Driving a convertible with the roof down might be exhilarating, but it could also damage your hearing, according to British scientists.
In a study conducted using seven different convertibles on British motorways, researchers measured the noise levels when driving at speeds of 50, 60, and 70 miles per hour (80, 97 and 113 km per hour).

They found at those speeds that drivers are consistently exposed to between 88 and 90 decibels, with a high of 99 due to a combination of noise from road surfaces, traffic congestion and the wind. There was no marked difference between different models of cars.

The noise level of normal conversation is 60 decibels.

“Long or repeated exposure to sounds over 85 decibels is widely recognized to cause permanent hearing loss,” said researcher Philip Michael, an ear, nose and throat surgeon at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Britain.

“While motorcyclists are well versed in using ear protection, this study highlights that drivers of convertible automobiles may also be at risk of noise-induced hearing loss.”

The research was presented to a meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation and published in the medical journal Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery.

But Michael, who presented the research, said there was no need to trade that convertible in for a hardtop.

The simple act of keeping car windows raised would significantly reduce noise exposure levels to 82 decibels, even with the top down.

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British drivers are turning into a nation of crooks, according to insurers. They are happy to stage an accident to make money by claiming on insurance, or lie about who will be actually driving their car to cut the cost of cover.

The latter is called fronting and it is becoming an epidemic, says Direct Line. Its research published this week revealed that one in 12 drivers have taken part in fronting, which adds up to nearly 2.5 million people. Worse, more than a quarter of people think “it’s harmless, or everybody does it”.

Fronting involves listing the main driver of a vehicle as a “named driver” on an insurance application to cut the cost of premiums. People do it to help out young drivers who would otherwise be stung by massive insurance costs. They also do it if their spouse or partner has driving convictions so they are put down as a named driver, again, to make the insurance more affordable.

But doing so is a false economy, warns Andy Goldby, director of motor underwriting at Direct Line, because if you are caught, your claim will be turned down.

“Fronting is fraud and effectively means a driver is uninsured,” he says. “If you are found to be fronting, a claim can be rejected, and the correct premium that should have been paid will be reclaimed. The perpetrator can also be put on the CIFAS register, which will seriously affect their chances of getting other financial services products.”

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An investigation has been launched by the DSA (Driving Standard Agency into phony driving instructors when suspicions were raised by DSA examiners at driving test centres in and around London. Many learners were shocked to discover that their instructors were not qualified.

One offender, Deekan Vig of Southgate was found guilty of three charges of fraud by misinterpretation. He made thousands by conning learners into believing he was an ADI (Approved Driving Instructor). However, he was caught out and given a suspended prison sentence on condition he carries out 100 hours of unpaid community service.

Mr Vig is not the only individual that has been caught and prosecuted. All suspected cases of illegal instruction are taken seriously and the DSA are working closely with the police. Illegal instructors are not only a danger to the learner but also to the general public.

Simon Bush of Britannia Driving School said: “All learners should check that their driving instructor is qualified. All qualified drivers will hold a pink or green badge containing a photo and an instructor number. Don’t be caught out!”

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For decades, Iran’s reverence of the British motor car was expressed in mass output of imitation Hillman Hunters, rebranded as the Peykan, before obsolescence caused production to be halted.

Now, an Iranian motor manufacturer is going several streets upmarket to pay homage to another classic UK make: the Rolls-Royce.

Aryaman Motors, a Tehran-based company specialising in reproducing classic cars, is marketing replica vehicles based on the original design of the earliest Rolls- Royce models.

The cars are hand-built from scratch to recreate the bodywork and hallmarks of models produced in Britain about 100 years ago.

Inside, they are fitted with modern specifications such as air conditioning, orthopaedic seats and even CD players, fridges and televisions if customers request them. Hi-tech soundproofing reduces the noise of the 2.5l engine.

Aryaman Motors began producing the cars after receiving an order from Saad Abad Palace museum in north Tehran for a remake of the 1919 Silver Ghost model once owned by Reza Shah, the monarch who ruled Iran for two decades until the second world war.

The UK motor industry resounded with comments and opinions when the scrappage scheme was first announced earlier this year, and there has been a similar, if smaller, reaction to the news that the Government has extended its commitment by £100 million (see separate story).

Kia, Nissan and Volvo have all issued statements welcoming the extension of the scheme. In each case the reaction can be summed up in the single word “hurrah!”, though Nissan has taken the opportunity to remind us that it already has its own extension, whereby it will provide the full £2000 (without Government support) for cars as little as eight years old, as long as they are traded in for a UK-built Nissan, namely the Micra, Note or Qashqai.

Paul Harrison, Head of Motor Finance at the Finance & Leasing Association, says that “the extension to the scrappage scheme will be widely welcomed in the motor industry. The Government is also in talks in Brussels on additional support for the motor finance sector. We need Lord Mandelson to get a good result there, so that demand for new cars can continue to be met in the future when the economy recovers.”

From today (28th September 2009) there is a change to the theory test. The Hazard Perception Test will remain the same. The new test will include 45 multiple choice questions and an additional set of five questions concerned with depicted “case study.”

The candidate will be presented with a set of facts – the case study – which will appear on the left hand side of the screen. The set of facts will be set in text format, and may be accompanied by supporting picture or diagram.

Throughout the case study the fact and the scenario content does not change. This way the scenario may be re-read as often as the candidate chooses.

The questions will appear on the right hand side of the screen, and the candidate will be asked to make a response in the usual manner. 

Simon Bush of Britannia Driving School said: “All the information concerning the new format of the test may be found in the DSA publication The Official DSA Theory Test for Car Drivers and The Official Highway Code, available from Britannia Driving Schools Merchandise Store.”

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One in 20 British motorists drives an uninsured vehicle, one of the highest rates in Western Europe and which adds 30 pounds a year to premiums for the rest of the motoring population, figures released on Thursday showed.

In London, Manchester and Liverpool the uninsured rate goes up to one in 10 or higher and there are fears the recession will prompt more drivers to forego insurance, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) said.

“The research shows when times are tough, people will look to cut their motoring costs. Some will try and do without insurance,” said Ashton West, chief executive of the MIB.

“Our message is; Don’t risk it, stay insured. The chance of being caught has never been greater,” he told Reuters.

“In the last two or three years, since police got powers to seize uninsured cars, we have made inroads into the problem.”

Police now confiscate about 500 uninsured vehicles a day and took 185,000 cars off the road last year, which has helped bring the number of claims involving uninsured and untraced vehicles in 2008 to 33,000 against 38,000 in 2005.

The MIB, the body which compensates those people involved in accidents with uninsured or untraced vehicles, said it had to collect more than 400 million pounds from insurers for this purpose — costs passed onto honest drivers.

Younger drivers, who pay the biggest premiums, were the worst offenders with one in 10 claiming they were unaware insurance was a legal requirement.

The key to climate change control lies in improved technology. We need to find new ways to produce and use energy, meet our food needs, transport ourselves, and heat and cool our homes that will allow us to cut back on oil, gas, coal, nitrogen-based fertiliser, and other sources of the climate-changing greenhouse gases.

There are enough good options available to suggest that the world can accomplish the goal of controlling climate change at a reasonable cost (perhaps 1% of global income per year) while enabling the world economy to continue to grow and raise living standards. One of the most exciting developments on the horizon is the new generation of electric cars.

In the earliest days of the automobile in the late 19th century, many kinds of cars competed with each other – steam, battery, and internal combustion engine (ICE). The petrol- and diesel-powered internal combustion engines won the competition with the success of the Model T, which first rolled off of the assembly line in 1908.

Now the age of electric vehicles is upon us. The Toyota Prius, a hybrid-electric vehicle first introduced in Japan in 1997, marked an initial breakthrough. By connecting a small generator and rechargeable battery to the braking system of a standard car, the hybrid augments the normal engine with a battery-powered motor. Petrol mileage is sufficiently enhanced to make the hybrid commercially viable, and petrol-saving vehicles will become even more commercially viable when consumers are taxed for the carbon dioxide they emit from their vehicles.

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An information pack for new ADIs (Approved Driving Instructors has been developed by the DSA (Driving Standards Agency).

All new ADIs will receive a plastic wallet containing leaflets and booklets full of information about their new career.

Charles Morton, Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors said: “We have listened to feedback from ADIs, which indicated that when they first qualified, they would have found a pack like this useful, as it contains information about how to make the most of their new career and help their pupils.”

Simon Bush of Britannia Driving School said: “All newly qualified instructors will receive the new pack when they first register with the DSA. ADIs who have registered within the last six months can request a pack by phoning or sending an email to the DSA”

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Taxed but uninsured cars left on a public road could be clamped or seized under the new laws which are being unveiled by the Government.

The draconian new powers are intended to tackle an estimated two million uninsured motorists who, the Government says, are responsible for 160 deaths a year.

But the changes have angered civil liberty campaigners and also alarmed motoring groups who fear that law-abiding motorists could be penalised for innocent mistakes, such as allowing their insurance to lapse while they are on holiday.

At the moment, a motorist is only committing a crime if he or she drives while uninsured.

The new law will make it an offence to be the registered keeper of an uninsured car, whether or not the vehicle is being used and regardless of whether it has a valid tax disc or is kept on private property.

The only way to avoid a fine will be to go through the bureaucratic process of making a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

This can only be done if the owner can find somewhere to store the vehicle. Uninsured vehicles left in the road would be clamped or seized, penalising those without driveways or private garages.

Some have voiced concerns the scheme will do little to stop unscrupulous drivers who never bother to insure vehicles, but could instead hit law-abiding motorists who unwittingly allow their insurance to lapse when they are working abroad or taking a holiday. It will rely on the motor insurance industry database that is currently used by the police.