The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

New cameras aimed at catching drivers tailgating have identified some 10,000 vehicles committing the offence in the first two weeks of trials.

Tailgating, driving too closely to another vehicle, is a factor in around one in eight casualties on England’s motorways and major A roads.

Highways England and police have joined forces to tackle the offence, with motorists caught tailgating to be sent letters advising them they were too close to another vehicle and highlighting the dangers of not leaving safe braking distances.

Highways England’s head of road safety, Jeremy Philips, said: “These new cameras have, sadly, highlighted just how many people are driving too close on our roads.

“We understand that most tailgating is unintentional by drivers who are simply unaware they are dangerously invading someone else’s space. But not leaving enough space between you and the vehicle in front can be very frightening and intimidating – it could also prove fatal.”

More than 130 people killed or seriously injured in incidents involving people driving too close in 2018.

Caroline Layton, a data and intelligence analyst for Highways England, says she feared her small car was going to be “crushed” when she was tailgated by a lorry in motorway roadworks.

She was travelling within the speed limit through roadworks on the M27 when the lorry started to pull closer to her vehicle.

Footage captured on her rear dash cam shows the driver flashing his lights and gesticulating at her before he eventually indicates and overtakes her.

She said: “He came up really close, just a couple of metres behind. I thought I had to slow down because if it hit me at 50mph I would be crushed.

“This was very intimidating behaviour and likely to cause a crash and serious injury. If anyone had stopped in front of me he would have gone into the back of my car and I would have been sandwiched in the middle.

“From the driver’s seat, all I could see in my rear-view mirror was the lorry’s grill.”

A survey for Highways England found that while more than a quarter of drivers admitted to tailgating, nearly nine in 10 people say they have either been tailgated or seen it.

PC Dave Lee of Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team, which is supporting the trial, said: “Motorists who experience tailgating can often feel intimidated and put under pressure to increase their speed in a bid to create more space between them and the offending vehicle.

“However, we have seen first-hand the devastating consequences which tailgating can cause. People who carry out this extremely dangerous behaviour are not just putting themselves at risk, but the lives of other road users.

“Reducing the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on our county’s road network remains a policing priority for the Force, which is why it is important to work with our partners on such campaigns in a bid to save lives by making our roads safer.”

Highways England has been working with infrastructure consultancy AECOM on the cameras.

Philips said: “We are trialling the new cameras to make drivers aware of their behaviour and encourage better driving.

“We are also using the Space Invader video game character as a quick reminder to drivers of the risks of tailgating. Our message is simple – Don’t be a Space Invader, Stay safe, stay back.”

Highways England has a dedicated webpage where drivers can find more information about tailgating and what they can do to stay safe.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Police forces and safer roads partnerships are being urged to adopt a new speed camera enforcement strategy to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on UK roads.

Road Safety Support has released, ‘Enforcement Strategy – Raising the Game’, a report which calls for forces to leave traditional camera enforcement behind and introduce a new wide-area, ‘flexible’ approach to speed camera operations.

Provisional data shows that road deaths in the UK were higher in 2019, than in 2010.

There were 1,721 reported road deaths in 2019, similar to levels seen in 2012, data from the Department for Transport (DfT) shows.

Road Safety Support says the report highlights the complacency among drivers in relation to speed camera use and urges forces to adopt a new approach to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured.

It recommends a step change to increase the perception of speed camera detection to encourage motorists to drive more carefully on all roads, not just where they expect to see a camera.

Mobile speed camera vans should be used to support traditional road policing efforts, because they can detect offences over a larger range and can be moved around frequently, the report states.

Detective chief superintendent, Andy Cox, of Lincolnshire Police and national lead for fatal collision investigation reporting to the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC), said he backs the report.

He said: “Speeding remains the biggest risk to road safety and should be the number one focus and priority for traffic enforcement.

“I would urge all forces to download this report, if they haven’t already done so, and follow the recommendations in it in relation to enforcement and communications.

“I urge people to drive within the speed limit, stay safe and keep a clean licence. I thank most lawful road users who are doing so.”

Trevor Hall, managing director of Road Safety Support, said: “Police forces and safer roads partnerships have very effective technology at their fingertips that we know reduces casualties; we have the evidence.

“We just need to adopt a new strategy to use it more efficiently and, through regular, proactive communications, help the public to understand that if they speed or commit other offences on the roads, there is every chance that they will be caught.”

Police forces in Northumbria, Essex, Wales and North Yorkshire have made changes to their enforcement strategies based on the recommendations in the ‘Raising the Game’ report.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Following the last lockdown and the lack of police on the streets and the roads it has been suggested that there has been a sharp increase in the number of uninsured drivers on the roads.

The reasons for this are firstly circumstances as a result of furlough or unemployment causing drivers to believe that they can go without paying for a few months without anyone noticing.

A policemen reported that he’d stopped a driver with no insurance since February and when questioned about having no insurance he said that he didn’t think he needed to have it during lockdown.

These are desperate times. In the past uninsured drivers tended to be irresponsible youngsters, car thieves and other criminal types. But the police have now found that uninsured drivers are normal people in desperate situations.

They need to have use of their cars but simply can’t afford the insurance and are prepared to risk being caught, fined and having their licences taken away. So to combat this situation make sure that your insurance is fully paid.

And if you are travelling less miles than you anticipated when you took out your policy call your insurer and ask for a reduction in the cost.  By Graham Hill

The past 90 days have seen a total of 3,805 videos uploaded to the National Dash Cam Safety Portal (NDCSP) – 78% higher than average – despite the impact of Covid-19, says Nextbase.

The new figures have been released today by the dashcam manufacturer and security software specialist Egress, who is responsible for developing and delivering the platform’s technology, show the growing success of the platform.

The National Dash Cam Safety Portal, which allows motorists to quickly and securely upload footage of dangerous driving to the relevant police authority, is now being used by 33 forces, which have collectively received 21,324 uploads in total since 2018, when it was launched.

Saving on average eight hours per case, Nextbase estimates that the platform has saved these forces at least 170,000 hours – the equivalent of more than 20 years’ of police time.

Kelly McCann, sales director at Egress, said: “It has been encouraging to watch the system grow from strength to strength, as we do really believe that this offering can help make the roads a safer place.

“We were a little surprised to see uploads continue to come through during lockdown, as there was less traffic on the roads, but it just goes to show that there were motorists that remained concerned for road safety and did their part to assist the authorities.”

By using the NDCSP system, the public has assisted police in identifying, warning and prosecuting offenders nationwide, says Nextbase.

From court cases to awareness courses, or fixed penalty notices to warning letters, 52% of all cases have been taken further by the relevant force.

The fact that fewer than one in five cases have resulted in no further action (NFA), demonstrates the success of the platform in identifying the most severe of incidents and linking motorists with police in a bid to crack down on this behaviour, argues Nextbase.

Furthermore, it says that the growing success of the NDCSP has inspired further police forces to sign up to use the not-for-profit resource, with more constabularies are set to join before the end of the year.

Richard Browning, director of Nextbase, said: “Just because there are less vehicles on the road, doesn’t necessarily make driving safer.

“In fact, less busy roads can encourage motorists to bend the rules or lose some concentration. However, the Portal was created to make our roads safer and it is encouraging to see that people have still been reporting issues where reckless motorists have thought that they can take advantage of the clear pathways – potentially endangering others.

“We have watched this platform grow from both a public and police perspective and are hugely encouraged by its continued appeal.”

TRL – formerly the Transport Research Laboratory – has said it wants to increase the role of dashcams, and other filming devices such as smartphones, in a bid to reduce the amount of dangerous driving on UK roads by encouraging drivers to upload footage.  By Graham Hill Thanks To Fleet News

The following article appeared in Commercial Fleet but it applies not just to fleet or company car drivers, all drivers can take part to help keep the roads safer although I have my fears about drivers becoming part of a police state. But if it saves lives I guess it’s a good thing.

Fleet operators and their drivers are being urged to share dashcam footage with police to help prosecute dangerous drivers and improve road safety.

More than 10,000 clips have already been uploaded to the National Dash Cam Safety Portal since its launch last year. The platform allows road users to report serious road incidents and securely upload video footage to the appropriate police force.

In-cab camera manufacturer Nextbase, which developed the portal, told Commercial Fleet more than half (52%) of the uploads have been followed up by police, with drivers being taken to court, having to attend awareness courses, sent warning letters or fined.

“This demonstrates the success of the platform in identifying the most severe incidents and linking motorists with police in a bid to crackdown on this behaviour,” said Nextbase’s Bryn Brooker.

“The whole idea behind it (the platform) was to make the roads a safer place; it was built to remove the most dangerous drivers from our roads.”

Drivers uploading a video must first tick a box that says ‘I am willing to go to court and testify’ if required. Brooker explains this “filters out those people uploading a video of their neighbour running a red light, for example, and ensures that focus is on only the worst of the worst motorists”.

FLEET ROLE

TRL – formerly the Transport Research Laboratory – wants to increase the role of dashcams, and other filming devices such as smartphones, in a bid to reduce the amount of dangerous driving on UK roads by encouraging drivers to upload footage.

Dashcams can provide crucial evidence to TRL’s expert witness and investigations team, but senior consultant Victoria Eyers told Commercial Fleet that working in collision investigation, the “ultimate aim is improving road safety”.

She believes commercial fleet operators using the technology could play a vital role in improving road safety by sharing video footage of dangerous driving, which is witnessed by their drivers.

Eyers explained: “It’s about volume; the more miles of driving you record, the greater the chance of recording examples of bad driving.

“Fleet operators that are covering much higher mileages than a private motorist have the potential to record more instances (of dangerous driving).

“They could, potentially, be a vital source of footage as long as it can be dealt with within the 14-day limit for some offences.”

Auto Windscreens began using the technology across its commercial fleet in 2016 with 340 commercial vehicles and 59 cars fitted with devices from sister company VisionTrack.

Group fleet manager, Shaun Atton, said: “We use the 24/7 managed service; there is a team which specifically reviews our footage and events. If one of our vehicles is involved in an RTI (road traffic incident) then the team raise the FNOL (first notification of loss) with our insurers. This allows us to control costs by having early access to the footage and sharing with relevant parties.”

Furthermore, Auto Windscreens’ drivers can make use of an alert button should they witness any kind of event, which automatically uploads a video for the teams to review.

POLICE RESOURCE

Currently, the majority of police forces – 33 of 45 in the UK – have signed up to the Nextbase initiative, with many individual forces also having their own portals on individual websites.

They have been promoted through Operation Snap, in an effort to encourage more people to upload examples of dangerous driving.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), in a recent report on roads policing, said that video footage recorded on dashcams and helmet cameras was a “cost-effective way” in which forces can deal with road traffic offences.

However, it found examples of forces that had adopted the scheme without enough consideration of potential demand and the resources needed to meet it.

In some forces, it said, “support functions were overwhelmed by the number of submissions”.

This resulted in some being unable to meet the legal requirement to notify registered keepers of vehicles of potential prosecutions.

In others, the process for submitting footage was difficult and there was little or no contact with the people who had been motivated enough to provide it.

The report concluded: “There are obvious benefits to the scheme, but it must be properly resourced and there should be clarity on how and when submitted footage will be used.”

Eyers agrees that resourcing is an issue, despite the National Dash Cam Safety Portal reducing the amount of time it takes police to process clips. Nextbase estimates it saves an average of eight-10 hours of police time for each case.

“If resources could improve in the future then the police could potentially increase the number of prosecutions that result from them,” said Eyers.

Responding to findings of the HMICFRS report, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing, Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, said: “Forces are working hard to target those who use our roads dangerously or to commit crime, but we know there is more to do.”

FLEET BENEFITS

The presence of vehicle technology in general has increased significantly in the past decade, with telematics now said to be in more than 60% of commercial vehicles.

“This data can be used effectively to improve driver performance and reduce claims costs by identifying higher risk drivers so interventions can be provided to change driver behaviours and reduce risk,” explained Jon Dye, director of underwriting for Motor at QBE Europe.

“Now we see technologies merging together to the new trend of video telematics. This provides the fleet with a single box solution, and for the insurer it provides a wealth of valuable data for risk management and claims purposes.

“The hope is that as the use of the technology improves, we can drive down the frequency and severity of claims.”

Dashcams have fundamentally changed the way motor claims can be handled. Dye said: “In the past, we had to take the driver’s word for what happened in an incident, which presents challenges. We were often confronted with a pencil sketch of road layouts and positions of third-party vehicles, which also had its challenges.”

Dashcam footage, however, allows insurers to view the incident exactly as it happened, applying the industry’s technical expertise to consider road conditions, speed of travel, visibility, reactions and behaviour of drivers.

“This is factual primary evidence which enables us to make accurate and fair liability decisions,” said Dye. “Dashcam footage also provides additional insights such as parties involved, passenger numbers and speed of impact so we can consider injury likelihood and extent which gives us an added layer of counter-fraud claims management.

“In seconds, we can often see exactly what happened and who was at fault, which means we can settle claims significantly faster and, therefore, at less cost.”

By using video telematics technology, Dye says QBE’s customers also raise the “effectiveness of their fleet and gain valuable intelligence about their employees’ driving”.

“This can be used to inform driver training, improve fuel economy, reduce wear, reduce accident risk and enhance productivity.”

Furthermore, it can be reflected in lower premiums, bringing additional savings to a fleet’s bottom line. By Graham Hill thanks to Commercial Fleet

The following article mentioned specifically fleet managers being responsible for offences that drivers are convicted for. But beware if you are a director, owner or partner of a company that either provides company cars or pays an allowance for employees to use their own cars on business (either a car allowance or mileage allowance) as the same rules apply to the person responsible.

Fleet decision-makers could face the same penalty points as their employees should they be convicted of a driving offence, the Licence Bureau is warning.

The supplier of driver licence validation services says it is witnessing an increasing number of these cases being recorded on its system.

Responsible parties can incur the same penalty points as the actual vehicle driver due to the often unknown and much misunderstood ‘cause or permit to drive’ legislation.

Licence Bureau says that it means even though the initial offence was committed by a third party, it was ultimately the fleet manager’s responsibility.

Steve Pinchen, sales director of Licence Bureau, explained: “This much unknown rule has some very serious implications indeed for individuals and businesses alike.

“Those responsible for business fleets – of any scale – really do need to do their homework and ensure that they have all bases covered when it comes to compliance. Not only that, but there is a cultural aspect here too where everyone must be attuned to minimising road safety risk.”

According to the Road Traffic Act 1988/1991, ownership of a vehicle involved in an offence is irrelevant. This therefore implicates both owned business fleet and grey fleet operators.

The Act also cites that causing or permitting driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence can incur three to six points with fine up to £1,000.

The points remain for four years on licence from date of offence. The ‘person responsible for the fleet’ can have the points added to their own personal driving licence.

At present, the majority of these ‘dual penalty recipient’ offences recorded on Licence Bureau’s system relate to ‘causing or permitting using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks’ – an offence which carries six to eight penalty points.

Pinchen said: “Beyond the actual penalty points there are the knock-on implications for elevated risk profiles within the business and what that might mean for insurance premiums; professional and personal impacts for fleet managers; as well as potential for reputational damage for the company.”

Other offences recorded on Licence Bureau’s system include ‘using a vehicle with defective tyres’ which carries three penalty points for each individual implicated, and ‘using a mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle’ which carries three to six penalty points.

The volume of motoring fines and penalties incurred by company car and van drivers increased by 3% in 2019, according to figures from Lex Autolease released earlier this year.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Speed limits on parts of four motorways are to be cut before October in a trial to reduce pollution.

Highways England said the limit will be reduced from 70mph to 60mph in areas that have seen higher than recommended levels of nitrogen dioxide.

The reduced speed limit will be introduced on M6 junctions 6 to 7 by Witton, M1 junctions 33 to 34 by Rotherham, M602 junctions 1 to 3 by Eccles and M5 1 to 2 by Oldbury.

Each locations is up to 4.5 miles long and the new speed limits will be operational 24 hours a day.

The reduced speed limits will be assessed after 12 months to see if they are having an impact, or if the air quality level is compliant.

Ivan Le Fevre, head of environment at Highways England told the BBC: “Ultimately the air quality challenge will be solved ‘at the tailpipe’ by vehicle manufacturers and changes in vehicle use.

“Until this happens we will continue our extensive programme of pioneering research and solutions.”

Recent Department for Transport figures show the proportion of cars sticking to the speed limit is at its highest on 60mph roads.

The data measures speed and compliance at sites where the road conditions are free-flowing, for example roads with no junctions, sharp bends, speed enforcement cameras or other traffic calming measures.

In 2019, 50% of cars were found to exceed the speed limit on motorways, 54% on 30mph roads and just 9% where limits were 60mph.

The DfT says the statistics provide insights into speeds at which drivers choose to travel when free to do so, but are not estimates of average speeds across the whole network.

It notes that the average car speeds under free flow conditions were close to the speed limit on motorways (69mph) and 30mph roads (31mph) – and under the speed limit on 60mph roads (50mph).  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Road safety charity Brake has welcomed the Government move to introduce life sentences for killer drivers.

The Ministry of Justice originally pledged to introduce the punishment in 2017 and it will form part of major sentencing reforms to be unveiled by the Lord Chancellor in a white paper this week.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns for Brake, said the charity has long advocated for an overhaul of UK road law to deliver justice for victims and to help keep roads free from dangerous drivers.

He added: “Crash victims have waited three long years for this announcement. Road crime is real crime and it is high-time that the Government, and the law, recognised this.

“Years of Government inaction have added to the suffering of road victims who have not been delivered the justice they, and their loved ones, deserve.

“The Government must now implement these tougher sentences as first priority, delivering on their overdue promise to road crash victims, and then urgently initiate a review of the flawed legal framework for road justice.

“Driving is a privilege not a right and yet our flawed legal system continues to allow convicted dangerous drivers on the roads where they can endanger others.

“We all want safer roads but we will only achieve this if the law treats road crime with the seriousness it deserves.”

The measures around driving include plans to:

• increase the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving from 14 years to life

• increase the maximum penalty for causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs from 14 years to life

• create a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving.

Paul Loughlin, senior associate solicitor at Stephensons, said:“The impact of dangerous and careless driving often has far reaching consequences, not only for those involved but also for their families and friends.

“Much of the criticism surrounding legislation in this area is that it doesn’t provide sufficient justice for those who are killed as a result of dangerous driving, or those seriously injured as a result.

“These proposals would transform the sentencing guidelines for this offence and go a long way to redress the balance for victims.

“On the flip side, we have often seen prosecutors taking a harder line in cases where there has been a serious injury and the driving standard would ordinarily be considered to be ‘careless’ rather than ‘dangerous’.

“The absence of the ability to charge with causing serious injury through careless driving has seen inconsistent charging decisions being made to plug a gap.

“There are clear examples of cases being ‘bumped up’ from a straight forward careless driving charge to the more serious charge of causing serious injury through dangerous driving with more emphasis being placed on the extent of the injury caused, irrespective of the fact that the standard of driving would ordinarily be considered to be ‘careless’.

“The introduction of this new offence should more suitably plug that gap and ensure more appropriate charges being laid for this type of offence.”

Department for Transport figures show 1,748 people were killed on the roads of Great Britain last year, a figure which has flatlined since 2012 when 1,754 people were killed. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has cast doubt on whether police forces are doing enough to monitor and improve road safety.

The Department of Transport (DfT) have estimated that the national cost of all road traffic collisions is £36 billion per annum.

Since 1979, whilst the numbers killed in road accidents in England and Wales had been reducing, there have been recent increases.

In 2013 the number of deaths was 1541, but this had increased to 1624 by 2018, with an additional 23,931 serious accidents where often life changing injuries were suffered.

It is accepted that one effective measure for maintaining road safety is the placement of speed enforcement cameras.

Whilst some police forces have adopted parts of the national roads policing strategy, some were unable to provide any evidence a strategy was in place to reduce deaths and serious collisions on roads.

Most forces were unable to demonstrate that placement of cameras was based on consideration of the causes of serious collisions on roads in their area.

Whilst police forces do not receive funds from fines and fixed penalties, they can recover costs for administration and provision of educational schemes.

Deployment of speed cameras is mainly carried out by road safety partnerships.

The report found that this has resulted in safety partnerships preventing use of fixed cameras in areas where the safety partnership has deployed mobile speed enforcement cameras.

Not surprisingly, this has raised suspicion with police officers that the focus of activity for use of speed enforcement cameras was influenced more by increasing revenue than by reducing serious accidents in areas where a higher incidence of collisions was found to exist.

It should be noted, the number of dedicated road policing officers has decreased.

Spending on road policing has fallen by 34% in England and Wales from 2012/13 to 2019/20.

This has been found to have resulted in enforcement action lacking focus and appropriate evaluation of outcomes.

The report makes a number of recommendations and encourages police forces to share best practice on analysis of vulnerable road users, repeat offenders, or the causes of collisions.

It was also recommended that roads policing training should be standardised and accredited.

The report noted that whilst motorcyclists make up only 0.8% of traffic, they make up 26% of those killed or seriously injured.

With a likely significant increase in the number of cyclists using the road network, given one of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever that road safety is given a high priority by police forces and road safety partnerships. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Driver offender rehabilitation courses, such as the Speed Awareness Course, may be permanently held online, following successful delivery during the coronavirus lockdown.

TTC Group, the UK’s largest provider of UK Road Offender Education (UKROEd) accredited courses, says support for virtual courses continues to gain traction from all stakeholders.

The benefits of holding courses online include; availability, time saved and reduced travel requirements.

Virtual classrooms have also given rise to specific benefits for special populations – individuals overseas, those in rural areas and, more specifically, TTC Group hosted a course dedicated to the hard of hearing.

Sharon Haynes, TTC Group’s client services director, said: “It’s all about making a positive difference, whether that is by creating safer motorists or by addressing key social issues in the areas we operate in.

“Online or in person these rehabilitation programmes can have a positive, life changing influence on people and it is so important to offer as many people as possible convenient access to them.

“The move to virtual classrooms continues to prove a major success and we look forward to understanding more of the impact of this in the near future.”

During the pandemic, TTC Group switched to virtual courses and transferred all pre-booked ‘physical’ National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme course attendees to a digital solution.

Haynes added: “This really did change the face of the driver offender rehabilitation programme and acts as a great template to consider what we can do in association with UKROEd moving ahead to benefit all key stakeholders from individual drivers, police forces, other road users and employers alike.

“However, there is still much work to be done behind the scenes and we are working alongside UKROEd to ensure the emerging benefits are supported by key data insights.”

Courses currently available in digital classroom format include: National Speed Awareness Course; National Motorway Awareness; Safe and Considerate Driving; and What’s Driving Us?

Lockdown speeding increase

Easy access to courses remains key while social distancing measures are in place across the UK, with demand remaining strong as speeding and other motoring offences continue to rise.

Motorists were speeding three times more frequently during lockdown compared to normal, according to analysis by telematics firm AX.

It found serious speeding events – the most severe category of excessive speed – occurred every 136 miles on average in April, compared to every 443 miles in February.

Major speeding events were also significantly more frequent, taking place on average once every 32 miles in April, down from every 94 miles in February.

It wasn’t just a case of motorists covering shorter journeys either, with major speeding events occurring on average once every 4.3 trips in April compared to every 9.8 trips two months earlier.

 Van drivers proved to be much more obedient than car drivers, with telematics devices detecting major incidents twice as often as normal compared to four times as frequently for car drivers.

Director of Investigative Services at AX, Neil Thomas, said: “It’s fascinating to see how driver behaviour has been influenced by the impacts of COVID-19.

“Whether it was simply down to reduced traffic levels during lockdown or perhaps drivers assuming police forces had bigger priorities, the data shows that given the opportunity, many drivers are clearly willing to speed and quite often significantly so.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News