With the Olympics starting in Paris today, UK visitors to France are set for record levels – but motorists are being warned they are 20 times more likely to be breathalysed than in the UK.
French police randomly test over 100 drivers per 1000 population, compared to just 5 per 1000 in Britain and the drink drive limit is 50mg, lower than the 80mg in England & Wales, so its wise to put a £5.99 twin-pack breathtest in your travel pack, says AlcoSense as drunken driving carries a severe fine of up to €4,500 and potentially a two-year prison sentence in the worst case.
Car production in the UK has fallen by 7.6 per cent in the first half of 2024 as manufacturers struggle to adapt to new electric vehicle targets.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said factories produced 416,074 units in the first six months of the year, more than 34,000 models fewer than the same period in 2023 and it was particularly bad 26% decline in June with models for export suffering very badly.
Which? wants action taken against insurers who are failing to meet legal obligations to policyholders.
Insurers are piling misery onto their customers by causing them ‘distress and inconvenience’ in nearly two thirds of complaints upheld by the Financial Ombudsman Service; Just over a fifth(22%) of consumers trust insurance companies to act in their best interests; Almost half (48%) of all people making a claim experienced at least one problem in their claim journey and one in 10 people reported developing physical health problems as a result of bad service from their insurance company.
Car makers including Renault, Volkswagen, Land Rover, Ford and Toyota are falling far behind targets for the UK’s ZEV mandate, which requires 22% of this year’s sales to be of zero-emission models, reports Autocar.
Those manufacturers ahead of target include Cupra, MG, Subaru, BMW, Volvo and Jeep, while all-electric brands such as Tesla, BYD and Polestar will be looking to earn useful extra income from selling credits to help out the laggards.
General Motors in America spent $583 Million on a fully autonomous Origin vehicle but after issues with the design and licenses it has been abandoned.
Now resources will be pushed into the next general Bolt EV from 2025, according to US media reports.
Global electric vehicle sales have recorded the best ever Q2 on record, with sales up 19% on the first quarter of 2024.
According to data from New AutoMotive’s Global Electric Vehicle Tracker there has been close to 2.6 million EV sales globally since May ‘24, with China’s domestic EV sales driving this growth while its petrol and diesel models diminish.
Comms Design and Transport for Wales are evaluating a digital signalling system that will enhance passenger experience and optimise train operations on rural and low-density rail routes.
Request to Stop enables passengers to request a train to stop using an on-platform communication system that sends a signal directly to the driver of the inbound train notifying them that a passenger is waiting to board at the remote station with few services.
