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OH DEAR, OH DEAR! |
29 November 2007 |
It has been estimated that there are around 200 accidents a day involving deer, and the costs per vehicle, with an average insurance claim costing just £300, could reach as much as £60,000 per day across the UK. That’s over £21 million a year.
As many as 75,000 deer are thought to be hit by cars every year in the UK, the vast majority in England. Gosh, that a staggering statistic! So, a Deer Vehicle Collisions project - the first study to centrally collect data on road accidents involving deer - has been launched.
Administered by The Deer Initiative and backed by the Highways Agency the idea is to educate motorists as many don’t realise that deer-related traffic accidents very often don’t kill the animal outright - which is bad enough - but they have to be either put down by rangers, vets or RSPCA staff afterwards or they escape to die later of their injuries. What’s more, especially at night in winter fog and rain, they are a major safety hazard to road users and lead to expensive damage to cars, human injuries and even deaths.
Oh dear, oh dear, come on motorists, doen’t hurt the Bambie’s our there. Take note of the Highway Code signs that warn you are entering ‘dear land’. They are large red triangles with a picture of Bambie on them
Doe!
DEBATE: have you ever steered your way into the path of there creatures?
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WOMEN LISTEN MORE THAN MEN – WHAT A SURPRISE! |
29 November 2007 |
Women drivers are more likely to take advice from the Highways Agency and the Met Office thereby less likely to get caught out by the weather, according to newly published research.
A survey of nearly 1,300 road users by the Highways Agency showed that women were less likely than men to make a journey by car after hearing a severe weather warning. Only 44% of women said they would continue, compared with 62% of men. This is because we are not daft. We listen and we take note therefore come to a calculated decision that our journey is really not that important to risk a potential accident or get caught out in a snowstorm and have to abandon our cars. Men on the other hand, believe themselves to be invincible thus carry on regardless. Although women and older people are more likely to heed the warnings, the Highways Agency is concerned over these supposed ‘super heroes’ so have launched a new campaign with advice on Safe Driving in Severe Weather, to remind drivers not to be complacent despite the recent mild weather, to plan their journeys and listen out for weather warnings as the British winter is not just about ice and snow; heavy rain, strong winds and fog are as much a part of the British climate and they can make driving hazardous. Lets just hope these men have the sense to see if their breakdown recovery membership is still valid.DEBATE: Why don’t men listen?
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DOUBLE BUBBLE POINTS FOR SPEEDING? |
22 November 2007 |
The Department for Transport is to publish a consultation before Christmas on doubling the number of points given to speeding drivers, according to a report in The Times. Under the proposals drivers caught doing 45mph or more in a 30mph limit are likely to face six points and a £100 fine, up from the current three points and £60 fine.
The Government is also reconsidering its earlier proposal to lower the number of points for drivers caught just over the limit. Hitting a pedestrian at 35mph is twice as likely to kill them as hitting them at 30mph, a message given by Department for Transport road safety ads. To lower points for drivers clearly endangering vulnerable road users would undermine this message and fly in the face of common sense.
That’s all very well but what about tougher charges, such as ‘careless’ or ‘dangerous’ driving, to be brought against drivers who deliberately take the risk of travelling at speeds, which endanger lives.
The proposed fine of £100 for a higher level speeding offence is low compared to fines for relatively minor offences, such as dropping litter, that is often much higher.
£100 is absolutely no deterrent to a would be speeding driver, How about £10,000 and a five year ban. That’s the deterrent.
Debate: Do you agree with the increase?
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GET YOUR EYES CHECKED |
22 November 2007 |
| New research hot off the press from Specsavers Opticians shows that one in four drivers fall below the recommended eyesight standard for road safety. A further one in four said they had never undergone a sight test, and 60% of UK and Irish drivers would get their eyes checked more regularly if it helped to lower the cost of their car insurance. The objective of the Specsavers Drive Safe campaign is to significantly increase awareness of the importance of wearing the correct prescription eyewear when driving and also to encourage people to have more regular sight tests. The majority of people surveyed were male (54%), of which 30% did not reach the legal driving standard recommended by the police and Department of Transport. This compared to only 20% of the women surveyed. Additional research commissioned by Specsavers, on professional drivers, showed that 83% of employers do not ensure that their company vehicle drivers have their eyes tested. This statistic is worsened by the fact that 98% of company drivers believe that road accidents can be caused by poor vision. Sorry, I am a bit confused here. Surely drivers must realise its time to visit the opticians as they fail to see a ‘no-entry’ sign or the car in front is actually a little bit closer than they thought. I cannot believe these offenders would be so blindingly daft. Debate: Admit, how many of you can read this?
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CONCERN OVER FOREIGN DRIVERS |
05 November 2007 |
Companies considering employing foreign drivers are being advised to ensure they are made aware of all the relevant regulations before allowing them to begin work here. The warnings come after a disproportionate rise in the number of eastern European drivers the courts are referring to driver education courses following drink-driving convictions. Figures from the TTC Group – the country’s largest provider of the Department for Transport’s drink-drive rehabilitation scheme – show that eastern European drivers prosecuted for drink- driving are twice as likely to have excessively higher levels of alcohol. More than 10% of the 1,100 drivers referred by the courts in June to TTC courses were from Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia. Of those, 28 had given breath samples more than two-and-a-half times above the legal limit. These are truly shocking figures and not a very nice way of saying ‘thank-you Britian for letting us live here’. So the owness has fallen on the shoulders of their employers who now have to shelve out money to educate our new visitors. But there are other problems in the fact it is virtually impossible to check on the status of a foreign licence, and, as an EU licence holder, they can drive in the UK for up to three years, often, as this case clearly shows, in the darkThe Department of Transport is therefore urging foreigners to switch to a UK licence within the year by taking the UK Driving Test. .Yeah right as if they would. Come on Guys, you have a duty to protect UK citizens. Make this a compulsory law please. Oh, and don’t you dare cite ‘discriminaiton’ as a cop out.DEBATE: Should all foreign emigrants sit a UK driving test?
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OH NO. NOT MORE ‘DON’T DO THIS IN THE CAR’ |
05 November 2007 |
More than 80% drivers are unaware that playing loud music in cars is against the new Highway Code safety rules, while almost two thirds admitted to eating while driving, which is against the new Highway Code safety rules. Nearly half of adults say they would feel at risk if they were a passenger and the driver was wearing high heels, although this is not outlawed in the Code. Well I wear high heels all the time so I am glad they are not in my car. The Highway Code was updated over three weeks ago, but research by Churchill Car Insurance shows that 37% of drivers are unaware that changes have been made. Many more admit to breaking the rules, exposing themselves to a possible fine or prosecution. The top ‘behind-the-wheel sins of the road’ that motorists admitted to are: changing the CD/ radio or cassette whist driving at 75%, eating food, 65%, drinking – thankfully soft drinks, 59% and not wearing sunglass when sunny in at 58% although this is not in the highway code which is just as well as some sunglasses are more a hindrance than a help.These new laws are desigined to reduce driving without due care and consideration but I do wonder if we are going to far.
DEBATE: Is ‘big brother watching you’ going too far?
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ALMOST HALF OF IN-CAR SMOKERS WILL IGNORE NEW HIGHWAY CODE RULE |
29 October 2007 |
| Although over 3 million UK motorists have had accidents, ‘near misses’ or lapses in concentration as a result of in-car smoking distractions, a staggering 45 % of motorists who smoke questioned in a study by esure car insurance will ignore the new rules set out in the revised Highway Code and continue to light-up behind the wheel. According to the new Highway Code, smoking in the car is an action police may deem as ‘not allowing proper control of a car’. Research by esure unveils a raft of potentially dangerous behaviours related to in-car smoking with top of the list a massive 80 % of motorists admit to taking their hands off the wheel in order to light a cigarette. Well how else are they going to light up?Despite travelling at high speeds, 75 % of motorists think smoking whilst driving on a motorway is acceptable and poses no risks, 46 % of people have accidentally dropped their cigarette in the car but worryingly, 26% have taken their eyes off the road in order to retrieve it. Oops.45% admit to disposing of their cigarette butt by throwing it out of the car, which is potentially dangerous if the cigarette is not properly extinguished and 88% of smokers admit that they are more likely to light up in the car when they are feeling stressed.Well is it not better to do this and let the nicotine take effect then get more and more wound up possible leading to a road rage attack or worse.
What ever happened to freedom of choice in this country?
DEBATE: Will you continue to smoke in the confines of your own car?
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NEW THINK! CAMPAIGN TARGETS PARENTS FOR FIRST TIME |
29 October 2007 |
Parents are being reminded: kids do as you do, not as you say, as part of a new THINK! road safety campaign aimed at driving down child road casualties, launched today by Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick.
The new campaign, called "CopyCat", is the first THINK! campaign designed to speak specifically to parents. The campaign reminds parents that kids copy their behaviour and educates them about the dangers that children face on the roads.
As part of the campaign, child psychologist Ruth Coppard will be on hand at a special training day to explain to parents how their behaviour influences that of their children. The training day will help parents understand the dangers that their children face on the roads and parents will also be invited to see the road from a child's point of view by using a 'giant' version of a zebra crossing, surrounded by over-sized cars and amplified street noise.
Hands up here parents, lets admit we do fall into bad habits. So if you are crossing the road when the red man is showing, you have just taught your child to do that with potentially disastrous consequences. So wait till the green man shows please.If you don’t put on a seatbelt, not will they, if you show wild aggressive tendencies to other drivers, so will they.
On that note, you had also better keep your language under control for if you swear, guess what they will do?
DEBATE: What is the worse thing you have done in the car to which your child copied?
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WE’RE A NATION OF MUSIC MOTORHEADS |
19 October 2007 |
Forget muddy fields, mp3 players, nightclubs or state of the art sound systems at home, a study of the in-car listening habits of 1,200 drivers by Vauxhall Motors reveals that the place Brits most like to go to indulge their personal music pleasures is their own car.
41% say their car is their favourite place to listen to music, twice as many as their home, (22%) in second place and 10 times as many as their iPod or mp3, (11%) away from the car. 32% admit to specifically taking their car out for a drive to indulge in secret music pleasures away from friends, family and partners. Oh you naughty people.
The new research also found that one in five motorists (21%) admit they use their car for a sneaky fix of the popular trend of ‘guilty pleasures’ easy listening music by the likes of Lionel Ritchie and Celine Dion and 14% have a secret passion for heavy metal such as Motorhead and Metallica. Ah yes that’s me. Nothing like a bit of Green Day to start the day.
It’s not always musical harmony as 78% of motorists say they’ve had their music changed by passengers. That is so infuriating, hence 26% of men and 20% of women drivers believe it is bad etiquette for passengers to complain about their choice of music, explaining why so many of us like to take time alone with out tunes on the road.
So that’s why so many cars these days have ‘concealed binnacles’ to hide these forbidden tracks from loved ones!DEBATE: Are you a secret music Motorhead?
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ALL ABOARD KIA’S ‘WALKING BUS’ |
19 October 2007 |
Helping to reduce both pollution and congestion during the school run and encourage exercise amongst youngsters, Kia dealers across the country are joining up with local schools to sponsor ‘Walking Bus’ schemes. Walkingshaw Kia, Cumbria, and Hendy Kia, Portsmouth, are the latest dealers to jump aboard.
A ‘Walking Bus’ lets a group, or ‘bus’, of children walk to and from school everyday quickly and safely under the guidance of trained adult supervisors. The ‘Walking Bus’ encourages children to get more exercise and helps to reduce the amount of traffic on the roads in the mornings.
October 2007 is International Walk To School Month when thousands of children across 40 countries will walk to school, doing their bit to cut CO2 emissions and make the roads a safer place.
The fleet of over 250 Kia-branded ‘Walking Buses’ are already saving 100,000 commuter miles every week. Up to 20 % of traffic in the mornings is as a result of the “school run”, and with vehicles producing the most CO2 on short journeys when in traffic, the ever increasing number of ‘Walking Buses’ will have a significant impact.
This is a great idea and we had a scheme going for quite some time. The sad reality was, it had to close, as I and another mother become the only volunteers to walk the children.So come on parents do your bit. Walking the children to school is a great way to start the day not just for you but especially the children.Debate: Would you like a scheme like this set up in your area?
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