St Helens in Merseyside is the UK’s most car-friendly town, while London is the worst spot for motorists, according to research out today. St Helens scored well on such things as petrol prices, parking costs and the number of speed cameras in an assessment carried out by Virgin Money Car Insurance. Telford in Shropshire – rated top for the previous two years – was in second place, with Blackburn third, Dudley in the West Midlands fourth, and Derby fifth. London’s 600 speed cameras contributed to its bottom place, a spot the UK capital has occupied for the last three years. The next least vehicle-friendly town was Manchester, followed by Reading in Berkshire, Glasgow and Watford in Hertfordshire. A total of 65 of the UK’s largest towns and cities were assessed, with the number of car parks and the level of car crime also taken into consideration. More
(AD Remarks ~ With the ever increasing traffic on the roads and all the associated fines and charges in the capital, it may well be bottom of the list for a while.)
Young people admit to shocking levels of speeding, frequently with their friends in the car with them, finds research published today (30 June 2010) by charity Brake and FedEx Express. The survey of 2,800 British youngsters by the road safety charity and courier service, carried out as part of their 2young2die campaign, found: •More than half (56%) have been a passenger in a car driven by a young driver at more than 40 mph in a 30 mph limit or at more than 70 mph on a rural road. •1 in 5 (23%) have raced on a public road as a driver or passenger. •1 in 10 (10%) have overtaken another vehicle, at speed, without being able to see what is coming. Young passengers find it difficult to speak out when put at risk by speed, or don’t perceive the risk. More than half (58%) of young passengers who’d been in a car driven by a speeding young driver said they didn’t ask the driver to slow down. The result is tragic loss of young lives. Road crashes are the biggest killer of young people aged 15-24. Young drivers are involved in more fatal crashes and more are killed than any other age group of drivers. A huge 43% of people who die on the road in crashes involving speed are aged 16-25. Many more young people suffer catastrophic injuries such as brain injury or paralysis. More
(AD Comments ~ Some young drivers don`t realise the dangers to themselves and others of excessive speed. On driving lessons they are taught good skills and examiner passes them with the sasme good skills. After the test, young drivers need to still be responsible, at what is still a young age for driving a motor vehicle, but many do not and the high casualty figures show this all too graphically.)
As many as 22% of motorists fail to wear seatbelts all the time, a survey today shows. And around the same number do not put them on when they are travelling as passengers, the poll by insurance company esure found. Based on responses from 1,372 motorists, the survey also showed that 5% have gone on entire journeys without buckling up. Also, one in six does not wear a belt on short trips, while 10% of passengers have to be prompted to wear them by the driver. More
(AD Comments ~ Sealtbelts could save your life, so why do so many not wear them?)
It seems the supposed British sense of fair play is far from a universal attribute – at least according to a new poll that reveals drivers’ attitudes to hitting a parked car. According to the elephant.co.uk survey of 3,000 people, one in five drivers wouldn’t leave their name and car insurance details after hitting a parked car and visibly damaging it – such as scratching the paintwork or leaving a dent. And it seems that drivers of hot hatches and superminis need to be wary – another one in five drivers would base their behaviour on the type of car they had pranged, with these two categories least likely to be found with a friendly note if another driver had nudged them. Coming in a close joint-second was a quartet of vehicular bêtes noires, comprising taxis, transit vans, 4x4s and executive cars. However, those polled said they were more likely to own up to bumping a ‘disability vehicle’, and felt far more compulsion to admit hitting a police car. Overall, 59% said that they would always leave their details if they caused obvious damage to a parked car, while a scrupulous 20% said they would leave their details even if no damage was visible to the other vehicle. Two-thirds said they wouldn’t bother if there was no visible damage. More
(AD Comments ~ Seems that everyone is not as honest as they should be these days!)
According to a poll, 1 in 10 drivers has admitted their ability to drive was impaired after taking medication, whilst 3% actually admitted to having had an accident or near miss when driving under the influence of prescription or over-the-counter drugs. 12 per cent of all those questioned also admitted to not realising they could be breaking the law if they drive while affected, with almost a third of people said they regularly take medicines and drive. The poll of drivers carried out by road safety expert GEM Motoring Assist, has led them to develop a new leaflet to raise awareness of the issues associated with Driving whilst affected by prescription medicines. More
(AD Comments ~ A very understated problem. Lots of medications can make you drowsy, we all need to be aware the problems and be prepared not to drive on occasions)
Texting and chatting on the mobile phone while driving is still a major distraction for motorists, according to a new survey. More than half (51 per cent) of 3,000 drivers polled said they believed that motorists were losing concentration through texting, even though the practice became illegal six years ago. Four in 10 of those questioned by Autoglass said they believed that chatting on the phone was also distracting millions of drivers, with those in the 55-plus age group believed to be worst-affected. Nearly three-quarters admitted it was easy to become distracted at the wheel with two in 10 admitting they had either had an accident or momentarily lost control of their car as a result of “losing focus”. Four per cent admitted this had happened to them on more than one occasion. Four in 10 admitted that fiddling with the radio had caused them to lose concentration while nearly two-thirds said were “easily side-tracked” by staring at accidents. More
(AD Comments ~ All these major distractions, are ones that every driver is aware of, but still continues with!)
A blundering council has wasted £130,000 of public money on a pedestrian road crossing that cannot be used. Bizarrely the puffin crossing was installed months after the same council granted residents Angela and Robin Wray planning permission for a driveway access to their house at exactly the same spot. Officials realised it would be unsafe to use the lights as pedestrians would have to stand at the entrance to the couple’s property. The lights have never been turned on in two years. Meanwhile, Kirklees Council has been fighting an expensive losing battle to try and legally ban the retired teachers from using the drive that they were given permission to build. Officials issued a ‘stopping up order’ to stop the access being used by cars, but Robin Wray, 66, and his wife Angela, 63, successfully appealed the ban at a public inquiry last month. Now councillors are coming under fire for running up a six-figure bill. To add insult to injury, if the council backs down it will cost taxpayers a further £30,000 to remove the crossing in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. Mrs Wray, a mother-of-three and grandmother, yesterday described the council’s decision to build the crossing at the same spot as ‘sheer madness.’ More
(AD Comments ~ Some may feel cramped for personal space if others are in the car with them. Or if they are busy at work and manic at home, being alone in their car might be the best quiet time they get!)
‘Lucky pants’, socks and T-shirts, calming aromatherapy oils and a lucky champagne cork are among the good luck charms carried by learners to help pass their L-test, according to AA Driving School. Others seek divine intervention with prayer beads, bibles and religious medals, or superstitions such as saluting magpies – but in reality there is no substitute for good preparation, a nationwide survey of AA instructors reveals. More
(AD Comments ~ Little comforts can help ease test nerves. But the best way to keep calm, is to be confident/practiced and skilful with your driving, before arriving at the test centre.)
The high levels of risk associated with buying part worn tyres has been revealed by Birmingham City Council after its trading standards officers examined a selection of part worn tyres being sold in the city and found that nine out of ten failed to meet the minimum legal standards. Among the failures were tyres which had nails embedded, illegal tread depth, exposed cords, inadequate markings and one tyre which was 17 years old. The investigation comes just weeks after TyreSafe found that more than one in ten drivers is more likely to buy part worn tyres compared with 12 months ago. “The results from the Birmingham investigation are extremely worrying and confirm our worst fears about part worn tyres,” explains Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe. “Although guidelines do exist about the condition of tyres being sold as part worns, they are clearly not being adhered to by all traders. The types of faults found are extremely dangerous and if fitted to a vehicle, could have caused serious accident and injury. This serves as a warning to drivers and we would re-iterate our position that we would always recommend fitting brand new tyres.” The investigation formed part of an ongoing programme by Birmingham City Council to tackle the problem of part worn tyres. This year was its ninth annual investigation and saw it buy ten tyres from retailers across the city. Over the course of the entire programme, the team bought and tested more than 190 part worn tyres with 25 percent found to have some form of structural defect. In this year’s survey 30 percent of tyres had structural failings including illegal tread depth and a nail embedded in the casing while 90 percent did not have the correct markings required by law, which identify them as a part worn tyre. More
(AD Comments ~ We always need to have safe tyres, as you life and that of others may well depend on them. These days there are many budget tyres around, which alothough cheap are still of very good quality.)
Brits are heading for a summer of fines, arrests and accidents in Europe as they fail to comply with the rules and regulations of driving abroad suggests new research from AXA Insurance. The BA strikes and volcanic ash disruption have led many Brits to re-think their holiday plans with an estimated 1.1 million1 saying they’ll drive to their holiday destination abroad this summer rather than rely on air travel. However, when it comes to some of the most basic requirements of driving abroad, there seems to be a lot of confusion among motorists with a third (33%) admitting they don’t know whether a GB sticker is needed and a further 24% wrongly stating that it isn’t.2 And nearly half (49%) were unsure whether their car insurance covered them for driving abroad with 23% making the potentially disastrous assumption that it does. More
(AD Comments ~ When driving in other countries, it is always wise to check into the local rules. We need to make sure the car is properly insured, and take extra care as we will be driving on the `wrong` side of the road!)”
According to our research of 3,000 motorists, this summer’s predicted hot weather will prompt over one in three Brits 36%) to take UK holidays and weekend breaks. One in five (22%) will forgo their usual foreign holiday, while over half (58%) plan to take a UK driving holiday this summer. When asked for the key ingredients of a great driving route, coastal roads were said to give the biggest thrill (66%), followed by roads winding dreamily through the countryside (63%). The weather will have a major influence, as the vast majority of motorists (83%) say that good weather makes for the perfect leisurely drive. This research, coupled with feedback from CSMA Club members who have enjoyed one of our Leisure Retreats in the UK, confirms that British drivers are still in love with our beautiful countryside. Considering the cost of the Euro against the Pound, and the recent volcanic ash disruption, it’s no surprise that many drivers will be looking to stay in the UK this summer and explore our picturesque countryside. See the list
(AD Suggests ~ To many motorways are grim and boring because everything looks similar, but this stretch is the favourite of many!)
52 per cent cannot see a red stop light coming when signals at junctions and pedestrian crossings are on amber. A survey of 1,000 motorists reveals that 39 per cent incorrectly expect a green light to be next in sequence after amber. A further seven per cent think that green and amber lights will appear simultaneously – a combination that never occurs – and six per cent suppose it will be the red and amber signal. Road safety experts are concerned that only 48 per cent of the UK’s 36 million drivers know the answer to a question routinely asked in driving theory tests and suggest that this could explain high accident rates at pedestrian crossings. Government statistics indicate that 19 per cent of pedestrians knocked down whilst crossing the road were on a crossing and a further 12 per cent were within 50 metres of one. The Department for Transport figures for 2008 – the latest available – say drivers failing to look properly were to blame for 21 per cent of all pedestrian accidents and seven per cent were caused by careless or reckless motorists or those in a hurry. Living Streets – formerly the Pedestrian Association – called for a clampdown on drivers running red lights along with a Government campaign on pedestrian road safety. It is also demanding a guarantee that the time allowed for pedestrians to cross will not be reduced by up to six seconds as proposed last year in London to improve traffic flow and cut congestion. “We are concerned at the poor level of knowledge of drivers,” said chief executive Tony Armstrong. More
(AD Suggests ~ An area where all road users need to be clear, so that traffic lights can be safe for all. Perhaps a simple change, so that the green light flashes 5 seconds before it goes out, would alert motorists earlier to changing lights!)
An accidents survey names Clarks as the drivers most likely to crash. Drivers surnamed Clark make the most claims, followed by Allen and Lewis, according to a poll by Elephant.co.uk. The top ten also included Green, Watson, Stewart and Jackson. Least likely to have an accident were people with the names Roberts, Hall or Davies. Clarks are seen to be 10% more likely than the average driver to have claimed for an accident while those called Roberts are 15% less likely. Elephant.co.uk spokesman Brian Martin said: “Although the survey is a bit of fun, there are obvious differences in the accident rates of some surnames compared with others. “However, we all know not every Clark is going to be a risky driver, and not every Roberts is going to be a particularly safe driver and it’s definitely not something we rate our policies on.” More
(AD Suggests ~ Whats in a name? But still interesting to know.)
UK motorists have been reminded to be more disciplined about adhering to speed limits in order to ensure they are driving safely. A survey conducted by road safety charity Brake has revealed that 72 per cent of drivers admit to travelling at 35 mph or faster in 30 mph zones, with a large proportion saying they do this regularly. However, the organisation stated that seemingly minor increases in speed will make it harder to stop for pedestrians, as well as increasing the risk of serious injury should a collision occur. Brake chief executive Mary Williams therefore called on British drivers to end their “widespread complacency” about going over the speed limit. More
(AD Suggests ~ Everyone needs to remember to keep responsible safe speeds, in 30 mph zones, as by their nature are built-up areas, where children are more likely to wander into the road.)
Black-coloured cars are the most impressive, a survey has found, while bolder colours such as yellow and green are a turn-off. In a poll of 2,351 people, Auto Trader found that 49% of drivers thought having a black car would impress their neighbours, as it looks more expensive. But at the other end of the scale, green, yellow and purple cars were less popular, with only 3% in total saying they thought cars in these colours looked pricey. More
(AD Suggests ~ Henry Ford did famously say “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black”, many decades later motorists still agree.)
Bloggers Comments