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New survey reveals two thirds of drivers unsure of road signs…..

admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:48:39 +0000

New findings by oil firm Castrol show that many British motorists are not as clued in on road signs as they should be. Half surveyed did not know what give way signs meant, and a third admitted to following the car in front as they were not sure of what needed to be done. Additionally over half of those surveyed, said that they had not looked at their highway code since passing their theory test.

Its very worrying to think that many are not sure of what to do on the roads, especially in rights of way issues. There must be high numbers of crashes that can be avoided, saving lives and money. Many do not learn the highway code and its rules thoroughly, when learning to drive, just ‘doing enough to scrape a pass’. This lack of knowledge leads to firstly driving test fails, and a potential lack of safe and secure driving for years to come.

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Welsh schoolboy drives the school bus!

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:18:33 +0000

When Joseff Edwards’ friends ask him to give them a lift to class they know he’ll never turn them down – because he’s their school bus driver Sixth-former Joseff qualified to take the wheel of the 54-seater coach after passing his bus driving test at the age of just 18. And every morning at 7.30am, the Welsh schoolboy pulls on the official bus driver’s jacket over his school uniform to go on a 10-mile trip around country villages. He picks up 38 children, parks the bus at the school, goes to his A-level lessons and then drives them all home again at 3.30pm. Joseff said: ‘I love driving the bus. It’s really fun – much better than a car. More

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Men end up lost for longer than women!

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:59:19 +0000

New research out today reveals that the average male motorist drives an extra 276 miles every year as a result of being lost – the equivalent to a journey from London to Newcastle – compared to women’s 256 miles. The study by Sheilas’ Wheels car insurance found that over a quarter of men (26 per cent) wait at least half an hour before asking for directions, with a stubborn one in ten (12 per cent) male motorists refusing to ask a stranger for help at all. Proving that pride comes at a price, this “lost” drive time could be costing men as much as £2,000(2) in petrol in their lifetime. According to the research, over a third of motorists (34 per cent) would rather ask a woman than a man for directions (28 per cent). Perhaps wise given that two out of five men (41 per cent) have pretended they knew where they were going when actually lost – compared to a more trustworthy quarter (26 per cent) of women. More & Stats

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Winter Resilience Review released highlights recent salt troubles!

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:57:07 +0000

Report on road snow chaos could be too late to avoid repeat Complacency on the part of some highway authorities, with inadequate systems and inept plans, led to road chaos last winter, according to the AA in response to the ‘Winter Resilience Review’. The report shows England’s overall ability to cope with a bad winter failed due to; an inadequate salt distribution system a scaling back of salt storage reduced salting routes, and little footway clearing The report published today highlights the fact that after the bad winter of 2008/2009 there was much talk but little action such that the severe winter of 2009/2010 completely exposed the lack of lessons learned after the previous year’s chaos. The AA suggests that unless the recommendation for a strategic reserve is set up immediately, then there could be a repetition of the snow chaos seen last year if there is another severe winter. More

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Half of motorists don’t know when a red light is on the way!

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 20:48:26 +0000

52 per cent cannot see a red stop light coming when signals at junctions and pedestrian crossings are on amber. A survey of 1,000 motorists reveals that 39 per cent incorrectly expect a green light to be next in sequence after amber. A further seven per cent think that green and amber lights will appear simultaneously – a combination that never occurs – and six per cent suppose it will be the red and amber signal. Road safety experts are concerned that only 48 per cent of the UK’s 36 million drivers know the answer to a question routinely asked in driving theory tests and suggest that this could explain high accident rates at pedestrian crossings. Government statistics indicate that 19 per cent of pedestrians knocked down whilst crossing the road were on a crossing and a further 12 per cent were within 50 metres of one. The Department for Transport figures for 2008 – the latest available – say drivers failing to look properly were to blame for 21 per cent of all pedestrian accidents and seven per cent were caused by careless or reckless motorists or those in a hurry. Living Streets – formerly the Pedestrian Association – called for a clampdown on drivers running red lights along with a Government campaign on pedestrian road safety. It is also demanding a guarantee that the time allowed for pedestrians to cross will not be reduced by up to six seconds as proposed last year in London to improve traffic flow and cut congestion. “We are concerned at the poor level of knowledge of drivers,” said chief executive Tony Armstrong. More

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Four times over the limit driver escapes jail!

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:21:05 +0000

A drink-driver caused more than £45,000 damage after getting behind the wheel when nearly four times over the limit . Deborah Hastings damaged eight cars including her own, during two drink-fuelled trips, one in her tiny Smart car. Driving on one occasion without her car’s lights on she smashed into other vehicles, damaging bodywork and wing mirrors. She has now escaped a jail sentence after admitting the string of offences at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court. The ten charges included driving with excess alcohol, without due care and attention and failing to stop after an accident. The first incident took place on the evening of March 24 when Hastings, from Wallsend, was driving a black Smart car and hit an Audi, which in turn collided with a Citroen. She also crashed into a tree but did not stop at the scene. Her vehicle, which did not have any lights on, then headed towards Mullen Road and approached a roundabout at speed. She lost control as she came off, ploughing into some parked cars. Police arrested her and a subsequent test confirmed she had been over three-and-a-half times the legal drink-drive limit. Her Smart car was written off. More

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1 in 5 know someone who’s driven with a medical condition says AA!

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:49:06 +0000

Almost a fifth of AA members (19%) know someone who has driven while suffering from a medical condition knowing they should not have driven, according to new research from the AA revealed today at the ACPO/Police Federation conference. Yet just 2% of AA members admit that they themselves have driven when suffering from a medical condition when they knew they should not have been driving. These findings from an online AA/Populus poll of 20,109 AA members will be presented by Edmund King, AA President to a police conference debate on medical standards for drivers. King will tell the conference that despite the fact that a significant number of drivers are driving whilst medically unfit, the fittest drivers (the young) are still the most dangerous on the road. Middle-aged drivers are the safest and although there is an increase in fatalities per million miles travelled for those aged over 60 this may be due to frailty rather than dangerous driving. King also addresses the process that drivers should follow to inform the DVLA that they are medically unfit to drive but questions how effective it is that all drivers will volunteer to lose their licence by always informing DVLA. Even those that lose their licence do not always stop driving. In Great Britain 166,000 drivers were disqualified from driving last year by the courts but 37,000 people were convicted for driving while disqualified. More

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Change your cars colour with a body wrap!

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:52:37 +0000

Removable wrap is the easy way to change your car’s colour.It’s the perfect gift for the indecisive motorist ; a special ‘wrap’ that almost instantly changes the colour of their car. London-based Creative FX charges from £1,400 to transform a car’s appearance by applying a removeable, high-tech, vinyl wrap. It takes less than two days to apply and is claimed to give a flawless finish, even on close inspection. The covering is guaranteed for five years and can be removed whenever the owner tires of their new colour scheme. Already the firm has transformed a Ferrari F430 Spider belonging to supercar club Ecurie 25 from red to matt black, a transformation that came in at less than £2,000. Other projects have included special commissions for events and charities including Arsenal FC (Teenage Cancer Trust), Audi (a special sculpture at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed) and Nissan (163 Union Jack-wrapped Micras to highlight the scrappage scheme). “Even at close quarters, it looks as if the car has been re-sprayed and there are no visible joins,” says a spokesman for Creative FX. “The wrap is applied by specially trained staff, using a specialist self-adhesive vinyl, which is gently heated and stretched over the car’s bodywork using a laser thermometer to maintain a constant and precise temperature.” More

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Drivers waste 2 days a year sitting stationary in traffic!

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:50:15 +0000

Commuters waste more than two days every year stuck in traffic, according to a new survey. Kia Motors’ Cleaner Driving Report looked at the driving habits of Britain’s commuters and found that 49 and a half hours were spent in stand-still traffic each year, which amounts to 91 days of their working life. Queues and jams affect 71 per cent of British commuters on their way to work, with the average commute taking 47 minutes. The survey found that 12 minutes of each commute was spent below 5 mph or totally stationary. More

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Police Officers get speeding fines when not on emergency call!

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:16:16 +0000

Dozens of on-duty Kent police officers have been punished for speeding while not responding to emergency calls. The figures were released under the Freedom of Information Act. Eighty seven officers were fined £60 and had three points put on their licence for breaking the limit between April 2006 and March 2009. Another 556 “notices of intended prosecution” were cancelled after officers proved they were responding to a 999 call at the time. When an emergency vehicle triggers a speed camera, no further action is taken if a blue light is visible in the image, suggesting it was responding to an emergency incident. However, if no blue light is visible then a “notice of intended prosecution” is issued. Kent Police said the figures highlighted the fact that “no police officer is above the law” More

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Safety barrier moved because cars keeping hitting it!

admin — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:34:51 +0000

A safety barrier put up to protect schoolchildren from passing motorists has been moved because it keeps getting hit by cars. The 4ft high metal railing was installed to shield youngsters from cars negotiating a bend on a road outside Pensford Primary School near Bristol. But council officials decided it was dangerous after it was struck four times in two years – and moved it 18 inches back into the middle of the pavement. Parents and the local MP have criticised the decision and accused the council of putting the protection of the barrier ahead of children’s safety. Labour MP for Wansdyke Dan Norris said the decision to move it was ”extraordinary” and claims the move has actually left schoolchildren at more risk. He said: ”The barrier has done its job in protecting youngsters as they walk along the pavement. More

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Scrap car makes £140,000 on ebay!

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:01:47 +0000

A simple eBay auction turned into an epic bidding frenzy when a car thought to be scrap turned out to be one of the world’s rarest vehicles. The rusty car – which has no engine or transmission – was initially put up for sale in the U.S. with a starting bid of $500 (£300). But after one eBay user realised the battered 1963 Pontiac LeMans Tempest was in fact one of six specially-made Super Duty versions, it eventually sold for nearly $227,000 (£140,000). More

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Average motorist caught on camera 100 times a year!

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:37:01 +0000

The average motorist has their car journeys recorded and stored by police almost 100 times a year, new figures show, furthering concerns over the growing surveillance state. Forces across the country have expanded a car surveillance operation that will soon record up to 50 million licence plates each day. The images captured on CCTV cameras – many of innocent motorists – are stored on a police database for up to two years, enabling officers to reconstruct journeys. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that more than three billion licence plates may have been recorded nationwide in the past year. It means that the 34 million vehicles registered in Britain were captured and stored on average up to 100 times in 2008. Thousands of CCTV cameras across the country have been converted to read number plates, taking pictures of people’s movements in cars on motorways, main roads, airports and town centres even if they are not suspected of a crime. Police say the system, called Automatic Numberplate Recognition (ANPR), has proved an essential tool in fighting crime. More

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Seven-year-old joyrider took car to avoid Sunday school!

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:57:27 +0000

A seven-year-old joyrider was stopped by police officers after a car chase in Utah.The pursuit began because the boy was reportedly attempting to avoid going to church. Telephone operators received reports of a child driving recklessly on Sunday morning. Weber County Sheriff’s Capt. Klint Anderson says one witness said the boy drove through a stop sign. Anderson says two deputies caught up with the boy and tried unsuccessfully to stop the Dodge Intrepid in an area about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Salt Lake City. The car reached 40 mph (64 kph) before the boy stopped in a driveway and ran inside a home. Anderson says when the boy’s father later confronted him, the boy said he didn’t want to go to church. The boy is too young to prosecute and no citations were issued, although police did urge the father to make his car keys more inaccessible to children. More

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