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I have to say that I have a fantastic relationship with my customers, many of whom rely upon my judgement, but one of the dangers I’ve had to face over the years, is when I attempt to get a customer into a great value car but the customer, who bases his decision on cost rather than the whole package, hasn’t had a test drive in the car, only to find that the driving position is Read more »

 Warnings have been issued, especially to companies who have a duty of care for those who drive on company business, about the new Government campaign to reduce the amount of drug-driving especially amongst younger drivers following research that shows 1 in 10 young male drivers admit to driving after taking illegal drugs. The £2.3 million campaign has been launched which will no doubt be complimented by increased police activity. Road safety charity Brake has also adopted the anti drink and drug driving theme for its Road Safety Week – Not A Drop, Not A Drag – taking place from November 23^rd – 29^th. By Graham Hill

Apparently the use of hand held phones whilst driving has increased because of, wait for it, the recession! Yep, it’s true according to a survey carried out by ING Car Lease. Apparently more drivers who drive cars on business feel under pressure to receive and make calls when driving rather than miss important calls that may result in Read more »

A row has broken out between the Government and the Magistrates Association over proposals by the Department for Transport to introduce fixed penalties for careless driving. The proposal will give the police new powers to impose a fixed penalty of £60 and 6 points on the licence where a driver admits to an act of careless driving. The Magistrates Association is furious as they feel it diminishes the serious nature of Read more »

When I first started driving the most technical pieces of equipment in my car were the window winders and the optional heater, that was either on or off. Radios were not standard equipment and cassette players were somewhat futuristic. So other than your passengers, there were very few distractions inside the cockpit of your car, added to which, if you were anywhere north of Watford you could drive for 3 days and still not come into contact with another driver. These days things are different, there are 30 million cars registered and many of those Read more »

What Car have reminded us of the dangers of using a phone whilst driving. They have estimated that around 100,000 drivers are risking their lives and prosecution, at any point in time, by using a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving. The original laws introduced in 2003 were beefed up in 2007 to guarantee you 3 points on your licence and a £60 fine if caught using a mobile phone whilst driving (which means the engine is running even though you may not be moving). As What Car points out, even with hands free kits Read more »

As drivers continue to feel the pinch of recession insurance groups warn about the dangers of not telling the truth when taking out car insurance. Every claim is now being closely scrutinised as a result in the upsurge in fraudulent claims, as explained in my recent crash for cash fraud item. As a result lies or mistakes made at the time of proposal is causing claims to be rejected so great care needs to be taken when completing proposals or you may not only find a claim rejected but Read more »

In times of recession is there any good news? Yes there is. According to the Department for Transport there are fewer cars using the roads resulting in quicker and safer journeys. According to the DfT motorists travelled 3.1 billion less miles last year which has got to be good on so many fronts, fewer accidents, less CO2 in the atmosphere, less wear and tear on our roads, less of our precious fuel used. The number of Read more »

We all know we shouldn’t drink and drive but following a study carried out by Lloyds TSB Insurance we shouldn’t have a cold or flu and drive. According to their survey they found that over 125,000 crashes last year were caused by motorists that were suffering with either a cold or flu. This equated to one in ten collisions being caused by people with either of these viruses costing around £350 million in claims. The survey found that Read more »

A recent poll showed that 61% of motorists would not welcome a drop of acceptable drink driving levels from 80mg to the more common 50mg but that is probably because of the draconian punishment handed out if over the limit. If you are guilty of driving even slightly over the limit in the UK you are automatically facing a 12 month ban whilst in some countries in the EU the chances of being caught in the first Read more »