MP’s Call On A National Inquiry Into Pavement Parking

Friday, 12. April 2019

According to the Mail Online MPs have launched an investigation into drivers parking on pavements in England. The Transport Select Committee said it will examine the problems caused when vehicles are parked with at least one wheel on a pavement.

 

This is likely to include blocking access for wheelchair users and pushchairs, and damage to surfaces not designed to be driven over. Parking on pavements has been banned in London since 1974.

 

Outside of the capital it is only prohibited for lorries, but people who park in a dangerous position or cause an unnecessary obstruction can be fined. A mixture of criminal and civil sanctions are available to police and local councils to enforce restrictions on pavement parking.

 

Labour MP Lilian Greenwood, who chairs the committee, said: “This is an area where some people’s actions cause real difficulties for others. “Parking on pavements risks the safety of all groups of people from the littlest to the oldest, with differing needs.

 

“While we’re also inquiring into active travel – how we get more people into walking and cycling – we need to make sure it’s safe to take to the streets. “We want to hear from the public about the difficulties this presents and the solutions on offer.” The committee is calling for written evidence on the impact of pavement parking, the enforcement of existing rules and the need for new regulations.

 

AA president Edmund King said drivers should not leave vehicles in a position which is “anti-social” or restricts other people from using a pavement, but a blanket ban on pavement parking “would be a step too far”. He went on: “A street-by-street assessment is needed to decide where it may be suitable to allow pavement parking. Where pavement parking is allowed, seven out of 10 drivers say the bays should be marked out to show how much of the pavement can be used.

 

“Pavement parking poses problems on both inner city streets and rural lanes, so the outcome needs to be tailored to the circumstances.” RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “There are instances, particularly on Britain’s many narrow residential streets, where drivers believe they are doing the right thing by putting a wheel or two on the kerb so as not to impede road access for other vehicles and emergency services, while also making sure they leave enough space for people to use the pavement, especially wheelchair users and those with buggies.

 

“This inquiry should look carefully at how we can strike the right balance.” Personally, I despair of the ignorance of some drivers making it virtually impossible for mums with buggies and those in wheelchairs to get past a car parked three quarters the way across the pavement.

 

I reported a few years ago about a company in Canada who developed an app that enabled members of the public to take pictures on their mobile phones of drivers parking illegally, uploading photos and data onto the local authority website and being paid for the information after the driver had paid his fine that was auto issued. 

 

They tried to introduce the system into the UK without any success but with so few police about these days will there be an opportunity to introduce the app again to capture those parking illegally, smoking in cars with children on board, no seat belt secured, using a mobile phone whilst driving without Bluetooth etc.? It will only take one local authority to take it on board and everyone will become a traffic warden. By Graham Hill 

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New Phone Detection Warning Signs To Be Introduced

Friday, 12. April 2019

New mobile phone detection warning signs are being rolled out by Thames Valley and Hampshire police forces.

 

The system, developed by Westcotec, comprises a sensor capable of detecting vehicles where there are active 2G, 3G and 4G phone signals, and an LED warning sign located a short distance along the road.

As long as the activation meets certain pre-determined parameters, the sensor will pick up that a driver is using a phone for calling, text or data purposes and will activate the warning sign. This shows an illuminated mobile phone icon within a bright red circle and diagonal red line.

 

The device is purely about education, warning drivers and being able to identify when the driver was on the phone. It is the first such system to have a direct interaction with a mobile phone offender.

 

The technology can detect if a driver is using Bluetooth, and will therefore not trigger the warning sign. However, the manufacturer accepts that some activations might be triggered by non-driving occupants.

Norfolk County Council was the first to trial the road signs last year, but this is the first time that the police has decided to deploy the technology.

 

The forces say the two detectors, which cost £6,000 each, will be located on the A34 in Oxfordshire but will be posted at different locations throughout the Thames Valley and Hampshire to start – but more could be rolled out.

 

Matt Barber, deputy police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley, told the BBC that the system was “not fool-proof”, but said that the police needed to “make it as socially unacceptable to use your mobile whilst driving as it is to drink and drive”.

 

PC Liz Johnson, a roads safety officer, said research suggested a driver was four times more likely to crash if they were using a phone and twice as likely to be involved in a fatal collision when texting compared with drink-driving.

 

“It is vital that people take notice and stop using their mobile phones whilst driving,” she added.

 

Drivers caught using a mobile phone while driving are currently fined £200 and given six points on their licence. By Graham Hill

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Ford Introduces A New Key Fob To Stop Modern Car Thieves.

Friday, 12. April 2019

Having only just spoken about the increase in car thefts by crooks able to pick up the signal from your keyless keys inside your house using modern technology, Ford has enhanced the keyless entry technology on new Fiesta and Focus models to make them harder to steal.
The keyless entry fobs now become disabled when not in use to prevent “relay attacks”, where thieves use a computer device to boost the signal from keys stored inside your house to steal a car.
A new motion sensor inside the Ford keyfob detects when it has been stationary for longer than 40 seconds and triggers a sleep mode, which will not respond to attempts to hack its signal.
Moving the keyless fob by picking it up inside the home and taking it to the car will restore full functionality. The Ford fobs are designed to operate only within a two-metre radius of the cars they are connected to.
The Fiesta and Fiesta Van are already being delivered with the new fobs, followed by Focus production from May 2019.
Simon Hurr, Ford’s security specialist, said: “The online availability of devices which have no place in public hands has long been a problem for Ford, our industry and crime fighters. We are pleased to respond with a simple but effective solution – swiftly implemented to help protect owners of our top-selling cars.” 
Owners of existing Fiesta and Focus models can have their security upgraded with replacement fobs, priced from £65 (Fiesta), £72 (Focus) plus 0.9 hours labour to programme and test.
Ford will be rolling out the same motion-sensor technology across its other models in the next two years.
Another innovation on new Ford models is a 10-minute software lockdown if the vehicle’s alarm is triggered. This reduces the possibility of rapid illegitimate programming of keys for the car via the OBD.
Keyless entry systems are  blamed, in part, for an increase in car thefts in England and Wales. Data suggests that thefts have increased by 15% since 2016/17, and 40% over the past five years. So it will be interesting to see how quickly other manufacturers follow suit or come up with their own solutions. By Graham Hill

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The Number Of Cars Being Cloned Has Quadrupled Over Last 4 Years

Friday, 5. April 2019

The number of reported cloned cars has risen from 1,255 in 2012/13 to 4,802 between April and December 2018, according to the DVLA. And the police believe that due to underreporting the figure could be substantially higher. The reasons given are the ease that cars can now be stolen and the availability of ‘Show Plates’ online.
If you wanted a set of official plates for your car you have to obtain them from a DVLA registered supplier and they must see proof of ownership before they will supply them. Like the crooks that are able to legally buy mileage adjustment equipment online it is legal to buy show plates online but just not to be fitted to a car.
As a result, it is easy enough and cheap enough to buy ‘show plates’ online using the registration number of an identical car, often found through car ads, then fit the plates onto a stolen car. The police then believe that these cars are then used for various criminal activities such as robbery or drug-dealing. Industry sources say that more needs to be done. There is no identification on number plates to show where they were made nor are plates, once fitted, tamper proof.
Two things that the industry has been pushing for. Chief Constable, Charlie Hall of the National Police Chiefs Council said that some of the increase could be explained as a result of increased plate recognition cameras now able to auto issue fixed penalty fines and the owner of the cloned car being alerted that his car has been cloned when a parking or speeding ticket is issued in an area he didn’t visit.
The problem is that the courts and authorities assume that you committed the offence and it’s down to you to prove otherwise, for many a very stressful experience, especially if the case has reached a court. The advice from Auto Express to protect yourself when buying a used car that could be cloned is:
When buying a second-hand car use a dealer who is responsible for all background checks. If buying privately visit the seller’s house and never carry out a transaction in a layby or car park.
If the car is being sold well below market value be very suspicious.
Make sure that you compare the car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) that can be found at the base of a car’s windscreen or inside a door jamb with the number shown in the V5C and any other supporting documentation
Never share copies of your V5C logbook online or give out the 11 or 12 digit Document Reference Number contained on the V5C
If you receive a parking or speeding ticket – or any other fixed penalty notice and you believe that your car has been cloned, immediately contact the issuing authority, the police and the DVLA, making sure that you document everything in writing.
Happy driving! By Graham Hill

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Sharp Rise In Insurance Payouts Blamed On Keyless Entry

Friday, 5. April 2019

Insurance payouts, as a result of the theft of a vehicle or from a vehicle, increased by a whopping 29% in 2018 over the previous year. Insurance companies blame keyless theft as the main culprit. Some £376 million was paid out in claims following the theft of a vehicle or from a vehicle in 2018.
That is now the highest figure on record and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) which compiled the figures added that a claim for theft was submitted every 6 minutes last year and companies paid out over £1 million a day as settlement.
Laurenz Gerger, the ABI’s policy advisor called the rise ‘worrying’ and went on to call for ‘action,by the car manufacturers to tackle this high-tech vulnerability’. However, he added that drivers themselves could do more by taking some simple precautions to help to combat the crime.
The advice from the ABI is: Park cars in well-lit areas, keep keys far away from windows and external doors, switch keyless keys’ signals off overnight if possible and keep keys in a signal-blocking Faraday bag.
Hope that helps as it’s one of the worst feelings ever when you look for your car and find that it’s been stolen. By Graham Hill

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Speed Limiters To Be Fitted As Standard On All New Cars

Friday, 5. April 2019

All new cars sold in the UK from 2022 will have speed limiters fitted as standard. The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that it will follow the ruling from the European Commission on safety technology regardless of whether we are inside or outside of the EU at the time.
The limiters, called Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) were announced in March and have now been approved by the EU. ISA systems, or as I refer to them, Big Brother uses traffic sign recognition, cameras and/or GPS information to limit the speed of the car in a particular area by reducing the engine power and adjusting the speed if the driver doesn’t do it voluntarily.
TV reports suggested that the driver could override the limiter and motoring organisations suggested that this was needed in cases of emergency where a swift boost of power could avoid an accident and I agree but looking at the ruling more closely – yes the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) recommends a full On/Off switch to allow drivers to override the limiter they actually went on to say,’to aid public acceptance at introduction’, which suggests this is only a temporary measure before being fixed and unable to be switched off.
However, there is also a suggestion that drivers will still be able to override the limiter by pressing hard on the accelerator although the limiter will be switched on every time we start the car. It also seems that there is a difference of opinion between the DfT and the ETSC because in a briefing released by the DfT it said that it saw this change to be a ‘step change in Road Safety’.
However, the DfT said that it expected the limiters ‘to give drivers feedback when the speed limit is exceeded rather than limiting the car’s speed’. The ETSC advises, ‘If the driver does not apply the brakes (when entering a lower limit), the vehicle would, in any case, slow down naturally to the new speed limit by reducing engine power’. Confused or what? I guess this will happen a lot when we take over our own lawmaking.
All new models given type approval from May 2022 onwards must have these systems while cars on the market by that date must have them by May 2024 – no I don’t either but that’s the wording. So given what the DfT has said I’m still none the wiser as to what will happen. Limiters that advise the speed limit or limiters that slow you down? By Graham Hill

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Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) Payments To Attract VAT

Friday, 5. April 2019

After a 2-year investigation into the way PCP’s are accounted for, HMRC has decided to charge VAT on monthly payments. However, it isn’t that simple – as if the product wasn’t complicated enough already. For years I’ve argued that PCP’s and Personal Contract Hire (PCH) are not finance products.
I have referred to them as ‘Lifestyle Contracts’ because they aren’s as simple and straight forward as a pure finance agreement such as a personal loan or an HP agreement. Whilst both products are ‘Regulated under the Consumer Credit Act’ the act goes nowhere near far enough to properly protect consumers, not least of which when the Act became law the two products were pretty much non-existant.
So we have a very loose set of rules that cover some of the finance issues with the exception of Voluntary Termination which causes widespread confusion because of the way that dealers exploit the law and often leave customers potentially facing a court case.
Beyond this the law doesn’t cover things like warranty claims, service and maintenance standards, accidental damage, who can drive the vehicle, travelling abroad, insurance cover, what happens if you can no longer drive and a plethora of other issues that leave the consumer vulnerable to the imposition of terms created by the provider with little redress if the customer falls foul of the contract terms.
So what has HMRC decided to do? Are you concentrating? If the PCP provider sets a final optional balloon payment that is considered to be below the market value of the car at the end of the agreement then nothing changes. The transaction is considered to be a supply of goods and finance arrangement. The VAT is added into the purchase price of the car so the VAT man gets his pound of flesh out of the purchase price as the finance company cannot claim back the VAT.
So if a car costs £20,000 + VAT = £24,000 that is what you are required to pay over the lease period less an adjustment for the balloon payment, hence the reason why you don’t pay VAT on the monthly payment as the VAT man already has the £4,000 which the PCP provider can’t claim back. Oh and you end up paying interest on the VAT content. Not sure how the provider can prove that the figure set in 3 years time is below the anticipated value of the car but them’s the rules. In theory, you would buy the car at the end of the agreement or use it as a part exchange as there will be equity in the car.
With me so far? Don’t worry if you’re not I’ll give an easy summary at the end.
In the second situation the PCP provider has set a final optional payment (balloon) that is likely to be equal to or more than the anticipated trade value. In this case the HMRC believe the transaction to be a service agreement which means VAT is added to the monthly payments.
Now many of the reports I’ve read seem to stop short of the full truth because that is all they say giving the impression that you will simply be paying the same payment you would have made in the past plus VAT – but this isn’t true because the provider can now claim the VAT back in the purchase price, thus reducing the monthly payments before VAT is applied.
There is a VAT adjustment to the resale value but we’re now getting into the technical workings of VAT and that probably isn’t helping. So in summary what does this mean? Most salesmen will explain that you will have some equity in the car at the end of the agreement so if everyone is being honest and that is in fact the way the balloon payment has been set then nothing changes, no VAT on the payments.
However, the lower the balloon payment the higher the monthly payment and the lower the interest charges earned by the provider. So whilst you should recover some of the money you paid in equity if you P/X or sell your car at the end of the agreement, the higher monthly payments may not suit your cash flow
However, if the balloon payment has been set by the PCP provider knowing that the final payment is likely to be equal to or higher than the market value this now becomes a Service Agreement as it is unlikely that the customer will keep the car at the end of the lease. In these circumstances the VAT applied to the new car is recoverable so effectively reduces the cost of the car but you end up paying VAT on the monthly payments. But from my workings they pretty much cancel each other out.
I believe that we may find a situation whereby you can choose between deals to suit your budget. Take a £20,000 car with an expected resale value in 3 years time of £9,000. If the balloon is set at £9,000 you will pay £304 + VAT = £365.95 per month (using std interest rates). However, if the final balloon is set at £8,000 that should give you a return at the end of the agreement of £1,000 but your monthly payment will increase to £391.78 with no VAT to pay. However, you may not make the £1,000 but then you might return more, it’s more of a gamble but hopefully, the choice will be given to you. By Graham Hill

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Electric Vehicles Cheaper To Maintain Than Petrol

Friday, 15. March 2019

According to Cap HPI the maintenance costs for Electric Vehicles (EV’s) are 23% cheaper than for the equivalent petrol model. Calculations were based on 3 year, 60,000 mile running periods. The gap is greater for smaller vehicles.

 

An electric Renault Zoe was found to cost £1,100 to maintain compared to £1,497 for a similar petrol driven Vauxhall Corsa. Representing a 35.7% saving. While the best selling UK electric vehicle, the Nissan Leaf cost £1,197 to maintain compared to £1,429 for a petrol VW Golf – 19% cheaper.

 

Cap HPI senior valuations expert, Chris Plumb commented: ‘An electric car motor has far fewer moving parts than a petrol or diesel engine. They also benefit from gentler driving styles that lead to lower wear and tear of brakes and tyres’.

 

He went on to say, ‘While the purchase price is often higher at the moment- but coming down all the time – drivers will find an EV much cheaper to run with significantly lower costs to charge than visiting a pump as well as the lower maintenance costs’.

 

I would add a caveat to that as I carried out an exercise last year and found that if you used a fast charger located in motorway service stations the cost per mile, based on the electric car’s true range, compared with petrol or diesel cars was significantly higher. Of course, this dropped heavily if slow charged from your domestic supply. By Graham Hill

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Top 5 Most Common Causes Of Road Accidents

Friday, 15. March 2019

Business Car magazine has identified the top 5 causes of road accidents attributed to vehicle defects. Their investigation revealed the following:

 

Brakes                                     37%

Tyres                                       30%

Steering or Suspension            17%

Lights or Indicators                  9%

Vehicle Or Trailer Overload     7%

So there you have it, make sure that you take care of the above or risk an accident. By Graham Hill

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Lack Of Government Action Could Be Making Our Roads More Dangerous

Friday, 15. March 2019

The cars on our roads that cover highest mileage have always tended to be company cars. They are nearly always new and are subject to some very stringent controls, imposed upon the drivers by the employers. As a result our roads tend to be much safer as the cars are properly maintained.

 

However, since the real world (WLTP) emissions tests that were carried out last year we have seen an increase in declared CO2 emissions across most makes and models of cars. This meant that drivers suddenly saw increases in BIK tax whilst driving identical replacement cars. The Government promised to address the problem and make adjustments to bandings so that drivers didn’t suffer.

 

Sadly that hasn’t happened so we are seeing a move by drivers away from company cars towards car allowance with many of these drivers preferring to drive higher powered 2nd hand prestige cars than say 1.0L Mondeos. This has meant that companies no longer have the tight controls over the service and maintenance of cars used by their drivers.

 

The employers are still responsible but as they no longer have the same level of control, servicing may not be in line with manufacturers recommendations and when employees realise the cost of maintaining prestige used cars maintenance may drop off making cars less safe.

 

The Government has replied to complaints by the industry that they have broken a promise by saying that the increase in BIK tax will encourage drivers and companies to run lower emission cars. But as we are seeing the drivers are pushing employers to move to car allowances which can lead to less safe roads and by taking used prestige cars the environment will also suffer.

 

According to Fleet News the rate of employees opting out of company cars for cash is ‘at the highest we’ve seen’. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. By Graham Hill

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