Speed cameras making a comeback

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Steve

Just when many motorists thought that they could forget about speeding fines from static roadside cameras, the old foe of many modern drivers looks set for a return.

It was only a few months ago that motorists in the UK were getting motor insurance quotes safe in the knowledge that speeding points from static cameras would not affect their policies in future, how wrong they were.

The big turn off that was started by a Wiltshire Council reluctant to spend its resources in what they said was ‘gathering money for Central Government’. This single, what many termed ‘act of defiance’ soon turned into a rush to get rid of them when local authorities realised that funding issues generated by enforced spending cuts by the government means that cuts had to be made somewhere.

Road safety organisations were aghast at the proposed actions by local authorities and predicted turning off the cameras would lead to increases in deaths and serious injuries on the roads of the UK.

Motorist groups on the other hand were delighted with the news and foresaw no problems as the great majority of the nations drivers would still drive responsibly.

It would appear the road safety groups were right. This week has seen the first about turn on the policy by a county council. The cameras in Oxfordshire were turned off at the beginning of August as the funding to operate the cameras disappeared. Oxfordshire County Council informed the operators, Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership that they would no longer foot the £600,000 bill for the cameras, so off they went.

On November 2^nd a press release by the council said that an agreement between themselves and Thames Valley Police Force was imminent and that speed control cameras would be re-activated.

Although no official reason was given, it is thought that resident groups and figures collated by road safety groups in general suggest that motorists were, for the main part, completely ignoring speed limits on the roads where the cameras had been in operation.

It remains to be seen what happens elsewhere in the country as accident levels start filtering through. It will be a massive disappointment for many motoring groups and responsible drivers if statistics show that in fact, after years of road safety information through the media, many drivers simply don’t give a thought for anyone else.

Older Nissan models being targeted by thieves

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Steve

Everyone is worried about their car being damaged or worse still, being stolen. It is why we all get a motor insurance quote. Owners of top of the range cars such as a Bentley or an Aston Martin can breathe easy as thieves in Surrey are currently more interested in old Nissan vehicles, such as the 1990′s Micra models and also old Nissan Sunnys.

Sergeant Dan Gutierrez, explained “They are being stolen because they are so easy to break into. That’s why they are being targeted. We have had fourteen stolen in the last four weeks. They are being taken from the north of the county, especially the Caterham and Warlingham areas. We found one burning near Chaldon Church, and the fire brigade had to put it out – but then it disappeared, so it seems the vehicles are being set on fire to destroy any distinguishing marks and serial numbers before presumably being sold for scrap.”

The police think all of the cars are being stolen by one gang who are working in the New Addington area and think they are coming more into Surrey from the north. Surrey Police are working with scrap merchants in the local areas in an effort try and track down where the stolen cars are being sold. To date 14 Nissan older style cars have been stolen from not just the roadside but from driveways in Caterham and Merstham. Not every car has been sold on by the thieves as two of them were found abandoned and burned in Church Lane, Warlingham.

Not all owners of older Nissan models are worried, Donna Talbot 53, said “I’ve had this car for years and if anyone wants it, they can have it. It’s insured, after all, and it probably doubles in value every time I fill it up with petrol. I won’t be getting a crook lock. What’s the point? But I have to say, despite its age it’s always been a very reliable little car.”

Volvo eyes the uncrashable vehicle

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Steve

Imagine driving along a country road unaware that a tractor is about to appear out of a side turning hidden from sight around the next bend in the road. The driver has no idea but the car does. Sensors in the vehicle have identified its shape and size and predicted the tractors course and speed. An on-board computer calculates a strategy and without the need for human help, a quick burst of speed and a directional tweak is engaged. The tractor pulls out with a few inches to spare instead of hitting the car. This is not science fiction, well yes at the moment it is, but Volvo is working to make it a reality within the next 10 years.

Their aim is to manufacture a car that is uncrashable. Volvo want to build cars that will not crash, with safety strategy a chief priority. They make a bold claim that in 10 years time no one should ever be killed or even moderately injured as a driver or passenger in one of their vehicles. Volvo has an excellent safety record, but even for them it is a tall order. If a car is uncrashable will a motor insurance quote be cheaper? Only time will tell if that will be the case.

Volvo have always been a leader in car manufacture; they were the first car manufacturer to fit safety cages, laminated windscreens, lateral airbags and three-point safety belts. It looks an impossible job, but if anyone can it is Volvo. In 1970 Volvo started to collect data on accidents. They used not just data from themselves but also the insurance industry and the police. Overall it studied more than 40,000 accidents involving 60,000 cars. Volvo will have two car generations before the ten years is up and is currently exploring a number of new technologies.

Vehicles will become much lighter in the future

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Steve

Millions of people each year get a motor insurance quote, most will drive the vehicle everyday and have no idea about its weight, or that it has been getting heavier in recent years. Most of the weight on cars today comes from steel. Only a few years ago the average car contained 2,400 pounds of steel. Now, consider that most cars weigh around 3,000 pounds, that’s a lot of steel. In cars, it is steel that is used to create the underlying chassis underneath the body. This forms the skeleton of the car and will protect the driver and passengers in the event of a crash. Doors, roofs and even the body panels made during manufacturing on most cars today are made of steel. Steel is also used in a number of different areas throughout the vehicle. Even the exhaust will often be made from stainless steel.

The manufacturing of steel has evolved massively, enabling carmakers today to be able to use different types of steel for parts of the vehicle. However, it still remains a fact that in order for us to get better mileage and lower emissions in the future, vehicles will have to lose some weight. That will not be easy with drivers demanding more creature comforts inside the vehicle. It would be a bad business move on the manufacturer’s part to stop offering the latest technology that make for a comfortable drive. Yet it is the technology that makes cars heavier.

One answer would be to make body parts out of lighter materials like carbon fibre-reinforced plastic, which is often abbreviated as CFRP. Like many other auto innovations, this one started out life in the racing world for a long time before seeing it in the consumer marketplace. CFRP works pretty much like fibre glass which sees the carbon fibre spun into long strands and then arranged into a weave for strength. A plastic material (the polymer) is soaked into the carbon fibre around a mould. When the two harden, the result will be both strong and quite light (50% lighter than forming the part out of metal alloy). This is very expensive, and because of this it is still uncommon on vehicles that are mass produced.

Chevrolet already makes limited use of carbon fibre on some of its factory models. Lexus is using CFRP extensively on its LF-A to be released next year, and they say more carbon fibre cars will be released in the future. BMW have used carbon fibre for the roof of its M3 sports car, and they have plans to use it on a wider scale for its eco-friendly city car which is expected around 2015.

Technology to make driving safer

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Steve

Avoiding an accident is much better than having an accident. A preventative safety feature such as the CAS (Collision Avoidance System) can help a driver avoid having an accident by simply evading them. Motor manufacturer Volvo, equips every vehicle with a variety of preventative safety features, some of them are unique to Volvo and have been developed by their own safety engineers during years of research, design and testing. Introduced on the 2007 S80, ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) helps to give both a comfortable and relaxed drive by helping the driver keep a set distance from the vehicle in front. ACC uses a long range radar sensor which continuously monitors the distance to the vehicle ahead and will automatically change the speed of the car to make sure the proper distance is kept. All ACC needs is the driver to input the desired speed and the minimum time gap to the vehicle in front and it will do the rest. Distance Alert can help keep a proper distance to the vehicle in front of even if the ACC function is turned off. If the car gets too close to the vehicle in front, the system will give an alert by means of a red light in the bottom part of the windscreen. However Distance Alert will not brake the car like the Adaptive Cruise Control will do.

The existing CWBS (Collision Warning with Brake Support) was designed to sense an impending collision and then warn the driver to hopefully avoid or even reduce the damage caused in a crash. The CWBS works by way of long range radar which will continuously monitor the distance to any vehicle driving in front. The new generation of Collision Warning now also comes with Auto Brake. This is done by adding a camera which then gives a wider view of all the vehicles in front. Because the system combines the information from the radar sensor and the camera, it can now provide a very high level of confidence so that auto braking is possible. Collision Warning with Auto Brake will replace Collision Warning with Brake Support. All of these safety extras on a car may help to get a cheaper motor insurance quote.

Losses of concentration or distraction are dangerous when they happen on the roads. Volvo’s DAC (Driver Alert Control) is a unique technique which is built around a camera in the windscreen that will check lane markings to determine if the driver is behaving normal. If the system detects that the behaviour of the driver has changed, the driver is then informed by way of a warning sound and a message is also displayed, suggesting it may be time to take a break or change drivers if any driver car insurance has been purchased. Lane Departure Warning will continuously evaluate the position of the vehicle to the lane markings. The system will then alert the driver with a warning sound when the vehicle leaves the lane and the driver has not indicated a lane change

Over 100 years of experience

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Steve

Any driver car insurance was not even invented when the Fiat Company was born. Fiat is an acronym for ‘Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino’ and translated to English, reads ‘Italian Automobile Factory of Turin’. F.I.A.T. was founded on July 12, 1899, in the Italian city of Turin, at the time the city was enjoying a good period of industrial growth.

The first Fiat plant started in 1900, had 35 employees and made 24 cars. The Chairman was Mr Ludovico Scarfiotti, with Emanuele Cacherano di Bricherasio having the job as Vice Chairman. It was Giovanni Agnelli, however, whose strategic vision and determination paved the way for FIAT to become a household name. A former cavalry officer in the army, he managed to gain an important position with the original investors and he was made Managing Director in 1902. He came up with the idea of a promotional tour of Italy by car and this was successfully done with the finish line at the Milan Fair. The Fiat oval logo on a blue background was designed by Carlo Biscaretti and this was adopted in 1904, the first car to have the Fiat brand was a Model 4 HP. The Fiat Company focused on a two-pronged strategy for the company to grow. These were 1- diversification of production and 2- concentrate on the most promising markets. This has been the strategy for Fiat throughout over 100 years of history.

A decade after it was founded, Fiat had seen its capital stock increase to a massive 12 million Lire, it now had 2,500 employees and had manufactured a total of 1,215 cars. Even the First World War did not hamper them, as this meant a conversion to military production of army trucks, ambulances and engines for submarines, to name just a few. During this time, Giovanni Agnelli still had a vision of a bright future for Fiat based on car manufacturing. Following fact finding missions to the USA, Fiat then started to plan a new factory based on what they learned from the states. Fiat’s aim was to match the technology of America.

By 1948, mainly thanks to money received from the Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, it was the primary program during 1947-51, of the US for rebuilding and creating a stronger economy for Europe) factories had been rebuilt. The number of workers employed by Fiat increased by ten thousand. In 1946 Fiat recorded a loss. But the upward trend resumed two years later. As manufacturing output recovered in the years after the war, Fiat introduced the Fiat 500B, which was available to customers as a sedan or as a station wagon. When the 500C was released it offered for the first time, heating and ventilation installed as standard equipment. The first vehicles that were equipped with a diesel engine were driven off the assembly line in 1953.

Almost 60 years on from that first diesel engine FIAT is still going strong even though it has had its ups and downs.

Passing your test does not mean the learning stops

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Steve

Anyone who is looking for a way to lower a motor insurance quote can do worse than taking an advanced driving course. One such course is the Pass Plus scheme which is aimed at making new drivers become better drivers. To join the Pass Plus scheme finding an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) to do the training will be the first thing needed. An Approved Driving Instructor will help complete all six of the training sections needed to pass the course. The Pass Plus scheme is an established training course aimed at new drivers. It was designed by the DSA (Driving Standards Agency) with expert input from driving instructors and insurers.

Statistics clearly show that a new driver is much more likely to be involved in an accident during the first two years after passing their test, due in some part to lack of driving experience. This is where Pass Plus comes in; it will build the new driver’s skill and knowledge. It will teach how to anticipate whilst driving, plan for and deal with different hazards, helping the pupil to become a more confident driver. It is possible to take a Pass Plus course at any time, but its main function is firmly aimed at all new drivers in the first 12 months after passing the driving test.

The Pass Plus scheme has six areas where experience will be offered. The six areas are motorways, duel carriageways, driving at night, experience on rural roads, driving in town where traffic is increased and finally driving in different weather conditions. The course will take around six hours but can take a little bit longer if the instructor deems it necessary.

The Pass Plus scheme is a practical course and all six sections should be practical sessions. However, the time of year along with weather conditions could mean that some of the six areas will need to be given as a theory session. For example a theory session may need to be given on motorway driving in some rural areas. More often than not all but 30 minutes should be spent in the car. No test at the end of the course will be required because a continual assessment will be done during each of the six sections. The instructor will have been completing a training report form during each part of the scheme which will need signing and dating when the required standard is reached in each section. To pass the whole course a satisfactory standard will need to be reached in all the course sections.

On successfully completing the training course a Pass Plus certificate is issued which will help the owner claim a discount on a motor insurance quote. Getting a Pass Plus certificate does not mean the learning ends. Consider working towards passing an Advanced Driving Test. Because passing this test would take the driving skills to a much higher level, and also provide further financial benefits. Apart from the obvious benefit of taking the advanced driving test there are other reasons to consider an advanced test. Car insurance companies will often offer a reduced premium to those who have passed this test and it is also possible to reduce the maintenance costs because being a better driver should mean that less wear and tear is caused to the vehicle. Passing the Advanced Driving Test is not easy, but if the right guidance and instruction is given, it is a worthy addition to anyone’s driving CV.

Government must make road black spots safer

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Steve

It would be interesting to see in a national survey of motorists how many drivers thought that motorways were the most dangerous roads to drive on. I have met countless numbers of people, mainly, but not all, women who just will not use motorways because they believe them to be death traps. I wonder, then, what they would make of the most recent report by the charity the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).

The report called “Saving lives for less” indentifies the ten most dangerous roads in Britain as well as pinpointing exactly what parts of our roads are the most liable to motoring accidents.

The most startling statistic is that single carriage highways are by far the most dangerous, we are six times more likely to be killed on a single carriageway than on a motorway, and twice as likely to be killed on a single carriageway rather than a dual carriageway. Plenty of food for thought there as one queues to get off the M25. Road junctions, the report confirms, are the most dangerous parts of out road network as over 30% of all serious /fatal accidents occur there.

Once again the “Cat and Fiddle” officially the A357 occupies top spot for the most dangerous road with 34 serious/fatal crashes in the period 2006-2008. The road runs between Macclesfield and Buxton and is a favourite stretch for motor cyclists because of its testing nature. Unsurprisingly motor cycles were involved in the majority of accidents. Other roads featuring in the worst ten were the A684, A621, A5012, A54 and the A18 which was the worst of all when taking motor cyclists out of the equation The A3072 in the West country was the only one of the top ten to be located in the south of the UK.

The report also gave a rundown of the most improved roads with the A40 between Llandovery and Carmarthen winning the accolade for its reduction by 74% in serious/fatal crashes.

The report went on to say that in targeting the 10% of roads that attract 33% of accidents for road improvements, the Government could make massive savings on the cost of road crashes to the nation. Obviously insurance companies would also benefit from this, which would be passed onto to motorists when getting a motor insurance quote.