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Autoglass has warned that many replacement windscreens could have been avoided if drivers acted more quickly when their screens suffered a chip as chips will nearly always become a crack. A straight forward chip repair takes about 20 minutes compared to nearly 2 hours for a replacement screen. The cost of windscreen replacement is rising rapidly due to the complexity of the glass used and the skill and Read more »

On the subject of scams there is a lot of evidence of  an old favourite amongst the more unscrupulous brokers returning. It was used a lot in the last recession and will no doubt be used even more as we have the added ‘bonus’ of a credit crunch as we move in the direction of another recession. It’s based on the deal that doesn’t exist, the sort of thing that dealers used to do a lot in the past by advertising a really cheap car to undercut all the local competition then telling the customer Read more »

I certainly notice less drivers using mobile phones whilst driving, possibly as a result of more prosecutions and fines, but we now see local authorities turning more of their attention to smokers in company vehicles. Whilst some issue warnings many are starting to issue more £30 penalties. A recent case saw a self employed painter and decorator, Gordon Williams fined £30 by his local council for smoking in his van, even though it is privately owned and he wasn’t working at the time. Read more »

Not much has been reported for a while about speeding fines. Probably because the local authorities are carefully playing it down as latest statistics show that speeding fines have increased four fold since labour came to power. Home office statistics show that 1.8 million tickets are issued annually or 4,850 every day, compared to 713,000 in 1997. In 1997 the amount of money raised in fines was £28.5 million, in 2006 the figure had risen to Read more »

Few people are aware of their obligations if they have medical problems. Gavin Jones, risk management expert at Masterlease pointed out ‘All drivers are required by law to notify the DVLA of any medical condition which may affect their fitness do drive but many drivers are failing to report this and could be using the road illegally.’ He added ‘When the DVLA is notified of any medical issues, a full investigation is carried out before the motorist is deemed fit to continue with their licence.’ If this is the case and drivers are driving Read more »

BMW Financial Services have warned about an increase in lease scams whereby cars are obtained illegally by the scammers then sub leased to innocent third parties. One such fraudulent act included the customer signing the documents of a well known finance company and a seperate direct debit form which paid money straight into the scammer’s account and not the contract hirer’s account. The scammer made no payments for the car and disappeared whilst the driver continued Read more »

Warnings have been issued by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare regarding the lack of eye tests being insisted upon by employers. They recommend that all employees that drive a car as part of their job should have their eyes tested every year and at worst every other year, if not this lack of management could lead to prosecution of the employer in the event of a fatal injury. Their investigation found that 84% of employers recognised the need for Read more »

When I first started driving I drove an Austin Nash-Metropolitan, a rather cool car with a bench seat, column gearchange, low slung windows that you could really lean out of and wait for it – a built in valve radio that could pick up the pirates a treat although it did take a trip of more than 20 minutes to warm up! I could snuggle up to the latest squeeze whilst driving with my right arm nearly scraping the road whilst squeeling round corners on two remoulds a cross ply and a radial (Pirelli – naturally) having been to a disco and drunk to the point of being probably twice the legal drink drive limit by today’s standards then believing that I could drive at Read more »

The Sentencing Guideline Council who advise magistrates and judges as to the recommended maximum term felons should face if committed for particular crimes have issued new guidlines for the the newly established crimes of causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving. The new laws and associated prison sentences cover such things as momentarily looking at a map, adjusting their sat-nav and talking on a hands free phone, each of these will result in a maximum of Read more »

Whilst identity fraud continues to increase and cause concern to the leasing companies that often pay out tens of thousands of pounds for cars after receiving just a few signed documents and an advanced rental cheque, often for less than £1,000, motor finance fraud is relatively low compared to say credit card fraud or online purchase fraud. But there has been a steady increase in some more sophisticated organised fraud that results in professionals having their identities used in order to Read more »