92% of motorists don’t believe car smoking ban will be enforced

From today (1 October 2015) it is law that you are not allowed to smoke in cars with children in them

The ban, which covers England and Wales, could see £50 fines dished out for anyone caught smoking in a car with passengers aged under 18.

Image credit www.motoringresearch.com

Research carried out by the RAC has found that, despite 90% of drivers being aware of the new law and only half knew it was being introduced today, many don’t believe police have sufficient man power to enforce it.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “It is worrying that nine in 10 motorists have concerns about the extent to which the new law is likely to be enforced. This is perhaps well-founded as traffic police officer numbers have fallen by nearly a quarter (23%) between 2010 and 2014 across forces in England and Wales, so it is hard to see how people flouting the law are going to be caught."

“The new ban joins a raft of other laws that have been introduced in recent years such as making it illegal to undertake or hog the middle lane of a motorway. But without sufficient enforcement there is a real danger that these laws will quickly be forgotten by a large proportion of the motoring population.”

What do you think about the new law? will it affect you?

Source: www.motoringresearch.com

You might not want to challenge that speeding ticket, this guy has to pay £11,000

David Pickup was caught speeding and has to pay £11,000 for challenging his ticket after a prosecution expert hired an airfield and a sports car to prove him wrong.

David Pickup, 45, was clocked doing 101mph in his Audi R8 on the A55 at Lloc in Flintshire in April 2014.

Flintshire Magistrates' Court heard a police speed camera caught him and he asked officers: "Can we call it 98?".

Mr Pickup who is from Wilmslow in Cheshire, who has a holiday home in Abersoch, Gwynedd, was convicted of speeding.

He denied breaking the 70mph speed limit and said that a number of people from Cheshire had second homes in Abersoch, which he called a millionaire's paradise.

The defence questioned the accuracy of the in-car police speed camera so the prosecution hired an expert who rented an airfield and an Audi R8 to carry out tests, the results of which were presented to the court.

Pickup was fined £675, given six points on his licence and ordered to pay the full prosecution costs - which included the testing - of £10,384.

First person passes trial of NEW UK driving test

Credit: SWNS

Grant Ferguson, 17, has become the first person in the UK to pass his driving test – using a sat nav.

His local driving test centre was chosen as one of 20 in the UK to trial the revised practical exam with the help of a GPS navigation system.

The examiner set up a route on the device for the first twenty minutes of the test and Grant followed the sat nav verbal instructions - with the instructor still in the vehicle.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) expects 1000 learner drivers will take part in the revised tests which are set to continue until the end of the year. If successful, it could be the biggest shake up of the test in almost 20 years! the last big change was when the written theory exam was introduced in 1996.

Grant Said:

"I had been learning to drive for about a month when the opportunity came up to try out the new test. I felt like I was part of an important change. I'll definitely be buying a sat nav because that's what I know and it gives you a bit of freedom to go where you want.
I was a bit relieved that I didn't have to do the reverse around the corner in the test."

 

The changes could see the three-point turn and reversing round a corner scrapped. These will be replaced with more commonplace manoeuvres such as reversing out of a parking bay.

The DVSA say that candidates will also be asked safety questions while on the move, instead of at the start, and asked to operate switches such as screen heaters.

Motoring groups have urged caution in removing manoeuvres like a three-point turn,saying it can be essential if sat navs lead drivers down a dead end road.

What do you think? would this be a good permanent change, should tests just be made longer to include more rather than scrapping other useful things? alternatively should the range of things you could be asked to do increase to at least ensure the manouvres are learnt?

Have your say below

Motorcyclist filmed speeding along the M11 at 148mph

A motorcyclist filmed speeding along the M11 at 148mph (238km/h) has been banned from driving for 15 months. Police dashboard cameras caught Paul Roberts, 43, weaving in and out of traffic on his Kawasaki ZZR 1400 while carrying a pillion passenger last September. Roberts, from Malkin Driver Lane, Harlow, was banned at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Bad driving in Europe could be punished in UK courts

British motorists caught speeding in their own vehicles on the Continent could have fines sent to their home addresses and be pursued in UK courts, under new plans to let European Union states access our motoring records for the first time.

Currently, British motorists who commit driving offences in other EU countries can be fined only if stopped by a police officer at the roadside. Those whose offences in their own vehicles are caught on camera tend to escape without punishment, while drivers of hire cars are often traced through their rental companies.

But this week the European Parliament will vote on a range of measures that will give national police forces the power to send out fines across Europe – and pursue offenders through the courts of their home countries.

Under the new rules, If a driver commits an offence in another country, that state may use their car’s registration number to access their personal data to send out a letter in the driver’s own language, demanding payment and threatening court action if they do not pay the fine.

The new Bill will be the first time that all 28 EU countries take part in cross-border information exchanges. Under the law, British police will also be able to pursue foreign motorists for traffic and speeding fines if they have left the UK.

An earlier law, which Britain had opted out of, was struck down by the European Court of Justice on an administrative technicality. However, the new directive, which was proposed by the European Commission in May, does not allow for Britain to use its opt-out.

Read the Full story by the Independent here