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If you ever fly from Gatwick Airport and travel there by train you will arrive at the South Terminal. If you then have to get to the North Terminal you jump on the very efficient shuttle that travels between the two terminals. It’s all electric, it’s driverless and it travels on rails at a speed just north of a healthy walking pace.

And even then, in the firm knowledge that no-one can step in front of the train, there are no road signs to read, no traffic lights to watch or emergency road works to negotiate I still get nervous. So it was a shocking injection of reality to find that there are very serious plans to move the UK to the front of the driverless car development by proposing legislation that would allow self-driving cars loose on our roads.

Trials have been taking place since 2015 in parts of London, Milton Keynes, Bristol and Coventry but not to the levels being proposed by the Department for Transport who have probably never sat on the Gatwick shuttle. To date all cars had to have a driver in the car when being trialled but proposed new legislation will allow completely driverless cars to be trialled on public roads without a rail in sight.

They believe that there will be completely driverless cars available by 3035 with the industry worth £52 billion in the UK and £907 million globally – could I have hit on the real reason for wanting to be first out of the blocks. Matthew Avery from Thatcham Research who have a bit of knowledge about car safety said, ‘Safety must not be compromised to achieve leadership position’.

And if you are really looking for assurances and comfort the DfT said that companies and organisations wishing to conduct driverless trials must liaise with police and local authorities, and experiments must be paused, scaled down or stopped ‘during investigations or following an incident’. So if I understand that remark they are expecting ‘incidents’, how reassuring is that?

Call me old fashioned but this is one development that I’m certainly not looking forward to! By Graham Hill

OK, before I question my sanity here are the statistics according to the Home Office. Reported vehicle thefts have increased from 75,308 in 2013/14 to 111,999 reported in 2017/18. That’s a jump of 48.7%. The Home office doesn’t report on how the vehicles were stolen but the rising numbers correlate to the increase in keyless entry and go systems fitted to cars and the drop in police officers of 21,958 since 2006 – a 15% reduction.

What? I think the answer to the problem is in the above. As has been widely publicised keyless entry makes it very simple for crooks to steal your car. So I wonder what the solution could be? Let me think about that one? Hmmmm! Could it be the banning of keyless entry until an alternative can be found which cannot be abused by an oik with a laptop and his mate with a small signal generator?

As for the increase in thefts being blamed on the drop in police numbers – how daft is that? Now, first of all, I don’t approve of the massive cut in police officers but to blame the increase in thefts on the number of police is frankly daft. If they blamed the low number of stolen recoveries on the police I could understand but they’re blaming the number of thefts on them.

And where are the insurers in all this? Paying out fortunes to those who have had their car stolen should, one would think, get them to set up a recovery team to find the cars that they are paying out on. I’m sure they could justify the costs. And as for the car manufacturers, knowing that keyless entry doesn’t protect their cars one would think that they would immediately withdraw the system

Whilst some manufacturers have a means whereby you can deactivate the keyless devices they need to go further. Remembering to switch off the keyless device or storing it in a protective case puts the onus on the drivers – totally bonkers.

And as for blaming car thefts on the drop in police numbers, unless previously we had a policeman by the side of every car at all times preventing the theft of each and every car I fail to see how a few more bobbies in every town or a few more traffic cops would deter the oiks from stealing cars.

We need sentencing to fit the crime. What happens if they’re caught? They’re given a community order or forced to wear an ankle bracelet for a couple of months. No point in banging them up as it ends up clogging up the prison system so maybe some hard labour would do the trick!! By Graham Hill

Yes you read that correctly, your car could report you for being in charge of your car whilst intoxicated. We’re not talking about normal cars we’re talking about autonomous cars (driverless). This raises a couple of questions, the first is a major misunderstanding about autonomous cars.

I went into detail in a previous report so I won’t repeat myself about ‘drivers’ of autonomous cars but basically if you are one of those that thinks that in a few years time you’ll be able to jump unto your driverless car, go down the pub or club and get absolutely legless then get in the car and tell it to take you home – you’re badly mistaken.

If you are in charge of an autonomous car you will need to be as sober as the driver of a normal car. So that’s possibly messed up your plans of being in a state of permanent inebriation.

The next question is how and is this big brother gone mad? The how is a patent filed by Huawei on a system that measures sobriety of an autonomous vehicle’s occupants. According to Auto Express the system consists of a number of sensors and processors that monitor the condition of the driver, checking to see if they are in a fit state to take over the manual controls of the car in an emergency?

If the system detects that the driver is drunk, it could issue a warning, deactivate the car, or even inform the police. The system not only detects drunkenness the patent describes the car detecting if suspicious items such as weapons or drugs are on board and if the driver is driving whilst using a mobile device (really? One would have thought that if the car can drive itself it would have Bluetooth fitted). It can also sense tiredness.

This is the first time that engineers have considered the possibility of using technology to report drivers for offences. Alongside this development, it was reported last year that autonomous police cars of the future could be mini courtrooms. They would be kitted out to test drivers for alcohol and drugs and scan for weapons. Sentences would be delivered by videolink and offenders autonomously delivered to jail.

The theory behind this is that Bobbies could return to the beat whilst the new cars increased the prosecution rate by removing the courts from the system. Makes you wonder where this is all taking us? By Graham Hill

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By Graham Hill

I’ve already opened this week’s email with some of my views on the legal implications but aside from those PCH is definitely gaining traction. It took quite a while for consumers to get their heads around PCP with the idea of either handing their car back to the finance company, buying it or using it as a part exchange. With over 5 million live PCP contracts running it is clear that people are getting it.

However, of those who took out PCP’s on new cars, not willing to consider any other alternative because they still had the option to buy the car at the end of the lease if they wanted to, they then felt that they were misled by the dealer. They believed that there would be some equity in the car at the end of the agreement which could be used as part of the deposit on the replacement car. In many cases drivers have ended up giving back the car to the finance company because the car wasn’t worth the balloon payment let alone providing some equity.

In fact according to themoneysavingexpert.com 80% of those who take out a PCP hand the car back at the end of the agreement. So having had that experience they then realise that they could have saved a considerable amount of money by taking out PCH with no option to purchase. So whilst PCP looked great on paper it isn’t surprising that there has been a massive growth in PCH over the last 12 months whilst PCP has dropped for the first time ever.

I will be explaining much more over the coming weeks so watch this space as I reveal some of the closely held secrets of the industry. By Graham Hill

The usual headlines appeared as soon as the new car sales figures were announced. Headlines such as New Car Sales Fall Off A Cliff made it seem like new car sales had dropped by 50% from the previous year. They didn’t, the drop was 7% or 100,000 cars dropping from just over 2.5 million in 2017 to just under 2.4 million in 2018. So not the disaster that reports would have you believe.

With an average of 200,000 new cars being registered every month keeping us in second place to Germany in the EU is hardly a major disaster. Believe it or not Jaguar increased by 4% but then their problems, along with their sister marque, LandRover have suffered from a drop in demand in China, the US and Middle East.

It seems that the main drops were amongst the volume producers such as Ford, Vauxhall, Nissan and Audi. Changes to the emissions regulations threw a massive spanner in the works. Manufacturing slowed as some manufacturers struggled to meet the emissions levels with some stopping production altogether. Then having sold off all the pre-emissions tests cars there were no new cars in stock to sell so drivers either extended current agreements or took on a used car.

So my feeling, given the circumstances is that new car sales in 2018 were pretty buoyant. My real concern was over alternative fuels. But first a few words about diesel cars. 62% of new cars bought in 2018 were pure petrol cars compared to 32% pure diesel. You may think this is a good thing given the reports about emissions and the need to get diesel cars off our roads. The fact is that it is old diesel cars that we need to get off the road. New diesels are virtually particulate (soot) free and whilst NOx emissions are a little higher CO2 emissions are lower so in terms of damage there is very little to choose.

The question that never seems to be raised is that of mileage. Clearly, if people drove their cars less they would reduce emissions irrespective of the fuel used. The sad news is that just 5% of new cars registered in 2018 were either diesel/electric or petrol/electric hybrids. And even worse for the environment was that just 0.7% were pure electric cars. This of course wasn’t helped by the Government removing the grants completely from hybrid cars and reducing those on electric cars.

The car industry was in good shape last year but the move towards a better environment is flagging badly! Something needs to be done and the Government needs to give better direction to diesel/petrol drivers as we are about to see warnings in the press again about the Ozone layer as a result of the increase in petrol car drivers increasing CO2 emissions. By Graham Hill

Before you think I’m getting all political – I’m not. I’m talking about one of the major successes of EU membership and that is safety systems on cars. Across the whole of the EU safety standards have been set to protect drivers, passengers and other road users – very successfully. But will this still be the case after Brexit when we take over the rules and regulations ourselves?

My hope is that we will continue to maintain the high standards that, like many EU laws, we were responsible for in the first place. If you drove around Spain or Italy in the 70’s and 80’s you would have taken yours and everyone else’s lives around you in your hands the moment you got behind the wheel.

But with the introduction of consistency throughout Europe when it comes to car safety you can feel relatively safe in every country you drive in. But will this apply moving forward? There have been times when the UK manufacturers have questioned some of the enforced safety features imposed upon us by the EU but will that mean that there will be two levels of safety applied when we build cars in the UK?

Safety costs money so if the car manufacturers can save money – will they do so, especially if the safety feature doesn’t count towards the global NCAP safety tests. If we export to Europe we will need to meet the EU standards but will they apply in the UK especially as we are more and more price driven? As an example take the Indian car market where above all else cost is the main factor followed by cost to run, mileage and performance.

Safety is way down the list of priorities so manufacturers manufacture to meet the needs. And that includes European manufacturers. In a recent case a VW Polo was reported to be given 0 stars on the global NCAP test without it affecting sales. I believe they improved the safety of the cars and as a result achieved a higher score but that was a good case of car manufacturers meeting demand. In the UK Polos achieve either 4 or 5 NCAP safety stars.

By removing ourselves from Europe I sincerely hope that we don’t remove ourselves from some of the good things they were responsible for. I wouldn’t like to think that it would be safer to drive a new car in Europe than in the UK. By Graham Hill

£500 Overspend On Petrol: Drivers can spend £500 per annum more than necessary depending on where they fill up.

Daily Insurance Claims Hit £33m Per Day: Car insurance payouts ran at £33m every day in 2016 whilst premiums hit a record high.

1.4 Million Drivers Attended Re-Training Courses: Drivers who were caught committing motoring offences attended courses raising £54 million for the police in the process

9,050 Drink Drive Casualties: The highest on record since 2012 with 2016 7% higher than 2015.

Council Parking Revenue Up To £1.58 Bn In 2017: New figures revealed that this produced a surplus of £819 million.

1,024 Children Banned From Driving: Even though they weren’t old enough to drive

39% Drop In Phone Penalties: Motorists caught using a mobile phone whilst driving dropped from 49,694 in 2016 to 30,470 in 2017. This was put down to fines and points doubling. Or maybe it’s down to fewer police and hands-free fitted to more cars.

109 Driving Instructor Investigations: The DVSA cracked down on inappropriate relations between driving instructors and students.

Superfluous Road Signs: 4.3 million road signs were shown by the Department for Transport to be superfluous.

15% Of Motorists Report Being Blinded By Headlights: According to research carried out by the RAC

The Average Fine For Car Theft Was £198: With 80% of crooks receiving a fine rather than a jail sentence.

The Average Age Of Cars On UK Roads Is 8.1 Years: The Department for Transport revealed that the average age increased from 7.8 years in 2015 and 6.8 years in 2003.

8,000 Crooked Car Washes: The CarWash Advisory Service estimated that 8,000 of the 20,000 hand car washes are involved in illegal activities.

5.65 Million Parking Tickets Handed Out In 2017: The Government has pledged to clamp down on private firms.

Pothole Claims Run At £1million Per Month: The AA revealed the scale of the claims.

89,000 Vehicles Stolen In 2017: Vehicle theft went up from 56,000 in 2016 to 89,000 in 2017. Blamed on police cuts and thieves managing to crack keyless technology.

80% Of New Cars Were Bought On Finance: According to Auto Express I gave tips on PCP deals along with revelations. An influencer!

London Reduced Speed Limit: Sadiq Khan said that all roads managed by Transport for London would have a 20mph speed limit

Drivers Overspend £3.4bn On Repairs: Green Flag indicates that drivers spend £3.4bn more than they need to.

20% Reduced Reaction Times: University of Bath reported this drop in reaction time as a result of a hangover.

£106 million Government Investment In EV’s: This investment in vehicle and battery development was matched by £500 million investment from industry.

27% Of Those Killed On Our Roads Were Not Wearing Seatbelts: 1,793 people lost their lives on the roads in 2017, 27% were found not to be wearing seatbelts.

Audi Fined £700m For False Emission Figures: German authorities imposed the fine on Audi for ‘deviations from regulatory requirements’ over V6 & V8 diesel engine emissions.

Diesel MOT Failures Hit 238,871: Following new MOT rules – a fourfold increase.

2.3 Million Cars Clocked: One in 16 cars display a false mileage reading with the Local Government Association calling for the ban of mileage correction devices.

So there you have it – some of the major issues and statistics of 2018. What will 2019 bring us – well we will find out soon enough! By Graham Hill

Then you probably need to read the findings of Warrantywise when they surveyed claims made on used cars revealing the most and least reliable cars.

Most & least claimed-against brands:

Most & least claimed car models

So if you’re thinking of buying a used car and you want one that is least likely to go wrong and potentially cost you money in repairs choose from the least claimed list. On the other hand you could take out a lease on a new car and benefit from a new car warranty. By Graham Hill

If you were told this by the manufacturer of your car and that he would fix the problem if you popped it into your nearest dealer for free, why wouldn’t you go? Or if you needed to check a website to see if your car was one that had the fault wouldn’t you check it?

Well in 2013 this problem was identified. Takata airbags were fitted to 66 global models and all could have the fault so a massive recall got underway. In the UK 2.9 million cars were affected but to date, 991,333 cars remain unrepaired – could yours be one of them?

You may recall in 2015 Vauxhall hit the headlines as a result of their Zafiras built between 2005 and 2014 possibly having faulty heating components fitted causing the cars to catch light. The affected cars were identified and recall notices were sent out to 234,000 drivers. 30,686 have still not been repaired so any of those could catch fire at any time. Might be a good idea to check your car out if you’re driving a Zafira.

As with the Zafira, BMW issued a recall in 2018 on their 3 series built between 2004 and 2011. Again faulty heater wiring could lead to a fire but of the 279,104 cars affected 197,352 remain unrepaired. According to the DVSA there are still 2.39 million cars subject to safety recalls that have still not been repaired, an estimated 1 in 13 cars.

According to Auto Express, Edmund King – AA President, said that ‘Generally the recall system in the UK works quite well…’ What? A third of cars that have a potential fault that could result in shrapnel being fired into the face of the driver or passengers doesn’t suggest to me that the system is working quite well!

As a result of this highly dangerous situation, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is proposing to align two of their systems, the recall register and MOT test records. They propose that if a car is subject to a recall it is noted in the advisory section of the MOT certificate. If it appears the following year the car should fail the test.

Personally, I don’t feel this goes far enough, the recalls should be aligned with road fund licence and if the car hasn’t been repaired the driver can’t renew the tax – surely if the car is a danger to the driver, occupants and other road users they should not be allowed on the road. If we rely upon the MOT test the car will be 3 years old before the note is made on the certificate.

If you would like to check to see if your car has a recall go to: https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/   By Graham Hill