Motoring News » Events

Police focus an teens behind the wheel

Alan — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:09:22 +0000

The Norfolk Police and Norfolk County Council have joined together for a promotion titled ‘Tread Says’ which is a new initiative aimed at preventing and reducing the amount of serious and fatal road accidents that occur when teens are behind the wheel.

Over the past three years the amount of crashes on the roads in Norfolk has decreased, but out of the collisions that do occur, over 35% of them involve a teen driver according to figures compiled from the Casualty Reduction Partnership. The news led officials to meet in the area to discuss how the scheme can help keep youngsters safe.

A course has been created at Tibenham Airfield close to Diss to help educate youngsters about the hidden dangers of driving and features a ski avoidance exercise that takes place in a Ford Focus that has been adapted to drive as if the road is icy.

The exercise will hopefully help teach teenagers about over-steering and under-steering and help make them more aware of what to do when the roads are bad and they slip in their cars. The practicum session is followed by six additional workshops for those who participate that focus on car modifications, winter driving, changing tyres, and additional safety tips.

Chairman of the Casualty Reduction Partnership and county councilor Alex Byrne stated that the scheme is designed for 17 to 25 year old driers and is hopefully a better way than an accident to learn the proper ways to stay on the road.

He explained that with 300 crashes over the last three years that resulted in serious injuries or deaths it is important to educate young drivers on the safest way to approach the roads. However, Byrne added that most teens do not want to hear another lecture which is why the interactive workshop setting is a better choice.

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Telematics and cars

Alan — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:04:07 +0000

This week sees London hold an event which is going to look at the future of automobiles, specifically looking at the benefits that telematics might be able to bring to the industry. The event is going to be looking at how vehicles can be better used to communicate with each other so that road accidents can be prevented.

Jonas Ekmark is the head of road safety of Volvo and he will be leading a workshop about developing car guidance that will be able to predict the movement of vehicles so that cars can communicate with each other and avoid accidents.

Mr Ekmark will also be speaking on the issue of ‘platooning’ cars. Platooning cars is a theoretical process where a chain of cars will be led by an advanced driver. Each car in the chain will monitor the speed of the car in front and the direction in which it is going.

This method of driving will allow the people in the car to relax and do other things while the car is being driven for them. Drivers are able to pull out of the chain at any time if they need to go somewhere else.

Many people believe this will greatly improve the safety of the roads because it takes away the human factor that is responsible for around 80% of road accidents. This idea was published in an article in The Engineer back in January. It received quite a response from the car industry and many people made comments about the concept.

The article was written by Andrew Czyzewski and gave details about how the operation would work and why it would lead to safer roads. At the workshop Mr Ekmark will be examining this under the European Union idea of ‘Safe Road Trains for the Environment.’

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Dan Wheldon Memorial Kart Race in Emberton

Alan — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:47:43 +0000

This memorial race is appropriately being staged only 10 miles from Emberton in Bucks, the hometown of Dan Wheldon. This event is an opportunity for drivers across all the realms of worldwide motor sports to come together and remember a man who was both their close friend and colleague.

Members of the general public are also being allowed to honour Dan, who tragically lost his life last month in the last round of the IZOD Indycar series in Las Vegas. The funds raised from this event will go to the Alzheimer’s Society, the charity nominated by the Wheldon family.

The organiser of the race is Johnny Mowlem, a successful sports car racer as well as a long time personal friend of Dan. Speaking of the event, he said that he has wanted to put an event together that honoured Dan and raised funds for the family’s chosen charity. He added that it was also a chance for everyone who knew and raced with Dan to come together and have fun in his honour, and give him the send off he deserved.

“The event has the full support of Dan’s family and his dad and brothers will be taking part and share in the evening. I hope members of the public will also appreciate the opportunity to take part and remember one of Britain’s most successful and charismatic champions.”

Mowlem has already enlisted the support of 2009 FIA Formula One World Champion Jenson Button, reigning IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti, F1 and sportscar star Anthony Davidson, Le Mans winner Guy Smith and World Touring Car Championship title contender Rob Huff, while he hopes to attract a full grid of drivers who knew or raced alongside the double Indy 500 winner and IndyCar champion.

Between 25 and 30 teams of four people, each including a professional driver and three members of the public, will take part in the two hour endurance race aboard DMAX 125cc two-stroke water-cooled karts.

Public places, available at just £175 (inclusive of VAT), can be booked by calling 0845 644 5503 or emaildwmkr@daytona.co.uk while professional drivers will also make a charity donation.

Starting at 6pm, drivers’ briefing will take place at 6.30pm with practice at 7pm preceding the race start at 7.40pm. The evening will conclude with an awards presentation at 9.50pm.

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Never PC Top Gear blasted for parking in disabled spot

Alan — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 21:47:33 +0000

The TV show Top Gear has been blasted by disability campaigners after a recent feature on electric cars on Sunday’s episode showed presenters James May and Jeremy Clarkson parking in designated disabled parking bays. The pair were both trying out electric cars by driving them to Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire and took a break to pull over into a car park to discuss their respective cars merits.

Instead of pulling into regular parking bays, they were both seen parking in spaces that were reserves for disable drivers, and this has sparked a storm of protest from several disable motoring groups, and one said that it was a typical thing for Clarkson to do. They sat and discussed their vehicles in detail; Clarkson drove a £31,000 Nissan Leaf, while May was driving a £33,000 Peugeot iOn, before asking “should you buy an electric car?”

Sitting happily in the disabled bays, the pair laughed and joked about the cars they were driving and the cost of buying the electric motors which have top speeds of 90mph. They also talked about luggage space and the specially fitted windscreen wipers that were virtually silent. It was they got out of the cars and actually stood on the disabled signs that shocked viewers actually realised they were parked in the disabled bays.

In a seemingly thoughtless piece of editing, the very next slot on the show had Richard Hammond meeting disabled soldiers who had been seriously injured in Afghanistan.

The soldiers, some of whom were missing 3 limbs, were shown joking and laughing with Hammond as they took part in cross country racing in 4×4’s as part of their preparation for the gruelling Dakar Rally.

There are on-going concerns about the amount of able bodied drivers who use disabled parking bays, leaving those who really need them out in the cold. Showing television presenters’ doing exactly that is sure to add more fuel to the fire.

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Olympics’ being given too much road space

Alan — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 09:03:24 +0000

Over 90% of those that responded to a poll said that plans to ensure that athletes, officials, and the media arrived to Olympic events on time were excessive. Transport of London drew up the plans and would see the motorist and cyclists facing fines in excess of £200 if you stray onto the 56 miles of Games Lanes that will be reserved for the Olympic Family.

There were some readers that mentioned drastic action including transporting officials to game venues in East London via barge. Others said there should be protests by pedestrians and motorists. What is at that the root of the anger is the concern with how the city will cope, especially with a number of events taking place in east London at Stratford while the majority of VIP’s will be in hotels in London’s heart.

Businesses are starting to worry about impact which will hit deliveries and will produce huge logistics problems for employees needing to get to work. London Bridge has already been identified as a potential pinch point on the underground and rail network.

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Southampton parking warden’s strike

Alan — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 07:34:37 +0000

Protesting council pay cuts, the Southampton parking wardens have started a strike of seven days. Up to 40 maintenance engineers, cash collectors and traffic wardens took action over the cuts that included a three year pay freeze. This follows last week’s industrial action taken by refuse workers.

The Southampton City Council which is conservative led has said that the pay cuts were to avoid additional jobs losses and that drivers would still have to pay for parking. Unison, the public sector union said the workers were facing a 4.5% wage reduction, a three year pay freeze and additionally the loss for two years of the annual pay progression.

A deputy council leader had stressed that the council had to protect jobs and services all the while trying to tackle a £65m shortfall over the next four years. By changing the working conditions and terms over 400 jobs will be saved.

Many may not agree the councilor said buy it is better if the people can keep their jobs than lose them and stated that even though a strike was in force, a reduced enforcement services for ticketing was operating. Adding that if people take a chance there is a chance they will get caught and pay a fine.

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Gumball 3000 London to Istanbul race

Alan — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 05:47:26 +0000

Bode Miller US Ski Team great and Olympic gold medalist has teamed up with Joh Olsson, Swedish X Games champion freeskier to drive in the Gumball 3000 the famous rally that is a Tour de France style race that stretches from London to Istanbul starting this Thursday. He says he knows it will be a great experience even though he is not sure what to expect he also competed in a US Open tennis qualifier last year.

Started in 1999 the rally started with just a group of friends that had a rally across Europe and has evolved into a global way of being and a brand that had crowds in the millions attending the event last year. There will be over 100 cars featured in the 2011 race that leaves London on the 3000 mile trip over seven days and through 10 countries.

It is as much about who is driving the cars as it is about the rally cars themselves. This year the Cody Glenn an Indianapolis Colt linebacker is driving as well as Reggie Bush from the New Orleans Saints, plus David Hasslehof and hip icon EVE. The driving will definitely be fun and a blast checking out the cars and all the places in the 10 countries. Miller drives an Audi RS6 when not on the Alpine World Cup tour.

Roads and city centres will be shut down for the rally with a route that includes Barcelona, Paris, Milan, Monte Carlo, Sofia, Belgrade and Zagreb before heading to the finish in Istanbul. The Race leaves London from Covent Garden on Thursday and will be hotly contested over the following seven days of racing.

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Battersea Power Station hosts Eco Motor show

Alan — Thu, 05 May 2011 06:40:36 +0000

This September the Battersea Power Station in London will play host to the Eco Motor show of the UK. The show, Eco Velocity will feature green motoring with the latest hi-tech, ultra low carbon vehicles with no compromises and is schedule for September 8 to the 10^th.

Carmakers will be able to showcase their green models that include electric, hybrid and those will very low emissions. The visitors will be able to try cars via a specially constructed track plus there will be the The What Car, the green supercar paddock and the young drivers programme from Seat. With the monetary incentive provided by the government on subsidising the cost of a new electric car by 25%, this year promises to bring in a large pool of new buyers. Moreover, NPower have launched the first energy tariff for charging an electric car at home. Alongside these changes, advanced GPS systems and new ultraportable laptop software look to be heading towards a greener approach to planning travel, with specific eco-routes outlined between charging stations. Visitors to the show can look forward to seeing how new green car concepts can impact their lifestyles.

Automakers that are already committed include; Kia, Hyundai, Honda, Nissan, Peugeot, Seat, Ford, Citroen, Fiat, Volkswagen and Vauxhall. The founder of the show and organizer Giles Brown said that because of the absence of the British Motor Show for 2011 the Eco Velocity will be a not to miss motoring event and the most important of the year.

They are going to showcase the best cars and for the best motorists all in one place. This will be great for the motorist because they can see what the industry has for now and for the future during this great show in September.

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FairFuelUK Stage 2 with Quentin Willson

Alan — Thu, 05 May 2011 02:03:12 +0000

Stage 2 of the FairFuelUK campaign has been launched by Quentin Willson, motoring personality. The campaign is to try to cut fuel duties because businesses and motorists continue to have problems with the soaring costs at the pumps.

Even thought there was a 1p fuel duty cut in the Spring Budget the motoring expert and TV presenter said the majority of motorists have not felt it and it is being offset by the continual rising prices of oil.

Willson in this FairFuelUk blog has called on the Government to look into fuel prices and immediately due something and that other groups may have the need to take widespread action if the situation does not change or escalates more.

Because of global uncertainty prices of oil are surging and it seems everyone is a winner in the price increase – the oil rich countries get richer, the speculators earn huge chunks of money the oil companies are posting huge profits and the government with their taxes.

Those that are losing are motorists and hard pressed businesses that suffer more now than before the new Budget. The Government needs to help and not stand back and watch us fall into another recession.

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The Silverstone Classic keeps growing

Alan — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 03:17:56 +0000

This year, The Silverstone Classic, which is the largest classic racing gathering in the world, will be so much larger it will blow your mind.

This is first time planners of the event will have the opportunity to set up larger grids, thanks to Silverstone’s Grand Prix circuit configuration.

During the past few years there was a limit of 42 cars, but now the expansion reaches 50, on the 3.666-mile stretch of track. Even the vehicles may possess larger engines. The smaller engine vehicles will also have their limits raised to 54, from the previous 44.

The Silverstone Classic will be held on 22-24 of July this year, and the organisers have joyfully announced that even in the various other categories the limit has been lifted to 58, from the previous 48 cars.

The HSCC Big-Engined Touring Cars, where the popular V8 muscle cars from 1960s America race, and a couple of Jaguar E-Type Challenge races (marking the 50th anniversary of its creation) will see the fruit of the changes.

Nick Wigley, the Director of the event, said, “What was the biggest classic motor festival is just expanding beyond comprehension. The Silverstone Grand Prix circuit will bring tangible and immediate advantages. The entertainment value will skyrocket for both competitors and spectators. Every year we have had to deny requests for entry due to limitations. Now we won’t.”

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