The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

New, active luminous road markings are being trialled in Portsmouth by civil engineering and transport infrastructure specialists, Colas.

The Flowell crosswalks and cycle crossings technology has been developed by Colas teams, and trialled at various sites in France, where initial feedback has shown it to be very beneficial.

The new crossing in Portsmouth, which has been fully funded by Colas, lights up when triggered by sensors.

It can also adapt according to traffic levels and needs via an interactive road management system. For example, it can be adapted to give priority to certain vehicles during specific time times of day or allocate space for a dedicated use such as temporary outdoor dining space for restaurants.

Ian Gibson, director of asset contracting  at Colas, said: “Flowell stems from a design process led by Colas teams, and it therefore benefits from our extensive technological expertise in transport infrastructure.

“Following the initial laboratory tests performed jointly at the Colas Campus for Science and Techniques, it is now entering a trial phase in real life conditions.

“We are delighted to have installed the UK’s first Flowell crossing in Portsmouth as part of this phase, and we look forward to sharing the results of this trial with the industry.”

The solution is made up of panels comprising of LEDs encapsulated in a multilayer substrate which are connected to the electrical network.

They can be glued on or embedded into pavement, which preserves the surface’s initial grip and skid resistance.

The site in Portsmouth will be monitored to determine its impact on behaviour and help determine how it could improve road, rail and airport infrastructure in the UK and around the world.

Cllr Lynne Stagg, Portsmouth City Council’s cabinet member for traffic and transportation, said: “We’re always looking for new ways to improve road safety and I’m delighted we’re the first place in the UK to use this innovative new technology.

“We chose this crossing because it’s very busy particularly at night with all the bars and restaurants, we want to make the crossing more visible and encourage more people to cross there safely.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A new set of guiding principles for marketing automated vehicles has been published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The principles, which have been developed and agreed by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles’ AV-DRiVE Group, provide an outline for responsible advertising and communication relating to automated vehicles and their capabilities.

The industry-led initiative will ensure consumers receive consistent and clear information regarding automated driving features, ahead of their expected introduction to British roads in 2022, says the SMMT.

Mike Hawes, chief executive at the SMMT, said: “The UK is at the forefront of the introduction of automated vehicles, which has tremendous potential to save lives, improve mobility for all and drive economic growth.

“It is essential that this revolutionary technology is marketed accurately and responsibly, and we are delighted to have brought together industry, Government and other key stakeholders to develop a series of guiding principles that will ensure consumers will have clarity and confidence over their capabilities from when these advanced vehicles first make their way into showrooms.”

The guiding principles state that:

• An automated driving feature must be described sufficiently clearly so as not to mislead, including setting out the circumstances in which that feature can function.
• An automated driving feature must be described sufficiently clearly so that it is distinguished from an assisted driving feature.
• Where both automated driving and assisted driving features are described, they must be clearly distinguished from each other.
• An assisted driving feature should not be described in a way that could convey the impression that it is an automated driving feature.
• The name of an automated or assisted driving feature must not mislead by conveying that it is the other – ancillary words may be necessary to avoid confusion – for example for an assisted driving feature, by making it clear that the driver must be in control at all times.

Transport minister Trudy Harrison said: “It is essential that industry and stakeholders are clear on their responsibilities and developed in partnership with Government, motoring and road safety groups, the SMMT’s Guiding Principles are an important step to promote the safe use of automated technologies in the UK.”

Automated vehicles, also known as self-driving vehicles, are defined under the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 as vehicles designed or adapted to be capable, in at least some circumstances or situations, of safely driving themselves, and that may lawfully be used when driving themselves, in at least some circumstances or situations, on roads or other public places in Great Britain.

A vehicle is “driving itself” if it is operating in a mode in which it is not being controlled, and does not need to be monitored, by an individual.

Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham Research, says that the guiding principles are a “key milestone” in ensuring there is no confusion around the capabilities of assisted driving systems and future automated systems, as well as the responsibilities of the drivers using them.

“We have long advocated consistency of terminology,” he added. “There are two clear states – a vehicle is either assisted with a driver being supported by technology or automated where the technology is effectively and safely replacing the driver.

“We urge manufacturers now to use simple marketing that does not over promise functionality and the key is for them to be delivered consistently across all marketing material, as well as through effective dealership education and their subsequent conversations and engagement with consumers.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

An outage on the Tesla app left some drivers unable to access their car, reports suggest.

Owners reported on social media seeing an error message on the mobile app that was preventing them from connecting to their vehicles.

The Tesla app is used as a key by drivers to unlock and start their cars and, while it is not the only way to access Tesla cars, many drivers rely solely upon it.

About 500 users reported an error on the app at around 9.40pm on Friday, according to the outage tracking site DownDetector. Five hours later, there were just over 60 reports of an error.

“I’m stuck an hour away from home because I normally use my phone to start car,” one owner tweeted.

The BBC reports that Tesla chief executive Elon Musk personally responded to one complaint from a driver in South Korea, saying on Twitter: “Checking.” Musk later said the app was coming back online.

“Apologies, we will take measures to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” he tweeted.

Automotive expert Professor David Bailey from the Birmingham Business School, who drives a Tesla, experienced the outage on Friday.

“To some extent, Tesla is a bit of a victim of its own success,” he told the BBC. “It encourages its customers to use the cutting-edge technology it creates and sometimes that will go wrong.

“Although of course you can use a key to open the car too, the natural instinct of many Tesla drivers, who are buying one of the most high-tech models in the market, is to rely on the technology.”  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

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

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

The UK faces an electric vehicle (EV) skills gap, with too few technicians to service the volume of zero emissions vehicles predicted to be on UK roads by 2030, according to the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).

It says that 90,000 technicians will be required to provide a sufficient workforce ahead of the Government’s Road to Zero deadline.

However, whilst the automotive sector is working hard to retrain and upskill, because of the accelerated adoption of EVs, the IMI is predicting that there will be a shortfall of 35,700 technicians by 2030, with 2026 marking the point at which the skills gap will materialise.

Steve Nash, CEO of the Institute of the Motor Industry, explained: “As of 2020, there were 15,400 qualified TechSafe technicians in the UK. That number represents just 6.5% of the UK automotive sector and was already giving us cause for concern.

“Our new analysis paints an even more challenging picture. The pace of EV adoption is accelerating, even while the issues around infrastructure remain a barrier.

“Once the charging network is fit for purpose, combined with electric vehicles becoming more financially accessible, the next big challenge will be how to ensure we have a workforce adequately qualified to provide the essential servicing, maintenance and repair to keep these vehicles safe on the roads. And that’s where we believe Government attention – and funds – should be focused now.”

Plug-in cars are expected to account for more than a fifth (21.5%) of all new car registrations next year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). 

New plug-in vehicle uptake rates have accelerated so rapidly that more EVs will join Britain’s roads in 2021 than during the whole of the last decade, says the SMMT.

A total of 271,962 new BEVs and PHEVs were registered between 2010 and 2019. However, the SMMT now expects Britain to break its plug-in records, forecasting that businesses and consumers will take up around 287,000 of the latest zero-emission capable cars during 2021 alone – around one in six new cars.

Based on current forecasts, BEV registrations are also expected to exceed those of diesel by the end of 2022.

The rise is even more remarkable given that 2021 is expected to be a relatively weak year for new car registrations, some 30% below the average recorded over the past decade.

Nash said: “Whether it’s looking at incentives to retrain the existing workforce or ensuring that school-leavers and people changing the direction of their career are excited about the prospects of working in such a fast-moving sector, there needs to be a mind-shift in how to fix the widening skills gap.

“Significant investment is being ploughed into infrastructure, but the government still seems to be ignoring the fact that without a skilled workforce, it will fail in its decarbonisation ambitions.”

Using the SMMT’s upper scenario on EV adoption, the IMI predicts that the number of TechSafe qualified technicians required by 2030 is 90,000.

As of 2020 there were 15,400 qualified, and using current forecast trends, by 2030 there could be a shortfall of 35,700 qualified technicians, risking the safety of technicians and undermining confidence that EVs can be serviced, maintained and repaired by a garage with the right skills.

The forecast also indicates that the gap could materialise as soon as 2026 thus risking the Government’s 2030 green ambitions.

Faced with the potentially fatal consequences of an inadequately skilled workforce, the IMI is repeating its plea for the Government to commit funding to support EV skills training.

It is suggesting a £15 million boost would play a critical role, contributing towards training for up to 75,000 technicians. In the context of the £1.9 billion investment committed by Government in the 2020 Spending Review to supporting the transition to zero emission vehicles for charging infrastructure and consumer incentives, the IMI believes this is a modest figure.

It would make a significant difference, particularly for the independent sector which historically has less training opportunities compared to the franchise network which is supported by manufacturer academies, with the result that consumers will have less choice, says the IMI.

“The current gaping chasm in EV skills not only presents a safety threat for those who may risk working on high voltage vehicle systems without appropriate training and qualifications; it also means the premium on skills could add to costs for motorists, creating another, unnecessary deterrent to the switch to EV”, concluded Nash.

“The Government wants the adoption of EV to continue at a pace – the investment in EV charging needs to be matched by an investment in EV skills training to help employers ensure the workforce is EV-ready and electrified motoring doesn’t come at a premium.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Have you ever noticed a discrepancy between your vehicle’s speedometer and the speed stated by your GPS system? If so, you’re in good company.

But which is correct? Your speedometer or your GPS? In nearly all such cases, the speedometer is incorrect – reporting a higher speed than your car is actually travelling at.

You might imagine that manufacturers ensure their speedometers are as accurate as possible. So why the discrepancy?

A car’s speedometer works by measuring the rotations of the driveshaft, axle or wheel – rather than the speed you actually travel from one point to another. The car takes the recorded rotations, applies a healthy dose of mathematics and spits out a speed.

But the accuracy of a speedometer depends on the wheels remaining the same diameter as they were when they rolled off the production line. If the tyres or wheels are changed, this will change the speedometer reading. A larger diameter will result in a faster recorded speed. Fitting smaller tyres or having under inflated tyres will result in a slower recorded speed.

Even a tiny change in diameter – of say, a few millimetres – will result in an incorrect speed being recorded. This likely error margin is factored in to how car makers calibrate their speedos.

So why is my GPS satnav accurate?

GPS satnav systems calculate your speed by using satellites – and assuming the signal is strong, they should be accurate. Some sat navs installed at manufacture are integrated with the car’s own measurements to provide a more accurate speed reading.

Under UK law – which is based on a European Union standard – speedometers must never underreport a vehicle’s speed, while it must never over report by more than 110% of the actual speed + 6.25mph.

So if you’re going 40mph, your speedometer may read up to 50.25mph – but it can never read less than 40mph. In order to stay within the law, carmakers calibrate their speedomters to slightly overreport their vehicles’ speeds.

This of course means many motorists are travelling slower than they think – which is arguably good news for avoiding accidental speeding tickets and for making our roads safer.

You may well find your sat nav’s GPS is a more accurate determinant of your speed – although you should stick to your car’s speedometer reading to be on the safe side. By Graham Hill thanks to StartRescue.

Three-quarters (76%) of drivers think that too much technology in a vehicle can be distracting, according to research conducted by Dacia.

The carmaker found that more than half (61%) of respondents would rather have a more affordable car with just the technology they actually use.

For drivers that have a long list of technological features on their own car, around a third think that there are too many fitted in the first place, while 69% think that in-car technology has become too complicated.

The research revealed that on average, drivers only use around 40% of the technological features fitted to their vehicles, with drivers aged between 25 and 34 regularly using the largest number of features in their car.

The features drivers want their cars to be fitted with over anything else are parking sensors, sat-nav and DAB radio.

Luke Broad, brand director for Dacia UK and Ireland, said: “We believe in providing our customers with everything that is essential, all for the best value – it keeps us faithful to our DNA.

“Features and technology on our cars should be in line with our customers’ demands so they pay for only what they need.

“At Dacia, we get the balance right, offering the most advanced features and technology that are essential for the driver’s comfort and pleasure but maintaining the best value.

“This survey shows that our vehicles are perfectly aligned with our customers’ expectations, and we still offer a unique proposition that resonates with the times.”

Across the New Duster range two of the UK’s most commonly used features of DAB radio and Bluetooth are fitted as standard, while one step up the range to Comfort and Prestige models brings a reversing camera and parking sensors, some of the UK’s other favoured technological features, while Media Nav brings satellite navigation – another UK favourite. The New Duster also now features an 8.0-inch infotainment screen.

This is reflected in the Sandero and rugged Sandero Stepway specifications, with all versions featuring DAB and Bluetooth, as well as parking sensors on the Comfort specification.

The same 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system from the New Duster is also available to Sandero customers. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News