A local London man is part of the British team duo that will travel to Timbuktu in the Parajet Skycar, a biofuel-powered vehicle which can transform itself from a car into an aircraft in minutes and can accelerate from 0-100kph (60mph) in 4.5 seconds. The journey is expected to take some 40 days, during which the Skycar plans to soar over the Pyrenees and Straits of Gibraltar between southern Spain and Africa. With four-wheel drive, it deals with the most rugged terrain, starting on the city streets of London and ending in the sands of the Sahara.

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Learner drivers in the UK pay £1 billion a year trying to pass their driving test. According to research by Churchill Car Insurance, on average they need 42 lessons before they can tear up their L-plates and at least two tests.

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Rinspeed, an experimental Swish car company revealed their latest work – a shape shifting car whose body adapts to the number of passengers on board.

The one seater car, named the iChange has the ability to transform to accommodate three passengers simply by pressing a button. The idea behind this invention is to achieve maximum aerodynamics and improve efficiency.

The vehicle weighs 1,050 kg, powered by an electric motor which produces 150kW of power. This enables the car to have a top speed of 135mph and accelerating speed of 0 to 62mph in just above four seconds – based around a Subaru WRX six speed gear box.

The iChange’s adaptive body will transform its teardrop shape to an expanded rear end providing room for an extra two passengers, the car has no doors but instead accessed via the roof. Many of the controls can be operated by an iPhone including the locking systems and ignition.

Flirting while stationary in traffic is the latest craze according to a survey by Britannia Driving School. More than half of the women and three quarters of the men surveyed said they would consider exchanging phone numbers with a complete stranger while in traffic. Some 79 per cent of women and 64 per cent of men claimed to have been the target of another motorist’s flirting on the open road.

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Highway chiefs have introduced a new measure after reports became apparent that an increasing number of motorists were risking their lives by running out of fuel on the motorways.  Electronic signage is being used to remind motorists to check their fuel gauges, in order to ensure they have sufficient fuel to reach their destination.

The Highway Agency stated that last  year alone more then 5,500 motorists ran out of petrol / diesel on motorways in the south east of the country alone, some even stopped in lanes still busy with fast moving traffic – which could easily cause a catastrophe.

As the credit crunch hits and recession kicks in, it seems more motorists are letting their vehicles run dry before refuelling, but being court out on the motorway is no joke. The motorway hard shoulder is specifically for emergencies as it does not guarantee your safety, being on the hard shoulder simply because of running out of fuel is putting your life at risk for a reason that could have been easily avoided.

The AA reported that as many as 1/5 drivers have gone past or very close to the empty mark on their vehicles, half of young drivers admitted they had run their tanks close to dry. Some of the main excuses given were not being able to find cheaper fuel and thinking they had enough to reach their destination.

Tough New Powers to tackle the selfish minority of uninsured drivers who cost law-abiding motorists £400m each year have been set out by Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick.
The new measures will make it an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle-rather than just to drive when uninsured-making it easier to catch uninsured drivers and keep them off the roads.
Under the new system the DVLA will work in partnership with the insurance industry to identify uninsured vehicles. Motorists will receive a letter telling them that their vehicle appears to be uninsured and warning them that they will be fined unless they insure it within a set period. If the keeper fails to insure the vehicle they will be given a £100 fine. If the vehicle remains uninsured-regardless of whether the fine is paid-it could then be seized and destroyed.
The Government has already given the police powers to seize and destroy vehicles being driven uninsured, along with improved access to the Motor Insurance Database to enhance their capability to detect uninsured driving by using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANRP) equipment. Police removed around 150, 000 vehicles in 2007-more than 400 a day.

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An Instructor has received a suspended prison sentence for giving driving lessons after being struck of the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) Register 
Harjit Bhogal was given a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years, and a three-month curfew between the hours of 10pm-7am. He was ordered to pay £200 compensation to a pupil and £1,400 court costs and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Michelle Moston, Deputy Head of the Fraud & Integrity Team at DSA, said: “This case clearly demonstrates the reason why anyone who is paying for driving tuition must ensure that their instructor is licensed by the DSA. Before an individual is allowed to register as an Approved Driving Instructor they are assessed by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) to ensure that they are “fit and proper” and that they have a high standard of driving and instructional ability. This includes criminal record bureau checks.”
“It’s very simple to check that your driving instructor is licensed. Simply check that they display an in date pink or green certificate in their windscreen during driving lessons and that the photo ID is correct.”

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The identity of Ireland’s most notorious driver has been finally revealed, with over 50 different convictions to their name Prawo Jazdy’s stint has come to an end. That is after police took a closer look, they realised what they thought to be the name of individual Polish licence holders was in fact the Polish translation for “Driving Licence”. This term has been mistaken by dozens of officers.

Police were under the impression a serial offender was on the loose, who was managing to keep reoffending without getting a banned. An internal police memo printed among Irish papers has said officers responsible for taking the details of Polish offenders had all been using “Prawo Jazdy” which is located in the top right corner of the driving licence, instead of the true offenders name.

The memo went on to detail that “Prawo Jazdy” was actually the polish translation for the word driving licence and not the full name of the actual licence holder, it also commented that it was embarrassing to see the system has created “Prawo Jazdy” as a person with over 50 identities.

Recent cold weather has caused a steep increase in the amount of vehicles being damaged by potholes. This is caused by rainwater, which gets into cracks within tarmac, due to cold weather this then freezes and expands within the crack causing the bitumen to break up.

The consistent cold weather meant this has been happening on a daily basis throughout Decemeber, motorists are warned to look out for potholes in roads as driving over these at regular speeds may cause damage to your vehicles suspension.

A charity fund raising quiz night held by Driving Instructors Club Essex (DICE) on Monday September 2008 raised £750 for Essex Air Ambulance (EAA).
Dice has a membership of 80 instructors and is getting bigger every month. It holds regular events throughout the year to raise much needed funds for various charities.
For more information on DICE visit their website drivinginstructorses-sex.co.uk

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