The UK’s largest independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, is calling for new initiatives from the Government to drive down the number of drink-drive related deaths on UK roads. It follows figures released from the Department for Transport earlier today showing yet another year of stagnation in annual drink-drive statistics, highlighting eight years of zero progress. Final estimates for … [Read more...]
Education: Road Safety
Lessons in safely living on the roads
With fortunate students about to embark on their university courses, some will be facing their first autumn and winter behind the wheel and it’s worth repeating some good advice from Richard Gladman, IAM RoadSmart’s Head of Driving and Riding Standards. “Our driving habits start being set from the moment we venture out alone after passing our driving test, try to retain the good ones that your … [Read more...]
What drivers hate doing
Over a third (37%) of UK drivers avoid driving on motorways (men 29% and women 45%), over half (52%) avoid city centres and 50% avoid parallel parking and parking on a hill. A Censuswide survey for InsuretheGap.com, an independent provider of Guaranteed Asset Protection car insurance, of over 1,500 UK drivers identifies the top situations that drivers avoid. Older drivers are much more likely to … [Read more...]
65,000 learners have penalty points before test
More than 65,000 learners have points on their licence even before passing their test. A staggering 10,639 learner drivers have 7-9 points on their provisional licence, while 1,803 have 10 or more. This means a total of 12,442 learners could have their licence cancelled immediately after passing the test, as provisional points are carried over to the full licence. If you get more than six … [Read more...]
Speeding rose three-fold during lockdown
Motorists were speeding three times more frequently during lockdown compared to normal, according to AX. The study of telematics data by the vehicle protection and management technology provider suggests motorists were making the most of unusually low traffic levels, giving drivers the opportunity to speed in otherwise normally congested areas. Serious speeding events – the most … [Read more...]
Newslines 21 August
Ford has commissioned custom tyres that can leave key water safety messages imprinted on stretches of sand as part of a new initiative with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The custom tyres have been designed to leave 3 key water safety messages in the sand, including ‘float to live’, ‘no inflatables’, and ‘emergency? call 999’. Each year Brits spend over five and a half million hours … [Read more...]
Skills shortage warning
A combination of the lockdown restrictions over the past six months, a 'baby boom' in 2003/4 and a decline in registered driving instructors means the UK could fall into a national shortage of driving instructors in the latter half of 2020, with the problem only predicted to continue and grow. Learner driver insurers, Marmalade has studied the data and forecast big problems for the industry and … [Read more...]
Plug pulled on sales of new Ford Kuga PHEV
By David Miles Ford has pulled the plug on sales of the its new Kuga PHEV. Four car fires have been associated with the battery pack during charging and it’s believed some 27.000 models around the world could be affected. The plug-in hybrid SUV arrived in showrooms only recently and proved popular, accounting for 50% of Kuga’s European sales for the second quarter of the year. Around 7,000 … [Read more...]
Repair costs still driving fleet manager decisions
Over 70% of fleet managers say the cost of vehicle repair influences the choice of vehicles in their fleet, according to new report ‘Fleet Managers, the pressures, challenges and opportunities.’ Being green is also a key factor with 56% making choices around the composition of their fleet based on protecting the environment. With more than 90% of motor accidents the result of human error the … [Read more...]
Tradelines 12 August
Following campaigning from Logistics UK the government confirmed that the safest vehicles will be exempt from HGV tests for up to 12 months. James Firth, Head of Road Freight Regulation at Logistics UK explained, “The government’s decision to listen to the advice of Logistics UK and grant HGV testing exemptions to the lowest risk vehicles – those categorised as ‘upper green’, with Earned … [Read more...]