4 Wheels Good

Edinburgh Driving School

2011-02-04T13:18:00.001Z

Check out the place to find Edinburgh Driving School

Speed cameras going

2010-07-26T21:14:00.001+01:00

With government funding being cut many local authorities are planning to remove speed cameras
However, it's not expected that speed cameras will disappear completely and will still be required equipment

£5,000 for eco cars

2010-03-01T10:37:00.002Z

Motorists are to be offered up to £5000 to buy ultra low carbon cars. The Plug In Cars scheme will launch initially in London, North East and Milton Keynes, with further areas to launch over the next few years.

Drivers will be able to get up to 25% of the value of their car as cashback.

Farewell Hummer

2010-03-01T10:35:00.001Z

The manufacturers of the gas-guzzling Hummer have announced that production will cease

UK Car production 2009 falls

2010-01-25T09:01:00.002Z

Despite the Government's attempts with the scrappage scheme to boost the UK car industry, production is reported to have fallen by 31% in 2009. This is according to a report by SMMT.
Critics say that motor manufacturers have been over-producing in recent years, and need to scale back to more realistic levels

Darren Day

2010-01-25T08:59:00.002Z

Celebrity Darren Day who featured on "I'm a celebrity..." has been banned following his conviction for driving at 1½ times the legal limit in Scotland.
Breathalyzer products

Electric cars - minimal range/ maximum charge time

2010-01-25T08:51:00.003Z

Although electric cars are seriously being looked at as the way forward, there are still massive problems to overcome.
With a range of only 100 miles, and a charge time of an hour to top up to 80% of capacity, at the moment, this is really only an option for city drivers.
When someone can crack the range/charge time problems, then electric cars will be a viable option.

What Car launches driving school

2009-09-10T10:23:00.002+01:00

In an ambitious move, What Car magazine has launced it's own driving school. With record numbers of instructors on the road, this is clearly an ambitious move in what is a fairly saturated market. What car driving school aim to be distinctive, but as yet, nothing about their plans seems to mark them out from the other major players.

What Car driving school has now been sold off.

Electric cars

2009-09-06T19:39:00.002+01:00

Electric cars are making a big splash. With improving technology, and politicians like the London mayor wanting to push their green credentials, electric cars are looking more and more attractive. Tesla , Mitsubishi , Mega City, G-Wiz , GEM and Citroen all currently have electric cars on sale in the UK.
More

Car Scrappage Scheme

2009-04-24T18:07:00.002+01:00

300,000 new car buyers could benefit from the UK's new car scrappage scheme. The Government will pay people £1,000 if they scrap their 10 year old or older car, and the manufacturers will pay an additional £1,000.

Scrappage

Car scrappage scheme

2009-04-13T10:44:00.003+01:00

The Uk motor industry is waiting with baited breath as to the outcome of proposals for a car scrappage scheme. The proposed plan would mean that people scrapping a car over 9 years old would get £2000 towards a new or nearly new car. A similar scheme offering drivers £1000 was mooted several years ago but mothing came of it,
The real scrap (!) at the moment is between Peter Mandelson who is in favour of the scheme and Alastair darling at the Treasury who say that the money is not available.
We await the outcome of this tussle in the budget.
The outcome will probably be a watered down scheme that suits no one!

Road traffic keeps on growing

2009-04-09T20:42:00.001+01:00

DoT statistics show that road travel has increased by almost 25% over the last 15 years. Lincolnshire is one area with very high increases in traffic, showing a 65% increase in 15 years.

Women are better drivers?

2009-03-22T08:43:00.002Z

If better = safer, then yes they are.

Recent surveys show that women have fewer accidents, however they do also drive less miles!

Three times more men are killed in road collisions than women, according to statistics from the World Health Organisation.'

Women are more likely to have low speed crashes, especially at junctions but these rarely lead to death or injury whereas male crashes are more often linked to risk-taking and breaking laws.

Insurance claims by women are less frequent and for lower amounts - which is why young men pay more for their insurance than young women.

UK Speed limit change

2009-03-10T08:29:00.002Z

Plans to change the national speed limit on single carriageway roads have met a mixed reaction. The Government have announced plans to make the national speed limit 50mph on out of town single carriageway roads.

Research by the AA shows that 50% of drivers don't understand the national speed limit anyway and so to further complicate things will not help.

The Department for Transport claim that 250 lives a year could be saved by these measures. However critics argue that the average speed on free flowing roads is less than 50mph anyway and that the majorityof fatal accidents on rural roads are caused by other factors, such as overtaking at an inappropriate place.

In fact this change could be counter-productive.

Labour peer jailed for texting on Motorway

2009-02-25T12:26:00.002Z

Labour peer Lord Ahmed has been given a 12 week sentence for texting from his mobile phone whilst on the M1 motorway. He was also given a £500 fine and banned for a year. The peer was involved in a fatal collision with a stationary vehicle in the outsode lane.

Get paid £2000 to scrap your car

2009-02-23T09:01:00.004Z

The SMMT are proposing a scheme that owners of vehicles over 9 years should be paid £2000 towards a new or nearly new car, if they scrap their current car. This follows succesful schemes in France and Germany. The aim of such a scheme is to boost the UK car economy and also as a bi-product to promote newer nore environmentally friendly vehicles.

Car Production Slowdown

2009-02-20T13:43:00.003Z

New car production in the UK fell dramatically in January 2009 compared to the previous January according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
A total of just over 61,000 news cars were produced last month, about 58% lower than January 2008.

On the spot fines for driving offences

2009-02-20T11:24:00.002Z

The Times reports that the government are considering on the spot fines for minor motoring offences such as failing display lights or careless driving. This would mean that police will be able to levy on the spot fines and motorists receive penalty points on their licence without the case ever having to go before a court of law.
Whilst any attempt to improve motoring standards and safety must be welcomed, the subjective view of "careless driving" will make this aspect an area of concern.
Motorists will be able to take their case to court but it likely that the fine/penalty will be increased for those who do.

Eco car to boost jobs?

2009-02-19T18:18:00.002Z

Connaught are hoping to build a new factory in Llanelli, Wales to build a new super eco car. If approved it will bring 200 much needed jobs to the area. However plans have been put on hold following a directive from the Welsh Assembly.

Fuel Prices

2009-02-19T15:31:00.003Z

Petrol stations, in particular the supermarkets are profiting hugely from the low cost of fuel. Whereas they were quick to raise prices when wholesale prices rocketed at the end of last year, they have not put them back down to a realistic level to reflect todays prices. Effectively they are relying on the fact that prices are 40p per litre below what they were at their peak, to give the impression that their prices are low.

Norwich Union encourages company eco-driving

2009-02-18T15:57:00.002Z

Norwich union say that companies could save up to 15% on their fuel bills by encouraging employees to drive in a more eco-friendly manner

Motor Industry woes

2009-02-18T15:47:00.002Z

Car manufacturers arounf]d the world are suffering from the credit cruch. GM and Chrysler have asked the US Treasury for almost £30 billion to help them out. Rumours are that the GM subsidiary Saab could go bankrupt within a month if further help is not received.

This is in the week that 850 workers at BMW's Mini plant in Oxford face the sack. Over 12,000 Ford workers are also facing layoffs across the UK.

Welcome

2009-02-18T15:33:00.000Z

Welcome to my new blog for all things motoring.

In Animal Farm, the cry from the animals is "Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad".

My blog is "4 Wheels Good!