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Do you remember what your mobile phone looked like in 2003? It probably allowed you to text, call and maybe play Snake II. That is, if you had one at all.

These days, our phones offer endless entertainment opportunities which can be fun, but dangerous in the context of driving a vehicle.

Drivers who pick up their phones when behind the wheel are gambling with their own lives and the safety of others – as they are four times more likely to crash.

Last year on Great Britain’s roads there were 368 collisions, of all severities, where use of a mobile phone was assigned as a contributory factor.

The UK Government has recently announced that it will tighten the rules around mobile phone use while driving.

It will now be illegal to hold a phone and use it for virtually any purpose when behind the wheel.

This change is hugely welcome, as the initial legislation which banned mobile phone use while driving was passed in 2003, well before the age of the smartphone, and focused on interactive communications only.

Of course, distracted driving is a problem that expands beyond mobile phones. Playing loud music, eating or drinking, having a conversation with a passenger, reaching into the glove box or lighting up a cigarette could all divert a driver’s attention away from the road.

People cannot always safely multi-task while driving, especially if the second activity is time-consuming or complex.

Any secondary activity puts extra demands on the driver, which may reduce their driving standard.

For example, it may cause the driver to become less observant or to make poor decisions about how to control the vehicle safely.

This lower standard of driving means a driver is more likely to fail to anticipate hazards and this can, of course, result in accidents.

Distracted drivers can:

■ Be less aware of what’s happening on the road around them.

■ Fail to see road signs.

■ Fail to maintain proper lane position and a steady speed.

■ Be more likely to ‘tailgate’ the vehicle in front.

■ React more slowly and take longer to brake.

■ Be more likely to enter unsafe gaps in traffic.

Distracted driving is by no means a trivial matter, it can lead to serious and fatal collisions.

Road accident data suggests that in 2020, ‘distraction in vehicle’ contributed to 2,034 accidents and ‘distraction outside vehicle’ contributed to a further 914 collisions.

Alarmingly, research undertaken by Ipsos Mori shows that using a mobile phone while driving is often indicative of a deep-seated and irresponsible attitude towards the road.

In order to make our roads safer for all, we need to instil the notion that distracted driving is as much of a taboo as drinkdriving.

To achieve this cultural change, we should use a range of tools, tougher penalties, consistent enforcement and targeted campaigns aimed at shifting attitudes. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Osprey Charging has opened a new high-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging hub in Croydon.

The hub is located in Purley Cross Retail Park and features six rapid chargers, ranging from 75kW to 175kW

It is part of a wider rollout of more than 150 charging hubs that are being delivered across the UK by Osprey Charging, in a £75 million programme.

Ian Johnson, CEO of Osprey Charging said: “London drew a line in the sand with the expansion of the ULEZ zone in the city, sending a clear message to Londoners to rapidly switch to cleaner modes of transport.

Our new hub in Croydon – one of the most powerful of its kind in the city – will give current and future EV drivers in London access to reliable and convenient charging.

“Our nationwide hubs roll-out will see large-scale charging infrastructure deployed rapidly, at the scale required to serve the mass market of EV drivers hitting Britain’s roads in the coming years.”

The number of EVs in the capital has increased by 95% in 2021 compared to the previous year, leading to greater demand for public charging infrastructure. The Mayor’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Delivery Plan estimates that by 2025 London may need up to 4,000 rapid charging points.

Osprey’s £75 million UK-wide EV charging hub rollout will see a total of 1,500 150-175KW rapid chargers installed across 150 sites nationwide over the next four years.

The new Croydon hub is adjacent to a number of retail outlets including Starbucks, Aldi and Smyths Toys, allowing drivers to charge their cars whilst they shop. The hub also supports major transport routes into the city and sees 18,500 cars pass by every day.

Osprey Charging has entered a new partnership with Bonnet to open up access to EV charging to drivers using the Bonnet app 

 Patrick Reich, co-founder and CEO of Bonnet, said: “It’s an exciting time to be partnering with Osprey. One of the key stumbling blocks to EV adoption is the lack of public rapid charger availability and confusion around how to use different public charging networks.

This partnership offers Osprey’s state-of-the-art rapid charging experience through the Bonnet app, which simplifies membership, payments and gives drivers real-time chargepoint info straight from the operator.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

With the rules about to change as we ‘emerge’ from the pandemic and lighter evenings entice us to dust off the barbeque and crack open the beers or visit the local, I remembered this article and felt that whilst it applied to Christmas it is relevant to the seasonal changes not to mention the Queen’s Jubilee! Very sobering!

Half of motorists admit they are prepared to drive the morning after festive drinks or their Christmas party, a survey from IAM RoadSmart suggests.

Furthermore, when respondents were asked how many micrograms of alcohol are permitted in 100 millilitres of breath before they would fail a police breathalyser, on average, the answer was 52.

The actual threshold is only 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath.

Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart, said: “Drinking and driving simply does not mix and every driver should plan to leave the keys at home rather than face a fine, lengthy ban or time in a police cell.

“Worryingly, the research also highlights that there is still real ignorance regarding how much alcohol is enough before it is illegal to drive.

“Although motorists may well think they know how many drinks will typically tip them over the limit, individual characteristics such as body weight, food consumption, gender and metabolism will also determine the reading.

“So, if you’re planning to drink alcohol at a Christmas celebration, do not try to calculate whether or not you are over the limit. It is always best to make it none for the road.”

Roadside breath tests continue to fall

The latest available data shows that in 2020 just 252,069 motorists were breathalysed by police – an 18% fall compared with the previous year.

The fall continues the downward trend seen since the peak of 703,490 breath tests in 2009.

Yet, despite the slump in tests, 17.2% of drivers were over the limit – the highest proportion since 2003.

Hunter Abbott, managing director of personal breathalyser firm AlcoSense, said: “Separate Home Office figures show the number of dedicated roads policing officers in England and Wales had dropped to 3,850 by March 2021 compared with 5,220 in 2015 – a dramatic reduction of 26%.

“With ever fewer traffic police, testing will continue to spiral downwards.”

Abbot says that studies show people drinking more alcohol since Covid struck, particularly at home, and argues that roadside tests should be stepped up given the danger of ‘morning after’ driving with alcohol still in your system.

A recent report by Public Health England highlighted a 25% increase in alcohol sales in shops and supermarkets between 2020 and 2019, suggesting a steep rise in heavy drinking at home.

The number of killed or seriously injured drink-drive casualties in 2019 was 2,050 – an increase of 8% on 2018 and the highest level since 2011.  The figure includes 230 fatalities where the motorist was over the drink drive limit.

Abbot continued: “Even with 0.05mg/L of alcohol in breath (one-seventh of the English/Welsh limit) the driver is 37% more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than when sober.”

IAM RoadSmart is calling on the Government to roll out a smarter package of longer-term measures to help drive down the number of drink drivers on Britain’s roads into the new year.

This includes a lower drink-drive limit to reinforce good behaviour, fast-track of evidential roadside testing machines to release police resources and tailored approaches to help drivers with alcohol problems. 

Greig concluded: “A prosecution for drink driving this month will not only ruin your Christmas but also impact the rest of your life through public humiliation, loss of job, family break up and a criminal record.

“At IAM RoadSmart we estimate that last drink that takes you over the limit could cost you up to £70,000. If that isn’t a sobering thought then nothing is.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Almost 100,000 drivers have nine, 10 or 11 penalty points on their driving licence, according to the latest Government data.

It means that many could reach the 12-point threshold for a driving ban with just one offence.

The latest figure (97,187) is an increase on the 92,000 that were identified as being ‘at risk’ of a ban by IAM Roadsmart, in April.

Licence Bureau is warning companies that failure to regularly check drivers’ licences could potentially result in driver shortfalls, or worse risk drivers on fleets who should not be driving.

The company has carried out more than 830,000 licence checks on behalf of clients over the last 12 months, of which 5,000 checks picked up active drivers within the workforce who should not have been on the road.

These invalid drivers had issues ranging from driving while disqualified, to provisional licence holders, drivers with revoked licences, non-GB licence holders with endorsements, and expired or voluntarily surrendered licences.

 

Andy Wheeler commented “These latest figures make for sobering reading for fleet managers, as even for companies that are actively engaged in trying to manage their driver risk compliance, they show there is a one in 166 chance that an employed driver on the road today should not be driving.

“For companies who are not actively managing their risk, these figures could be significantly higher, with potential consequences not just for compliance but also for a diminished workforce should these drivers be removed from the roads in any large numbers.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Thousands of business drivers suffer from more anxiety, stress, tiredness and mental health issues between November and February than at any other time of the year.

That’s according to analysis of more than 3,000 business drivers using Red Driver Risk Management’s Wellbeing Profiler.

Labelled by Red as ‘Seasonally Affective Driver Disorder’ (SADD), the condition can affect all types of business drivers, whether they are in a company car, delivery van or HGV, claims the risk management firm.

The combination of dark mornings and nights, winter weather and harder driving conditions, plus an increase in stress levels as the festive season approaches, is a factor in the marked spike in mental health issues during this period, it says.

Red Driver Risk Management’s research showed a fifth of drivers (20%) claim to feel tired during the winter months, and for some the issue is worse still, with 12% claiming to be ‘exhausted’. One in 10 say they experience anxiety during the darker days too.

The reporting also looks at employee attitudes and engagement in winter. There was an 8% drop in the number of employees feeling motivated, while the percentage of drivers feeling ‘very discouraged’ doubles and ‘enthusiasm’ wanes by nearly 10%.

Red Driver Training’s CEO, Ian McIntosh, said: “We ask 79 different questions that look at areas such as tiredness, anxiety, employee engagement, mental clarity, decisiveness, self-esteem and lifestyle, and in every single metric, there is clear evidence that drivers struggle more in winter than other seasons.”

He continued: “Anybody who drives a lot knows that it can be especially tough during the winter. From the moment you get out of bed in the dark and have to scrape the ice off in the cold, we know that business motoring in the winter months is hard work.

“But this is the first time we have been able to definitively get a picture of the scale of it, through analysis of our wellbeing data.”

It showed that around one in 10 business drivers suffer from some form of SADD-related issue during the winter months.

“That is a lot of employees who are struggling and need help,” added McIntosh.

This figure should also be seen in context of data from RoSPA which shows that collision rates increase by 19% in the fortnight after the clocks are turned back, and other winter-based emotional health factors, says Red.

According to the NHS, the exact cause of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is not fully understood, but it is thought that a lack of sunlight might stop a part of the brain called the hypothalamus working properly, which may affect the production of melatonin, making you feel sleepy.

Also, lower serotonin levels can affect mood, appetite and sleep, and shift the body’s internal clock out of kilter.

McIntosh said: “The fact that driving impacts more negatively on a person’s mental health during winter is another hurdle to overcome for those already experiencing tiredness or depression.

“Seasonally Affective Driver Disorder can result in more sick days being taken, reduced productivity and, of course, is a real danger too, exacerbating the risk of accidents.

“For employees who really struggle with this, employers could do a number of things. They could try and reduce their mileage by doing more video-conferencing, or reschedule appointments so employees are not doing long drives in the morning or evening when the risks are higher.”

Every time a driver completes a Wellbeing Profiler, they get a report together with specific advice, tips and suggestions on how they may improve their wellbeing, health and resiliency.

Changes to the driver’s wellbeing is measured over time and these trends are also fed back, allowing the driver and the employer to manage their emotional and physical health in the longer term.

McIntosh concluded: “We measure overall resiliency and drivers’ scores improved on average by 19.72% after training, but more interestingly those that kept going and continued with the programme for more than four months, improved on average by an impressive 30.54%, meaning they were much more able to combat the feelings of fatigue, stress and anxiety.

“Companies are far more aware of the need to support those employees struggling with mental health, and those tucked away in their cars and vans, often alone for hours on end every day, should not be forgotten.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A Government transport minister is calling for the country to move away from car ownership with shared mobility instead becoming the norm.

Outlining her support for a system that’s “fit for the future”, transport minister Trudy Harrison said the country needs to move away from “20th century thinking centred around private vehicle ownership” and introduce “greater flexibility, with personal choice and low carbon shared transport”.

Shared transport includes bike share schemes, car clubs, shared rides, e-scooters, and digital demand responsive transport.

Harrison told delegates at the Collaborative Mobility UK (CoMoUK) annual shared transport conference, it was “staggering” that nearly two-thirds of car trips are taken by lone drivers.

She said that the UK is at a “tipping point” where shared mobility will soon be a “realistic option for many of us to get around, where mobility hubs become a familiar part of our street architecture, and where all these options will be available to book and pay for at the touch of a smartphone”.

“The challenge is to move further and faster to make shared mobility less of a novelty and increasing the norm to make it as easy, as convenient and as accessible as possible,” she added.

“We are reaching a tipping point where shared mobility in the form of car clubs, scooters and bike shares will soon be a realistic option for many of us to get around.

“Where mobility hubs become a familiar part of our street architecture and where all these options will be available to book and pay for at the touch of a smartphone.

“I think the benefits are really significant: from clean air to healthier populations to greater connectivity for more people, no matter where they live.”

CoMoUK is the national organisation for shared transport, a charity dedicated to its public benefit.

Richard Dilks, chief executive of CoMoUK, said that the minister’s comments were very welcome and demonstrate that shared transport is firmly on the Government’s agenda.

“Shared transport is the key to a more sustainable future for the UK, enabling people to use transport without the need to own it – shifting to resources such as car clubs, bike share, shared rides and demand responsive transport – with a lower impact on the environment and transport infrastructure,” he added.

“By encouraging people to use public and active travel modes more, governments can help reduce the demand for privately owned cars and achieve the country’s net zero strategy.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

BP Pulse and Charge Your Car, also BP owned, have been rated among the worst public electric vehicle charging networks in the UK in a Zap-Map survey.

The UK’s leading electric vehicle (EV) mapping service has released its annual public charging network satisfaction rankings, with Instavolt occupying the top spot.

InstaVolt’s chief executive officer, Adrian Keen, said it was an “incredibly proud moment” for the business.

“It comes at a time of increased competition with new charge point providers entering the market, and the standard of charging providers improving as the industry begins to better deliver for the consumer,” he added. “To claim top spot as the Best EV Charging Network is testament to our company ethos which is to make charging simple and reliable for all EV drivers.

“It’s through the hard work and determination of the team at InstaVolt which has allowed us to deliver more rapid chargers to the network this year than ever before, and I want to thank each and every one of our incredible employees, clients and industry partners that has contributed so far.”

Keen says the business has no intention of resting on its laurels either. “EV adoption is at an all-time high, and we plan to install even more rapid chargers, deliver exciting new partnerships and invest in even smarter technology,” he said.

The league table, now in its 4th year, comes from Zap-Map’s annual EV charging survey, which had more than 3,000 respondents.

As part of the survey, respondents rate their overall satisfaction for the networks they use regularly, which is then used to rank each network out of a maximum of five stars. They also rated their level of satisfaction with the networks in four key areas: reliability, ease of use, cost and facilities.

This year Zap-Map is awarding a new ‘Best EV Charging Network’ accreditation to the top scorer, and ‘EV Driver Recommended’ badge given to the top three.

InstaVolt scored particularly highly for reliability and ease of use, securing its ‘Best EV Charging Network’ badge.

Taking the ‘EV Driver Recommended’ second and third places respectively are two other rapid charging networks, MFG EV Power and Osprey.

At the bottom of the table, the legacy Ecotricity Electric Highway points that have not yet been migrated to Gridserve’s new chargers are in last place overall for the second year in a row.

BP Pulse has slipped into the bottom three, where it is also joined by BP Pulse owned network Charge Your Car.

BP Pulse (formerly BP Chargemaster/Polar) was ranked fifth in 2019, before falling to 13th last year and 16th this year with two-and-a-half-stars.

A spokesperson for the network told Fleet News that the survey reflects the “poor experiences” some of its customers have had recently and it is “disappointed” with its ranking.

She continued: “We’ve been working hard to improve over the last few months, trebling the size of our field service team, doubling the size of our contact centre, investing millions of pounds on new hardware and upgrading our technology to improve customers’ experiences.

“We’re proud of the fact that our network is the most-used in the UK and that we’re providing more kilowatt hours of energy to power more zero tailpipe emission miles than any other network.

“This year we’ve focussed on the roll-out of ultra-fast chargers to give EV drivers the opportunity to charge their vehicle in as little as 10 minutes, and we’re now providing the charging infrastructure for some of the UK’s biggest fleet businesses.”

Zap-Map says that it is worth noting that not all issues experienced by EV drivers can be attributed directly to the network, as they do not always own the chargers and set the tariffs.

New entrants to the Zap-Map league table

There are four new entrants to the league table. MFG EV Power is a new network that has installed charging hubs at its network of petrol stations and entered the list in second position.

Another new network, Gridserve Electric Highway, which has both rolled out its electric forecourt in Braintree and also bought, and is in the process of upgrading, Ecotricity’s network of chargers. Gridserve came joint fifth overall and for facilities.

Ubitricity, the on-street charging network, and EV Charge Online, with its network of destination chargers, while not new networks, made the league table for the first time in position ninth and 13th respectively.

ChargePlace Scotland, which came in 13th place overall, took first place for cost, thanks to many of its extensive network of rapid charge points being free to use.

ChargePlace Scotland is also going through a transition period, with a focus on improving the consumer experience.

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and chief operating officer at Zap-Map, said: “Despite significant changes over the course of the year, there are some things that remain the same. EV drivers are clear about the factors that make for a good charging experience, namely reliability and ease of use – and these should be key priorities for the UK’s public charging networks.

“The Zap-Map survey shows that while this is being delivered by some, others are falling short and there needs to be improvement.

“As we move from the early adopters towards mass EV adoption, making public charging simple becomes more important than ever.”

The BP Pulse network was one of first networks in the UK (under the Chargemaster brand) and now boasts the largest network in terms of connectors with a mix of more than 2,980 ultra-rapid, rapid, fast and slow charging devices.

The network earned a low ranking for reliability and ease of use, coming in the bottom three and bottom four respectively.

Survey respondents commented that units are starting to become unreliable, also noting price rises and poor customer service. There were also mixed comments about the network’s app and support line.

BP Pulse has acknowledged issues with reliability and has been investing in both customer care and its charge point management platform, as well as its charge point portfolio.

Charge Your Car’s UK-wide network, meanwhile, which is owned by BP Pulse, consists of a mix of more than 680 rapid, fast and slow charging devices.

The network, which came 15th overall last year, earned a low ranking in all categories including last place for facilities, with the exception of cost where it came in eighth.

Feedback highlighted poor reliability, with chargers often being out of service, slow maintenance response and patchy customer service.

Many respondents saw Charge Your Car as old and complained about the usability of the app.

Although overall in second from the bottom once more, EV drivers have ranked Charge Your Car in eighth place for price, reflecting the fact that it allows the host site to set the pricing. This results in a variety of prices across different areas, with many devices being free to use.

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Gridserve will open more than 20 ‘electric hubs’, each featuring 6-12 x 350kW ultra high-power electric vehicle (EV) charge points with contactless payment, at motorway service stations across the UK by Q2 2022.

The majority should be installed by the end of March, with a further 50 additional electric hub sites set to follow. 

Two Electric Forecourts situated adjacent to major transport routes and motorways, including a flagship site at Gatwick Airport and Norwich, are also in construction, due to open in 2022.

Several additional Electric Forecourt sites now also have planning permission including Uckfield, Gateshead, Plymouth and Bromborough, with more than 30 additional sites also under development as part of the company’s commitment to deliver over 100 Electric Forecourts.

Toddington Harper, CEO of Gridserve, said: “Our mission is to deliver sustainable energy and move the needle on climate change, and that is exactly what we are doing – delivering.

“Getting people into electric vehicles is a big part of our vision but to do that charging has to be simple and free of anxiety, which is why we’ve designed our network entirely around the needs of drivers, listening to our customers’ needs and providing the best possible level of customer service to deliver the confidence people need to make the switch to electric transport today, eight-years ahead of the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars.”

Gridserve says it wants to revolutionise EV charging across the UK, following the acquisition of Ecotricity’s Electric Highway network in June.

Some of the Electric Hubs are also located in areas traditionally left behind in the EV transition, including Wales and Cornwall, helping to deliver its vision of giving drivers everywhere the confidence to go electric well ahead of the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.

Since the acquisition, Gridserve has invested tens of millions of pounds in the network to develop the new Electric Hubs, replace the 300+ existing motorway chargers it inherited from Ecotricity, and install 130 additional AC chargers to cater for all types of EVs.

The two new Electric Forecourts for Gatwick and Norwich will follow Gridserve’s blueprint of the world’s first Electric Forecourt in Braintree, Essex.

Gatwick Electric Forecourt

Developed in partnership with Gatwick Airport, the Gatwick Electric Forecourt will be a flagship site, serving passengers, commuters, staff, local residents and businesses that pass through the airport and its surrounding motorway network each year.

Located on the Ring Road South approach to Gatwick’s South Terminal and adjacent to the M23 – it will enable 36 EVs to be charged simultaneously, with high-power chargers that can deliver up to 350kW of charging power, capable of adding 100 miles of range in less than 10 minutes. Multiple charging connectors will cater for all types of electric cars.

The site is due to open in autumn 2022 and will host a café, waiting lounge with free superfast WiFi, convenience supermarket, children’s play area and a dedicated educational space to increase awareness around electric vehicles.

Harper said: “Gatwick isn’t just an airport, it’s an ecosystem of commuters, travellers, staff, taxi drivers, car rental companies, local residents and businesses, all culminating in a transport hub that hosts tens of millions of drivers every single year.

“The Gatwick Electric Forecourt will give these drivers and businesses the confidence to switch away from petrol and diesel cars, making electric journeys to and from one of the country’s most important transport hubs straightforward and sustainable.”

Jonathan Pollard, chief commercial officer, Gatwick Airport, said: “Our new high-powered charging facility will help meet the increasing need for electric vehicle charging infrastructure at the airport, including the growing number of our passengers who own electric vehicles and need fast, convenient and effective charging facilities.

“The new charging infrastructure will also benefit people right across our community, including thousands of staff who live locally, businesses looking to introduce electric vehicle fleets – even those operating buses and trucks – and also local residents who may be considering buying an electric-powered car but were undecided due to the lack of charging facilities.”

The Norwich Electric Forecourt, which is nearing the end of its construction, and scheduled to open in April 2022, will mirror the set up at Gatwick.

David Hall, VP Power Systems UK and Ireland for Schneider Electric, says the announcement from Gridserve will help “unleash” the potential of EVs by reducing fears of range anxiety.

“To support the growth of adoption in electric mobility, which is crucial to achieving ambitious targets to reduce global CO2 emissions, we need readily available infrastructure to support EVs and to ensure the electric revolution is renewable, plentiful, and affordable,” said Hall. “It is also a significant opportunity to rebuild the UK economy with climate action at its core.

“The UK already has more EV charging points than petrol stations, and one in ten new vehicles sold is an EV.  Businesses and transport companies are increasingly playing their part by switching to low carbon, net zero fleets for cars, trucks, and buses, which will be essential for cutting their carbon footprints.

We hope that this announcement will encourage those who were holding back to make the switch and come along for the ride.

“As the popularity of electric vehicles increases, we need to ensure that electric or hybrid vehicles are low-emission, the energy grid needs to be powered by a much higher percentage of renewables. This transition will bring additional consumer demand, effectively bringing the concept of net zero transportation to life.”

Gridserve’s latest sites:

Electric Hubs

Currently in construction: Swansea (Moto), Heston West (Moto), Severn View (Moto), Wetherby (Moto), Burton in Kendall (Moto), Exeter (Moto), Woolley Edge North (Moto), Woolley Edge South (Moto), Thurrock (Moto), Leigh Delamere Westbound (Moto), Reading West (Moto).

Entering construction early next year: Reading East (Moto), Grantham North (Moto), Scotch Corner (Moto), Washington North (Moto), Washington South (Moto), Cornwall Services, Annandale (Roadchef), Magor (Roadchef), Rownhams North (Roadchef), Durham (Roadchef), Watford Gap North (Roadchef), Watford Gap South (Roadchef), Northampton North (Roadchef), Northampton South (Roadchef), Strensham North (Roadchef), Strensham South (Roadchef)

Electric Forecourts

Currently in construction: Norwich Electric Forecourt (opening April 2022), Gatwick Electric Forecourt (opening Autumn 2022).

Planning permission secured: Uckfield, Gateshead, Plymouth, Bromborough.  By Graham Hill Thanks To Fleet News

Mercedes-Benz has received approval for a self-driving system paving the way for it to be able to offer the technology to customers where national legislation allows its use.

In the UK, the Government gave the green light for self-driving vehicles on UK roads, earlier this year. Following a landmark call for evidence, it set out how vehicles fitted with Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS) technology could legally be defined as self-driving, as long as they receive GB type approval and that there is no evidence to challenge the vehicle’s ability to self-drive.

The German manufacturer is the first automotive company in the world to meet the demanding legal requirements of UN-R157 for a Level 3 system, which was granted by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA).

Level 3 refers to the automated driving function taking over certain driving tasks. However, a driver is still required and must be ready to take control of the vehicle at all times when prompted to intervene by the vehicle.  

Mercedes-Benz says that customers will be able to buy an S-Class with the Drive Pilot technology in the first half of 2022, enabling them to drive in conditionally automated mode at speeds of up to 60 km/h (37mph) in heavy traffic or congested situations on suitable stretches of motorway in Germany.

The system approval also applies to the EQS.

Markus Schäfer, member of the board of management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, and chief technology officer responsible for development and purchasing, said: “We are the first manufacturer to put conditionally automated driving into series production in Germany.

“With this milestone, we are once again proving our pioneering work in automated driving and also initiating a radical paradigm shift.

“For the first time in 136 years of automotive history, the vehicle takes over the dynamic driving task under certain conditions.”

The technical approval regulation with which such a system can be certified did not come into force until the beginning of 2021, while Germany was the first country to create a legal basis for the intended use of these systems.

Mercedes-Benz is initially offering Drive Pilot on 13,191 kilometres (8,200 miles) of motorway in Germany. The manufacturer says that extensive test drives for the system are already underway, for example in the USA and China.

As soon as there is a national legal framework for conditionally automated operation in additional markets, the technology will be rolled out step by step, it added.

How does the self-driving system work?

When the driver activates Drive Pilot, the system controls the speed and distance, and guides the vehicle within its lane.

The route profile, events occurring on the route and traffic signs, are correspondingly taken into consideration.

The system also reacts to unexpected traffic situations and handles them independently by employing evasive manoeuvres within the lane or by braking manoeuvres, says Mercedes-Benz.

Drive Pilot builds on the surround sensors of the Driving Assistance Package and comprises additional sensors that Mercedes-Benz considers indispensable for safe conditionally automated driving.

These include LiDAR, as well as a camera in the rear window and microphones, especially for detecting blue lights and other special signals from emergency vehicles, as well as a wetness sensor in the wheel well.

As well as the sensor data, the Drive Pilot receives information about the road geometry, route profile, traffic signs and unusual traffic events such as accidents or roadworks from a digital HD map. This is made available and updated via a backend connection.

The S-Class with the optional Drive Pilot also has redundant steering and braking systems and a redundant on-board electrical system, so that it remains manoeuvrable even if one of these systems fails and the safe handover to the driver can be ensured.

If the driver fails to take back control even after increasingly urgent prompting and expiry of the takeover time, for example in the event of a severe health problem, the system brakes the vehicle to a standstill in a controlled manner and with “suitable” deceleration.

At the same time the hazard warning lights and, once the vehicle has come to a standstill, the Mercedes-Benz emergency call system is activated and the doors and windows are unlocked, to make access to the interior easier for any first responders.

The exact location of the S-Class is determined using a highly accurate positioning system, says Mercedes-Benz.

In addition, data obtained from satellite navigation are matched with sensor data and data from an HD map.

Sensor data collected by LiDAR, camera, radar and ultrasonic sensors can be, for example, information on road geometry, route characteristics, landmarks or traffic signs.

The HD map provides a three-dimensional street and environment image. The map data are stored in back-end data centres and updated constantly, it says.

Each vehicle also stores an image of this map information on board, constantly compares it with the backend data and updates the local data set if necessary.

The HD map offers stable positioning through a representation of the surroundings independent of shadowing effects or a soiled sensor. It also provides information on road geometry or special traffic events such as roadworks.

This high-precision map differs from maps for navigation devices by, among other things, its higher accuracy in the centimetre rather than metre range and its detailed intersection and track model, the manufacturer says.

A central control unit provides the necessary software functions for conditionally automated driving. Within the framework of modern security architecture, important algorithms are calculated redundantly.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Vehicle crashes could be investigated by a new organisation under Government plans to boost road safety.

The Department for Transport (DfT) announced it is consulting on proposals to establish a Road Collision Investigation Branch (RCIB).

It would operate in a similar way to existing independent bodies which investigate air, maritime and rail accidents.

An RCIB would conduct investigations on certain themes and probe specific incidents to establish causes and make safety recommendations.

The DfT said it launched the consultation due to the “huge developments” taking place across the transport sector, such as the roll out of increasingly automated and electric vehicles.

There was no significant reduction in the number of people killed in crashes on Britain’s roads each year from 2012 until coronavirus lockdowns led to a huge reduction in traffic in 2020.

Some 1,752 fatalities were recorded in 2019, followed by 1,460 last year.

Police investigations into road crashes are primarily focused on “identifying criminal culpability”, according to the consultation document.

It went on: “Currently, no stand-alone body exists to investigate road traffic collisions with the remit of learning and prevention.

“The aim of an RCIB would be to conduct thematic investigations, drawing on all available evidence, to make recommendations to the relevant organisations to mitigate or prevent such incidents in future.”

Roads minister Baroness Vere said: “The UK’s roads are among the safest in the world but we’re always looking at ways to make them even safer.

“A new investigation branch would play a huge role in this work by identifying the underlying causes of road traffic collisions so we can take action to prevent them from happening again.

“It would also provide us with vital insight as we continue to modernise our road network to ensure better, greener and safer journeys.”

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: “After excellent progress across many years, sustained road safety improvement has been hard to achieve over the past decade, both in the UK and further afield.

“We should be challenging ourselves on whether we are understanding all we can about the causes of road collisions and what could be done to prevent them.

“Our research to date suggests that more could be learnt, which is why today’s consultation is so important and so welcome.”

By Graham Hill Thanks To MSN