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The average UK driver travelling 7,400 miles per year (22 minutes of driving per day) has a 15% high risk of obesity, according to research by Select Car Leasing.

The findings, from Select Car Leasing’s Driver Health Calculator, also revealed that drivers also have a one-in-20 chance of sleep deprivation, caused by the impact that prolonged periods behind the wheel have on the body.

Drivers with an average of 12,000 miles per year raise their risk of obesity to 30%. It also puts drivers at a higher risk of being stressed for time, poor overall health and a risk of their health hindering social activities.

Dr Deborah Lee of Dr Fox Online Pharmacy commented on the findings: “I find these Driver Health Calculator statistics quite alarming.

“Many of us spend at least half an hour a day behind the wheel, which equates to a mileage of around 10,000 miles a year.

“However, many people have a much higher annual mileage, especially those who drive for a living, such as lorry drivers, taxi drivers, and delivery drivers. Yet, most drivers will be totally unaware of the additional health risks of these prolonged journeys.”

To help combat the effects of driver health, Select Car Leasing has provided guidance to help offset the risks of excessive driving, including getting plenty of rest, in-car lumbar support to help maintain a healthy posture behind the wheel and parking further away from work as a way of incorporating low-effort exercise into the day.

Select also advises maintaining a balanced diet and listening to a podcast during a drive to make it appear shorter and boost mood before the day begins.

In November 2021, Select relaunched its corporate offering – Select Fleet Solutions – to provide audits, fleet management, salary sacrifice and grey fleet assistance. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A consultation will be launched later this year to decide the distance a new hybrid electric vehicle can travel on zero emissions to remain on sale from 2030 to 2035.

Publishing its response today to a consultation on Ending the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans, the Government also said it remained technology neutral and recognised that hydrogen could have a role to play.

Ministers confirmed in November 2020, that new petrol and diesel cars and vans would not be allowed to be sold in the UK from 2030.

New hybrid cars and vans that could drive a “significant distance” with no carbon coming out of the tailpipe, however, would be allowed to remain on sale until 2035.

The Office for Zero Emission Vehicle (OZEV) has previously explained that only plug-in and full hybrids will still be considered for sale from 2030 until 2035.

Full hybrids include the likes of the Toyota Prius and the Kia Niro, while mild hybrids, which are rapidly becoming the norm on most engines, are offered by Ford, with MHEV engines on the Fiesta, Puma and Focus.

In its response to the internal combsution engine (ICE) ban consultation, the Government says that it wants to increase the pace of transition to zero-emission driving.

“In doing so we recognise the importance of deploying a range of cleaner vehicle technologies from today up until the phase out dates,” it said.

“In particular, full hybrids and plug-in hybrids have a key role to play, both in reducing emissions and as a stepping-stone technology to help consumers and businesses adapt to zero emission driving.

“We are not banning the use of petrol and diesel cars and vans. These decisions only apply to new cars and vans. They do not apply to existing petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans which can continue to be driven and sold in the second-hand market.”

The Government says it recognises that a new target will be “challenging for different sectors of society and the economy”.

“Issues around affordability, range anxiety and infrastructure must be addressed to foster the willingness of drivers to transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs),” it added.

“Government takes a technology neutral approach on how this transition will be achieved. While it is true that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) dominate the current ZEV market, we recognise the potential of hydrogen as another solution for zero emission transport, particularly for heavier road vehicles.”

POSSIBLE DEROGATIONS

The Department for Transport (DfT) says that it will consider a “very limited range of derogations” to the phase out dates for specialist vehicles, including military service and emergency vehicles. A consultation on these derogations will be launched in due course.

It will also publish a delivery plan this year setting out major milestones towards the phase out dates and committed spending and regulatory measures. Progress against the plan will be monitored and reported publicly on an annual basis.

Furthermore, it will conduct a review of progress towards the phase out dates by 2025.

“Moving millions of vehicles to zero emissions is an enormous challenge,” said transport secretary Grant Shapps. “Government has already committed £1.5 billion to boost the early market, but now we are going further.

“We are backing our new phase out dates with over £2.8bn of investment to drive up the number of zero emission vehicles, accelerate the roll out of our world-class chargepoint infrastructure network, and to secure investment in gigafactories and other strategic technologies to develop the UK’s electric vehicle supply chain.”

In a Fleet News survey, conducted after the ICE ban was announced late last year, almost two-thirds of fleets said that implementing a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 was too soon.

The Government had previously said it would end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The UK’s automotive trade body, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), is calling on the UK Parliament to ratify the Brexit trade agreement.

MPs are debating the draft deal with the EU today (Wednesday, December 30) after Parliament was recalled to put the deal into law, a day before the UK severs ties with the European Union.

The SMMT wants the immediate ratification of the draft UK-EU Trade and Cooperation agreement (TCA), to ensure all automotive companies benefit from continued tariff-free trade from January 1.

It says that the draft TCA delivers across several areas for UK automotive, keeping the sector connected to a market that accounts for eight out of 10 of its vehicle exports.

Furthermore, the SMMT says that the TCA delivers on the core ask to avoid tariffs for most finished vehicles, parts and components.

Mike Hawes, the SMMT’s chief executive, explained that for automotive, Brexit has always been about “damage limitation”.

“The draft Trade Cooperation Agreement, while no substitute for the completely free and frictionless trade with Europe we formerly enjoyed, will address immediate concerns,” he said.#

“The TCA provides the opportunity for tariff and quota-free trade, foundations on which the industry can build.

“Even with immediate ratification, however, there will be just hours to adjust to new trading rules, so a phase-in period is critical to help businesses adapt.

“All efforts should now be made to ensure its seamless implementation, with tariff-free trade fully accessible and effective for all from day one.”

The SMMT says that the inclusion of specific provisions on transitional phase-ins for both electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries is also welcome.

However, it argues that the deal does not deliver some key asks, including formalising co-operation on the development of regulations and standards after the end of transition.

Nor does it prevent increased administration and potential for friction at the border, as we leave the single market and customs union, it said.

Hawes continued: “Further ahead, we must pursue the wider trade opportunities that Brexit is supposed to deliver while accelerating the UK’s transition to electrified vehicle manufacturing. 

“With the deal in place, Government must double down on its commitment to a green industrial revolution, create an investment climate that delivers battery gigafactory capacity in the UK, supports supply chain transition and maintains free-flowing trade – all essential to the UK Automotive sector’s future success.”

The eleventh-hour post-Brexit trade deal struck between the UK and the EU has been welcomed by the fleet and leasing industry.

It had faced a significant rise in costs, with tariffs imposed on cars and vans, if no deal had been agreed when the UK exits EU trading rules tomorrow (Thursday, December 31). By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

• DVLA has recorded a 20% rise in the number of scams reported
• These are all cons linked to DVLA services, such as vehicle taxation
• Some 1,538 fraud cases were raised to the agency in the final 3 months of 2019
• It provided examples of common scams that have been used in recent months

Motorists are being targeted by fraudsters using a range of different scam tactics in a bid to trick them into handing over money.

That’s according to a fresh warning by the DVLA last February, which has provided examples of scams it has been alerted to and traced in recent months.

There has been a 20 per cent rise in fraud attempts handed to the DVLA, with 1,538 reports made to agency in the last three months of 2019, new figures show.

Car owners have alerted the DVLA to a number of different con tactics being employed by scam artists.

Motorists have said they have been swindled out of money and targeted by fraudsters using fake DVLA websites, emails, texts and social media messages.

It has warned drivers that these are becoming more prominent, having received 1,275 scam reports in the final three months of 2018 – some 263 fewer than in the final quarter of last year.

To raise awareness of the types of fraudulent communication motorists might receive, the DVLA has released images of recent scams it has been alerted to.

It hopes this will help motorists be aware of what to look out for and issue a clear warning that if something offered online or by text message appears too good to be true, then it almost certainly is.

Scammers are targeting unsuspecting customers with links to services that don’t exist and messages of tax refunds, all of which are fake.

The reports also show that driver and vehicle documents are for sale on the internet.

The agency says anyone who is concerned about any calls, texts, emails or suspicious activity online, to always report these to the police via Action Fraud immediately.

DVLA chief information security officer David Pope said: ‘We’ve released examples of real life scams to help motorists understand when a scam is at work.

‘These websites and messages are designed to trick people into believing they can access services that simply don’t exist such as removing penalty points from driving licences.

‘All our tax refunds are generated automatically after a motorist has told us they have sold, scrapped or transferred their vehicle to someone else so we don’t ask for anyone to get in touch with us to claim their refund.

‘We want to protect the public and if something seems too good to be true, then it almost certainly is. The only trusted source of DVLA information is GOV.UK.

‘It is also important to remember never to share images on social media that contain personal information, such as your driving licence and vehicle documents.’

A spokesperson for Action Fraud added: ‘This can be a stressful time of year, sorting out finances for the year ahead. Fraudsters are aware of this and are using different ways to trick people.

‘Taking a couple of minutes to familiarise yourself with a few simple online safety tips can be significant in protecting yourself from becoming a victim of online fraud.

‘You should always be cautious when sharing personal information online and avoid being scammed by only using GOV.UK for government services online, such as the DVLA.

‘If you believe you have been a victim of fraud, please report it to us.’

Note: If you want to see the sample emails being sent out go to the original article by clicking here:

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-8037209/DVLA-says-cons-used-fraudsters-trick-motorists-handing-money.html

By Graham Hill thanks to This Is Money

This crime is on the increase as joyriders and thieves get smart and stick on cloned number plates to avoid detection. With more number plate recognition cameras aimed at drivers the crooks were getting caught far too quickly for their liking so they have reverted to making up number plates that they’ve seen on cars in adverts or on the road and sticking them over the original plates.

But what if your number is cloned and you receive a speeding ticket, parking ticket or other penalty? According to a firm of solicitors far too many people ignore the tickets on the basis that they are charged for parking in a car park in an area miles away that they’ve never visited or caught speeding at a time when they were tucked up in bed. But you mustn’t ignore the ticket.

As one lawyer points out: Cloned vehicles can cause havoc, especially when drivers  fail to respond to the notices, sometimes in the belief that if it is not their car, no ruling can be made against them. However, once the process is up and running, drivers need to make sure they respond to any notice and quickly.

In the case of cloned vehicles, you will need a police reference number and photographs of your vehicle to evidence that the vehicle carrying your plates is not the real vehicle.

Even if you respond quickly, chances are that the authority will reject your case which means you will need to go to appeal. Miss the deadlines and you are very likely to lose any chance to appeal and you will find yourself with fines, charges and penalties plus costs to pay and this can ultimately end in a bailiff visit with even more costs to pay.

In short, these cases are a pain and it can be difficult to get the fine discharged on first attempt but if you stick to the deadlines, you will get a chance of an appeal and it is at this appeal stage, that these cases are usually won. So if you receive a parking or icket that you know doesn’t apply to to, don’t just ignore them, act immediately and inform the police that you suspect that your number has been cloned. By Graham Hill

As the number of stolen cars fitted with keyless entry continue to hit the headlines causing drivers with the system fitted to their cars to have sleepless nights whilst others of us are paying for the cars stolen in increased premiums.

Some have taken to fitting steering locks each time they leave their cars but some manufacturers have started taking steps to avoid crooks being able to pick up signals coming from your ‘key’ indoors, then transmitting the signal to a colleague by the car then gaining entry to the car and driving away.

Ford have brought out a simple switch, whereby you can disable the keyless entry but as one owner found, having bought his desirable Focus ST just before the switch was fitted it can’t be retro-fitted.

But all is not lost. There are pouches and boxes that you can put your ‘key’ into that will block the signal and if you’re brave apparently you can put it in the microwave but don’t forget it’s in there as any metal could blow up your microwave or if plastic it will melt.

Ford, along with other manufacturers have come up with a new keyless key that uses sensor technology. Called the sleeping key fob it is still to be launched but when released Ford drivers will be able to buy the new style fobs for £65 per key (Fiesta) and £72 per key (Focus) with no mention of any other models.

A sensor in the fob detects that there has been no movement for more than 40 seconds and disables it so it no longer emits a signal. Whilst the new keys should have been available in May Whatcar reported that the keys were still not available in their October edition.

Other manufacturers are working on similar replacements so contact your local dealer for an update if you are still concerned about crooks gaining entry to your car using keyless signals.

By Graham Hill

Number plate offences are at a five-year high, so just how easy is it to buy a dodgy plate and what is the DVLA doing about it?

The UK’s number plate system is wide open to abuse because of the easy availability of fake plates online, while the number of traffic stops for missing or dodgy plates reached a five-year high in 2018, Auto Express can exclusively reveal.

In two linked investigations, we asked police how many number plate offences they had issued tickets for between 2014 and 2018; separately, then we ordered three sets of number plates from online suppliers, all of which were delivered no questions asked, and would be illegal to display on the road.

• How to transfer a number plate from one car to another

Official data obtained by Auto Express via Freedom of Information requests shows that police issued 9,170 tickets for number plate offences last year across the UK, the highest figure in the past five years.

Number plate offences

2014    8,635

2015    7,662

2016    7,671

2017    8,247

2018    9,170

A total of 41,385 stops were made by police between 2014 and 2018, with officers issuing 11 per cent more tickets last year compared with 2017 for number plates not meeting regulations, or plates that were missing from vehicles altogether. London’s Metropolitan police issued the most tickets or rectification notices for dodgy plates (4,411) over the past five years, with Northern Ireland police issuing the second highest number of tickets (4,005).

What’s the penalty?

Motorists can be issued with a Traffic Offence Reports (TOR) or a Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme (VDRS) notice (escaping a penalty if the fault is fixed within 14 days) for various offences related to number plates, including missing or obscured plates, and plates not conforming to regulations.

Top forces for number plate offences

Police force     Offences (2014-18)

Metropolitan   4,411

Police Servic of Northern Ireland       4,005

West Yorkshire           3,501

Humberside     2,652

North Wales    2,274

Of the 35 police forces to respond to our request, 23 provided offence codes, revealing that roughly 70 per cent of stops made for number plate offences are for driving or keeping a vehicle “when the registration mark fails to conform to regulations”. Number plates not meeting regulations could contain improperly placed characters, be made up using an unofficial font, or have colour-capped screws placed in their characters to change how the plate reads.

What do the authorities say?

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) told us that all number plate suppliers based in the UK “must be registered with DVLA and must conduct checks before supplying number plates”. The organisation added,“It is an offence to not request the required documentation from the customer [or] keep a record of the transaction, or to supply a non-compliant number plate.”

However, at least two of the suppliers we ordered plates from are based in Jersey and they may not be breaking the law there, because it is a separate jurisdiction from the UK.

The DVLA told us: “Our officers conduct intelligence-led enforcement activities to tackle a wide range of offences, to investigate and, where necessary, prosecute suppliers – including those who trade illegally using the internet.” The organisation also highlighted that drivers who alter the appearance of their plates face a fine of up to £1,000 and risk having their personalised registrations confiscated.

• Banned UK number plates

The National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) told us “ANPR [automatic number plate recognition] data is increasingly enabling police to identify vehicles operating on cloned plates using tools such as journey time analysis. Thisfurther informs our investigative work.” The organisation also advised that “local forces continue to offer crime prevention advice… dependent upon the particular offending seen in their locality”.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “Car cloning is on the rise and the DVLA is not doing enough to tackle online retailers. Buying banned registration plates in road-legal specifications is concerning, but more worrying

is the ability to lift a number plate off a website and copy it without any ownership checks.

“Ultimately, the buck stops with DVLA for not doing enough to tackle online retailers issuing plates to those who have no legal right to claim them.”

What we did

Cloned plate

We copied a registration from a BMW X5 (the most commonly stolen car in 2018, according to Tracker) offered for sale in an online classified ad.

We then ordered this number plate, LS15 ***, from Jersey-based My Showplates, and were not asked for any details aside from an address and credit card number during the ordering process. The plates arrived within two days. My Showplates did not respond to our requests for comment.

Banned plate

We bought the number plate BO19 CKS – a registration banned from the road by the DVLA for being too rude – from A1 Show Plates, a company with an almost identical address to My Showplates.

Despite selecting ‘Road Legal’ from a ‘Plate Legality’ menu, this banned plate arrived within two days, and we were not asked for documentation other than an address and credit card number. A1 Show Plates did not respond to our requests for comment.

Incorrectly spaced plate

NU02BER, a legitimate reg offered for sale by the DVLA, was supplied to us by Show Plates Direct. But we took out the space between the ‘2’ and ‘B’ when ordering the plate, making it illegal to display on the road.

We contacted Show Plates Direct, who initially claimed that it had “no such order for this registration or indeed payment from this E-mail address”. The firm did not reply when we provided an order number and explained to them that we used a different E-mail address to place our order.

The responsible vendor

While the three companies above sent us dodgy plates with no questions asked, one supplier acted in accordance with UK regulations.

• Most expensive personalised number plates

DVLA-approved, Yorkshire-based Number1Plates asked us to provide a copy of our V5C logbook, retention certificate or other proof of ownership, as well as a utility or bank bill. We did not send these documents, did not receive the dodgy plates and Number1Plates subsequently refunded our £25.97.

Why are fake plates bad news?

Police Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras may not read improperly spaced number plates, plates with incorrect fonts and those with colour-capped screws. This makes crime enforcement more difficult – although police stress that ANPR tools are becoming more sophisticated.

A more worrying issue is cloned plates. A criminal with a stolen car may find an identical car for sale online, get a duplicate plate made up based on the advertised car’s registration, then fit this plate to the stolen car. The advertised car won’t have been reported stolen so this cloned plate won’t activate police alerts, despite being placed on a stolen car. The number of drivers telling the DVLA that their car had been cloned has quadrupled over the past six years. By Graham Hill thanks to Auto Express

It wasn’t that long ago when it was only top of the range cars that had mobile Bluetooth connectivity which meant that the internal storage in the car would store all of your phone book. You, therefore, had to delete your phonebook if you didn’t want the new owner to have access to your list of family, friends and contacts.

Things have now moved on and even the most modest of cars has a pile of data stored about you. What Car has looked into this and come up with a list of things you can do to protect yourself from a cyber attack.

• Keep in touch with your car’s manufacturer regularly to check whether it has issued software updates or recalls to improve security. Alternatively, you can see if your car has an outstanding recall notice at gov.uk/check-vehicle-recall.

• To minimise the impact if your car and/or sat-nav is stolen, use any security features your sat-nav offers and think about regularly wiping all the data, such as your home address, from the system.

• If your car has built-in wi-fi, never leave the default password on it and never leave a note of the new password inside the car.

• Turn your car’s wi-fi and Bluetooth off when you’re not using them.

• If you download any smartphone apps that will be processing payments for your car, such as road toll fees, make sure they’re password-protected.

• Make sure your smartphone’s operating system and apps are the latest versions; updates are often issued to patch possible security vulnerabilities that can give cyber criminals access to your phone.

• Protect your social media accounts by making sure you’ve activated the privacy settings. With Facebook, avoid public updates and only send posts to your friends. With Twitter, you can’t be as selective.

• Protect your home by making your car’s sat-nav less accurate. If you don’t want cyber criminals to know where you live, instead of setting your home address to your house, consider setting the shortcut to a nearby junction or the closest motorway exit.

What to do if you’re selling your car or returning a hire car

• If you’ve paired your phone to the car to access hands-free operation, go into the Bluetooth set-up menu and remove your phone from the paired phones list, as well as deleting your contacts if they’ve been downloaded onto the system.

• Check the car’s manual to find out how to clear all your private data from the infotainment system. It might be listed as a ‘factory reset’ option.

• If your car has web-connected services that bring data from your favourite apps and social networks to the dashboard, disconnect this. If you don’t, other drivers might be able to gain access to your Facebook and Google accounts. To wipe the information, you’ll need to reset the infotainment system to its factory-fresh state.

• If your vehicle has an integrated remote control that you’ve paired with your front gate or garage door, your vehicle is essentially a gigantic key to your house. Check the instruction manuals for your electric gate or garage door for resetting instructions.

By Graham Hill

Auto Express has managed to find out that police and council ANPR cameras take 10 billion images each year generating 203 million hits on ‘vehicles of interest’. Police cameras are used to detect and track criminals whilst the council cameras are used to detect parking and road infractions.

This means that the local councils in England, Scotland and Wales have used their cameras to generate £472 million in local authority fines over the last 5 years using motorists to boost their struggling bank accounts. Given the continued strain on budgets, local councils will no doubt use this cash cow opportunity so you should be very wary that even though you may not see a policeman or traffic warden big brother will know if you break the law.

When ANPR cameras were introduced their intention was to assist the police in law enforcement but they have since been extended for the use of councils to generate income. Action group, Big Brother Watch explain, this is ‘constant monitoring of innocent motorists’, with no clear legal basis. Tony Porter, the Government’s surveillance camera commissioner warned that the UK’s ANPR network operates with ‘limited democratic oversite’. He also feels that the network ‘must surely be one of the largest data gatherers of its citizens in the world’.

That doesn’t create a problem if the cameras are used to fight crime but concerns exist over the number of images retained and the use they are put to beyond crime fighting. The most active police cameras are in the West Midlands with nearly 900 million scans each year with 24 million hits on vehicles of interest. Bottom of the top 10 is Dyfed-Powys with 414 million scans with 10.5 million hits on vehicles of interest.

The London Borough of Barnet collected around £38.3 million in fines by issuing 347,000 tickets as a result of ANPR imaging. Glasgow was next with 567,000 tickets raising £33.9 million in fines. London seems to be most popular with 6 of the top 10 ANPR-generated council fines over the last 5 years being in London boroughs.

And things will potentially get worse as the cost of the cameras has dropped dramatically. You can even buy them on eBay for around £200. I would suggest that the current figure of 8,768 cameras installed nationally will grow substantially over the next few years.

It is also my belief that as the Government starts to lose revenue as a result of drivers moving across to hybrid and electric, resulting in a drop in petrol and diesel tax income, they will then charge for road use which will make ANPR essential for charging and proof that cars have entered a charge zone. Time will tell. By Graham Hill