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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 »

The Department for Transport has released figures that show a decrease in the number of vehicles on the road during the first quarter of this year. Car traffic decreased by 3% while traffic on motorways fell by 2%. However light van traffic increased by 2%, most of whom were on their mobiles if my experiences are anything to go by! Congestion times also decreased with the inter-urban journey delays dropping from 3.9 minutes to 3.65 minutes per 10 miles. Journey times remained the same for urban trips at 3.34 minutes per mile. See, I’m an absolute mine of information! By Graham Hill

You would no doubt have followed my reporting of the major pot hole problem that local authorities face following the harsh winter with no money to spend. But it wasn’t just the bad weather that led to the problems, it was the increase in Johnny Foreigner trucks covering 600 million miles on our roads last year. The problem, according to the Department for Transport, is that these trucks use our public roads but Read more »

Mobile phone users who still use their phones whilst driving without a hands free kit are back in the news as conviction figures show another fall. Recently published figures show that convictions in England and Wales were down to 116,000 in 2008/9, down by 5% on the previous year, which in turn was down on the 167,000 convictions in 2006/7 even though the use of a mobile phone whilst driving was introduced as Read more »

Whilst the number of new cars fitted with Electronic Stability Control (ESC), also known as Electronic Stability Program (ESP), is increasing, following a push by inventors Bosch and the Association of Car Fleet Operators (ACFO), to inform car buyers of the benefits, more private buyers are having the safety device fitted than fleet buyers. Department for Transport research suggests ESC equipped vehicles are 25% less Read more »

Mobile phone use, whilst driving, has increased to levels reached before legislation was introduced in 2003, according to observers working for the Department for Transport. I don’t mean hands free I mean using a handheld phone. The observations were made between 2008 and 2009 and show an increase of 27%. The worst offenders are van and lorry drivers. Observations were made at various sites in the south of Read more »

A Department for Transport study found that healthcare workers needed more guidance on assessing whether a patient is fit to drive. They feel that more responsibility should be passed to the driver who should be made aware of the DVLA medical standards and make their own decision as to whether they feel as though they are fit to drive within the guidelines. Some things are fairly obvious such as a broken foot or Read more »

Lex Autolease have carried out a study on 21,000 vehicles used for business with some startling results. Driver negligence has not only pushed up maintenance and repair bills but also resulted in fines for drivers and even loss of licences. The biggest cost burdens have been misfuelling, windscreen damage, illegal tyres and vehicle downtime. Average cost to replace a windscreen is Read more »

A row has broken out between the Government and the Magistrates Association over proposals by the Department for Transport to introduce fixed penalties for careless driving. The proposal will give the police new powers to impose a fixed penalty of £60 and 6 points on the licence where a driver admits to an act of careless driving. The Magistrates Association is furious as they feel it diminishes the serious nature of Read more »

In times of recession is there any good news? Yes there is. According to the Department for Transport there are fewer cars using the roads resulting in quicker and safer journeys. According to the DfT motorists travelled 3.1 billion less miles last year which has got to be good on so many fronts, fewer accidents, less CO2 in the atmosphere, less wear and tear on our roads, less of our precious fuel used. The number of Read more »