IN Die Another Day, there was a character called Jinx (played by Halle Berry in an orange bikini). No need for Berry on the set of the latest Bond film, Spectre. Footage has emerged of yet another car-related slice of bad luck to befall filming, which has led to murmurings that the 24th Bond movie is jinxed.
Shot on the streets of Rome, the footage shows a chase sequence in which Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 attempts to evade a villain’s Jaguar C-X75. It starts off thrillingly enough, with power slides galore, but comes to an abrupt halt when the Jaguar narrowly misses the braking DB10 and apparently almost runs over a member of the film crew.
The near-miss is the latest in a series of mishaps to affect production. Before filming even began nine cars, including Range Rovers, were stolen from a car park in Germany, apparently by thieves who hacked into the keyless entry system. Daniel Craig, the actor who plays the superspy, banged his head and required medical attention when the Aston Martin he was in hit a pothole in Rome. That gave rise to derisory comments about his robustness. Filming has also been hampered by the unexpected rumble of car tyres over cobblestones interfering with the recording of audio inside the car. And last month two stunt men were injured in Austria while filming a car chase.
The name’s James. Calamity James.
Driver fined £39,000 for being 14mph over limit
A driver in Finland has been fined €54,000 (£39,000) for breaking a 50mph speed limit by 14mph. Reima Kuisla said he is now considering moving abroad after the draconian penalty, which was calculated as a proportion of his income: the racehorse owner and trainer earned €6.5m (£4.7m) last year.
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Finland is not the only country where fines can reach astronomical figures. Switzerland has a reputation for doling out hefty penalties, based on a motorist’s wealth. In 2010 a Ferrari Testarossa driver was fined £180,000 by a Swiss court for speeding at 85mph. Later that year a Mercedes SLS AMG driver faced a fine of £656,000 after being caught at 180mph (105mph over the limit).
The worst speeding offenders in Britain are sent to a magistrates’ court for punishment where the levy is based on income. The maximum fine is £2,500. In January, Steve Harley from the band Cockney Rebel, revealed that he had been fined £1,000 for speeding on a motorway and described the system as “wicked and vindictive”.
Dog owners force U-turn on ‘callous’ pet death plan
Pet owners have forced the government to make a U-turn after The Sunday Times reported that they would no longer be informed automatically if their dog was killed on a main road.
The Highways Agency, an arm of the Department for Transport, responsible for motorways and trunk roads, was accused of callousness. More than 120,000 people signed a petition calling for all domestic animals killed on the road to be scanned for an identifying microchip.
The rethink was announced by John Hayes, transport minister for national roads, who told the House of Commons: “I have asked the Highways Agency to ensure that it collects and identifies every animal that is killed and to contact the owners by whatever practicable means.”
Toyota staff happiest in car industry, says survey
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Toyota has the happiest staff of any car manufacturer in Britain, according to the latest Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For survey. The Japanese firm’s sales and marketing headquarters, near Epsom in Surrey, is 94th on this year’s list — the highest-placed car maker, just ahead of BMW.
The company uses the slogan “Go fun yourself” in advertising for its Aygo city car and has taken the message to heart. Teams of staff receive a £250 “budget of fun” to spend on social activities. Incentives for good performance include racetrack experience days.