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How’s your hearing? Not so good if you drive a drop top car according to the incredibly titled (big breath) St Louis University School Of Medicine and the Ear Institute of Texas. Their research showed that if drivers travel regularly with the top down at more than 55 miles per annum their ears are subjected to unsafe noise levels created by air turbulence and tyres on the road. They tested 5 drop heads including a Nissan 350Z, Porsche 911 and Saab 9-3. Of the cars available in the UK the 350Z Read more »

In 2008 there were 14 million sat navs in use in the UK, by now it is assumed that over half of all cars on the UK roads (30 million) now has a driver with a sat nav. According to psychologist Dr Victoria Bourne, writing in Fleet News, research shows that up to 78% of accidents are caused by distractions. The question is – are sat navs more distracting than a mobile phone? A secondary question is – are sat navs less distracting than a paper map? The reason why the safety experts and police are Read more »

Nissan ad execs must have been chuckling to themselves when they came up with the theme for their sports cars, the 370Z and the GT-R. They decided to take on the Germans, poking fun at their acceleration speeds, pointing out that the Z was faster than Audi, BMW and Porsche rivals. The posters read ‘Deutschland Deutschland Uber Rated’ while a blurred Read more »

I know it’s a subject I talk about a lot but as we run up to Christmas I’m onto drink driving. It was shocking reading for the Government, about to launch their Christmas campaign, that one in four drivers admit to drink driving recently. The survey was carried out on behalf of insurer Quinn Direct but the real shock was that nearly 80% of under 24’s said they had never driven under the influence of alcohol whilst 25% of the over 55’s admitted to driving whilst over the limit. 31% of men admitted to Read more »

We all know the expression ‘A little knowledge is a bad thing,’ and it couldn’t be more true at the moment in the area of car leasing. As small businesses and consumers look for ways to reduce their costs, car leasing is being discussed more and more, then armed with sketchy information many are embarking upon leasing without knowing exactly what they are getting into. This isn’t being helped by confusing and conflicting advertising on the Internet as well as some very strange promotions Read more »

We’re getting to that time of year when I’m sure I’ll have plenty of reports relating to tyres but before we get into the summer/winter tyre debates a question has come up regarding speed ratings on tyres. When a car is new tyres are often fitted by the manufacturer that have a speed rating much higher than the car is capable of travelling. For example a car may be fitted with V rated tyres, safe to a speed of 149 miles per hour. The question is should the same tyres be fitted when they are due Read more »

I have always been mystified why the non wearing of seatbelts doesn’t attract points on the driver’s licence. You will receive a fixed penalty fine of £60 but no points for what is considered to be a serious road traffic offense. The Scottish Parliament thinks likewise and has now written to Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, pushing for a change in the law claiming that 19 road deaths could have been prevented in Scotland during 2009 if belts were worn. Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, Read more »

If you live in a rural area you could soon be getting more miles for your money as there are plans afoot to introduce a subsidy of 5p per litre in certain out of town areas. European competition rules mean that the proposal would have to receive backing from Brussels. Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, said motorists in the most remote parts of the country were being hit by a triple whammy of high fuel costs, poor public transport and having to travel long distances. The Read more »

What are the two most dangerous things that a motorist can do that could result in injury or death? Most people would assume this to be the two things that the government, media and safety organisations obsess over. Speeding and drink driving. We are about to be hit with a campaign regarding drink driving as we run up to Christmas and there seems to be a year round campaign to demonise those that speed. Read more »

Could sun roofs be on the way back? Since many entry level cars have been fitted with air conditioning, that quirky feature, pretty much a British thing, the sunroof, has been dropped from the spec. of many cars. But could we see its return following the launch of the new Mercedes SLK next year? The first car to have the folding steel roof will now be fitted with an amazing sunroof which has the ability to go dark or clear at the touch of a button. It’s called Magic Sky Control. The glass is Read more »