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Have you seen one of the new CCTV Smart cars in your travels? If you have then they have probably been spying on you. It’s the latest idea to catch motorists doing illegal things like parking. Known as ‘Drive by spies’ these cars have raised £8 million in fines over the last 12 months from 188,000 motorists. There are 54 CCTV equipped Smart ForTwo cars operating in different towns and cities. In Essex the units Read more »

What do you think the main reason is for having a row in a car? Halfords surveyed those that were on their mailing list and two thirds responded and admitted that it was poor navigation or the getting lost that led to the worst rows. Whilst 80% of women argued that it was the lack of planning by their partners that led to the row the same point was argued by 65% of men. The second biggest cause was the continuing Read more »

It was a sad day when my namesake, Graham Hill, the racing driver, lost his life in an air crash. Not only did we lose one of the greatest ambassadors for motor racing this country has ever had we also lost the only ever winner of ‘The Treble’, the F1 world championship – twice, the Indianapolis 500 and the Le Mans 24 hour endurance race. He was also a great personality, even appearing on the Morcombe and Wise Read more »

Warnings have been issued about dealers and manufacturers who refuse to carry out warranty work because the vehicle hasn’t been serviced by a main dealer. This is illegal and flies in the face of the revised EU Block Exemption rules that came into force in 2002. In a case taken up by What Car a lady, Nocola West, had a Vauxhall Astra that developed a radiator fault that ended up putting water in the gearbox. The dealer Read more »

New tyres must meet European standards for safety and a raft of other basic regulations covering grip, economy, speed etc. British standards cover re-treads and remoulds as well as puncture repairs so many motorists look to replace their current tyres with the cheapest they can find, believing that all tyres that are sold meet basic standards and that the standards mean that whilst the cheepo tyres might not last quite Read more »

A friend of mine was once clamped in a car park for not having a ticket displayed in her windscreen (she accidentally put it in her purse – daft as). As a result another friend came to the rescue at 2.00am with his tool box. After about 4 hours and several hacksaw blades later she was finally free to drive home. Not something I approve of, obviously, but it made me a little more cautious about where I park my car and I Read more »

Autoglass carried out a survey to see what distracted motorists most. Whilst not top of the list and it depends who and when the survey was carried out children in the car distracted a high number of drivers, in fact 36%. The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) reported that back seat brawls reduced reaction levels of the driver to that of those driving on the drink drive limit. Direct Line commissioned the study which Read more »

One of the things that continues to amaze me is the lack of attention that some people pay to the new car they are about to order. Some of this is actually caused by me and my colleagues by occasionally coming up with a deal that you can’t refuse, making the decision a bit of a no brainer but it is still a good idea to get a test drive of a car that you are likely to order. It is also important to check for certain items that for Read more »

I have warned before about the unhealthy state of steering wheels. Often when people clean their cars they completely forget the steering wheel, considered to hold more germs than a toilet but a new report from the Government’s Health Protection Agency suggests that there is much more to worry about. They have found that legionella, the microbe that causes lethal Legionaire’s disease, breeds in stagnant and Read more »

I saw recently in Auto Express a report on the way insurance premiums are spent on claims. Whilst I talk regularly about insurance, and how to reduce premiums etc., I thought it made interesting reading and felt I should share it with you. The average premium has risen from £354 annually 15 years ago to £616 annually, even worse if you have loyally stuck with the same insurer which they suggest would now have Read more »