Low Cost Vans

So people have been at it again. In the last month, a total of 571 people have been caught using mobile phones, and 177 people have been formally issued with warnings. Dyfed-Powys Police dealt with the most after stopping 388 offenders. Gwent caught 67 drivers, 59 were caught in North Wales, and in South Wales 57 people were dealt with for using their mobiles. Even though it has been illegal to use mobile phones when driving for many years, people are still flouting the rule and then complaining when they get caught. But why? We have access to Bluetooth, and other devices that mean we don’t actually have to physically pick up our phones when we are driving any more, but people still continue to reach over when someone phones, which not only puts their life in danger, but the lives of everyone else on the road is at risk. It is a hard law to enforce given that there are millions of drivers on the UK roads, but is answering one phone call worth the potential life of a stranger because yo

We have all played roulette with our petrol at some point during our driving days, trying to test how many miles we really can get from a tank, and it turns out that every year over 800,000 people play that game, and lose. A survey was released on August 27 by an insurance company that showed a quarter of drivers believe that when the petrol warning light comes on, they still have about 40 miles in the tank. It also showed that in the hope to find cheaper petrol, almost two million drive with the warning light on regularly. But do you know the real dangers of driving with little fuel in the tank? Okay there is the breakdown scenario when you have run completely out, but there are hidden dangers that can cause all sorts of problems with your car if you constantly let the tank run to empty. Diesel cars fare a lot worse in this as well. If you let the diesel run low a lot, then you are risking damage to your engine, the pipes and seals in the car can all be damaged, and that bill would be

In the last twelve months, drivers of South Wales have seen average speed cameras being installed, and cameras expertly pointed at bus lanes in Cardiff city centre. But as of yesterday drivers have another thing to look out for; stopping in a yellow box. If you are caught stopping in a yellow box (which is a driving offense anyway) in Cardiff, you will be fined £75. If you pay within 21 days it will be reduced to £35 and if you do not, then it will increase to £105. The new cameras have been installed at yellow box junctions in Customhouse Street, Bute Terrace, and Bute Street Junction. In the last seven days, those who have been caught have been warned that if they do it again, they will be receiving a fine in the post. It is the first time a city outside of London has enforced the yellow box rule, as part of its Moving Traffic Offences Scheme. On another safety note, a new £40,000 camera car is watching for drivers who park outside of schools on zig zag lines. Parents have sometimes

At the start of the year, a 50 mph, two mile stretch of enforcement cameras went life on the M4 at Port Talbot. Since they went live, 4500 motorists have been caught speeding which is roughly 80 motorists a day. So I decided to do some digging about why people are still being caught speeding, and it mostly came down to awareness of what average speed cameras actually mean, and how they catch you out. Average speed cameras use state of the art technology to read your number plate between two cameras along a stretch of road. They are not like fixed speed cameras that catch the speed you are going as you go past them. A common misconception amongst drivers is that they can speed before they get to a camera and then slow down to the speed limit – this does not work. Average speed cameras work by recording the speed you were going between two cameras, and the times you went through them. By doing this it can work out your average speed and will issue you with a speeding ticket if necessary.

This week, members of the public are urging the Government to take control of British roads and bring back casualty reduction targets after a rise in deaths and serious injuries on the road. Back in 2010, the Government scrapped the targets because they felt they did not need to prove its commitment to saving lives, but year on year the fatalities involving a van or lights goods vehicle rose from 153 to 169. Fatalities involving heavy goods vehicles fell from 270 to 265. The Department of Transport (DfT) has released more figures today announcing that 1,775 people have died on the road in the UK in the last 12 months. This is a 4% increase from 2013. Those with serious injuries has risen by 5% to a staggering 22,807. The most shocking figure of all, is that 194,477 have been killed or injured. That is the first time in nearly 20 years that overall casualties from road accidents has increased. An estimated one third of those who have been killed or seriously injured were driving due to

Today marks the change of a law that has been hotly debated over the last few years. From today (October 1 st ) it is illegal to smoke in any vehicle if there is a passenger who is under the age of 18. The reasoning behind this is to protect children and future generations from the very real dangers of second hand smoke. But what does it mean for those who flout this rule? If someone is caught smoking in the same car as a minor, then the smoker and the driver will be fined £50 each. It applies to everyone in England and Wales, 17 year olds who have just passed their test, and even provisional licence holders. However, the law does not apply if the driver is smoking, they are 17, and they are alone in their car. It still applies even if you have a window or sunroof open, and if the air conditioning on. But it does not apply to a convertible car that has its roof completely down. Although the majority of drivers do not smoke in a car with a minor, for those that do, they are placing that