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My gadget of the week is a smart fob that transfers data onto your iPhone. It collects data from the car every time the driver switches off the engine, recording things like trip information, mpg, fuel level and tyre pressures. It also includes maintenance alerts and can even warn you if you leave a window open. If the driver then holds the fob next to the phone whilst running the app the information is transferred wirelessly Read more »

I recently reported that a large number of recalls don’t get the level of publicity that they should after Toyota took a beating over the brake recalls but were then found not to hold the record for the most numbers of single model cars being recalled this year. However it was put into perspective recently when Bentley had to recall 300 UK cars. The major concern affected Arnage, Azure and Brooklands models built Read more »

The Department for Transport has revealed the top ten reasons why people crash. The top reason was failure to look, accounting for more than a third of  all smashes. Failing to look properly was the reason for 38% of crashes but this differed in regions with this reason being cited in London for 57% of smashes but in the Midlands this dropped to 32%. Failing to judge other motorists speed was next followed by careless Read more »

Years ago car number plates were screwed to the body work by two or even four screws making it a bugger of a job to remove a plate but these days even prestigious cars have their number plates fixed on with a couple of strips of double sided tape. It was hardly surprising then to see a warning from the Retail Motor Industry Federation about theft of number plates. Thefts have doubled over the last 3 years with the Read more »

Whilst all fatalities on UK roads dropped last year the figures are still too high. 2,222 people died on the roads of Britain last year, down 12% on 2008. Car occupant deaths fell 16%, pedestrians 13%, cyclists 10% and motorcyclists 4%. Whilst speed awareness courses are often not taken seriously by drivers who have been caught speeding and prefer to attend a course rather than suffer a conviction, the courses have been known to improve drivers’ attitudes towards speeding. This is particularly Read more »

Graham’s gadget of the week is the CG-Lock system, which you fit to your seatbelt. The system causes you to be held into your seat more firmly which makes your belt safer and improves your posture. The system comes highly recommended and finance company Arval who has been testing out the system with their staff. The device is palm sized and takes up the slack in the seatbelt keeping the user in the safest position. It also keeps the seatbelt across the pelvis rather than the stomach. Arval Read more »

Kwik-Fit are to carry out some major training programmes of staff following a recent BBC Watchdog report. They have said they are going to invest a further £1 million in training as a direct result of the allegations made by the BBC. They are to also increase their mystery shopper programme in an effort to identify and stop overselling by staff. The company is said to operate a zero tolerance policy in cases where Read more »

And so the debate goes on regarding speed cameras. I first of all reported that many local authorities were switching them off as they could no longer afford to keep them operating. Then the public stepped in and complained that they were necessary if we are not to see a rise in deaths on the road, supported by safety bodies. So now it seems that some local authorities are willing to rent a Gatso for £5,000 per annum if local people want to keep particular cameras operating. When Oxfordshire Read more »

It would seem that magistrates have gone soft, as a result of the recession, if you have accidentally reached the automatic driving ban of 12 points on your licence. Some say this is wrong and that the ban should be automatically imposed, especially in extreme cases like the driver who was allowed to keep his licence even after he amassed 54 Read more »

Auto Express has launched a campaign to force manufacturers to disclose known problems with their cars. At the moment the manufacturers only have to make public known safety faults that are subject to recall. For all other problems, such as reliability issues, these do not have to be made public. The AA, RAC and Retail Motor Industry Federation have all joined with Auto Express to put pressure on manufacturers to make public their technical service bulletins – the documents that detail the Read more »