Almost three quarters of motorway incidents related to tyre failure could be prevented if drivers carry out simple checks, according Highways England and tyre company Bridgestone. More than 30 people were killed or seriously injured in motorway accidents in 2016 due to illegal or faulty tyres but an 18-month study says commuters, commercial drivers and other road users can do a lot more to help … [Read more...]
Education
Jobless pay higher car insurance premiums
The unemployed are being hampered by higher car insurance premiums close to double those working. Students are also paying more than those out of work, according to a motor snapshot of policies compiled by Wales-based Comparethemarket.com . The trends discovered in the survey that the average price of a policy for someone working is £693, for an unemployed person it’s £1,162 and those in … [Read more...]
Newslines 21 April
The A40 will remain shut between Llandovery and Llanwrda over the weekend at least. It’s emergency closure follows the opening of a sink-hole in the carriageway on Wednesday evening and the diversions have caused chaos in surrounding villages struggling with HGVs on narrow sections. Plans to scrap the proposed electric rail line between Cardiff and Swansea have been defended by UK Transport … [Read more...]
21 Million UK cars on road have faults ignored
Green Flag breakdown says 21 million cars on the roads are faulty and drivers “ignore the problem” while racking up bills. Drivers are spending an average of £574 per year - a national average of £21.5 billion - on car repairs; and 47 per cent of these repairs could have been cheaper if the issue had been addressed sooner, the research reveals. According to those surveyed, drivers have an … [Read more...]
Welcome to Self-Driving City
Self-driving cars are no longer just a distant dream in the future with Waymo, Uber, Apple and more testing their cars in American cities, with mixed results. The next step? A self-driving city. Whilst the benefits are often highlighted, there are other possible implications on health and the wider society. Here, CAT Autokeys discusses these issues, and how an overreliance on autonomous driving … [Read more...]
Newslines 16 April
Volkswagen Connect DataPlug and smartphone app-based connectivity system is now standard on new up! and Polo models. It offers many of the benefits of Volkswagen’s high end Car-Net system featured in the likes of Golf, Tiguan and Arteon. Volkswagen trucks group and Toyota’s Hino cv subsidiary will collaborate on some future heavy engineering. They have agreed to jointly develop the next … [Read more...]
Rising concern as more drivers’ report pothole damage
Half of British drivers have sustained vehicle damage from potholes in recent years, they told pollsters for the AA. The AA-Populus poll, which surveyed over 21,000 drivers, found that 92% of British drivers are concerned about potential damage to their vehicle as a result of poor road conditions. This problem has led to more than half (52%) of drivers - or almost 17 million motorists … [Read more...]
Government is slowing move towards greener cars, says RAC
UK Government announcements and tax costs are confusing car buyers, depressing sales and potentially slowing a switch to greener models, says the RAC. The Government yesterday published its annual vehicle licensing statistics for 2017 and that report shows a 6% drop in first time registrations, down to 3.1 Million vehicles. Cars made up over 80% of first time registrations or 2.5 Million … [Read more...]
Managing stress in dealerships
Motor industry charity BEN is highlighting the fact it’s Stress Awareness Month. Nearly half of sick-days and 40% of work related illness were put down to stress, depression or anxiety and BEN has produced a short video case study as it provides timely advice on managing issues and helping employees. … [Read more...]
Dashcam discounts rare view from insurers
Britain’s major car insurers are failing to offer discounts to policyholders who fit dashcams to record third party incidents, says smartdriverclub. Cardiff-based Confused.com is the only comparison site which asked about a dashcam (shown fitted in Citroen C3) when compiling data and before giving quotes while fellow Welsh insurance business Admiral allowed a 3% premium discount for a … [Read more...]