100% Protection in your personal race to the line...

When Margaret Thatcher was in her pomp, one of her aides was asked what would happen if she were to be run over by a bus. He thought for a moment and then shook his head. “No”, he said firmly. “The bus wouldn’t dare”.

Some might say, today, there is not quite the same confidence amongst politicians. Times have changed. Time and the way time is recorded has also changed since Britain last hosted the Olympics. It was at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932 that the American athlete Evelyn Hall claimed of the woman who beat her “she only won because she is the crowd’s favourite”. Her fellow American Mildred “babe” Didrickson had been awarded Gold in the 80 metres hurdles after time keepers deemed that she had just pipped Hall at the finishing line. That the usurped athlete was able to make such a claim – a rather outrageous one by today’s standards – shows just how primitive the event was. Hall may have had a stronger point at the previous Olympics in Amsterdam in 1928 when time keepers used their own stop watches. 

By 1932 precision timing had become a pressing issue for the IOC which invited the Swiss brand Omega to be the official time keeper. Omega supplied just 30 stop watches but had developed a system that timed performances to a tenth of a second – twice as effective as that which had previously been available. This set the benchmark for Olympic timing from then on. It would never again be enough simply to time events. Thus sports timing had become technical rather than simply practical. 

What would happen to your business if you were hit by the bus that dared not approach Mrs Thatcher? This metaphorical bus could be in the shape of a VOSA investigation and subsequent Public Inquiry. Various watch brands have taken on the official time keeper role but Omega is the name most affiliated with the Olympics just as Backhouse Jones is the brand most associated with transport compliance. 

London 2012 is the latest Olympics to be associated with Omega and the brand has spent 80 years innovating precision sports timing systems that make or break records. Omega point out that time keeping innovation is not confined to the science lab. Trust is imperative. Time keeping is only a question of confidence and to gain that confidence takes time. 

Backhouse Jones has spent years establishing the trust of bus operators and have now innovated to produce an audit process designed to ensure compliance and thereby the confidence 

of VOSA and the Traffic Commissioners in your business. The purpose of the audit is to get your metaphorical torso across the finishing line before your competitors, even if this requires you to break a sweat; but it is much better for us to identify any inherent deficiencies in your system before VOSA place you on the starting block towards a Public Inquiry. 

It may be that we have to tell some operators that they stink when they think they smell just fine thank you very much. Hence the audit is titled “Anti-VOSArant”. For just £750 plus VAT trained and experienced solicitors from Backhouse Jones will inspect your systems to give you the confidence of 100% protection in your personal race to the line. Why take the risk? 

For more information on our Anit-VOSArant audit and other legal services on offer, please contact myself, Ian Jones on 08450 575 111 or email me at ian.jones@backhouses.co.uk 

Ian Jones 

August 2012 

BACKHOUSE JONES SOLICITORS 

The Printworks 

Hey Road 

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Clitheroe 

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