Drivers are losing out over £40 million year as a result of changes to the way road tax is collected.

The reforms that came into effect last autumn meant the end of the tax disc since motorists are no longer obliged to carry proof of taxation on their windscreens. It is the DVLA’s new policy of automatically cancelling any remaining VED when a car is registered to a new owner that is proving to be the most significant change.

Under the old system, when a vehicle changed hands the new owner would be allowed to benefit from any outstanding tax. Cars were often sold second-hand on the basis they were taxed until October, for example, adding to their value.

Since 1 October 2014, however, sellers automatically have any full months’ tax refunded by the DVLA. Meanwhile, buyers are obliged to tax the vehicle from the start of the month in which it is purchased. This is the system that is resulting in the ghost tax because if, for example, a car is sold on the 10^th of the month in which its tax is due to run out, the seller gets no refund – and they will have lost around 20 days’ worth of VED. The buyer, on the other hand, will be forced to pay for 10 days of VED they do not need.

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Parallel parking can be one of the trickiest manoeuvres to master, especially as a young or learner driver. So here at Britannia, we have decided to give you a helping hand with this. We’re nice like that.

– Firstly, always start practising in a safe place, where you are unlikely to damage your own car (or worse, anyone else’s!) Try a nice open space and manoeuvre between two cones, until you are happy enough with your skill to take it into the real world.

– Use your mirrors. We can’t stress this enough. Use your mirrors! Check for the traffic behind you, as this will put off your concentration during the parking, as well as your distance between the other cars.

– Watch other cars around the parking space. Judging on how close the other cars are parked to the pavement will inform how close you yourself should get safely.

What other tips do you have for a nervous parallel parker? Sound off in the comments below!

Motorists in Britain could save up to £84 a year if they turned off their engines when stationery or drove in the right gear.

A survey found that younger drivers are typically better at driving efficiently, with 17-24-year-olds found to be the most eco-savvy behind the wheel whilst over half of those aged over 65 admitted they didn’t use techniques that may save more fuel.

The research also found that Londoners are the most eco-friendly, with drivers in the capital willing to walk two miles before using their vehicle. Meanwhile 60% of drivers said their priority when getting into the car is thinking about the route rather than how to drive in the most economical way.

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Many drivers on UK roads are quite open to the fact that they have picked up some bad driving habits – But not until now has it become clear how costly these bad habits can be.

Bad techniques when behind the wheel – such as over-revving and using the wrong gear – Are said to be costing drivers up to an extra £700 million per year in fuel costs, according to a new survey.

But fear not, this money can easily be saved by practising a few simple changes in your motoring – Simply ensuring that you do not leave the car engine running when waiting to pick someone up, or even just turning off the air conditioning can have a massive impact on your expenses.

Do you have any other tips for good driving habits? Let us know below!

Safe driving from Britannia!

Four out of the 48 self-driving cars on public roads in California have been involved in accidents in the last eight months. Out of these four, three belonged to Google, the fourth to parts supplier Delphi.

Both firms denied any fault with Google stating that accidents had been in the form of rear-end collisions from other drivers. They continued by saying that safety is their highest priority. Since the start of the self-driving programme six years ago, a million miles has been covered without a single accident on both motorways and city roads.

Delphi stated that in regards to the accident involving their model, its vehicle was hit while stationary at a crossroads and was in manual driving mode at the time.

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In the advent of the development of the self-driving car, Nevada famously introduced the law to allow autonomous vehicles onto it’s roads, signalling the start of the end of driving as we know it.

Since the start of this scientific advancement, many others have also started their own attempts at creating a car that can drive itself – from Mercedes to Audi and even BMW , many car manufacturing giants are pushing forward with making manual driving a thing of the past.

However the technology does not stop with cars – Now a self-driving lorry has been developed by Daimler in Germany, and has been licensed for commercial use – Although it will still need a driver on hand to take the wheel for certain situations considered too complex for the computer carrying out the majority of the driving.

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Safe driving from Britannia!

A man in Swansea has lost his driving licence after a prospective buyer took the car he was selling for a test drive and died in a crash. He had been in the passenger seat when the buyer drove the car he was looking to buy into trees at a Caravan Park.

The owner of the car, Mark Saunders, was convicted at Swansea Magistrates’ Court of aiding and abetting another using a motor vehicle without third party insurance, for which he had been fined £150, with £620 costs, and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

The court was told Saunders, who dislocated a shoulder in the accident and had a long record of driving offences, lost his home as a result of the accident, and had since divorced. The court heard that there were aggravating factors. It was a very significant fatality and Saunders has a bad record of driving offence.

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A set of double yellow lines less than a metre long have been introduced in Bristol that have been labelled as ‘ludicrous’. Anti-RPZ campaigner Michael Owen tweeted a picture of a toy racing car alongside the short section of lines. He argued that it would be virtually impossible to park anything in the space, it’s even too small for a Smart car.

A Bristol City Council spokeswoman said the lines would make sure “appropriate access for emergency services, refuse lorries and delivery vehicles and give residents enough space to get in and out of driveways and garages’.

Those in favour of the measures, which are to be introduced city-wide, believe they will make it easier to park outside their home.

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