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Similar to speed cameras, new cameras are being trialled to measure noise levels from vehicles and like speed cameras, they will record the registration number of the vehicle exceeding legal limits.

The trial has been authorised by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and will take place later this year. The cameras will detect noisy vehicles in quiet residential areas and anyone caught breaking noise level laws will be fined.

Noise pollution is becoming a big problem. So much so that many police forces have set up on-line systems that allow members of the public to report incidents. Mr Grayling is following the example set by Canada, Singapore, Australia and the UAE who are already using noise cameras.

Mr Grayling is keen to see the results of the trials as he is concerned about the misery caused to communities by thoughtless drivers exceeding acceptable noise pollution levels. If the trials are successful he will roll the cameras out across the whole of the UK.  The trials will also help to formalise legal noise levels. As a general rule noise levels over 90 decibels constitutes a nuisance but there is no formal noise limit.

So if you are having problems with car or motorcycle noise you can report it but it probably won’t be long before they install noise cameras somewhere near you. By Graham Hill

According to Auto Express, cars that are vulnerable to keyless theft are set to face higher insurance costs, after the industry experts responsible for setting vehicle “risk ratings” confirmed they would be penalising vehicles that are susceptible to relay attacks.

Thatcham Research, the insurance industry’s automotive research centre, confirmed that if manufacturers failed to include countermeasures to fend off relay attacks on cars with keyless entry systems, the organisation would recommend insurers judge them less favourably when calculating premiums.

While carmakers will be given a grace period to beef up the robustness of keyless systems, from 2021 Thatcham will change its new vehicle security assessment programme (NVSA) to reflect which models are most vulnerable to keyless theft. Insurers don’t have to abide by the guidelines, but the NVSA rating system helps to determine a car’s insurance group rating, meaning many cars are likely to attract higher premiums once the changes come into place.

Owners seeking to future-proof any prospective new-car purchase against potential insurance price hikes post 2021, meanwhile, can head to Thatcham’s security page to check if a car has a Superior, Good, Basic, Poor, or Unacceptable NVSA rating – though the grading system only applies to models introduced since the start of 2019.

You can reach the Thatcham Security Page by following this link:

https://www.thatcham.org/what-we-do/security/consumer-rating-2

The UK is currently experiencing an epidemic of car theft, with insurance payouts for stolen cars at their highest level since 2012, a study by German engineers finding almost every keyless system can be hacked, and police recording under half of all stolen cars being recovered. Carmakers have recently started to roll out fixes to the keyless conundrum, however, with Ford introducing a new keyless key with a motion sensor that puts the fob to sleep when it is not moving.

Commenting on the news, Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the automotive industry “takes vehicle crime extremely seriously”, while the latest models “feature sophisticated immobilisers, tracking devices and encrypted key codes which prevent cloning.” Hawes also called for the government to ban the relay boxes that facilitate keyless theft. By Graham Hill

Whilst the three biggest problems preventing drivers from making the switch, i.e. price of cars, range and charging infrastructure a new challenge has emerged. If an electric or plug-in hybrid car breaks down or is involved in an accident it needs specialist recovery. Fleet News has investigated the implications.

The two main issues are battery complications and the fact that electric vehicles (EV’s) cannot be towed or moved unless the car can be switched on to enable the car to be put into neutral, freeing up the wheels that will be locked in gear.

To reduce the risk of battery fires or electrocution, most EVs use circuit breakers that disconnect the high-voltage system if an impact is detected.

The emergency services will also seek to disconnect any high-voltage components on electric vehicles if they are required to attend. These added complications  mean recovery firms can have a tougher job of collecting these often heavy vehicles.

When a BMW i3 operated by Speedy Services was involved in a collision, it took 15 hours for the vehicle to be recovered by the company’s appointed recovery agent, the AA.

“When the first AA man turned up, he said he didn’t know anything about electric vehicles,” said Gareth Jones, transport compliance manager at Speedy Services.

“A second man arrived later. He was concerned that the battery was damaged and there could be a health and safety issue around transporting hazardous materials.”

The i3 was immobile because there was no power to it.  Jones said they couldn’t disengage the handbrake and the electric motor was locked, so the wheels wouldn’t turn.

A third AA vehicle – a flatbed truck with a winch – was able to recover the car. But the operator first had to work out the weight of the car and the angle it would need to be pulled at, to see if the winch was powerful enough.

“The operator had to literally drag the car up onto a flatbed truck. It was the most annoying day,” said Jones. Speedy Services has been operating three BMW i3s, which have been converted into vans, for the past two years. This incident was the first the fleet encountered.

“We were flabbergasted that companies like the AA seemed unaware of how to deal with it,” said Jones.

“I don’t think the UK is geared up to recover vehicles of this type yet. It hasn’t put us off EVs though. We’ve all got to move forwards and embracing new technology is a core part of our business. What we have to do is look at how we are going to stop it happening again.”

In a statement, the AA said all its patrols are trained to work safely on EVs. However, it did point out that where EVs suffer damage in the event of an accident, there could
be additional health and safety considerations before recovering the vehicle. This may require further risk assessments or equipment. In order to make the scene safe, it may also include specialist support for road traffic collisions.

The Institute of Vehicle Recovery (IVR) delivers specialist training to enable recovery firms to handle electrified vehicles correctly. It has seen a lot of demand for its EV course.

Mark Hartell, vice-chairman of the IVR, said: “It is vital that all technicians, and those responsible for sending them out, appreciate the hazards and specialist knowledge required to recover this type of vehicle.”

Jones advises fleet operators to ensure that recovery firms are aware they are being called to deal with an electric vehicle, whether directly or through an accident management provider.

Pete Williams, RAC road safety spokesman, said: “Our approach to EVs and hybrids is consistent with how we deal with conventional petrol and diesel vehicles. In the event of an accident, if requested to recover an EV vehicle by the fleet manager, we would send a flatbed lorry.

“EVs present a particular challenge as most cannot be towed normally and should be transported with all wheels off the ground. It is a similar situation with many other modern vehicles, including crossovers, SUVs, 4x4s, pick-ups, vans and automatics.

“In response, we have developed our new All-Wheels-Up equipment that effectively brings flatbed recovery capability to our standard long-wheel based orange patrol vans. To date, 600 have been equipped with this new kit. So a single van can recover an EV – saving the driver valuable time.”

The total number of fully electric cars registered in the UK rose by 59% last year, accounting for about 1% of total sales. Plug-in hybrids are more popular, making up 2.8% of sales.

A recent survey by Kia found that 87% of fleet managers have encountered increased demand for electrified vehicles, but the majority feel that the cars won’t be suitable for another two to five years.

Kia’s Fleet Green Perspectives Report found that 65% of fleets operate plug-in vehicles, an increase of 27% in the past year.

It seems that we need to go much further if we are to convince drivers to embrace EV’s and move across from petrol and diesel cars. We only seem to be scratching the surface and paying lip service to those who want to live in a cleaner environment. By Graham Hill

The Motoring Ombudsman (not to be confused with the Financial Ombudsman) has revealed that few drivers are aware that they can extend their manufacturer’s warranty beyond the initial period. Really? If that’s the case a few dealership salesmen should be sacked!

Anyway, they found that more than half of all participants in a recent survey didn’t know that you can extend the manufacturers warranty. 32% were not aware that you can use an independent provider, you don’t have to take the manufacturer’s warranty.

This is quite important as more people are opting for 4 and even 5 year agreements in order to reduce the costs. In most cases that takes you beyond the manufacturer’s warranty period but whether you take an extended manufacturer’s warranty or take one from an independent provider make sure you check what you are covered for.

Also, if you decide to take out a 4 or 5 year PCP or PCH remember that you have other costs to take into account. Often new cars come with a breakdown service for the first 3 years which would need to be renewed or replaced. Service and maintenance costs increase as more items need to be replaced or renewed. Then there are often connectivity services and subscriptions that need to be renewed such as Sat Nav updates and alerts.

So what may seem like a good deal over say 4 years compared to 3 years, saving £20 per month could easily be eaten up by the added costs in the 4^th year. Graham Hill

Drivers who ignore lane closures on motorways marked with a red ‘X’ will be handed a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of £100 fine and three penalty points from June 10 2019.

At present, only a police officer catching drivers in the act can issue the FPN but the new Road Traffic Offenders (Prescribed Devices) Order 2019 was passed on May 13.

The enforcement will mirror motorway speeding offences. By this it means that the police force where the incident took place will issue the penalty.

Edmund King, AA president says; “Although it has taken far too long, this is a welcome measure to improve safety on motorways.

“Our research shows that one in 20 drivers continue to drive in red X lanes even when they’ve seen it, and so far Highways England has written warning letters to over 180,000 drivers about their actions.

“Red X’s are put up to warn of an obstruction, so drivers must get out of the lane when they see them. We have had several incidents recently where AA members’ cars have been hit in a live lane on ‘smart’ motorways.”

Since the beginning of 2017, Highways England has issued over 180,000 warning letters to drivers who have ignored the signs in an attempt to stamp out the behaviour. This clearly hasn’t worked so more extreme measures were called for. By Graham Hill

Thatcham Research that carries out safety tests on behalf of Euro NCAP have now started carrying out tests that tell drivers how easy it is to break into their cars.

The ratings are ’Superior’, ‘Good’, ‘Poor’ and ‘Unacceptable’. The ratings are awarded based on how well a car performs in a range of security tests. Tey include one that identifies how vulnerable cars are to digital ‘hack’ in keyless cars.

11 cars have been tested so far, of which 5 were rated as ‘poor’. There are Ford Mondeo executive car, Toyota Corolla family hatchback, Lexus UX and Hyundai Nexus SUV and Kia ProCeed Estate.

At the top of the scale rated as ‘Superior’, were Jaguar XE Saloon, Range Rover Evoque, Audi eTron and Porsche Macan SUV’s along with the Mercedes B Class MPV. The Suzuki Jimny small SUV was the only car to be rated ‘Unacceptable’.

According to Thatcham’s Technical Officer, Richard Billyeald, the Jimny was given the rating as a result of, ‘This car scores consistently badly across all criteria, missing some fundamental security features that consumers might rightly be fitted to a new car’.

Thatcham have introduced the new ratings system as a result of increased awareness of car buyers and their demand for more information on security risks. It also ties in with the increasing cost of car thefts in the UK. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said that the cost of claims relating to vehicle theft has increased in 2018 by 29% compared to 2017 with claims running at £1 million per day.

The ABI pointed out that the main reason for the increase was the increased use of keyless entry systems and the ease with which thieves can hijack the signal from the key fob then use it to unlock and start the car.

The ABI went on to explain that drivers are worried about car theft and that the record amounts being paid out in claims ‘in part reflects the vulnerability of some cars to keyless relay theft’.

In response, the Society For Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) hit back by explaining that the automotive industry ‘takes vehicle crime extremely seriously’. It added, ‘The latest technology has helped to bring down theft dramatically during the past 20 years. However, criminals will always look for new ways to steal cars; it’s an ongoing battle and why manufacturers continue to invest billions in ever more sophisticated security features and software upgrades’. By Graham Hill

Auto Express investigated how accurate the speedometers were on 10 cars were. They did this by comparing how fast the speedos said they were going with the actual speed, revealed by a VBox meter.

Car speedometers are not allowed to ‘under-read’ – they can’t tell you that you’re going more slowly than you really are – but they are allowed to over-read by up to 10 per cent plus 6.25mph. So they could read 50.25mph at 40mph.

All the cars that were assessed were well within legal limits, although some read with near-perfect accuracy, while others over-read by 3mph. This, with the different approaches police have to enforcing limits, means some variance will always remain around speeding.

Commenting on the investigation, AA president Edmund King said it is “sensible to have some flexibility” with speed-limit enforcement, “as the last thing we need is drivers concentrating solely on the speedo and not the road”.

King added that, with speedometers becoming increasingly accurate, “Auto Express’s testing is a valid reminder to drivers not to gamble on their speedo perhaps providing some leeway”.

The speedo accuracy test explained:

The VBox is a clever piece of kit that uses a GPS signal to measure a car’s speed. It’s very accurate, gauging velocity to within 0.1km/h, so is perfect for assessing speedos.

They set their test cars to 30, 50, 60 and 70mph using the built-in speed limiter or cruise control to ensure a steady speed, then used the VBox to measure how fast they were going. This gave them a fair idea of the discrepancy between actual and indicated speed.

“Not many drivers have access to a VBox, but a separate smartphone app or sat-nav can give you an idea of how accurate your speedo is. Here are the results of the tests:

By Graham Hill & Auto Express

Drivers repeatedly caught leaving their car engine running while parked could be hit with instant fines in a bid to curb pollution, according to reports.

Environment secretary Michael Gove has backed Westminster City Council’s call to be granted powers which could see drivers who are caught idling to be fined without warning, the Times says.

The existing arrangement sees officers issue a warning, followed by a fine if a driver keeps the car running for at least a minute – depending on which regulation is used by an authority fines can either be £20 or £80.

Experts claim idling engines are harmful to the environment as they can produce greater emissions than one which is in motion.

Westminster City Council issued just 20 fines last year but other councils – including City of London, Camden, Croydon, Reading, Norwich and Canterbury did not issue fines for idling.

Nickie Aiken, Westminster Council leader, said: “Fines are our last resort but when we establish a pattern of persistent idling we need to be able to send a message.”

And she argued the likes of supermarket delivery vans should be hit with a four-figure sum to be “sufficient deterrent”

Mr Gove said that instant fines for repeat offenders should be considered as a solution to the problem.

It was important to ensure that the new powers would be used proportionately by councils, he added.

Camden council, which wants to be able to issue instant fines, has warned more than 400 drivers but has issued no fines since it was granted the powers last year

The Department for Transport said: “We are determined to reduce the damaging environmental impacts of drivers who keep their engines running while stationary, especially those in school zones.

“This is why we are making guidance for local authorities clearer, so that they know how and when to target drivers falling foul of the law. We will be polling local authorities to understand how any potential review of these powers may look in the future.” By Graham Hill & AOL News

Did you know that some insurers reduce their premiums by up to 20% if you have a dash cam fitted in your car? I personally believe that fitting a dash cam as standard in a car should be a legal requirement and could be fitted into the rear of the rear view mirror.

Years ago cars didn’t have immobilisers fitted but they are now a statutory requirement along with a car alarm. And it would cost considerably less than the cost of fitting an aftermarket unit.

Dash cams can be incredibly useful in the event of an accident in order to help the driver prove his case and the incidents of ‘Cash For Crash’, where a driver pulls in front of an innocent driver and brakes hard causing the car behind to hit the car in front, then every person in the car in front making a whiplash claim, has reduced as a result of dashcams.

Dashcam footage has also helped police to apprehend dangerous drivers and drunk drivers following erratic and dangerous driving. But for the cameras to be effective they must be capable of creating clear footage with easy transfer to a mobile device.

With this in mind AutoExpress have tested out some of the popular brands and come up with their top 3 cameras.

Their Best Buy was the Nextbase 612GW, priced at £249.99. It has a 150 degree lens capture with recording in 4K Ultra HD. In the tests number plates were easy to read as were road signs and pedestrians could be seen I a low light. A polarised filter enhanced colour quality and settings were easily adjusted on the move. The BlackVue had better picture quality but the price difference gave the Nextbase the edge.

Recommended was the Blackvue DR900S-1CH with the best picture quality but priced at £399.95. It has a 162 degree lens capture with recording in 4K Ultra HD at 30 frames per second making it the most accurate. In the tests this cam recorded pedestrians and number plates well even in low light as a result of the 8megapixel camera. Settings are changed via a downloadable app. It is WiFi enabled so recordings can be uploaded from the camera to Cloud Storage. In summary the cam and the features justify the high cost – loved by the testers.

Also recommended was the Thinkware Q800 Pro at a cost of £269. The unit looks a little messy as it comes with a hardwire lead powered by a plug and play 12v unit. There is no screen and and footage is accessed by the Thinkware app. The unit comes with a Sony Exmor R Starvis sensor to record 1440p quad HD quality footage at 30 frames per second. The review describes the quality as good but behind the first two. Lowlight conditions are the strength of the Thinkware with Night Vision 2.0 is excellent.

If you want to see all of the reviews you need to get your hands on the 1^st May edition of Auto Express. By Graham Hill

Over a fifth of drivers have got out of their car to confront another driver in road rage incidents according to latest survey data. And a further 39% have said that they have been affected by road rage on more than one occasion.

Amazingly, 19% of drivers admitted getting so angry whilst driving that they deliberately followed another driver. The survey polled 1,000 motorists and was carried out by motor data firm HPI. While women were more likely to follow other motorists, men were more likely to get out of their cars in road rage incidents.

Those that responded to the survey said dangerous overtaking was the most common reason for road rage while van drivers were felt to be the most irritating road users followed by cyclists and minicab drivers. Let’s all just calm down – life’s too short. By Graham Hill