Make sure you are fully alert at the wheel

So we've come across this gem of a gadget called "StopSleep" it helps maintain awareness by alerting to the first signs of a drop in concentration brought on by the on-set of driver fatigue

It does this by continually measuring your levels of awareness and concentration via electrodermal activity. Your electrodermal activity, represents your brain activity, and by measuring this activity, StopSleep can accurately gauge your levels of awareness and concentration. As soon as your levels of concentration start to drop, StopSleep will alert you immediately via it's 2 stage alarm system.

Anyway you can read more about it on the site, we were thinking what a great thing especially for those that do shift work and drive long distances, jobs such as mobile sales persons, truck drivers, pilots, air hostesses might find it a usefull or even as a "care of duty" product that fleet managers might be interested in

Drive Safely!

This gadget can detect police cars more than half a mile away - and its legal - WHAT!?

A gadget that alerts speeding drivers when emergency vehicles has faced calls by police and motoring organisations to be banned.

The £799.99 Target Blu Eye is a dashboard-mounted device which, astonishingly, is perfectly legal, according to its makers.

It can detect when police cars – even unmarked vehicles – are more than half a mile away by picking up encoded radio signals, and then sends a warning to the motorist.

When a 999 vehicle is within 1,200 yards, it sets off a green light on the display. As it gets nearer, the lights go to amber and finally they go red when it is just yards away. The device can even detect the radio signals from police officers on the beat and force helicopters.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

French helicopter tracks speeding British cars after call from off-duty officer

Off-duty officer who was overtaken by 5 sports cars racing down autoroute phoned on-duty officers and the Gendarmes swooped.

French gendarmes sent a helicopter chasing after five British-registered sports cars - including a Lamborghini and two Porsches - after an-off duty officer in a private car spotted them speeding down the A63 motorway near Biarritz in the southwest 

The British vehicles overtook him at speeds far above the French maximum limit of 130 kph (80 mph). The Britons were traveling on Friday afternoon in the direction of Hendaye, on the border with Spain. The convoy slowed to permitted speeds once the drivers spotted the chopper following them. 

❗#Biarritz 5 véhicules circulant à très grande vitesse sur l'#A63, interceptés avec l'aide de l'hélicoptère #Bayonne pic.twitter.com/kif9J1GQAf

— GendarmerieNationale (@Gendarmerie) May 8, 2015

The cars were tracked down to a toll booth where several police cars hauled them over and imposed fines for speeding. Police said they did not know exactly how fast they were going because the helicopter that had followed them was not equipped with speed radar.

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

Lib Dem candidate Stephen Gilbert caught speeding

A Lib Dem parliamentary candidate was caught speeding by a camera he admits he "secured the funding for".

Stephen Gilbert's solicitor pleaded guilty on his behalf to speeding in his Kia car at 40mph in a 30mph zone on the A390 at St Blazey, last August.

Mr Gilbert, 38, of Beach Road, Newquay, was fined £430, ordered to pay costs of £85 and given three penalty points.

A charge of failing to give information relating to the driver's identity was withdrawn at Bodmin Magistrates' Court.

Mr Gilbert is defending the St Austell and Newquay seat in Cornwall.
The politician tweeted that the speeding conviction was "ironic" as he had "secured the funding for the camera 15 years ago".

.@tamsinmelville ... and isn't it ironic since I secured the funding for the camera 15 years ago! @BBCCornwall
— Stephen Gilbert (@stephen_gilbert) April 22, 2015

eCall alert device to be introduced in the EU for car crashes

The European Parliament has voted for an EU-wide emergency alert system dubbed eCall to help ambulance crews get to road accidents faster, potentially saving lives and reducing the severity of injuries.

In the event of an accident (where the airbag sensors are set off) the eCall device will alert rescue services automatically, using the existing 112 emergency number. It is thought that response times could be halved, especially in rural areas.

The information that will be provided to the emergency crews will be:

• type of vehicle
• fuel used
• time of accident
• location

From 31 March 2018 new cars and light vans will have the system as standard. The technology was first proposed in 2012, but legislation was delayed amid privacy concerns.

The European Commission says installation of the device is likely to add about €100 (£72; $109) to the cost of a new car.

A standard accident alert system is needed in Europe, because "when you cross a border you have a language problem and often do not even really know where you are", said Czech Social Democrat MEP Olga Sehnalova, the parliament's lead negotiator on the issue.

But Jan Philipp Albrecht from the Greens said the technology should not be mandatory.

"The consequence of being connected all the time means that we are also subject to more possibilities to track us," he told the BBC.

"We reduced the data being processed to a very minimum, but nonetheless it is technically possible for companies, or for an authority, to track your position and to even surveil you. So I don't think this should be obliged to everybody. Everybody should have the chance to opt out."

The UK government objects to the plans. UK Transport Minister Claire Perry said "the benefit of making eCall mandatory in all new cars does not justify the cost of implementing it.

"We do not support the measure, because it is not cost-effective for us."

Ramifications for those hiring cars after the counterpart is scrapped on June 8th

Britons heading to Europe on holiday are facing the nightmare of arriving at their destination and not being able to hire a car, thanks to a controversial driving licence shake-up.

On June 8 The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is scrapping the paper counterpart that accompanies all UK plastic photocard licences. 

The counterpart shows all the Information about penalty points for traffic violations such as speeding.

From June 8, holidaymakers heading abroad will have to log on to the DVLA website the day before and put in their driving licence number to obtain a special code to give to their car hire company when they arrive at the desk.

But fears are growing that the new rules will mean people could be turned away because many car hire firms abroad will still insist on examining the paper document to check for endorsements or bans.

Also anyone hiring a car in the second week of their trip faces having to find an internet cafe or pay expensive roaming charges as the passcode to access the infprmation is valid for only 72 hours

Mark Bower, of the car hire insurance website MoneyMaxim, said holidaymakers could endure major problems at car hire desks across Europe. He added: ‘Most people are simply unaware that these changes are on the way – and it is not just renters.

‘I spoke to one big car hire firm in Portugal this week and they knew nothing of the changes. Six weeks away from implementation, the whole thing is very muddled.

‘It is another thing you have to remember to do just before departure. Or you can do it at the desk with your smartphone if you can remember the website address, don’t mind the data roaming charges, can remember your national insurance number and are impervious to the long queue developing behind you.’

Mr Bower also said unscrupulous firms might use the issue as ‘another excuse’ to persuade people to pay for extra insurance.

Motorists will also be able to download their driving history as a printable PDF file, although it is unclear whether all car hire firms will accept that, or how drivers without access to a computer will cope.

The DVLA insists the changes have been widely publicised. But consumers booking car hire for holidays after June have not been warned the new rules are being introduced. The terms and conditions of most car hire firms still explicitly state that paper counterparts must be produced.

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, which represents the industry, says UK hirers unaware of the rule change will be treated in the same way as those who currently turn up without both parts of the licence.

The DVLA said the system, called Share Driving Licence, would be ready in time for June 8. A spokesman said: ‘There is up-to-date information on the website and we are working closely with the industry to ensure that their systems and processes are ready for the changes.’

The two-part licence was introduced in 1998 but many drivers found it inconvenient. From June 8, paper counterparts will be invalid and should be destroyed. Motorists with old-style paper driving licences from before 1998 can continue to use them.

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