Drivers are travelling less miles according to figures issued by the Department for Transport for 2010. Provisional figures show that vehicle use is down by 3.3% since 2007 which means that we drove a massive 8.3 billion miles less last year. From 1993 to 2007 car use continued to rise peaking at 251 billion miles in 2007. However, 2010’s total of 242 billion car miles means that we are back to 2002 levels. If you include in the figures all vehicle types the total is 306.6 billion miles in 2010, also Read more »
How’s your hearing? Not so good if you drive a drop top car according to the incredibly titled (big breath) St Louis University School Of Medicine and the Ear Institute of Texas. Their research showed that if drivers travel regularly with the top down at more than 55 miles per annum their ears are subjected to unsafe noise levels created by air turbulence and tyres on the road. They tested 5 drop heads including a Nissan 350Z, Porsche 911 and Saab 9-3. Of the cars available in the UK the 350Z Read more »
Labour MP Brian Donohoe is calling for tax discs to be scrapped suggesting that paper discs affixed to the windscreen is old fashioned and should be unnecessary in the 21st century, whilst pointing out that the cost of creating the discs is £5 million a year and £14 million to send out suggesting that there must be other ways of displaying whether road tax has been paid including Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras. However, the police don’t agree saying that tax discs are vital for Read more »
If you are into your apps there’s a new one from Toyota that keeps a check on your driving through a glass of water. Not real water but an app glass of water for your Apple device. You put your iPhone into the cup holder (get it) and it shows a glass of water which you must attempt not to spill. Clearly the smoother your driving the less chance there is of spilling it. The app records key information such as journey distance, time, fuel returns and water spilled. As a result Toyota claims that drivers could save as much as 10% of their fuel. To get the app log on to www.aglassofwater.org What do you think, worthwhile or just another novelty? By Graham Hill
What has happened to the colour of our cars? Wherever you went a few years ago you would see a rainbow of colours driving up and down our roads but drive along a motorway these days you will drive along side a series of pretty monotone coloured cars. Three quarters of all cars registered this year are black, white, silver or grey. In 2000 the third and fourth most popular colours were blue and green. They have now dropped heavily in popularity according to leading automotive paint supplier, Read more »
We’re getting to that time of year when I’m sure I’ll have plenty of reports relating to tyres but before we get into the summer/winter tyre debates a question has come up regarding speed ratings on tyres. When a car is new tyres are often fitted by the manufacturer that have a speed rating much higher than the car is capable of travelling. For example a car may be fitted with V rated tyres, safe to a speed of 149 miles per hour. The question is should the same tyres be fitted when they are due Read more »
Multi story car parks go 21st century in Birmingham. German creator, Wohr, has built a valet multi story car park, without a valet. Cars are driven in through one of four access points by residents and after activating the system with the use of a transponder fob, the car is taken away by the machinery and stored in bays spread over 3 floors, all automatically. When the driver retrieves his car it is returned on a dolly that even turns the car round to be driven straight out in about 2 minutes. UK MD Read more »
What are the two most dangerous things that a motorist can do that could result in injury or death? Most people would assume this to be the two things that the government, media and safety organisations obsess over. Speeding and drink driving. We are about to be hit with a campaign regarding drink driving as we run up to Christmas and there seems to be a year round campaign to demonise those that speed. Read more »
Research by licence checking company, CFC solutions, revealed that whilst there is a common held belief that young drivers and older drivers have more points on their licences than those in their middle age, it’s not as simple as that. The theory held good and younger and older drivers (17 – 25 & 65+) certainly do have a higher frequency of points on their licences but it was found that those in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups, when they had points, they were more than in the other age groups. Read more »
