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UK Police stop General Lee in real life ... could be straight out of an episode(!)


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Hey gang. Barely on the forums at the moment as Summer is my busy season, but I just had to share this.

This story is both amusing (as in, it could be straight out of an episode, could imagine Boss and Rosco planning it!) and annoying, how how U.K. Police can waste time on something so trivial and yet ignore many bigger real crimes.

Basically, a General Lee was carrying newlyweds in Dorset, U.K., when the drive, a Wayne Duke (yes, really) sounded the Dixie horn twice, and the Police promptly pulled them over from breaking the law! Can almost imagine the officer having Flash in the passenger seat!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2708615/Newlyweds-way-wedding-reception-Duke-Hazzard-replica-Dodge-Charger-pulled-police-driver-sounds-illegal-Dixie-horn.html

(sadly the above link is from the Daily Mail, famous in the U.K. for it's rather stereotypical views, but that's another discussion for another website!)

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/11371522.Newlyweds_get_stopped_by_the_police_over_wedding_car_horn/

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:previous:

It's nice to see the Dorset Echo get a mention on HNet. I know the Portland and Wyke Regis area quite well, although I've never had any trouble with the police there :).

BTW, I made my views on the Daily Mail quite clear after they criticized Cathy for wearing "comfy gear" while she walked the dogs a few years ago - you can see that post here.

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Well, the story has a happy outcome, as basically it gave the Police bad coverage and they dropped the case - http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/11385861.Illegal_air_horn_charge_dropped_against__Dukes_of_Hazzard__driver_Wayne/

It really could be one of Boss and Rosco's plans from a typical episode, couldn't it! (Even the above article suggests similar)

I think the car would have got off on a technicality anyway, as it is old enough to legally be exempt from the law, but even so the Police made themselves look ridiculous on this matter so eventually dropped it.

It's so funny the groom was really named Duke.

Yes I thought that too, Roth, surprised the coverage never picked up on that. I'm assuming it's his actual surname and he hasn't changed it out of Duke-loving.

Oh and Hobie, I often wear Bo's traditional colours (in fact I have them under my jacket in that picture!) though I look groggy in that picture after having just walked 20-odd miles; hair's been cut too since then.

I sometimes do little videoblogs on places of local history and sometimes wear the same 'Bo colours' as an in-reference for other fans! Anyway, back on topic...

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Yes I thought that too, Roth, surprised the coverage never picked up on that. I'm assuming it's his actual surname and he hasn't changed it out of Duke-loving.

Thanks for the update and another mention of the Dorset Echo :).

Duke is actually the car's owner name, not the groom's. Maybe people called Duke just end up buying '69 Chargers. I remember the guy who brought his General Lee to the Graham Norton Show Dukes of Hazzard Special was also called Duke, and he worked for the police, so I'm guessing he knew the laws regarding air horns.

For anyone who hasn't see the Graham Norton Show Dukes of Hazzard Special (I think all the old links on HNet are dead), it's been re-uploaded to YouTube. There used to be a longer version, but this is better than nothing. Lee Duke, owner of the General Lee in the studio, appears right at the start of part 2.

Warning: Parts of this show are a little risqué!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=676tfMecikw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r24stm0Jazs

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  • 9 months later...

Damn it! I had no idea they were illegal until I read that article and the horn laws in the UK...well, there goes my idea of having a Dixie Horn when I get my car and design it like the General... hells bells. :angry: xD 

 

For members outside the UK:

 

In the UK, all cars and motorbikes over three years old have to pass an annual roadworthiness test called an MOT (there's a similar equivalent in Ireland called the NCT). According to the current inspection manual, you can fail this test if:

 

1. The horn control [is] missing, insecure or not readily accessible to the driver.

Note: Inform the driver if the horn is insecure.

2. The horn [is]:

a. inoperative

b. is not loud enough to be heard by another road user

c. is a gong, bell or siren

d. has more than one tone

Note: When operated, a two or more tone horn automatically produces a sound which alternates at regular intervals between fixed notes

e. fitted to a vehicle first used on or after 1 August 1973, emits a sound which is

not a continuous or uniform note

harsh or grating

 

Basically, if you do fit a musical horn, unless your car dates from before 1973, make sure you keep the original horn for road use. During my Googling, I read an account of a driver who used to like sounding his Dixie horn when he was overtaking other cars. One day he made the mistake of doing this while overtaking an unmarked police can, and was prosecuted.

 

PS. According to section 2. c. (above), "hells bells" are also illegal :).

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