The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency are calling on UK fleet operators to join the millions of consumers who have checked if their vehicles have an outstanding safety recall. In the first three months of this year, SMMT’s online Vehicle Safety Recalls Service was used 2,334,385 times by drivers to check their car was safe. Manufacturers … [Read more...]
Education: Road Safety
Fire risk BMWs recalled after consumer probe
BMW is recalling of almost 312,000 cars following an investigation by the BBC’s consumer series Watchdog Live. The company had already issued a safety recall in 2017 affecting 36,410 petrol cars, but after Watchdog found that the same issue could affect a wider number of cars, the recall is being extended. The programme tonight features the case of Mwape Kambafwile, whose BMW 3 Series car cut … [Read more...]
Newslines 4 May
Available to order now, with first deliveries in July, Vauxhall has added an all-new Euro 6.2-compliant 1.5-litre Turbo D 130PS powertrain to its Grandland X SUV range. In SE trim, it achieves CO2 emissions from 108g/km and combined fuel economy of 68.9mpg when paired with the six-speed manual transmission, and it costs rom £24,190. The Land Rover Velar can now be ordered with a 3.0V6 TD … [Read more...]
Call for shake up of HGV testing system
Heavy truck and bus operators want a shake up of the vehicle testing system. The Freight Transport Associaton say there are not enough Government testers for an increasingly busy sector and it wants to see more trusted companies allowed to carry out their own examinations for roadworthiness. Alternatively it is suggesting privatization of HGV testing to recruit more engineers and cut down … [Read more...]
Newslines 30 April
The latest Gig Economy case to be tested in court starts today with courier firm Hermes facing action from GMB Union members. It follows GMB’s landmark success against Uber and is on behalf of eight Hermes couriers who believe they are being denied basic workers' rights and forced to declare as self-employed by the company providing courier services for firms including Next, ASOS, John Lewis, … [Read more...]
Home, office, diner, the role of the company car
The average business driver will spend nearly three years of their working life sitting in their car, according to a study. Researchers for Skoda took an in depth look into life on the road for the nation’s company car drivers and revealed the average worker spends over two-and-a-half hours in their car on a typical working day – that’s 13 hours a week or 26 days every year. Over a standard … [Read more...]
Average speed cameras will monitor A55
A set of average speed cameras will be set up on the A55 dual carriageway within weeks. A lower 50mph limit will be set from J28 to 30 following a spate of crashes where two-thirds of the vehicles were exceeding 70mph limit. The system will identify and track vehicles over the stretch of road which links the popular Snowdonia area and Anglesey ferry port with North West England and the … [Read more...]
Newslines 24 April
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...]
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...]