The great summer getaway is only weeks ahead and there's some timely advice from the IAM for those planning to drive or hire a vehicle abroad The IAM’s head of driving standards Peter Rodger has been looking at the differences you can expect when hiring a vehicle abroad and gives some useful tips if you are driving across the continent as well. If you’re planning a getaway that involves … [Read more...]
Features
Budget special: What it means to motorists
The Government has done a U-turn on its green motoring taxes. Faced with big decreases after it cut vehicle excise duty for the greenest cars, it has now announced plans for new graduated taxes with only zero-emission cars escaping. The most expensive and thirsty cars will also attract significantly higher taxes and they could be incurred by some family models. But the biggest impact on … [Read more...]
Disputes escalate over parking penalties on private land
Citizens Advice is reporting a dramatic rise in people seeking help about penalties for parking on private land. The number of people using online advice from the consumer champion has nearly tripled from 16,300 to 50,000. Local Citizens Advice services have also recorded an increase of 26 per cent in the number of their cases involving parking tickets given on private land. It comes as … [Read more...]
Why young and old can pay more for insurance
The Association of British Insurers has published new data which shows why age is an important factor in deciding premiums for motor insurance policies. The data shows the average premiums that customers of different age groups pay for their car insurance, compared to the cost of the average claim they make. Younger drivers between 18-20 years pay the highest average premium of £972, … [Read more...]
Over 6,500 motorists driving with over 12 penalty points
A Freedom of Information request by The Co-operative Insurance to the DVLA has revealed there are 6,523 motorists with over 12 points on their driving licences. Young drivers are often seen as being the most dangerous on the roads, however the figures dispel this as there are more drivers in the 26-35 age bracket who are currently driving with 12 points or more than any other, with 1,880 on the … [Read more...]
Hearts driven by first car, not first kiss
For many people, their first car is ranked above their first kiss, or even their first relationship, according to research from Carfused.com. The findings from the newly launched ‘one stop shop’ for all car buying needs reveal that nearly four in five Brits (79%) admit that they can still remember the name of their first set of wheels, compared to just 75% who can recall the name of the first … [Read more...]
Welsh roads among the safest in Britain
Wales is leading the rest of Britain in road safety, said the IAM. Figures released for England this week show road deaths rising for the first time since 1997, but earlier this month the accident, injury and fatality rates in Wales show overall improvements. Neil Greig, IAM director of policy and research said, “Wales is doing well which is excellent news but why that is so is much harder … [Read more...]
Britain’s best and worst drivers are identified
Britain's best and worst drivers have been identified. Wales-based insurer Gocompare looked at the convictions and occupations of six million people who asked for quotations and found 10% have had points on licences. It ranked occupations by the proportion of motorists with a driving conviction within the past five years and broadly discovered that the worst offenders did a lot of driving … [Read more...]
Perils of personalisation explained
The trade is taking a dull view of customised and personalised cars. The trend towards increasing personalisation of cars is creating a situation where the trade finds a growing number of models difficult to value and tricky to sell. Trade bible Glass's points towards cars such as the Vauxhall Adam and Citroen DS3 as examples of models where the "wrong" kind of cosmetic choices can have a … [Read more...]
Brits know little about driving abroad
Research from Gocompare.com Car Insurance has found that British drivers have a worrying lack of knowledge of EU road laws, which could land them in hot water when driving abroad. In a recent study, the comparison site found that though two in five (39%) motorists are planning a foreign driving holiday this year, only half (50%) of drivers say that they actually check driving rules and … [Read more...]