Almost half of British drivers are concerned about driving in wintry conditions, a survey by Saga Motor Insurance has found.

Researchers polled 2,021 adults in September and found that 48% of drivers would be reluctant to drive in bad weather.

Nearly two-fifths of motorists admitted that they were most afraid of driving in snow and ice; one-quarter strongly disliked taking their car out in heavy rain; and 32% would prefer not to go motoring in fog.

The survey also revealed that 25% of women tend to drive less during the winter months, while 23% of over-50s avoid driving in the dark.

Driving conditions ‘treacherous’ in Devon

Motorists have been warned about treacherous conditions on roads in Devon after temperatures plummeted again overnight.

Snow, sleet, rain and severe hail showers have caused several accidents across the county.

The eastbound carriageway of the A38 has been closed at Buckfastleigh after an accident involving a large van.

A police spokesman said there are believed to be injuries, although it is not yet known how serious.

In neighbouring Cornwall, two people died and 47 were injured when a coach crashed on sheet ice near Hayle.

Road crashes cost the developing world billions of pounds per year as they are fast becoming the leading cause of premature death and disability, especially in younger people. 

The Make Roads Safe Campaign called for the first ever UN conference to be held in Moscow in November 2009. Their aim is to launch a Decade of Action for Road Safety, which will hopefully cut road deaths by 50% (roughly five million) by the year 2020.

The global programme looks to make safer vehicles, to design roads to be safer for motorists and pedestrians, to tackle speed and drink driving amongst other criminal motoring offenses and to home in on belt and helmet use. All of these points need to be addressed both individually and as a combined factor.

Simon Bush of Britannia Driving School said: “Money is put towards combating killers such as malaria and cancer, let’s now spend money on reducing road deaths and put the money that will be saved in the long-term to better use, for things such as education and healthcare.”

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The number of drivers and motorcyclists caught drink-driving during the first two weeks of the PSNI’s winter campaign has risen by 15%.

Two hundred and thirty drink-drivers were detected, 31 more than in 2008.

Six people were detected at four times the legal limit. The youngest person detected was 16 years and the oldest, 73 years.

The average age of people to fail the breath test is 36, and to date, 199 men and 31 women have been detected.

More drivers are using hand-held mobile phones than before tougher penalties were introduced two years ago, the Transport Research Laboratory has said.

It found 2.6% of car drivers used hand-held phones in 2006 – when fines rose to £60 and three points could be added to licences – compared with 2.8% now.

Phone-using drivers are four times more likely to crash, the TRL added.

Ministers say work continues to highlight the dangers. The TRL study involved more than 14,000 vehicles.

The report’s authors believe there is no reason to think the picture at the 30 sites studied in London is not the same right across the UK.

The DSA (Driving Standards Agency) have tried to overcome the vast amount of problems they experienced when they introduced the 0300-prefixed telephone number and eradicated the 0870 numbers however, call volumes are nearly back to expected levels.

The telephone system has not just been improved to help deal with pupil enquires but new measures have been put into place to help with instructor enquiries.

A new fast track telephone system has been put in place to serve the needs of ADI’s. When an instructor calls the DSA for whatever reason they won’t have to listen to all the options but simply press 25, which will prioritise their call over others and be directed to staff that have the ability to deal with the call.

Even better they have introduced a call back system whereby if there is a queue of calls longer than 60 seconds the caller can leave their name and telephone number and somebody will call them back. It is important to understand that despite ADI calls being prioritised, the system keeps the call in the same place in the queue.

Simon Bush of Britannia Driving School said: “This is brilliant news for all instructors as it will save a huge amount of time skipping through the options and holding for somebody who would inevitable transfer your call to a different department, where you would have to repeat your story once.”

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Traffic safety organizations in the US and Europe have this week released online games in an effort to promote safer driving from the comfort of the home.

American non-profit organization the AAA (American Automobile Association) Foundation for Traffic Safety has launched the AAA Roadwise Review, designed to allow senior citizens to test their driving health, whether independently or supported by others. The program measures physical and mental abilities in eight key areas shown to be the strongest predictors of crash risk among older drivers. These include leg strength, visualization of missing information, field of view and working memory. No personal data is stored, but the program provides feedback to guide users on their ability to drive safely.

“AAA is dedicated to keeping seniors driving for as long as safely possible and mobile thereafter,” said Jake Nelson, director of AAA Traffic Safety Advocacy and Research. “Roadwise Review allows seniors to check their driving ability conveniently and confidentially – something that is vitally important as we age.”

The Education Department is eagerly awaiting a proposal from the Transport Ministry on incorporating driving lessons in schools.

The proposed syllabus would see grade 11’s complete their year with a learner’s license and matriculate with their drivers.

The initiative would see under 500 000 pupils qualify annually and could also curb corruption.

The Basic Education Ministry’s Hope Mokgatlhe said Minister Angie Motshekga had yet to receive the framework.

“The Minister of Basic Education Mrs. Angie Motshekga is aware of this initiative and the minister is quite excited. She cannot wait to see what the content of this proposal is,” she said.

New legislation being introduced, will allow for any driving instructor that poses a significant threat to the safety of the general public to be suspended immediately.

The current legislation has to allow 45 days to investigate and remove an Approved Driving Instructor from the roads, during which time they can continue teaching pupils.

The new law which is supported by the Department for Transport and Driving Standards Agency was introduced by MP Willie Rennie. The new legislation has not been implemented to eradicate the majority as it is only in a few instances that an ADI does not provide tuition in a professional manner and it is in those circumstances that they will be suspended immediately, so as to improve the safety of learner drivers.

Simon Bush of Britannia Driving School said: “Allegations of unprofessional behaviour-by driving instructor’s clients-such as, poor service, providing short lessons and failing to attend appointments could lead to a suspension of a rogue instructor. The new law should not pose a threat to anyone that is doing their job properly and for the majority of driving instructors out there it will provide reassurance that those that are not providing tuition in a professional manner will be removed from the roads. ”

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DRIVERS will welcome a plan to put average speed cameras between junctions 3 and 4 of the M40, motoring bodies have said.

As they measure average speed between two points instead of at a single point, but an anti-speed camera group said lower speed was no guarantee of safety. The Highways Agency hopes to have the fixed cameras in place by April 2011. The motorway has no permanent devices in Bucks.

The cameras also helped smooth traffic flows, he said, as motorists drive at the same speed.There was a massive drop in crashes and injuries since temporary cameras were stationed on three bridges between junctions 2 and 4.

There were four and five deaths between November 2006 and October 2008 – and this fell to one in the following ten months – when cameras were first operating; ‘Serious’ smashes decreased from 17 to ten; ‘slight’ collisions from 117 to 62 with a consequent fall in injuries: 25 to 13 ‘serious’ and 221 to 100 ‘slight’.