31st
Dec 2007 - Larger cars to pay more for parking
Families
will be penalised for needing large cars as a council will be bringing in a
new system of charging for parking permits.
At the
moment the fee for parking a car outside your home in Norwich is just £16
per year, but as the New Year dawns, this is set to change and it is
families who will end up being the losers. The plan is to charge as per the
length of the vehicle, the top limit being 4.45 metres, which is the size of
anything larger than a Vauxhall Vectra the typical family sized car.
The
charges will be on a sliding scale with the top limit being as we mentioned
4.45 metres will have to pay £30 per year, cars between 3.92 metres and 4.45
metres, the size of an Astra will have to pay £22 and those cars that are
less than 3.92 metres, the size of a Corsa will pay the same fee as before,
£16 per year.
Obviously
this is not a huge amount of money, but as we have seen many times before
with fees, once established it is easy to raise the price. But even more of
a concern is the fact that this may be Norwich in Norfolk, but once other
councils see this is action then they too may follow suit.
The
council believe that this will create more parking spaces because drivers
will be forced to buy smaller and more economical cars just to save £24 per
year!
Source
[Auto Express]
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28th
Dec 2007 - Call for universal bumpers
With cars
being so hi tech these days it seems that the basics are being forgotten,
there was a time when a car bumper was strong enough to take a slight bump,
they were fitted with absorbers and rubber that not only could with stand a
little bump, but also protected the car itself.
However
it seems that these days are long past and the whole design of a car is now
revolving around style and economy, but this is causing some motorists a
problem for an impact that is only very slight; say around five to six mile
per hour can actually cause serious damage to the car.
At the
insurance research centre it has been found that an impact of just six mile
per hour can in some cases right the car off, these has lead to a massive
rise in repair bills of over £2 billion. This has been put down to
different bumpers used by manufacturers, as they are set at different
heights and are different in size too, so that when there is a collision
serious body damage is caused.
Several
cars were made an example of, the Suzuki Swift, in a front and rear 6mph
collision caused £4,600 worth of damage, whereas the Honda CR-V, Citroen C4
Picasso and Land Rover Freelander 2 had damage totalling over £2,700.
This is a
serious problem, but it is very doubtful that any car maker is going to take
notice of this very quickly.
Source
[Auto Express]
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27th
Dec 2007 - Driving age may rise to eighteen
There is
a major overhaul of the way that young people learn to drive. This will
effectively push the age to when a young driver can actually take to the
road on their own to around eighteen, which will upset many of these younger
drivers that would normally be driving as soon as they past their driving
test.
The plan
is that as normal the driver could apply for their provisional as normal,
but will have to take a year to gain experience of driving on the road, so
the days of seventeen year olds driving around could be a thing of the past.
The
reason for this is the campaign that has been running for some time now,
where the figures show it is that around one in five of those aged between
17 to 19 actually have an accident within the first year of passing their
driving test, but for those who are still aged seventeen the increases
dramatically to nearly half of all newly qualified drivers.
The new
leaning to drive policies will be published early in the New Year, and is
likely to include a much tougher driving test which will include more key
skills like night and motorway driving, will have to mastered before they
can attempt the actual test itself
Source
[This is London]
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24th
Dec 2007 - Sat Nav to slow down cars
New
technology has been developed which will help drivers to stay within the
speed limits, this Intelligent Speed Adaption (ISA) system is going to be
used by the Transport of London (TFL) in some of their vehicles as a trial
to see how it fairs with city conditions.
Ten
vehicles will be fitted out with this system which works together with the
Sat Nav system which will have a detailed plan of the city downloaded onto
it, this map will have all the speed limits already included, so as the
vehicle travels around the city it can located the various changes in speed
limits and tell if the vehicle is travelling within the them.
How the
system works is a bit scary, because it will mean that if it detects that
the car is going to fast, it will physically slow down the vehicle to the
required speed, vibrate the accelerator pedal and give an audible warning to
the driver. This is going to be ok, provided that everyone else around you
is using the same system too, otherwise there could be a whole load of
accidents occurring.
This is
going to be a two year trail, so there are no immediate plans to bring this
into the mainstream world of real drivers.
Source
[Auto Express]
----------
21st
Dec 2007 - U turn on congestion charge
Buying a
green car is good idea, for one reason it is going to be low on emissions
which is good for the planet and another reason if you use it fro driving
into London is the fact that you will not need to pay the congestion charge,
right? Wrong, because it seems that the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone who
stated in November that certain green cars would be exempt from the charge.
But in true tradition he may have changed his mind.
So to
recap, initially the plan was to increase the current £8 per day charge up
to £25 for the cars that emit the most Co2, these are classified as Band G,
but the good news was for the cars in Bands A & B would be able to drive in
London for nothing, which is great news for people who own those cars.
However,
it would appear that sales of cars that fall into the lower bands have risen
dramatically in 2007, and the whole Transport for London scheme could see
its revenue drop to dangerously low levels, in fact if there are too many
band A & B cars the scheme could end up costing more than it makes and
clearly this would be unacceptable not mention a PR disaster for the Mayor
and his plans.
The only
option left would be to scrap the free charge; an announcement is due in the
New Year.
Source [Autocar]
----------
20th
Dec 2007 - Refusing a breathalyser
Being
stopped by the police and having a breathalyser stuck under your nose is
probably every drivers nightmare and the thing is, even if you haven’t even
had a drink for that last couple of years you still feel guilty and fear
what the test may show.
But many
drivers may not know this, you can refuse to take the breathalyser test,
this is because the police cannot actually just stop you and demand that you
take one! This is because they need to have reasonable cause to suspect you
of either a traffic offence, been out drinking or of course if you have been
involved in a road traffic accident.
Although
for someone who is thinking of refusing the breathalyser, they should take
notice of the consequences. If the police can give a good argument for you
being asked to take the test, like being guilty of one of the offences
above, then you could be on very shaky ground, for refusing the breath test
can mean that you get arrested, fined up to a £1,000 and receive four points
on your licence.
Once you
get to the police station, it just gets worse. Refusing to take the test
could lead to a massive £5,000 fine and/or six months in prison and losing
your driving licence for twelve months or more, which just happens to be the
same as if you had been caught drinking and driving.
Source
[Auto Express]
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19th
Dec 2007 - Lewis Hamilton banned from driving
The
rising star of Formula One Lewis Hamilton has been banned from driving, but
don’t worry this should not affect his F1 drive for next season as this
happened in France after he was caught on a motorway driving a Mercedes at
over 120 mph by the other side of northern town of Laon on Sunday, where the
speed limit was only 40 mph.
However
the stars employer McLaren said that they were aware that he had been caught
speeding but he was driving as a private individual and not on company
business.
The F1
driver has been banned from driving in France for just one month and
therefore this will have no affect on his challenge for the 2008 F1 world
championship when it resumes later on in the year. A spokesman for the
French police, who stopped him, said that the driver was very polite and
co-operative over the matter, which clearly helped in getting a light
sentence.
The last
year has been very exciting for Lewis Hamilton, leading the F1 championship
for most of the season only to lose out to Ferrari on the last race of the
season. The 2008 season will mean a different plan for him as he has a new
co-driver and the rest of the grid will be taking notice of him in the early
stages.
Source
[Auto Trader News]
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18th Dec
2007 - Roads to get star ratings
In order
for drivers to choose the safest instead of just the fast route to their
destination, the UK’s roads are going to get a star rating which will be
similar in nature to the Euro NCAP vehicle crash tests.
These
ratings will be as follows, one star for the worst road and four stars for
the best ones, these ratings will show drivers the roads where there is a
chance that they could be involved in a serious or possibly even a fatal
accident, these will only be available on motorways, single and dual
carriageways.
The
ratings will be awarded by the European Road Assessment Programme (Euro RAP)
and they have not been hanging around as so far they have covered around a
third of the roads network, which is about 4,000 miles. However out of the A
roads that have been checked it already forty per cent has been classed as
inadequate, while only eleven per cent have achieved the highest four star
rating.
The way
that the roads are assessed is by taking into account the many hazards that
are on or around the roads, such as trees, ditches, bollards, junctions and
how the road is laid out.
The whole
road network is expected to be completely surveyed in 2008.
Source
[Auto Express]
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17th Dec 2007 - If drivers made New Years resolutions
For many years people have made a New Years resolution, most of them only
last a few days or weeks at the best, but what if drivers made a resolution,
what would they be?
Well top auto buying and selling site is running a poll at the moment to
find which would be the top one chosen by their readers, they are as
follows:
What is your driving new year’s resolution?
Not speeding
Not using my mobile while driving
Be greener
Stop eating or drinking behind the wheel
Stop smoking while driving
Avoid tailgating other drivers
Drive less
Wash the car more often
Carry out more checks and maintenance
Buy another car
These are all something that most drivers would consider at some stage,
but as with anyone else would these stand the test of time? Probably! There
are the odd few in there which driver should be taking very seriously anyhow
as they could get into trouble with the police over them, so these are
important.
It’s a good thing to see this type effort going into the spirit of the
season, with everyone worrying about the how much everything is going to
cost etc, it makes a nice side track from all of the hassle.
So what would your New Years resolution be?
Source [Auto Trader News]
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14th Dec 2007 - Drivers still over the limit next day
In a recent survey it has been found that nearly fifty per cent of young
drivers are going out in their cars the next morning after going on a heavy
drinking session the night before. This means that they are still over the
drink drive limit.
The age that is of most concern is those drivers who are between
seventeen and twenty four; they are twice as likely to be over the limit the
next day as older drivers who have also been out dinking the night before.
There is a move to warn these younger drivers of their responsibilities
as drivers, the organisations behind this, Green Flag and Brake say that it
is surprising how long alcohol can remain in the bloodstream, if a driver
drinks only four pints of strong beer or lager it can take up to thirteen
hours to completely leave the system, which could mean the driver should not
take to the road until lunch time the next day!
Last year there were around 90,000 failed drug tests lead to a
conviction, but of these it was found that around twenty per cent were
actually stopped on the way to work the following morning after going out
the previous night. This is something that drivers need to think about.
Source [Auto Trader]
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13th Dec 2007 - Driver’s details lost in post
Its hard to know who is to blame, the post, the government departments or
the people who work there who simple fell that it is ok to send sensitive
information by normal post! But whoever is to blame still does not take it
away from the fact that the other week virtually everyone’s details
including names, dates of birth and bank details were sent through the post
and yet they have not learned from that mistake because now the DVLA have
done exactly the same with the details of around 6000 vehicle owners.
It turns out the Northern Ireland branch of the DVLA sent two discs
containing all of the vehicle owners in that area to the DVLA head office in
Swansea, the discs contain all of the information that appears on the car
registration document, which include, name, address, car make and model,
registration number and other details of the 3685 vehicles on the DVLA
database.
This is a serious problem not only for the owners of these vehicles who
could find that their cars are cloned or even in the worst case scenario
stolen to order. But it is also how these government departments handle our
personal information, we often hear about the data protection act, but
clearly as ever this only applies to the private sector.
Source [Autocar]
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12th Dec 2007 - McDonalds to charge for excess parking
Eating at McDonalds will soon take the saying “Fast Food” to a new
meaning, as they plan to limit the time that customers can stay in their car
parks.
At the moment this applies to the drive though, where customers linger
around, I suppose when they buy their food some are then parking up and
eating it on site, if they out stay their welcome which is set at forty five
minutes, then they are likely to be asked to move on or face the fine of
£125 which would make the cost of a meal comparable to that of an expensive
restaurant.
For customers who do not pay up, then the fine will increase in
increments until the point where the bailiffs are called in, which again
will add even more to the total, this is done in good faith as there are
other customers who cannot park and will not wait, so they go else where for
their food.
This is a move that follows many supermarkets and other businesses that
have customers that abuse the free parking provided by these businesses.
Some of these premises have an ANPR system in place which can get the
vehicle owners details; otherwise the company just applies to the DVLA for
the details, so there is no escape for the offenders.
Source [Guardian]
----------
11th Dec 2007 - Fuel protests this Saturday
Saturday December 16th is said to be the busiest shopping day of the year
and to mark this there is going to be fuel price protest by Transaction
2007, who are mainly Hauliers and Farmers who are fed up with paying for the
high price of fuel. The last time we see this type of protesting was back in
2000 when we saw the countries refineries and storage depots causing chaos
for drivers all around the country.
However this year’s protest is said to be less disrupting than before,
which is ok as long as you are not stuck sitting outside a petrol station
with your fuel gauge in the red!
So why choose the busiest shopping day of the year to try and cause chaos
on the road? Transaction 2007 say that they do not want to cause any trouble
on a weekday because of people getting to work, which is fine, but there are
not really that many people around these days that only work nine to five,
Monday to Friday!
The fuel protest is not going to change anything, the government are not
going to reduce the 50p tax on a litre of fuel and all this is going to do
is annoy a load of people who are going out with their families to get their
Christmas shopping.
Source [Autocar]
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8/12/2007 - Should there be a zero drink drive limit?
According to a recent survey regarding drink driving, it has been found
that around forty five per cent of drivers have actually got behind the
wheel of their car after drinking an alcoholic drink. But it is the four per
cent of driver who do this on a regular basis who are causing concerns.
The problem that has been found for drivers is that they do not actually
know exactly what they can drink and still be safe to drive, this is because
of the various drinks that have different alcohol levels, such a wines and
beers, this is coupled with people of different tolerances due to size and
whether they have eaten or not, these factors mean that drivers are unable
to determine what they can drink.
The guidelines mention units, but these are irrelevant because everyone
is different, and this is the problem. The survey complied by the motor
insurer Direct Line, found that around a third of drivers are unaware of how
many alcohol units are in an average pint of beer and how this would affect
their blood alcohol level, while nearly fifty per cent did not know what
affect an average glass of wine had on the same.
There is only one sure way of staying within the drink drive limit and
that is not to drink at all.
Source [Auto Trader News]
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7th Dec 2007 - Wembley to stage motor race
The grounds man at the Wembley stadium will probably be have to take a
few weeks off because he would not be able to bare to watch the turf having
a whole load of sports car speeding around the specially made circuit for
the annual Race of Champions.
There will be some spectacular appearances from the likes of Michael
Schumacher and other such as Jenson Button, David Coultard, Alistair McRae,
Jimmie Johnson, Sebastien Bourdais and World Rally champion Heikki
Kovalainen.
The track was prepared following the England v Croatia match the
preparations began for this race. There has been a temporary surface laid
down, and the 1km asphalt circuit which comprises of two tight and twisting
circuits was created over the top.
The circuit is very similar to ones used on the world rally stages, when
they have two cars racing against each on a timed stage. The Race of
Champions is not new; in fact this is the twentieth anniversary of the
event, which is normally staged in the Stade de France in Paris
This is a very exciting event and anyone wishing to go will need to pay
only £30 for a ticket, which is not really that bad, when you compare it to
a Grand Prix ticket.
Race day is December 16th.
Source [Auto Car]
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6th Dec 2007 - Speed cameras earn £120 million
The government have been around for ten years now and it seems that in
the same period the rise of the speed camera is going to be one of those
legacies that will have its fans and those that hate them, in what
proportion, is open for debate.
Figure released show that in 1997 when Labour came to power there were
only a few speed cameras dotted around the roads of the UK, there were in
fact though 700,000 speeding tickets issued which raised around £28.5
million.
However in 2005, which is the last year that figures are available for,
there was a staggering 1.92 million fines issued, which raised about £115
million, which is quite a contrast to the figures of ten years ago.
The problem that the government has is justifying this, because they
claim that the roads are safer because of the speed cameras, and yet the
figures appear to show that road deaths have fallen only by a slight amount
and as for road deaths that have been caused by the affects of drinking and
driving have in fact remained stable. This therefore has fuelled the
argument that the whole speed camera operation is a money making exercise.
The problem with speed cameras is that they blanket cover a tiny part of
the road, what happens before and after the speed camera is never seen by
them.
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5th Dec 2007 - Auto pay the Congestion Charge!
With all of the pressures of work, and travelling to and from work, there
may be the odd occasion when a driver may accidentally forget to pay the
London Congestion Charge, its an easy thing to do, but it could be a costly
one too, as the current fine for not paying the £8 charge is £100, do that a
couple of times a month and it will hurt your wallet!
However help is at hand with a little device called the “Kenbuster”
affectionately named after the Mayor of London.
This device tracks your car and will pay the congestion charge as and
when needed, which is great as it is another thing that a driver does have
to think about.
How does the KenBuster work?
Step One: Firstly, the KenBuster tracks your vehicle and logs any breach
of the congestion zone area. If your car hasn't entered the zone it'll send
you a text message to let you know that no action has been taken.
Step Two: If it decides that your vehicle has breached the congestion
charging area, and it's at a chargeable time and day, the KenBuster will
make an automatic payment to TFL for the amount due. This payment is
deducted from the payment type you selected when you registered with the
KenBuster Company.
Step Three: Finally the KenBuster will send you an SMS notification and
an e-mail receipt as confirmation of your payment.
The device costs £199.99 about the same as two fines for missing the
payment!
