Brazil ranked eighth in the World Health Organisation’s list of road deaths in 2009 and statistics still remain high.

Up to 40,000 people a year die of Brazils roads and it is thought that poor road conditions, poorly designed motorways, high levels of drink-driving and inexperienced drivers all contribute.

Fernando Diniz was told his son had been involved in a serious car accident, when he arrived at the scene he found his 20-year-old son’s body lying in the road. The driver had been drinking and came away unscathed whilst, Mr Diniz’s son and two other passengers lost their lives.

Mr Diniz has since set up a pressure group ‘Friendly Traffic’ calling for tougher laws to punish those who drink and drive. Currently some drivers involved in traffic accidents receive much softer sentences such as being asked to donate money to charity as their crimes are often not considered to have been deliberate.

Philip Gold, a traffic specialist, says: “The government needs to improve road signs, poor-quality roads and educating drivers is vital.”

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The older generation are showing their younger counterparts quite a thing about driving – and how to driver better! They seem to be much more focused than younger drivers. There are one million drivers who are 80 and over in the country. Does it actually make an underlying difference in the end? Well it seems so. They drive with utmost sincerity and safety guidelines in mind. They have an enormous amount of experience available. The official data released by DVLA has supported this abundantly. It shows that older drivers tend to be ‘safe drivers’. They are three times less susceptible to deaths and injuries caused in road accidents. You can’t ignore these kind of statistics. Facts are simply facts.

It seems that the driving habits are causing bigger problems here. The young drivers are continuously told that they drive too fast and without a sense of responsibility. Their approach to driving, as we are told by the media, is all about speed and who can drive faster. Of course, we all know the tragedies that this leads to. The old drivers are becoming better with passing age. They enjoy driving and take it as a means to freedom. The latest reports have challenged the common perception that old drivers lack focus and quick reaction time to drive safely on the roads. Their experience or company can prove to be a valuable asset to pass it onto the next generation. Let’s drive happily and enjoy the ride!

Driving instructors are urged to be extra vigilant when conducting lessons especially when it is dark, after a driving instructor was robbed and assaulted mid lesson.
A female instructor from Rochdale was conducting an evening lesson with another female pupil when two men approached the stationary car and robbed the instructor of her jewellery.
DC Pete Murphy of Greater Manchester Police said: “Both women were focused on the driving lesson and have been left understandably shocked and upset…I believe this was nothing more than an opportunistic and desperate act.”

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An experienced biker who owned a large number of motorcycles and had driven in many parts of the world was knocked off his bike just 200 yards from his home.

Tony Whitehouse, aged 51 died in April this year after Jessica Stack, 23 pulled out in front of Tony and his passenger near their home in Buckley.

Huw Roberts, defending said his client was extremely remorseful and felt his families pain, as she had lost her mother to cancer when she was aged just 11. He said she was devastated that her actions left Mr Whitehouse’s two children aged 13 and 11 without a father.

She was fined £750 with £100 costs and banned from driving for a year after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Mr Whitehouse’s sister said “We all make mistakes, all of us. She never set out to kill him…we will have to live with what happened and she will have to live with it as well.”

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When the heavens decide to open up and the water comes flooding down, you will notice the roads become a little more busier as things tend to get a little delayed. If you are about to get in your car as it’s raining, take a few minutes to prepare for your journey. Ensure that your vents are on, this will help prevent the windows from steaming up. It also helps if you open the windows a touch to let some air circulate the around car.

Your stopping distance will always increase when it is raining so be prepared for that. Ensure that you leave the appropriate space between the car in front of you. When it rains, sometimes it gets darker outside, so use your lights if you need to.

Do take extra caution if you are driving on the motorway and reaching speeds of 70mph. Make sure that you keep a good distance from the car in front. When you overtake lorries you will get extra water coming onto your car so be prepared. Remember that when you are driving at such high speeds and it’s raining, the chances of having an accident increase if you are driving erratically.

Introducing the new electric car driven by software running on an Android smartphone, no humans necessary.

The idea behind the cars is similar to club car and zip car, where cars are dotting around the city and individuals use them on a need to use basis. However, these cars will come right to your door and drive you to your destination.

Dr Jun Jo of the University’s institute for Integrated and Intelligent Systems said: “What we propose is that in the future cars will be shared between many people instead of being personal property so we won’t spend so much on cars.”

The cars will have onboard technology which knows your schedule and can be booked in advance. Once it arrives the individual will connect their smartphone facing towards the road and it will assist with navigational chores.

The car will use the individual’s device to drive in their preferred way and take shortcuts they like etc.

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I have met so many people who have passed their test but are too scared to driver. Some are even fearful of driving.

This I feel, is a great shame. As a nation I do think that we are too reliable on our cars and I believe we should make more use of public transport and our legs. However, been able to drive is a huge benefit. It gives you freedom and independence. Just think about how many times you needed to carry something heavy, or pick someone up, or quickly drive to the shops.

Remember, learning to drive doesn’t end when you have past your test. Each time you get into the car you are improving your skills. If you feel that you are lacking in confidence, try and drive for 5 to 10 minutes every day on your own. You may like to go somewhere quiet and just drive up and down the road. As you build up your confidence you can develop and start turning corners and practising your manoeuvres. Don’t be afraid to get further lessons either. This will certainly help you improve your confidence.

The Mars robot known as curiosity landed on the Red Planet two weeks ago. It is there to investigate whether the planet ever had the conditions necessary for life.

The vehicle will cover a lot of ground on this mission, taking photos, analysing soil samples and looking at the terrain.

One simple manoeuvre can take a long time but the images will hopefully provide a clear picture of life on Mars.

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A 37 year old woman from Edinburgh has pleaded guilty to assault and failing to give way at junctions after she drove into Stuart Morris-22, leaving him clinging onto her car bonnet.

Suzanne Gilchrist had left a shopping centre when a security guard approached her regarding stolen goods. She said the guard had tried to open her car door and take her car keys, when she panicked and drove off at speed.

She drove into Mr Morris an incident by-stander, and drove off, swerving over the road trying to force him off. He sustained spinal bruising and bruising to his legs and fingers.

Rhona McLeod, defending, said: “She (Gilchrist) had thought that she was pregnant and was obviously suffering from some sort of hormonal imbalance, and was on such a knife-edge that she panicked.”

However, courts heard her car was used as a weapon and Mr Morris said: “She deserves the jail – no-one like that should be free.” Ms Gilchrist was jailed for four years and three months.

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It’s great when you are in the car and it is raining outside – you’re covered up and usually warm. These are the moment when we love our cars.

Invariably though, there comes a time when you need to get out of the car. The trick is to make sure that you have your umbrella with you. There’s nothing worse than having wet hair. To me, wet hair equals a bad day. Dry hair and semi wet legs equals a not so bad day. Moreover, as with most of life, I feel, if you prepare for the worst it’s never as bad as you thought.

If you carry a small umbrella it’s well worth keeping a plastic bag in with you to put your brolly in. That way, when you go into a department store for example, the water isn’t dripping off from your umbrella onto the tiled floors. It’s useful too if your umbrella sits in your handbag most of the time, we don’t want the contents of your handbag getting wet.