Monthly Archives: March 2011

March 16, 2011
PROPOSALS TO RAISE DRIVING AGE TO 18

Northern Irelands Environment Minister Edwin Poot’s has announced new proposals the main one to raise the minimum driving age to 18 in order to reduce the death toll on Irelands roads.

Statistics show that between 2004 and 2008 drivers aged between 17 and 24 accounted for one in four road fatalities and one in five serious road injuries in Northern Ireland.
Considering less than a quarter of licence holders are in this age group, these statistics are shocking.

Mr Poot’s has said he will not sit back and ignore this matter and allow lives and families to be destroyed.

Other proposals being considered are:

Amending speed limits for learners

Allowing learner drivers experience on the motorway

Revise the practical test, to include skid training etc

Require learners to complete a minimum number of supervised driving lessons

The US, Canada and Australia already have similar schemes in place for young drivers and it is thought that if Northern Ireland obtains positive results, England may follow suit.

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March 15, 2011
Which Gender Should Pay More?

Recently, my attention has been caught by a rather interesting debate that seems to have come out of nowhere (possibly hidden in the deluge of media coverage of the various Middle Eastern uprisings). After it emerged that the EU’s European Court of Justice (ECJ) had ruled against the legality of insurance companies to discriminate on the basis of gender, a veritable flotilla of articles about this issue seems to have been launched.

So here I am, jumping on the bandwagon. It is a fascinating issue: I don’t know about you, but I was certainly very conflicted about my views on it.

At first glance, the ruling seems like a welcome thing. Forget about hitting the ‘Go Compare’ man around the head with a bat: no more of those ‘Sheila’s Wheels’ women? …Great!

But annoying tunes aside and more seriously, I have always thought there was something very sexist about the lyrics in their jingle. ‘Women make for better drivers/You can save a bunch of fivers!’? I’ve always wondered what men think about this, but it gives me a deep sense of unease. This feeling increased even further when a recent BBC article described two twins, with the exact same driving record, paying different amounts for their car insurance on the basis of their gender. By banning this, the ECJ seems to have taken a very valuable step towards greater equality.

However, when I took a second glance – persuaded greatly by most of the article flotilla, who are largely on the attack – the complete opposite impression seems to jump out.

The argument is all to do with risk: at the end of the day, the fact remains that women do have fewer accidents on the whole, especially younger women compared to younger men. Common sense seems to dictate that because they are a lower risk to insurers, they should pay less money than men – forcing them to pay more whilst lowering men’s rates is just unfair because it isn’t their fault. At this stage of looking at the situation, it seems to be completely nonsensical and driven purely by an autonomous, idealistic effort to Promote Equality. ‘It’s PC gone mad!’ people have cried. Now for some reason, I become deeply cynical about the weight of an argument when people end up resorting to this statement.  I immediately took a third look at the issue.

At first, the concept of lower risk women having to subsidise higher risk men may seem unfair. But if you think about it, the men who drive well are subsidising the ones who are having the accidents as they are the ones raising the average risk for the whole group. They have to pay higher amounts because people who happen to be the same gender as them– the much cited ‘young studs’ with fast cars-are having accidents. It would surely be fairer to spread the cost around to women as well.

Considering this, discrimination doesn’t seem to be necessary. I’ve heard people say that this logic would mean that making people living people in houses in areas with a high flooding risk pay more in insurance is wrong: they haven’t seem to have thought about the fact that nobody forced you to buy houses in these places. You can’t help what gender you’re born as.

It’s a long shot, but maybe this forced equality will make companies start to relate their prices more closely to individual driving records, rather than on the basis of arbitrary groups. This would be the fairest way to do it.

Too hopeful? Probably, but it’s about time.

So my current view is that of (cautious) support for the principle of the ECJ’s decision about car insurance (despite probably having to pay more when I need to get car insurance myself in the future), but I’m not really sure if it would work the way everyone would hope.

Firstly, there are practical problems about how the ruling is carried out. Although I’m by no means an expert, the ruling will apparently increase uncertainty about risk margins so insurance companies need to increase the amount they take in to break even. They might also just take the chance as an excuse to raise some prices and not lower others in order to make a profit. Both of these would be detrimental to the consumer.

More worryingly, I’ve only been talking about car insurance: there are many other things the ruling would change. For example, at the moment men currently get higher annuities than women because they live longer on average. It isn’t really the same as it isn’t about small groups in this case: when all is said and done, there are some inherent differences between the sexes. It may be trivial in the light of promoting equality, but there may need to be some fine-tuning.

It is almost time for me to stop writing now: I’m not sure if everyone else is finding this topic as interesting as me. But perhaps the most fascinating questions about the ECJ ruling are the ones about the precedents it’s setting for the future for more directives from the EU about human rights (with the decision coming after the even more controversial rulings about prisoner’s voting rights) and about other discrimination issues.

How much power should we give the EU? Will this ruling prompt a debate about other forms of generally accepted discrimination (for good or bad), like age? These are examples of vast new topics that I won’t even attempt to discuss here.

Overall, it’s all very intriguing. I think it’s good that we are being made to consider important issues that have never really come to light before as a result of this (and other) rulings, but the most important thing is for people (the EU especially, but all of us) to consider everything fully.

It really is always necessary to give everything at least your first, second and then third glances.

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March 14, 2011
DRIVING IS A PHYSICAL AND MENTAL SKILL

Driving a vehicle requires an individual to not only be able to physically control the vehicle but to understand the dynamics and make informed decisions based on road and traffic conditions.

In order to drive in a safe way we must not only be able to navigate our way through traffic but to apply the rules of the road in order for all road users to be safe.

Avoiding distractions, being in a position to assess others and to handle your own car takes skill and most importantly practise.

Driving also requires a person to follow the laws of the road; by making sure the vehicle is safe, has a valid MOT, valid tax disc, valid insurance and is registered with the DVLA.

A driver must also take responsibility for holding a valid driving licence, be fit and healthy and wear glasses if needed.

Even if a driver is capable of all of the above, drivers must ensure they do not drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, speed, park inappropriately, along with many other rules of the road that are in place.

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March 13, 2011
Driving on ice

Those of us who braved the highways during the UK’s recent cold snap will know just what a challenge driving on snow and ice can be. It’s heartening, however, that even professional rally drivers find such conditions testing.

Instead of dealing with the white stuff by brewing up a flask of Java and making a mental note to buy a shovel, rally drivers adopt a rather more exciting technique for coping with grip deficiency – they powerslide.

The unique characteristics of snow as a rally stage surface demand an entirely different driving style. As rally cars have become ever more advanced, the lurid, power-sliding spectacle that defined the sport has gradually been replaced by a rather more sedate approach to cornering, rear wheels following in the fronts’ tracks for best grip and traction. Modern rally cars are capable of generating such grip that oversteer on asphalt or gravel is inefficient.

On snow and ice, though, this trendy new driving style is horribly slow. Its pre-eminent practitioner, seven-time world champion Sébastien Loeb, has just one snowy success among his record tally of 63 WRC wins. In such wintry circumstances, rally drivers need to come over all Scandinavian and loosen up.

Even with heavily studded snow tyres, a rally car can’t generate remotely similar levels of cornering bite on snow and ice. The front end just wants to push wide leading to a) time sapping understeer and , possibly, b) an accident.

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March 12, 2011
Motorists reminded of dangers of drowsy driving

Albany, N.Y. —

Officials from various state agencies and organizations concerned with traffic safety are reminding motorists of the dangers of drowsy driving. The annual public education and awareness campaign will coincide with the beginning of Daylight Savings Time, which begins Sunday, March 13.

“Recent studies show that driving while drowsy is a much more pervasive problem on our highways than we previously thought and is a contributing factor in thousands of preventable motor vehicle crashes each year,” said Department of Motor Vehicles Executive Deputy Commissioner J. David Sampson.

According to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2011 Sleep in America poll, 43 percent of Americans ages 13 to 64 say they rarely or never get a good night’s sleep on weeknights, while 60 percent say that they experience a sleep problem every night or almost every night. Also, according to the poll, about two-thirds of Americans say they do not get enough sleep during the week.

The poll found that 95 percent of Americans use some type of electronics, such as a television, computer, video game or cell phone, at least a few nights a week within an hour of bedtime. Medical studies have shown that exposure to the artificial light created by such devices between dusk and bedtime suppresses the release of melatonin — a hormone that promotes sleep — as well as increases alertness and shifts circadian rhythms to a later hour, making it more difficult to fall asleep.

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March 12, 2011
Motorways Too Slow?

Tailgating is the most serious “offence” committed on motorways, with more than three-quarters of motorists saying it causes “highly dangerous”.

Driving whilst using your mobile phone came in a close second in the survey with 66 per cent agreeing it puts lives at serious risk, while nearly two thirds believe that driving in the middle lane when the left hand lane is empty is dangerous and should be more strictly enforced.

Only 20 per cent of the 350 motorists surveyed by GEM Motoring Assist, however, said that speeding should be more closely monitored, and over half of drivers surveyed said that the national speed limit should be increased.

GEM said this was “not the result it wanted to hear” as it is strongly opposed to suggestions, by transport secretary Philip Hammond, that motorway speed limits should be raised to 80mph.

Other findings were that more than half of those surveyed don’t want L-plated drivers to be allowed to practice on motorways before their test, with 83 per cent saying there should be a mandatory follow-up exam to test motorway driving skills, instead.

“Drivers need to make sure they are taking every precaution if they are planning to use a motorway and be fully aware of the dangers,” said David Williams, MBE, CEO of GEM Motoring Assist. “We believe that bad motorway driving such as tailgating and driving in the middle lane when the left hand lane is empty should definitely be more strictly enforced as it is this kind of careless driving that can lead to frustration, annoyance and possible accidents.”

Added Mr Williams: “It is shocking that a large number of motorists are in favour of raising the motorway speed limit as research shows that this would considerably increase the number of casualties, levels of carbon emissions and fuel consumption. Safety is our top priority for UK drivers and we hope that by warning the public of these dangers we can help raise awareness and in turn make roads a safer place.”

Top 10 Motorway Dangers, according to GM Motoring Assist:

1. Tailgating

2. Driving while using a mobile phone

3. Driving in the middle lane when the left hand lane is empty

4. Changing lanes without adequate observation or signals

5. Driving on the hard shoulder to avoid traffic

6. Entering a motorway from a slip road without adequate observations or signals

7. Driving too slowly

8. Speeding

9. Use of the outside lane by LGVs

10. Stopping on the hard shoulder when there is no emergency

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March 11, 2011
TOYOTA RECALL COULD AFFECT DRIVING TESTS

The DSA (Driving Standards Agency) has issued warning to pupils going up on test in any of the Toyota cars that have been recalled.

The cars have been recalled as the vehicle manufacturer has issued a safety notice and the
vehicles may need work carried out on them.
In order for the examiners to take you up on test you must ensure that you can provide written proof that:

The vehicle has been checked and no work needs to be carried out

If work is needed – that it has been carried out prior to the test date

That the vehicle is not booked to have any recall work

You must provide a recall letter with the manufacturers stamp on it or an official letter from the dealer. Without written proof, the test may be cancelled. For a full list of cars that have been recalled please visit the DSA website.

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March 9, 2011
DRIVING WHILST HIGH LEAVES YOU FEELING LOW IN PRISON

George Michael today apologised to the shop owner – whose shop he smashed into whilst driving his range rover high on cannabis back in July 2010.

The star was jailed for a month for the offence, but claims he dealt with the punishment well as he felt he truly deserved the sentence.

The decision to jail him was based on this being the second conviction for the same offence.

He today announced that he is “genuinely sincerely sorry for smashing into the shop”.

Emily Smith of Britannia Driving School said: “Driving whilst under the influence is a dangerous thing to do and can impact not only your life but the lives of other people. It is nice to see that despite his status George Michael is taking responsibility for his actions.”

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March 7, 2011
FUEL PRICES SOAR ALONG WITH CRIME RATES

More and more motorists are filling up at petrol stations and driving off without making payment.

Forecourts have seen a 52% increase in people filling up without paying.

The minister for International Development fears that with oil-producing countries such as Libya in turmoil, fuel prices will increase even more with talks of £2 a litre.

Police are trying to reduce numbers by placing decoy vehicles in forecourts.

Filling up with fuel and driving away without paying is a criminal offence. If you fill up and realise you do not have the means to pay, enter the garage and discuss the process.

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March 4, 2011
YOUTUBE TO POLICE EVIDENCE

A driver from America was stopped by Sheriff Deputy Postlewait when he was caught driving at 118 mph. When the Sheriff approached the car he found the driver filming and when looking back on the film it shows he had filmed the speedometer travelling at speeds more than 140 mph.

The driver was intending to post it on Youtube but unfortunately it was used as evidence again him. He has now been charged with reckless driving and speeding.

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