there are a number of products on the market that claim to stretch a few more miles out of a gallon of gas. CNN teamed up with Popular Mechanics magazine and auto mechanics from the Universal Technical Institute in Houston, Texas, to run individual tests on a couple of other "gas-saving" products. First, we determined the base line by running vehicles without any of these add-on products. Mike Allen, an automotive guru and senior writer with Popular Mechanics, then installed a set of magnets that are supposed to align the molecules in the fuel so it burns more efficiently. "This is one of the more elaborate fuel line magnets I've ever seen," Allen observed. "It's got three really powerful bar magnets, and it sort of straddles the fuel lines so the fuel goes through the middle." But when we ran the engine with the magnet installed, the vehicle's gas mileage decreased by about 10 percent. "We're theorizing that the magnetic field is so powerful it is interfering with the wiring in the fuel injectors," Allen said. Energy Cel, the company that makes the magnets, said its product works and that it has been tested "... with positive results." "We are dismayed that your mechanics did not have the proper training for placement and testing of our magnetic device," the company said. "We always welcome testing of our products by qualified, trained personnel that use the proper procedures. If tested correctly, our product works." Next up was the Tornado, a device that turns air inside a car's air intake valve into a mini-tornado. The manufacturer -- Tornado Air Management Systems -- said it makes engines burn fuel more efficiently. In the test, the Tornado reduced a Lincoln Navigator's fuel mileage by just under a mile per gallon, from 18.4 mpg without the device to 17.5 mpg with it installed. But the manufacturer stands behind the Tornado: "We have more than 100,000 satisfied customers. Our product works." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not test the same products that we did, but it has checked out more than 100 products that make similar gas-saving claims over the last 30 years and none has worked, according to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson. "It's a scam," Johnson said. Experts said the best way to squeeze more miles per gallon out of a vehicle is to ensure that tires are inflated properly. They said this simple step can save as much as 10 percent on fuel mileage.

wow...finally gonna get my car after the long wait...jus bac from KL...went to visit the 'Brothers" auto accessories mart at Jalan Ampang City Plaza..hmmm selling quite a number of accessories,not bad.quite big..and went to KL Carrefour(mid valley and wangsa maju branch) they r selling real cheap accessories..oil..etc.oh the 1-Utama at PJ at Jusco Home..thres tis place called ENEOS at the basement,they r selling lots of car accessories too.so ppl out thre..if u do go to KL..mayb u can check tis places out,u may get wat u nid. so guys/gals out here if u know any BIG BIG car accessories shops whereabout..how abt drop me a few lines n let me know...then i can flyyyyyyyyy thre wif my chevy to grab the accessories....

Getting my new ride tomorrow.Any lao chiao brothers here who can advise on what to check and ask my SE tomolo ? Zoom Zoom!