Monday, 23. August 2010
After reporting that many councils were planning to shut down their speed cameras, after the government announced its £38 million cut in road safety grants across the country, Mick Giannasi, head of road policing for the Association of Chief Police Officers, threw a spanner in the works by claiming that speed cameras were a big reason why deaths and serious injuries had been halved from 8 years ago. He went on to say Read more »
Monday, 9. August 2010
With the banks currently announcing profits well beyond expectations the Government really needs to step in and start rattling their cages as they continue to lend to simply those that are safest but in many respects don’t need it as badly as those who have been struggling and whose credit history is less than perfect. I have never quite understood how someone (or company) who has experienced a problem and Read more »
Thursday, 5. August 2010
Annual MOT tests may be stretched out to 2 years according to new Government plans. The proposal will save motorists £465 million per annum. The announcement came via the Lords through the Government’s transport spokesman, Earl Attlee who promised a review this year. However safety groups are fearful of the dangers involved, especially with older cars. Britain has the most rigorous testing regime in Read more »
Tuesday, 27. July 2010
How’s your breathing, do you suffer with hay fever? Well if your breathing has been affected recently it may not have been because of pollen. It seems that the European Commission has been threatening Britain with legal action for allowing more unhealthy PM10 particulate matter airborne pollution than permitted under EU legislation. Transport is a key source of PM10 pollutants. As a result the UK has been given 2 Read more »
Monday, 26. July 2010
How’s your breathing, do you suffer with hay fever? Well if your breathing has been affected recently it may not have been because of pollen. It seems that the European Commission has been threatening Britain with legal action for allowing more unhealthy PM10 particulate matter airborne pollution than permitted under EU legislation. Transport is a key source of PM10 pollutants. As a result the UK has been given 2 Read more »
Friday, 9. July 2010
To make congestion charges or not to make congestion charges – that is the question that the city council of York has been wrestling with and decided – no charge – at the moment. Not wishing to be a cynic but I feel it may have had something to do with the removal of millions of pounds of funding, introduced by the Labour government to encourage cities to make the charges. But whilst this, and other proposed Read more »
Tuesday, 22. June 2010
Are we slowing down on our roads? The number of drivers being issued with speeding tickets generated by speed cameras suggests that we are. In 2008 the number of tickets dropped to 1.2 million compared to 1.9 million in 2004 and it is being predicted that the 2009 figures will be down to below the 2001 figure of 1.1 million. There are a number of reasons being suggested for this sharp fall. First of all the way the Read more »
Saturday, 12. June 2010
The new prime minister has suggested that he won’t pick on motorists to dig the country out of the deficit single handed – yeah right! To date we’ve had to accept that if we are to save the bit of atmosphere above the UK we must think green and therefore drive more fuel efficient and low CO2 emitting vehicles. The way the government has done this is to make us pay, obviously reluctantly but of course it’s for our own good Read more »
Sunday, 16. May 2010
North Lincolnshire Council may be setting the trend for other authorities by imposing a £20 fine on any driver caught sitting in his car with the engine running. The intention is to stop roadside ‘idlers’ and improve air quality by doing so. Councillor Len Foster explained that officers would use their common sense when issuing notices but hoped that the threat of a fine would be enough to stop drivers from idling their engines. The council will use civil enforcement officers who have more powers than traffic wardens. By Graham Hill
Monday, 3. May 2010
We have such short memories! I remember the furore when petrol prices hit 119.7pence per litre 2 years ago. Fuel suppliers were challenged and emails flew around in all directions telling everyone to boycott the main oil companies in an attempt to force petrol suppliers to drop their prices. At the time oil prices were $147 per barrel but with exchange rates at about 2 dollars to the pound it put the price per barrel at Read more »