Continue reading »]]> Road safety experts are urging drivers and passengers to put their seatbelts on before every journey, as worrying figures show that people are still failing to belt up.

The worst offenders are 17-34 year olds. Drivers who have just three to six years experience behind the wheel are the biggest risk at 26% while also being in the age group most likely to crash.

Road campaign Think! revealed that one in five back seat passengers don’t wear a seatbelt, with 17% of young men under 30 most likely not to bother. One in 10 front seat occupants also avoid belting up.

Research has also revealed that drivers are far more likely not to belt up when travelling for short journeys, even though you’re twice as likely to die without it on during an impact.

A £60 on-the-spot fine can be presented if you’re caught without your belt on, or a maximum fine of £500 after prosecution.

source: Alex Fisk – http://uk.autoblog.com

Continue reading »]]> There are fears more accidents will happen on Britain’s motorways when learners are allowed to drive on them later this year.

At the moment it is illegal to get behind the wheel on motorways in the UK until after passing the driving test. Roads minister Mike Penning says he plans to change that by the summer.

He says many new drivers are terrified of motorway driving because they do not have the skills or confidence needed. He said: “If we can show insurers someone has got skills of their own accord, I would expect them to drop their premiums proportionately and that is what I will be telling them.” He added that the extra training should also bring down the high cost of insurance premiums for those new drivers.

‘Nerve-wracking’

Jenny Hacking is 21 and is learning to drive in Leeds.

She said she would get home quicker from college on the motorway but is dreading it.  “It’s nerve-wracking,” she admitted. “I’m apprehensive about all the drivers going fast and thinking, ‘Shall I switch lanes now or should I stay where I am?’ They could get really impatient.”

Statistically motorways are the safest roads and that is partly why driving instructors are supportive of the change The Driving Instructors Association (DIA) says new drivers should be encouraged to use these bigger roads more.

However, some drivers are concerned that learners on the motorway will cause more accidents, stressful situations and delays.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) says no-one should be allowed to drive on them until after they have passed their test. Some lorry drivers think even then they should stay off the motorway until they have had more experience behind the wheel.

Quieter roads

Steve Bols runs a transport company just off the M25, close to London’s Heathrow Airport. He said: “If it was a free for all at any time of day then no way. I don’t want to see people hurt. “If it was, say, only at weekends, in good weather, when the roads are quieter, then there could perhaps be a place for it.”

Mike Penning says there will be no conditions like that imposed. He says he will be able to bring the change in using powers he has, known as delegated legislation.

Responding to the safety warnings, he described them as “the biggest load of rubbish he had ever heard” and says there is no evidence for not doing it.

There are no plans to make learning to drive on motorways compulsory, as some people who live in rural areas would have a long way to travel for the training.

You would have to be with a qualified instructor in a dual controlled car.

The change would apply across England, Wales and Scotland. The Northern Ireland Assembly says it is considering it too and will announce a decision soon.

Continue reading »]]> As many as 50% of motorists felt under-prepared and nervous when taking to the road for the first time after passing their driving test, it has been revealed.

Nearly 90% took less than the recommended 40 hours of lessons before taking the test, according to a survey by car insurance company ingenie and the RoadSafe organisation.

Male drivers aged 17 to 25 said their main emotion after passing the test was confidence.

Yet they were more than twice as likely to have a collision in their first month of driving compared with female drivers.

Overall, the poll of 1,000 UK motorists showed that 35% of drivers admitted to having had a collision in their first year of driving.

Also, young drivers were apt to change their driving style depending on their passengers – driving less safely with friends but more cautiously with parents.

Ingenie chief executive Richard King said: “It’s clear from our research findings that many young drivers speed through their theory and practical tests and get straight out on to the road without the essential skills necessary to give them confidence to drive alone.”

source: www.google.com/hostednews

Continue reading »]]> The Department for Transport has voted against placing restrictions on young drivers and has instead said improved driving instruction and exams will be delivered.

Proposals were put forward to place a curfew on when young drivers could be on the road and the amount of passengers they could carry in their vehicle.

There were also calls to introduce a graduated driver licensing scheme, which would mean different stages would be introduced to give drivers more time and practice before being handed a full licence.

But the head of road safety at the Department for Transport, Paul O’Sullivan, said these rules have been deemed counter-productive for young drivers who work or study at night and need to drive to establishments.

He said: “If you ban carrying other passengers among young groups you will get more young drivers on the road. It doesn’t sit with the designated driver schemes or with car sharing, and police enforcement would be difficult.

“The Government is not keen to take liberties away unless there is a very strong case for doing so.”

Mr O’Sullivan said instead the department will improve driving tuition and exams and revamp the Pass Plus scheme, which can help to bring down the cost of car insurance .

source: www.rac.co.uk/news-advice/motoring-news

Continue reading »]]> Newly qualified drivers could be banned from getting behind the wheel unless they have someone over 25 with them.

The idea is part of a raft of measures being considered to tackle the soaring cost of insurance. Floated by the insurance industry, it is expected to be discussed at a Downing Street summit today.

The Department for Transport will consider giving drivers who have just passed their tests a probationary period where they must be accompanied by an experienced driver who is over the age of 25.

It has been suggested that new drivers, who are most at risk of having an accident, would then be safer on the road and so qualify for cheaper motor insurance.

Proposals on the agenda at the summit include:

• A crackdown on whiplash scams where people involved in minor shunts are being encouraged to make bogus compensation claims;

• A requirement for road accident victims to supply substantial medical evidence to back up any medical compensation claim;

• A ban on referral fees paid by ambulance-chasing lawyers to get details of accidents;

• A commitment to cut the £1,200 fee that lawyers can charge to pursue small personal injury claims.

The meeting will also outline plans to cut red tape faced by employers around health and safety rules.

Ministers say urgent action is needed to cope with a rise in compensation claims linked to road accidents and the resulting increases in premiums. Britain has become the whiplash capital of Europe with more than 1,500 claims a day. Insurance payouts for this add up to £2billion a year – £90 for every motor policy.

Separately, legal fees linked to accidents are a further £4.1billion, which adds up to another £121 per driver.

The average motor insurance bill is up 17 per cent in a year to £410, so adding to the biggest cost of living squeeze in at least 60 years.

However, young drivers are effectively being priced off the road with an average premium of £2,977 for a male and £1,682 for a female.

A source close to the summit said insurers could cut premiums for them by installing black boxes in vehicles to monitor behaviour.

These would guarantee cheaper premiums based on vehicles being used only in the daytime or on the basis they keep to the speed limit.

Downing Street claims the package will cut industry costs by hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which should be passed on to motorists through cheaper premiums.

David Cameron is expected to say: ‘I want to look at what action we can take to bring down insurance premiums and the costs for drivers, families, consumers and businesses.

‘I am determined to tackle this damaging compensation culture.’

But some consumer groups and lawyers fear the proposals will make it difficult for genuine accident victims to get proper recompense for injuries and loss of income.

Richard Lloyd, executive director at Which?, said the real reason for rising insurance costs is the huge fees taken by lawyers, insurance firms, garages, car hire and claims management firms.

His group will boycott the summit on the basis it makes consumers responsible for fixing the rip-offs, rather than tackling firms involved in so-called ‘claims farming’.

‘The Government needs to be on the side of the consumer’, he added.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2100736/New-drivers-supervised-25.html#ixzz1mLDi05XX

Continue reading »]]>

Continue reading »]]> Drivers who smoke cannabis within three hours of getting behind the wheel run almost double the risk of a serious crash, claim researchers.

The first major review reveals that drivers are far more likely to be involved in a collision with another vehicle after smoking the illicit drug.

It comes amid growing concern about the influence of drugs on road safety, with around a million cannabis users in the UK aged 16 to 24 – half the number for the 16 to 59-year-olds.

The researchers from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada, said the impact of cannabis consumption ‘on the risk of minor crashes remains unclear’.

But, they suspect, it ‘could be a risk factor’ for minor collisions.

In the UK, drug-driving laws are set to be tightened with the possible introduction of roadside ‘drugalysers’ after a campaign by the family of Lillian Groves.

The 14-year-old was mown down outside her home by a driver high on drugs in June 2010.

Cannabis had been found in the system of the speeding motorist John Page, but he was not tested for drugs until nine hours after the accident when there was not enough to charge him with causing death by dangerous driving while under the influence of drugs.

He was banned from driving for two years and jailed for eight months, and freed in two.

The family of the dead girl have since campaigned for Lillian’s Law, including demands for roadside testing and driving while under the influence of illegal drugs to be made a criminal offence, and won the personal backing of the Prime Minister.

Previous studies have suggested that cannabis impairs a person’s mental abilities and the ‘motor tasks’ needed for safe driving, increasing the risk of being a crash.

The new review involved people who either tested positive for cannabis use through blood tests – or who said they had used cannabis – in the previous three hours.

It is thought to be the first looking at crashes solely after taking cannabis, as others have failed to separate out the effects of alcohol and other substances from cannabis use.

The vehicles included cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, light or heavy trucks, buses, motorcycles or scooters, all terrain vehicles and snowmobiles.

The review concluded: ‘The results also accord with recent data for collisions that point to the increasing presence of drugs other than alcohol (especially cannabis and depressants of the central nervous system) in injured and fatally injured drivers”

In 2007, a roadside survey in Scotland found that out of 537 drivers tested, 15 per cent aged 17-39 admitted to having taken cannabis within 12 hours of driving.

But in 2008, 71,449 people were convicted of drink-driving in England and Wales, compared with 1,644 people convicted of drug-driving.

Road safety minister Mike Penning said ‘Drug-driving is a menace which is why we are going to introduce a new drug-driving offence and drug-screening equipment to make it easier for the police to test for the presence of drugs and crack down on this irresponsible minority.

‘We are also collecting information from coroners on the presence of drugs in drivers at autopsy to give us a better picture of the part drugs play in accidents on the roads.

‘Britain has some of the safest roads in the world but we are not complacent and I am determined to crack down on those who recklessly risk the lives of others.’ Martin Barnes, chief executive of DrugScope, said ‘This research paper confirms what the available evidence has suggested for some time: driving while under the influence of drugs such as cannabis can be dangerous.

‘We are aware that the Department for Transport is in the process of setting up an expert panel to advise on how legislation could be amended to respond to drug-driving, as the technical aspects of any such change to the law are extremely complex.

‘We await the outcome of this important work with interest.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099113/Drivers-smoke-cannabis-hours-getting-wheel-double-risk-accident.html#ixzz1mCBLyy00

Continue reading »]]> Young people driving cars around rural areas have been urged to take extra care when journeying through the countryside.

This is because new research from Road Safety Analysis has shown this demographic are 37 per cent more likely to be involved in a crash when in these regions than their urban counterparts.

According to the figures, those aged between 16 and 29 years old account for 30 per cent of all collisions on the road, despite only making up 18 per cent of the overall population.

It was shown that the elevated risk may be explained by the higher average annual mileage covered by rural motorists – meaning they have much more exposure than those navigating more built-up areas.

Dan Campsall, director of Road Safety Analysis, which was formed in 2010, said measures need to be introduced to prevent youngsters traversing the countryside from being injured in a car crash.

He added: “This may require investment in transport infrastructure, community bus schemes and further driver training to affect the inequality that these drivers are experiencing.”

source: www.uknetguide.co.uk/Latest-News

Continue reading »]]> The AA is set to launch a new insurance policy which uses sat-nav technology to track driver performance.

The firm said the system would allow its better drivers to receive cheaper premiums.

It follows similar efforts by smaller insurers. Larger rival Direct Line has told the BBC it is also piloting its own “black box” scheme. Critics of the technology said that data should not be used as a reliable measure of a driver’s ability.

The system involves the installation of a small black box into the driver’s car which records how they drive. The measures include monitoring speed, braking severity, cornering and the types of roads used during certain times of day. This information is transmitted remotely to the insurers, and can also be accessed by users via a website which gives information on overall performance, warning them if they are likely to be moved to a higher premium.

“The reports are pretty detailed,” AA spokesman Ian Crowder told the BBC ahead of Wednesday’s formal announcement. “The point is that these sorts of devices firmly put in the hands of the driver a responsibility for driving safely. It makes you think.”

The information could be used to prove who was at fault in accidents, Mr Crowder added, but such detailed information would only be disclosed with a court order.

‘Stern email’

He added that the system could also detect sudden hard braking so assistance could be sent. Extreme speeds would be greeted with “a stern email” to the driver. He said the “pay-how-you-drive” system, which is aimed primarily at young drivers, could save customers up to £850 per year. “All the anecdotal evidence suggests that people who have installed the system have about a 30% better claims experience – in other words, less crashes – than those who don’t,” he added.

The technology, known as “telematics” or “black box insurance” has for several months been utilised by smaller insurance firms such as Co-Op and Coverbox. Welsh insurance firm Motaquote has just launched a partnership with leading sat-nav manufacturer TomTom to offer real-time feedback on driver performance.

Other major insurers are expected to launch policies soon. Direct Line told the BBC it had begun a pilot using its own technology – called Tracker – which it hoped to implement by the end of the year.

Elsewhere, car hire firm Avis said telematics is “one to watch”, and said it might consider using the technology in its vehicles.

‘Spy in the car’

Malcolm Tarling, from the Association of British Insurers, said it is an approach which is likely to become commonplace. “It’s particularly important for young drivers who have high premiums,” he said. “You may say you don’t want a ‘spy in the car’ as some call them, but others may say that if this is one way of making my premiums reflect my safety on the road, this will be of interest.”

But Keith Peat, a spokesman for the Association for British Drivers, told the BBC he was worried that drivers who did not want to allow telematics in their vehicle would face higher costs. “Providing the drivers give their consent it is OK,” he said. “But what we are totally against is people who don’t give their consent being penalised.”

source: Dave Lee – Technology reporter – www.bbc.co.uk/news

Continue reading »]]> TomTom signs up with Motaquote to stuff spy in GPS box.

The idea has been hovering in the ether for some time, but TomTom is the first satnav firm to sign on the dotted line and bring insurance to drivers through their GPS.

The Dutch company has joined up with Motaquote insurers to offer UK drivers “Fair Pay” insurance, where customers pay lower premiums because their satnav monitors how they’re driving.

“Our entry in the insurance market with our proven fleet management technology puts us at the forefront of a move that could help to revolutionise the motor insurance industry,” Thomas Schmidt, managing director of TomTom Business Solutions, said in a canned statement.

The idea is simple. Any driver that considers themselves to be a safe one signs on with Fair Pay and is given a specially developed TomTom PRO 3100 satnav. This GPS box includes “Active Driver Feedback” and “LIVE services”. The latter will alert the motorist to upcoming traffic issues (presumably to stop them slamming into the back of a long queue that has formed).

The feedback system will let the driver know when they’re not being quite as safe as they think they are, such as when they corner harshly or have to brake suddenly, presumably by yelling “Oy! That kind of driving will cost you 10p a minute, mate!” or something to that effect.

Assuming the customer is actually a safe driver, then their premiums will be charged accordingly, rather than being based on things like their postcode, gender, age or vehicle type.

“We’ve dispensed with generalisations and said to our customers, if you believe you’re a good driver, we’ll believe you and we’ll even give you the benefit up front… unlike some other telematics-based schemes where you may have to prove your ability over a number of months,” said Nigel Lombard, MD of Fair Pay Insurance.

The Fair Pay insured will also have a tracking unit fitted to their cars, which will allow “driver behaviour and habits to be monitored”.

“The telematics box (TomTom LINK – which is fitted within the dashboard) records the driving data,” a Fair Pay spokesperson told The Register.

“This, via Bluetooth, transfers data to the in-car TomTom navigation device and also feeds back data to the consumer dashboard. This enables drivers to also get real-time feedback, which we believe to be a unique offer in the personal motor insurance telematics market.”

The website does imply that this tracking won’t include “singing along to the radio loudly and out of tune” behaviour or “using the back seat of your car for a purpose other than that intended” behaviour; the tracker is only interested in car-owners’ safe driving, speed and mileage.

The data will be collated in the aforementioned online dashboard so that users can get an idea of their own style of driving, and could also be used anonymously for traffic analysis.

Tying insurance into safe driving while also slurping lots of lovely traffic data is a canny move for satnav companies, which need to broaden their horizons somewhat now that smartphones come packing passable navigation apps. ®

source: Brid-Aine Parnell – www.theregister.co.uk