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My gadget of the week is the equivalent to an in car black box. It’s an app that runs on the Android system on mobile phones. It allows you to relive a journey complete with details such as speed, time and location. The Daily Roads Voyager app uses your smartphone’s and built in GPS sensor to record a mixture of photo and video information. You will be able to record and share details of anything you see in your travels but in the event of an accident you will have video evidence and data such Read more »

There’s a scandal out there that no-one realised. Yep, you guessed it we’re talking exhausts here. Dirty exhausts. Emission testers Emission Test Facility UK, based in Longbridge, West Mids. tested scores of aftermarket exhaust systems against manufacturer’s own with some shocking results. Some emitted up to 20 times the level of nitrogen dioxide and twice as many hydrocarbons. One well known brand’s £300 Read more »

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 »

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 »

Buying a used car from a dealer? Then you should be more aware of your rights according to the Office of Fair Trading, who have reported that the number of complaints against dealers, for faults that have come to light within the first 3 months, has increased by 18% during the first half of 2010. The Office of Fair Trading Direct received over 38,000 complaints and, as Michele Shambrook of the OFT pointed out, ‘Most of the faults that come to light are the dealer’s responsibility.’ Had a bad used car experience when purchased from a car dealer, please let me know? By Graham Hill

Related articles

• Second-hand car complaints soar (bbc.co.uk)

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 »

The last Labour Government made a big thing about toll roads, this was going to be the way forward if we were to make the roads less congested but according to research by the Campaign for Better Transport the showpiece M6 toll road has failed to meet its targets. The report claims that the operator, Midlands Expressway is losing millions of pounds every year. The cost of £5 drops to £4.50 at weekends and Read more »

Are you a ‘rager?’ Not to be confused with the street slang ‘hater.’ Apparently a rager is someone who suffers from road rage. And what is the biggest cause of road rage? Well, according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists, who surveyed 1,400 motorists, they rated tailgating as being the most likely cause for road rage and turn you into a ‘rager.’ For those that aren’t too sure of the expression, tailgating, it’s when Read more »

There was a lot of euphoria when the Government announced that they were going to ban the clamping and towing of cars parked on private land. The ban comes into force in November 2010, under new laws set to stop unscrupulous clampers from charging ridiculous amounts of money, to either have the clamp removed, or get your car back from a pound where the car has been towed to. However, before the anti- Read more »

After allowing local councils to levy workplace parking charges it seems that few are actually taking up the opportunity. Nottingham was the first to make a move and it was thought that all local authorities would follow suit but after seeing the reaction of local large employers, who announced they would move their offices rather than pay the parking levy, other councils have viewed the opportunity far more cautiously. Read more »