With the cold weather continuing, potholes are appearing everywhere and our roads are becoming an embarrassment. Severe winters and flooding across the country has left our roads in disrepair.

Research has shown that Scotland was the worst place for drivers, with more than 40% of respondents suffering some sort of damage.

Thousands of drivers have suffered damage to their cars as a result of potholes, including serious damage to suspension, steering and bodywork.

Drivers are blaming the councils for not fixing our roads and investing in resurfacing projects. However, The Local Government Association defended councils, Chairman Cllr Peter Box said: “Government should be focusing on giving councils the proper funding to invest in the resurfacing projects which our crumbling road network desperately needs.”

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According to new research from car insurance provider Allianz Your Cover, a third of commuters don’t feel guilty about driving dangerously or being distracted on the road.

A fifth of drivers (21%) blame their habits on other commuters.

The top five bad commuter behaviours are:

• Speeding (30%)
• Careless driving (14%)
• Travelling too fast for the conditions (14%)
• Tailgating (13%)
• Not looking when changing lanes (13%)

Commuters may however have been twisting the truth about their bad habits, as although nearly a third (30%) admitted to speeding, more than half (55%) have seen other drivers exceed the speed limit as well as;

• 5% admit they have jumped a red light – 38% have seen other commuters do this
• 4% have applied make-up – 22% have seen other commuters do this
• 2% say they failed to stop at a give way sign – 22% have seen other commuters do this

More than half of British commuters (52%) are in too much of a hurry to drive safely and are blaming their bad driving on a lack of concentration (30%) and being tired (27%). The commuting environment impacts the workplace as almost half of drivers (43%) believe that their commute affects their mood and can negatively impact their work.

Natalie Woods, of Allianz Your Cover Insurance said: “Our research found that British commuters feel they drive carelessly during their journeys due to rushing and tiredness. This is supported by police road accident statistics which show that 46%* of accidents can be attributed to careless driving. We urge drivers to take a careful and considerate approach to their driving in order to reduce accident rates and improve the experience of all their fellow commuters and drivers. One in ten (13%) have witnessed an accident on their way to work – not the kind of start to the day anybody would want.”

Despite witnessing the bad habits of their fellow commuters, one in four (27%) hope that a driver would stop to help them if they were in need, a lot less (15%) have actually pulled over to help. The main reason for continuing their commute instead of helping a fellow commuter is to avoid being put in danger (43%). With safety being top priority breakdown services can help out those in need enabling other drivers to continue their journey. Other reasons given for not stopping to help fellow commuters are not knowing how to help (27%), followed by being in a rush (27%).

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The DSA now book over 90% of theory and practical tests online. Previously candidates would call the DSA and book over the phone with a letter of confirmation being posted to them.

Now the only way a test confirmation is sent by post is if you pay by cheque or postal order.

With many companies and organisations wanting to provide as many services as possible online, the DSA are doing everything possible to do everything online and email is the new way of informing candidates of their test details.

You can book your test by visiting www.gov.uk/booktheorytest or www.gov.uk/bookpracticaltest.

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Do you know if you would pass an eye test? A lot of people don’t.

But having good vision is crucial to driving safely. Think about the last time you were driving, did you need to squint? Have you drove at night and had terrible glare from oncoming traffic lights? It could be that when you drove in the sun your vision was affected, in this case you just need to grab yourself a pair of sunglasses.

There are any number of places where you can get your eyes tested at times convenient for yourself. And you will find that glasses are available at a range of prices.

So don’t delay, get your eyes tested.

Research has shown that listening to music whilst driving can cause drivers to drive more dangerously, with rock music the most dangerous music genre.

London University Psychologist Dr. Simon Moore reviewed footage of both male and female participants driving with no music or different styles of music and came to an interesting conclusion.

Not surprisingly listening to no music at all gave the best results. Music that was noisy and upbeat, increasing the heart rate leads drivers to concentrate more on the music than on the road.

A fast tempo saw drivers subconsciously speed up to match the beat of the song.

Listening to a song that we don’t like can also have a negative effect on our driving, causing us stress.

So according to Dr. Moore if drivers are going to listen to music, then they should choose songs that mimic the human heartbeat. This is around 60-80 beats per minute.

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A drink-driver from Wales was jailed for four years after he crashed his car into a tree and left the passenger to die.

Ceiron Cook, 36, had been smoking cannabis on the night the accident occurred as well as being over the drink drive limit. He told courts that he lost control in the snow and icy conditions on a country road.

However, to the horror of two passers-by who discovered the car, Mr Cook’s fiancée Lynsey Popp, a mother of two had been left to die. Mr Cook had been that callous that after the crash he ran home and went to bed instead of calling the emergency services, leaving Lynsey there to die.

The court heard how Mr Cook was an uninsured provisional licence holder, with a record of driving whilst disqualified and uninsured.

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Jumping in the car and setting off for a long drive is, in theory, a wonderful idea.

That is until you get lost, run out of petrol, someone desperately needs a toilet break or the car decides to break down.

You can however, with a little bit of preparation make the journey a lot better. Grab yourself a satnav, these make life so much more easier. Have a check which service stations you will be passing as you’re on your journey. If your journey is going to be particularly long, have some drinks in the car with you so you can stay hydrated. And if you have young children cds of their favourite music or stories are perfect.

Be sure to check out traffic reports before you head off, no one wants to sit in traffic. You can also check if there are alternative routes to your journey.

These simple things make a big difference to your journey.

What do you consider to be a young driver, 17, 18, 19 years old…well under proposed plans drivers aged 17-24 come under the young driver category.

Transport ministers and insurance bosses held talks this week looking at ways to improve safety but allow young drivers to stay on the road.

A fifth of road accidents resulting in death or serious injury involve drivers under 24. By introducing new ideas they hope to change this statistic.

New plans such as:

Curfews for drivers under 24

Allowing learners to take motorway lessons

Limiting the number of passengers young motorists can carry

Extending the ‘probationary period’ – currently you can only incur six points in the first two years, they could extend this to three years

Made to spend a year driving before being allowed to sit your test

With these changes in place, it is hoped that the number of accidents will be significantly reduced but also that insurance will come down for younger drivers.

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Installing trackers on your firm’s vehicles will provide your company with a wide range of benefits. Many companies decide to fit vehicle trackers to help cut fuel costs and increase customer satisfaction but there are also a number of ways a tracker can improve driver safety amongst your employees.

Promoting Safer Driving

Vehicle trackers do not just monitor a vehicle’s location and speed, they can also monitor driver behaviour. This means you can see if your drivers are making unsafe decisions whilst at the wheel such as violating the speed limit, sudden breaking or overly harsh steering.

Some trackers will notify the driver of their actions on the tracker screen as well as sending the information to the fleet manager. Many companies successfully use this feature to run safe driving competitions amongst their employees by rewarding the driver with the fewest safety deviations each month, which helps promote a culture of safe driving within your firm.

Health & Safety Legislation

As an employer you have a duty of care to your employees and you are required by law to ensure that your drivers are not working beyond the legally designated safe limits. Vehicle trackers can be used to track the working hours of each of your drivers so you can monitor who is approaching the limit and who has time to spare, allowing you to plan your fleet usage accordingly.

Locating Drivers in an Accident

Should the worst happen and one of your drivers is involved in an accident, you can use the tracker to notify the appropriate services of their location. This feature can be especially important if you have employees who work in remote or rural areas.

Trackers are accurate to within a few inches so your drivers will feel reassured that someone always knows their whereabouts. Furthermore, as trackers use satellite technology, they won’t go out of signal range in the way mobiles can.

Helping Drivers Concentrate on Driving

Everyone knows that driving in an unknown area can be stressful as the driver can be trying to focus on not getting lost rather than what’s happening on the road ahead of them. This lack of focus can result in drivers getting involved in accidents.

To help resolve this issue, many trackers now include navigation features which provide drivers with clear spoken instructions and a demonstration of where to go on tricky junctions. This means that your driver stress levels will be lowered and they will be far more likely to keep their eyes on the road, thereby avoiding potential accidents.

Other Safety Features

The technology in vehicle trackers is improving all the time and features found in certain models include panic buttons to alert you if one of your drivers needs assistance urgently, software that schedules maintenance so your vehicles are safe, and even in-vehicle cameras which provide very detailed information about driver actions.

Features such as cameras can also be used for staff training as you can use real life footage to clearly identify what are and are not acceptable driving practices.

North Wales Police are warning motorists that action will be taken, if they continue to drive straight over a roundabout on the B4500 Castle Road, Chirk, rather than around it.

The council have suggested changing the layout after concerns have been raised. Although no accidents have happened, police and highway officials are worried that drivers cannot see motorists accessing Castle Walks if they do not use the roundabout.

A police spokesperson said: “Anyone caught breaking the law receives a warning letter…If they persist enforcement action will be taken.”

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