Female Formula 1 driver Maria de Villota loses her right eye in an accident on Duxford airfield race track in Cambridgeshire.

Witnesses say that her car appeared to ‘suddenly accelerate’ into the back of a support lorry. She had been hitting speeds of 200mph on the test track but is thought to be travelling slower at the time of the accident.

She was taken to Addenbrooke Hospital in Cambridge, where she was operated on due to the serious head and facial injuries she sustained. She unfortunately lost her right eye.

Family and friends are grateful to the hospital staff and are thankful she is currently in a stable condition.

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Although Pinterest came about in 2010, it is still a relatively new concept here in the UK. If you aren’t sure about it, it’s a social media platform that lets you pin images of your favourite things. You can pin up images of your favourite cars, the dream home, food that reminds you of your childhood, beautiful buildings and dreamy scenery.

So why am I mentioning it here?

Well, there’s no reason why you can’t use it to help you with your driving. I mean, we all have a car we dream about, a route that we dream of taking, a journey that makes us tingle.

So I thought that you may want to know about this site so that you can create your car themed dream board, or whatever board you may want to create.

Here are a few of my favourite car related pins:-
https://pinterest.com/pin/74590937548460274/
https://pinterest.com/pin/209839663858000586/
https://pinterest.com/pin/20477373276336561/

Tayside Police and Northern Constabulary are working together to reduce accidents and target poor driving along the A9 between Perth and Inverness.

They will heavily patrol the area and have mobile speed camera vans to encourage drivers to keep to the speed limit.

It is not about catching people out necessarily it’s about educating people. Inspector Julie Robertson from Tayside Police said: “…poor driver behaviour is at the root of many serious collisions and not the road itself…Drivers must concentrate on their driving and the ever changing traffic, road and weather conditions around them.”

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We all like to learn of new ways to save petrol. Petrol prices aren’t at their most friendliest right now and so, we thought we should share some tips on how to reduce your fuel consumption.

Shopping
Yes, the weekly shop. Except for many of us we don’t just go shopping once, we go multiple times. Going to and from different shops is a sure way to use up petrol. We suggest shopping online. All the big stores from Asda to Tesco and Waitrose have very user friendly websites that make it easier to do your shopping. The very fact that you don’t have to spend an hour and a half walking through the shopping isles is a good enough reason for me to do the shopping online.

Public Transport
Yes, I know that we don’t have the best public transport here, but in many cities we do have a good service. Just have a look what your local bus route is and how often it runs. Or you may consider using the tram or train. If you are travelling a long distance and don’t fancy driving, look at booking your train ticket ahead. You can get some great deals.

We hope that these few tips help you save some petrol!

Anthony Chase at Britannia Driving School taught Olympic Gold Medallist Mo Farah how to drive and was overjoyed to see him excel himself in the Olympic games.

It is difficult to imagine world class athletes doing everyday activities such as shopping, banking or learning to drive.

With two gold medals from the London 2012 Olympics, I wonder if he will display them with his driving test pass certificate.

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A van driver accused of knocking over Simon Richardson, Paralympics Gold Medallist whilst he was cycling near Bridgend was found to be twice over the drink drive limit and had poor eyesight.

Mr Richardson was out training for the London Paralympics back in August last year and was about 20 miles into his training when the van hit him.

The driver, Mr Adams said he had been blinded by the sunlight and when he felt a bump thought he had simply hit a sheep which he claims is why he failed to stop.

However, the jury was told that Mr Adams could not read a number plate from 4m away and could barely see one from 2m away even when wearing his driving glasses. He had also been drinking whiskey since 6am that morning.

Mr Richardson suffered serious injuries including a fractures spine and pelvis and a perforated bowel. The case continues but Mr Adams has been warned he faces a jail sentence.

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A fatal error that we often see is people pulling off without looking around properly. This can cause fatal accidents and you should always exercise a duty of care when you pull off.

Remember to check your mirrors before you pull off, they help let you know what’s on either side of your car. Also remember to check your blind spots; cars, busses and especially motorbikes can very easily be hidden in your blind spots so do check.

If you are parked at the side of the road and waiting to pull off, analyse the traffic around you. If you pull out you need to make sure that you won’t slow down the traffic behind you. If a car is driving fast and you pull out, you are creating a potential accident that could easily be avoided. You also need to look at oncoming traffic. A car travelling in the opposite direction maybe over taking another car which may force them to come into your lane. These are all things you need to consider.

Research has found that more Brits are turning their front garden into an extra car park space.

With car ownership increasing all the time, from just 2 million cars back in the 50’s to more than 28 million now, Britain is literally running out of car park spaces.

Many properties have garages yet these are often converted into an extra room or used for storage and many wouldn’t even be big enough to hold our car.

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When we hit rush hour there are usually 3 things that happen: 1) For some reason the traffic gets slower and slower. 2) To get things moving you resort to shouting at someone, either yourself or other. 3) Invariably, you will wish you are part of the Hogwards school of Witch Craft and Wizardry and long for your own flying broom.

Of course, few things ever change the fact that rush hour slows things down. Think about different options for transport. Can you maybe ride a bike to work, how about a car pool, or can you take a bus/train? These things are better than having to sit in traffic. Taking the train gives you the option to read a book or catch up on emails.

If you do have to drive, try and remain calm at all times. Having a good cd in the car to listen to would be useful. Ensure you get some fresh air flowing through the car. Never drive if you are feeling tired, the consequences of this can be disastrous for all involved.

When Darren Boliver punched his so called friend Martin Williams, it had devastating consequences.

Martin Williams who was thought to have stolen £600 from Mr Boliver, suffered blurred vision which has led to him losing his driving licence and a broken vertebrae which could result in him having to move from his third floor home.

Mr Williams who admitted grievous bodily harm was jailed for one year. The judge said “Even if you genuinely believed this man had stolen £600 from you, that had passed and you should not have allowed it to tile you in the way it did.”

Steve young, defending said Boliver was surprised and remorseful at the extent of the injuries he caused.

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