The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

This is something I’ve been banging on about for years so I’m pleased that something is finally happening to get this introduced into the curriculum.

The TTC Group is calling on the Government to introduce road safety training on to the National School Curriculum for Road Safety Week 2021.

TTC Group believes it would prove beneficial for the safety of all, and are calling for road safety awareness to be taught in schools.

With 4,140 reported road casualties aged 0-16, and a further 7,630 casualties aged between 17-24, in 2020, there is a clear case for road safety to be added to the national curriculum if even a small percentage of these 11,770 casualties could be avoided.

Jason Wakeford, head of campaigns at Brake, said: “Younger drivers have a much higher chance of being in a crash due to over-confidence, inexperience and the fact they are more likely to take risks while on the road.

“Improved education for children and young people is vital, which is why we’re working with schools and colleges up and down the country this Road Safety Week to raise the profile of safe journeys.”

TTC has delivered an annual training programme to schools in the private sector across the UK, with teacher-led road safety classes for students as young as 15.

The interactive workshops are arranged to encourage students to engage with teachers, ask questions and gain valuable knowledge on a valuable future life skill.

The course is then delivered as a refresher to year 12 students as they approach their 17th birthdays and are therefore likely to experience driving for the first time.

In a similar fashion to other subjects like design and technology, TTC believes teaching road safety to students nationwide would provide the next generation of road users a potentially life-saving set of practical skills before leaving school, leaving them better prepared for when they start learning how to drive.

Andy Wheeler, head of technical delivery for TTC, said: “Too many young drivers are involved in crashes when they first pass their tests.

“By introducing this content into the National Curriculum, the Government can give students the opportunity to regularly learn about road safety and be better prepared for when they become drivers.”

Part of the course TTC deliver discusses the ‘Fatal 4’; excess speed, mobile phone use, drink driving and lack of seatbelt use. By providing knowledge on these areas and the risks associated with driving, pupils will be far better prepared for life on the road as drivers and passengers.

Young drivers are sadly over-represented in collision stats; one in five crash within their first year of driving and more than 1,500 are killed or seriously injured each year.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

McCarron Coates is warning drivers that the world of insurance claims is evolving, with the cost of vehicle repairs now outweighing those of personal injury claims for the first time in many years.

The shift in balance between the two main components that make up the total claim value is not down to any changes in legislation, such as the 2021 Whiplash Reforms, but due to the soaring cost of vehicle parts and repairs, says the fleet insurance specialist.

The costs, it explains, are partly driven by difficulties in obtaining parts post-Brexit, while repairs costs also have an element of inflation within them due to overall labour shortages.

However, for the most part, McCarron Coates says it is because there are few simple repairs now, with so many different and interlinked electronic components within vehicles that any reasonably significant prang is likely to see many parts of a vehicle needing to be replaced.

The issue is exacerbated when the vehicle is an electric vehicle (EV).  The battery is a hugely expensive part of an EV and any damage to it is likely to result in a large repair bill or even a quick total write-off, it says.

The cost of an EV claim is also influenced by repair delays, with an EV repair taking significantly longer to complete than one on a vehicle with an internal combustion engine (ICE).

Sometimes, an EV has to be sent to a specialist repair centre, meaning the time off the road – and time during which an expensive hired vehicle might be required – is even longer.

McCarron Coates believes some insurers have not yet been able to accumulate enough knowledge with which to calculate the right level of insurance premium for the EV risk and so are levying extremely high compulsory excesses, of a level of around £1500, rather than the £500 we might expect to traditionally see on a fleet policy.

“The cost of vehicle repairs is driving up overall claims costs and that is not good news for any fleet operator, as it will translate into higher premiums in the months to come,” said Ian McCarron, director at McCarron Coates.

“Operators need to make sure their fleet bucks the trend, by enhancing their risk management, addressing the reasons for accidents and trying to keep their vehicles out of the repair shop.

“That, in turn, will increase operational efficiencies within the business and reduce the amount of time that the business has to give to claims handling.”

The insurance broker’s advice to fleet transport operators is to do all they can to manage their risks on the road better, seeking to avoid the accidents that could land their vehicles in the repair cycle, for some time.

The focus should be on enhanced driver training, an analysis of individual drivers’ weak points, so that these can be addressed, and on the use of telematics, to help increase driver awareness of the hazards around, it says.

McCarron concluded: “It is essential that fleet operators act now, instilling a better driving culture and the principle of trying to keep the vehicle, its driver and all other third parties safe, at all costs.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The upward march of fuel prices is continuing to cause misery for UK drivers. Following the recent announcement that the cost of petrol hit a record high, the cost of diesel has followed and it’s now become the most expensive it’s ever been.

The average price of diesel is 147.9p per litre and is now 30p more than it cost in January 2021. Petrol has also broken previous records, and now stands at 144.4p per litre. These record highs have not been caused by recent fuel shortages, but through the rising costs of crude oil. They hit the average driver hard – the cost to fill up your family car with 55 litres of diesel now comes in at £81.

The effects of this will affect business and logistics hard, with goods and services bearing the costs of more expensive diesel, as most vans in the UK are fuelled from the black pump.

The price of crude oil is $86.09 (£62.96) a barrel, and is closing in on record highs of more than $120 (£87.76) in 2012. The upshot is that if crude oil rises to those levels, they will be reflected in even higher prices, causing more pain for drivers who are already seeing their budgets stretched.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘This is truly a dark day for drivers, and one which we hoped we wouldn’t see again after the high prices of April 2012. This will hurt many household budgets and no doubt have knock-on implications for the wider economy.’

He continued: ‘Even though many people aren’t driving quite as much as they have in the past due to the pandemic, drivers tell us they are more reliant on their cars now than they have been in years, and many simply don’t have a choice but to drive. There’s a risk those on lower incomes who have to drive to work will seriously struggle to find the extra money for the petrol they so badly need.’

What this means for you

The last time we had high fuel prices like this, government or market intervention resulted in them dropping sharply after sustained growth. However in this case, the situation is unlikely to improve soon, as the cost of crude oil is set to continue going up until at least the end of 2021.

In the UK, government-levied taxes make up 57% of the average retail price for a litre of petrol, according to the RAC, and the prospect of the government dropping fuel duty looks remote.

What this means for you is that you’re going to be facing increased fuel bills in the short-to-medium term. Driving more economically will alleviate the pain somewhat, or if you’re looking to change your car, look more closely at the fuel consumption figures – or even consider switching to an electric car, which are cheaper for running costs in terms of Miles Per Pound. By Graham Hill thanks to Parkers

Mercedes-Benz drivers will be able to make purchases for fuel, parking, and other services and goods, through the MBUX connectivity and infotainment suite from Spring next year.

Payments usually made through mobile devices, or manually on credit cards or with cash, will be able to be made through the vehicle’s infotainment and connectivity suite, using Visa’s fancy security technology.

The Future

Taking one more step into the future, Daimler Mobility has formed a new partnership with transaction system provider, Visa to integrate in-car payments for goods and services. Fancy, albeit barely pronounceable, titles aside, the Cloud Token Framework and Delegated Authentication products are Visa’s way of ensuring robust digital security for the consumer.

To use the payment services from the centre display screen, drivers will be required to use biometric ‘fingerprint’ technology to verify their identity. There will also be two-factor authentication to make sure drivers aren’t unknowingly paying for random unauthorised transactions.

Mercedes in-car payments

What do the bosses say?

Deputy CEO of Visa Europe, Antony Cahill, said: ‘This is a powerful example of how the world’s leader in digital payments and the inventor of the automobile are able to combine their technologies to create the next generation of smart solutions for the automobility sector, providing the driver and passengers with a completely new in-car connected commerce experience.’

This new payment feature will be facilitated by Mercedes pay, a service from Daimler Mobility, a mobility and digitalisation business unit of Daimler Group. CEO of Daimler Mobility, Franz Reiner, explains: ‘Mercedes pay is our competence centre for in-car payment. In partnership with Visa, Daimler aims to offer native in-car payments in a secure and user-friendly way.’

What this means for you

It broadly means that you’ll be able to make in-car payments if you’re signed up to Mercedes’ latest all-singing all-dancing infotainment system. In the short-term, this might not make much of a difference to your life. But in the long-term, this is the first step into cars becoming service providers and not just metal boxes to cart you around in. By Graham Hill thanks to Parkers

In my new book about electric vehicles I explain that the Government doesn’t need to invest in charger infrastructure with the exception of rural areas where local councils may need some help. It seems that the Government had this on their radar and have made the following announcement.

Innovate UK has awarded £335,000 to Bonnet, EDF, DG Cities and Devon County Council to help improve the charging of electric vehicles (EVs) in rural locations.

With backing from the Government, the Rural Electric Mobility Enabler (REME) project – a group of private and public organisations – has embarked on an eight-month project to provide solutions to improve public charging provision in rural regions.

The partners are using technology, data and grid expertise to understand the challenges of access to EV chargers and the associated energy supply from the grid, which will be caused by increased EV usage.

The project focuses on Devon, using the council’s data to understand seasonal flows of people to the area and how this will impact future public charging demand.

DG Cities and EDF use field dynamic code mapping and data from the National Grid to work out where in regional areas it would be necessary – but difficult – to implement public EV charge points.

Bonnet, an EV charging platform, is using its consumer-facing app to offer drivers access to private charge points in rural areas, when demand is high.

It creates financial opportunities for domestic charge point owners and increases the volume of reliable options for EV owners – all shown through the Bonnet app, which also handles payments, says Innovate UK.

Patrick Reich, co-founder of Bonnet, explained: “Electric charging provision is lacking in rural regions across the country, and we’re honoured to be collaborating with these partners to find solutions to these issues.

“Our payment and charge point information app can provide access to private charge points for public use across the UK and we already have thousands of public charge points on board. Innovative solutions need to be developed to combat drivers’ EV charging anxiety, especially in tourist hotspot regions across the country.

“This exciting project will be a step towards future proofing the electrification of the UK’s roads and we hope to encourage further change.”

Following the trial period (ending March 2022), the partners hope to propose the new business model to other rural councils in the UK.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

I remember many years ago being called by my Fiat dealer to give me the bad news that 3 cars I had on order for customers, on the top deck of a transporter, had been written off by a driver trying to drive under a bridge 2 feet too low for him to get under.

With modern Sat Nav’s being able to warn drivers of high vehicles that they were approaching a bridge too low to get under, I thought that was a thing of the past, not so according to Network Rail, here’s what they say:

Network Rail has relaunched its ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ campaign, reminding lorry drivers and haulage operators to take better care by knowing the height of their vehicles and choosing suitable routes before they head out on journeys.

The launch coincides with Network Rail revealing the most-struck railway bridges in the country.

The Coddenham Road bridge on the B1078 is most bashed bridge in Britain.

Located in Needham Market, Suffolk, the bridge was struck 19 times last year, amounting to £41,331 in unnecessary train delay and cancellation costs.

The other bridges on the list include St John’s Street bridge in Lichfield City, Staffordshire, and Harlaxton Road bridge, Lincolnshire – struck 18 and 16 times respectively.

The Network Rail warning to ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ comes ahead of the annual Black Friday and Christmas shopping rush – traditionally a peak period for bridge strikes – and as more newly qualified lorry drivers are expected on Britain’s roads this year to meet supply chain demands and fill the estimated 100,000 driver shortfall.

Sir Peter Hendy, chair of Network Rail, said: “Bridge strikes cause unnecessary delays, costs, and safety issues for road and rail users.

“To compound matters, they drain public funds which should be used on upgrading and improving our network.

“In recent years we’ve done a lot of work with partners across the industry to tackle the problem and whilst it’s encouraging to see numbers on the decline, there’s a lot more work to be done.”

Over the next four weeks, reminders to ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ will feature on posters at motorway service stations across Britain, urging drivers to check the size of their vehicles and their routes before setting off.

Hendy continued: “With Christmas fast approaching, we urge professional operators and drivers to properly plan their routes, know the height of their vehicles and look out for road signs warning of oncoming bridges.

“Those who don’t are at risk of losing their driver’s and operator’s licences, and Network Rail looks to recover the entire repair and delay costs from the driver’s employer.”

Network Rail’s 4E’s initiative – education, engineering, enablement and enforcement – aims to ensure haulage companies and their drivers are provided with the knowledge and tools they need to avoid striking bridges.

As part of this ongoing initiative, Network Rail has a team of bridge strike ‘champions’ covering each route across Britain, who raise awareness of the issue by visiting haulage companies and lead in managing bridge strike risk locally.   

Most struck railway bridges in Britain 2020/21:

Coddenham Road Needham Market, Suffolk 19 strikes

St John’s Street Lichfield, Staffordshire 18 strikes

Harlaxton Road Grantham, Lincolnshire 16 strikes

Stuntney Road Ely, Cambridgeshire 15 strikes

Bromford Road Dudley, West Midlands 13 strikes

Watling Street Hinckley, Leicestershire 11 strikes

Warminster Road Wilton, Wiltshire 11 strikes

Ipswich Road Manningtree, Essex 10 strikes

Thames Street Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, 10 strikes

Lower Downs Road Wimbledon, London, 10 strikes

Bridge strikes reported across the railway network in the last five financial years:

Year 2016/17 – 1,878 strikes

Year 2017/18 – 2,039 strikes

Year 2018/19 – 1,926 strikes

Year 2019/20 – 1,720 strikes

Year 2020/21 – 1,624 strikes

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Drivers of Audi e-tron models manufactured between 2019 and 2020 can unlock an additional 12 miles of range with a free software update.

The upgrade is applicable to 55 Quattro variants, built between September 2018 and November 2019, of which there are 1,655 in the UK.

It can be installed at an Audi service centre.

The update expands the usable capacity of the car’s 95kWh battery to to 86kWh and optimises the control of the front electric motor.

In normal driving mode, the motor attached to the rear axle is responsible for propulsion. For improved efficiency, the front electric motor is now almost completely disconnected and powered off – and only when more power is needed do both motors come into play.

The update also improves cooling. The thermal management system, which consists of four separate circuits, regulates the temperature of the high-voltage components more efficiently. Modifying the control system made it possible to reduce the volume flow rates in the coolant circuit, thus reducing energy consumption.

The cooling system is the basis for fast DC charging, long battery life, and consistent driving performance, even under high loads.

“At Audi, we deliver progress through technology – and there’s no clearer demonstration of that than the free software and range update we’ve just launched for our existing e-tron 55 quattro customers,” said Andrew Doyle, director of Audi UK.

“As we shift our focus to the world of electric vehicles, we’re channelling our pioneering spirit and world-renowned technological expertise into the reinvention of our company as a leading light in the field of sustainable mobility.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

All motorway drivers will benefit from competition on pricing for electric vehicle charging at motorway services after exclusive agreements were ruled out as part of Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation.

Gridserve, which acquired the Electric Highway from Ecotricity in June, has offered legally-binding assurances, known as commitments, to the CMA.

It says that it will not enforce exclusive rights in contracts with Extra, MOTO or Roadchef, after 2026, which currently cover around two-thirds of motorway service stations.

In doing so, Gridserve has committed to reducing the length of the exclusive rights in the current contracts with MOTO by around two years and Roadchef by around four years (the contract with the third operator, Extra, is due to end in 2026).

Furthermore it says it will not enforce exclusive rights at any Extra, MOTO or Roadchef sites that have been granted funding under the UK government’s Rapid Charging Fund (RCF).

This means that, where funding has been granted, competitor charge point operators will be able to install charge points regardless of the exclusive element of the Electric Highway’s contracts.

Each of the motorway service station operators – Extra, MOTO and Roadchef – and Gridserve have also offered commitments not to take any action that would undermine the above commitments.

Andrea Coscelli, CMA chief executive, said: “One of the biggest stumbling blocks to getting people to switch to electric cars is the fear that they won’t be able to travel from A to B without running out of charge.

“Millions of people make a pitstop for fuel at motorway service stations every day, so it’s crucial that people can trust that electric charge points will do the same job.

“Healthy competition is key to ensuring that drivers have a greater choice of charge points where they need them, and for a fair price.”

The CMA believes that opening up competition on motorways, while ensuring the sector has greater investment, is the right direction of travel – and good news for current drivers of electric cars and for people thinking of buying one.

“We’d now like to hear from businesses and drivers themselves on these proposed commitments,” added Coscelli.

In July, the CMA launched a competition investigation into the Electric Highway’s contracts with MOTO, Roadchef and Extra, alongside publishing the findings of its market study into the electric vehicle charging sector.

The CMA’s investigation examined the Electric Highway’s long-term, exclusive contracts with Extra, MOTO and Roadchef for the motorway service stations they operate.

In particular, it was concerned that provisions in those contracts granting exclusivity to the Electric Highway may be: preventing competitor charge point operators from operating at motorway service areas; could impede the successful roll-out of the Government’s anticipated RCF; and may result in drivers losing out on competitive prices and reliable charge points as a result of a lack of competition at motorway service areas.

The CMA believes that the commitments offered by Gridserve will address its competition concerns and open up competition in the market ahead of the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

Significant new investments are due to be made by Gridserve ahead of expected demand between 2021 and 2025. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

New rules about towing a trailer or caravan with a car, expected to take effect from Monday (November 15), have been delayed.

No reason was given by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which said on the Government website that the new towing rules will now be introduced at a “later date, and as soon as possible”.

It announced in September that car and trailer driving tests would no longer be required, with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) updating driving licence records automatically.

The category B+E, it said, would be added to photocard driving licences when they are renewed. Tests, it added, would no longer be available after September 20, 2021.

Jonathan White, legal and compliance director from National Accident Helpline, said: “We welcome the delay in the introduction of these changes and hope that the Government makes use of the extra time to consider them in more detail, ensuring that the safety of drivers is considered as the top priority.

“The changes will see millions of drivers simultaneously given the right to tow a trailer of considerable weight, without needing any previous experience or training in driving while towing a load – all at a time of year when visibility and conditions are at their poorest, bringing an increased element of risk to drivers.”

What are you currently allowed to tow?

You will not be affected by the changes if you passed your car driving test before January 1, 1997.

You are usually allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8,250kg maximum authorised mass (MAM). You are also allowed to drive a minibus with a trailer over 750kg MAM.

MAM is the limit on how much the vehicle can weigh when it’s loaded.

If you passed your car driving test from January 1, 1997, to January 18, 2013, you can currently drive either of the following:

• A car or van up to 3,500kg MAM towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM (up to 4,250kg in total).
• A trailer over 750kg MAM, as long as it is no more than the unladen weight of the towing vehicle (up to 3,500kg in total).

You would have had to pass a car and trailer driving test if you want to tow anything heavier.

If you passed your car driving test from January 19, 2013, you can currently drive either of the following:

• A car or van up to 3,500kg MAM towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM (up to 4,250kg in total).
• A trailer over 750kg MAM as long as the combined MAM of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than 3,500kg.

You would have had to pass a car and trailer driving test if you want to tow anything heavier.

What you can do until the towing law changes?

Until the law changes, you must continue to follow the current rules about what you are allowed to tow based on when you passed your car driving test, says DVSA.

You can be fined up to £1,000, be banned from driving and get up to six penalty points on your driving licence if you tow anything heavier before the law changes. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

About 300 deaths and more than 6,000 serious injuries were prevented due to lighter traffic in 2020, compared with 2019, new analysis from Brake suggests.

The decline in deaths and serious injuries – the first in several years – should herald a renewed road safety focus said Brake at the start of Road Safety Week (November 15-21).  

Road deaths and serious injuries declined across Britain, with the biggest drops seen in Scotland, followed by Wales, South West England, and London.

The areas with the biggest reductions in those killed or seriously injured in percentage terms were Scotland, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber, North East England and the East of England.

There were, however, still 1,460 deaths and more than 22,000 serious injuries on roads in 2020. Across the country, South East England was the only region to see an increase in deaths last year (239 up from 214 in 2019) – an increase of 12%.

Jason Wakeford, head of campaigns at Brake, said: “Reductions in the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads – due to lockdown restrictions last year – are to be welcomed but should also inspire more action to make roads safer as traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels.”

As traffic levels rise again, Road Safety Week celebrated the work of road safety heroes across the country who work to tackle deaths and serious injuries and turn the one-year drop into a downward trend.

This year’s campaign also celebrates the invaluable efforts of the emergency services, including those who police the roads and save lives, at the roadside and in hospitals, and the work of the National Road Victim Service, caring for the emotional and practical needs of road victim families, as well as community services including mental health services and disability and peer support charities.

Wakeford said: “Road Safety Week is the UK’s biggest annual road safety campaign and is a great opportunity to speak up for road safety.

“This year everyone can acknowledge and celebrate the heroic efforts of people working to save lives on roads across the country – and recognise that we can all be road safety heroes by using roads safely and taking actions for road safety in our families, schools, communities and where we work.

“We would urge everyone to visit the Road Safety Week website for loads of ways to take part in the ongoing campaigns.”

Brake, which co-ordinates the annual campaign, is calling for individuals, communities and organisations to share stories of their own road safety heroes – through social media, in schools, in company team meetings or special events.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “While the UK has some of the safest roads in the world, we’re always working to make them even safer – and we very much welcome the drop in casualties during the pandemic.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to help see further reductions, including through our Think! campaign, which tackles behaviours that can lead to serious road incidents and our ongoing review of roads policing.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News