The average price of petrol rose for the second month in row with a litre going up by 2p in March to 122.58p, data from RAC Fuel Watch shows. This means filling a 55-litre family car with unleaded now costs £67.22. The average price of diesel also increased but only 0.70p to 130.67p taking a fill-up to £71.87. This is the second straight monthly increase for both fuels, making unleaded 2p … [Read more...]
Potholes take a pounding on road users
Councils repaired 1.86 million potholes over the last 12 months, more than 20% increase on the previous year. The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey found that highway maintenance budgets have increased from an average of £20.6m to £24.5m year-on-year, mostly "patch and mend" repairs. The report estimated that councils would actually need to spend £1bn a year for the next … [Read more...]
Illegal mobile-phone use is rising, says RAC
After a fall in the proportion of drivers admitting to using a handheld phone while driving in 2017 following the introduction of tougher penalties, RAC figures show the problem is actually worsening – and illegal use among some groups has rocketed. Across all age groups, a quarter (25%) of drivers – the equivalent of 10m people – admit to illegally making or receiving calls while driving, … [Read more...]
New car buyers are sensible, sometimes
Britons buying new cars are a sensible bunch, according to a new Opinium survey of 2,000 drivers. Most diligently research cars before picking one; however, it also found plenty of people swayed by emotional factors from how good a car looks to whether it had that new car ‘look and feel’. Overall, an impressive 81.2%, of the Welsh drivers surveyed, do careful research before buying a new … [Read more...]
Newslines 15 March
F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is supporting Red Nose Day 2019. TK Maxx is launching an exclusive range of t-shirts for Red Nose Day 2019 designed by Disney and the limited edition tee-hee-hee shirts feature some of the most loved Disney characters. Prices and specifications have been announced for all-new Skoda Scala hatchback, with deliveries beginning in the summer. There will be three … [Read more...]
Smart motorways outwit dangerous drivers
With hundreds of miles of smart motorways across England now using the hard shoulder as either a permanent or part-time running lane, the RAC found more than a fifth of motorists have driven in a lane closed by the red X sign in the past year, potentially putting lives at risk. Twenty-three per cent of drivers surveyed by the RAC admitted to having broken this new rule of the road by … [Read more...]
Newslines 5 March
Volvo will limit the top speed of its models to 112mph (180kph) from 2020. It’s also considering electronically reducing speed around schools and hospitals without the driver intervening. Three consecutive months of price reductions on the UK’s forecourts came to a crashing halt in February as both petrol and diesel went up. Data from RAC Fuel Watch shows the UK average price of a litre … [Read more...]
Potholes plague drivers
Drivers are still 2.5 times more likely to breakdown due to potholes than in 2006. Despite the generally mild start to winter RAC patrols still dealt with 1,714 breakdowns in the last three months of 2018 that were more than likely caused by potholes or poor road surfaces. This number of call-outs for damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels represented 0.8% of … [Read more...]
Newslines 22 January
Flintshire council is among the quickest response times in Britain for filling serious potholes, new research has revealed. Figures released by motoring charity the RAC Foundation show the authority aims to make road repairs "immediately" but the longest response time in Wales was in Vale of Glamorgan, which promises to investigate the following working day. World War One hero soldier who … [Read more...]
New driving regulation for some foreign countries
The RAC is warning travellers wanting to drive in many countries outside Europe that from the end of this month they will only be able to purchase International Driving Permits that enable them to do so from the Post Office. This means motoring organisations will no longer issue IDPs – the official document that effectively validates UK driving licences internationally – as they have done for … [Read more...]