Over A Third of used car buyers are looking to counteract rising motoring charges and challenging economic conditions by downsizing to a smaller more cost-effective car.

According to a survey carried out by Glass’s Guide used car valuation guide, 38 per cent of buyers cited fuel prices and rises in road tax for heavier polluting vehicles as factor motivating them to swap their car for more compact and efficient model. The poll also revealed that a growing number of motorists are switching to diesel as a way of cutting running costs, despite recent rises in the cost of diesel making it much harder to recoup the premium on the price of diesel cars.

Of those surveyed 29 per cent stated an intention to exchange their petrol vehicle for a diesel model, expecting to take advantage of significant reduction in Co2 emission and fuel consumption.

Managing Editor of Glass’s Guide, Adrian Rushmore, said: “This new survey illustrates how attitude towards higher-polluting cars are hardening. Household budgets are being squeezed ever-more tightly, and consumers are looking for new ways to reduce their outgoings. The findings highlight just how keen motorists are to cut the cost of owning and running their cars. Concerns about running costs are not likely to go away, and we expect further shifts in demand during the short and medium term.”

But he added a note of caution for those thinking of moving to diesel.

“There are certainly benefits to driving a diesel, with greater fuel efficiency and lower vehicle excise duty. But buyers need to be aware that these models tend to cost more to purchase than their petrol counterparts, and it can take years to recoup this cost. It is advisable to calculate estimated annual fuel costs and depreciation, for example, before committing to a diesel-powered Car.”

Britannia Driving School’s fleet of manual and automatic tuition vehicles include diesel as well as petrol cars.

The recession is not all bad news, that is not if you’re looking to buy a car! Industry experts have stated the best prices in 8 years are currently available. For the last three months UK car sales have continued to slump pushing dealerships to offer bigger discounts to entice buyers.

With average discounts of around £2,000 on your average family car, premium cars are offering even heavier discounts with some dealers offering £11,500 off the new Jaguar XJ at just £34,000. It’s not just courtyards either, online car brokers are also having to reduce their margins.

Official registrations figures for the new car market have falled by 23%, but this could be close to 30% if you remove the cars registered from dealerships. Even better news for buyers is that prices are going to drop either further as margins are squeezed.

A recent report by the Department of Transport into the number of rogue drivers on UK roads stated that over 11% of drivers were commiting an offence, with 3.4% commiting a serious offence such as driving without insurance or driving whilst disqualified.

Although this accounts for 4.77 million of UK drivers, the report stated that the number of unlicensed  drivers had actually been slashed by half over two years and the level of uninsured drivers dropped from 1.9% in 2006 to 1.2%.

The number of drivers which failed to produce a valid MOT certificate had dropped from 4.2% to 1.5% and the level of drivers stopped without valid vehicle tax also dropped by 1% over the two year period.

Jim Fitzpatrick, Road Safety Minister sated: “Uninsured drivers add £30 a year to every motorist’s insurance premium and it is estimated that uninsured and untraced drivers kill 160 people and injure 23,000 every year.”

Subject to consultation, The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has informed Britannia Driving School, that they propose to introduce new fees for tests booked on or after 30^th March 2009.

The proposals principally affect individual candidates preparing to undertake theory tests, practical driving tests, and the qualification tests for the statutory and non-statutory registration schemes operated by DSA

The DSA proposes to increase the fees and charges for:

Ø  Theory tests taken by learner car drivers and motorcycle/moped riders by £1.00 to £31.00

Ø  Practical tests taken by learner car drivers by £5.50 to £62.00

Ø  Practical vocational and car plus trailer tests by £14.00 to £119.00

Ø  Theory test taken as part of the ADI qualification process by £10.00 to £90.00

Ø  Practical tests taken as part of the ADI qualification process by £12.00 to £111.00

Ø  ADI Trainee Licence by £15.00 to £140.00

Ø  Taxi and private hire car tests by £9.00 (inc VAT) to £78.00 (inc VAT)

Ø  Practical tests taken as part of the qualification process for the non-statutory instructor registration schemes operated by DSA:

o   LGV Voluntary Register by £16.45 (inc. VAT) to £139.83 (inc. VAT)

o   Fleet Driver Trainer Register by £15.27 (inc. VAT) to £131.60 (inc. VAT)

o   Register of Post Test Motorcycle trainers by £12.93 (inc. VAT) to £111.63 (inc. VAT)

Ø  Pass Plus products:

o   Starter packs by £2.00 (inc. VAT) to £37.00 (inc. VAT)

o   Refills by £1.00 (inc. VAT) to £29.00 (inc. VAT)

A study by the institute of Civil Engineers ( ICE ) has revealed that British motorists dislike for being charged with a road tax means they would prefer to use a pay-per-mile system where a driver makes a payment dependant upon how much they use their car.

Over 85% of the 3000 respondents also said that limiting car usage was an effective tool in tackling the climate change whilst 83% said they would have no qualms about leaving their vehicles at home if there was a dramatic improvement in the public transport system.

Motorists normally pay road tax according to their vehicle’s emissions rate. However there has been no attempt to address the fact that there are a large number of drivers who do not use their cars frequently or travel long distances. Many experts agree that a large reduction in car usage levels can have a significant impact on the climate.
The Chair of ICE said that an increasing number of people are becoming disillusioned with what they perceived to be a wide range of problems associated car use. He also added that there should be some kind of review of the public transport system in order to make it more appealing to potential users.

Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, has joined forces with the British Medical Association Scotland in order to restate the need for the UK government to reduce the drink driving limit. The government recently announced plans to introduce random breath tests and high tech breathalyser equipment in a bid to reduce the number of inebriated drivers on the road.

Police have said that they are likely to have access to the new equipment which is expected to result in an increase in convictions. Studies have shown that around a quarter of male drivers and 11% of women had chosen to drive after having drank the equivalent of two small glasses of wine.

Under current law, those drivers who have been found to be over the drink drive limit by a few milligrams can request a second test which can take place at the nearest police station. However, many motorists escape conviction because their alcohol levels will have dipped sufficiently by the time they take their second test.

MacAskill said  that he supported the Government’s latest actions which should come into effect from 2009.

However, he wants British drink driving laws which currently allow up to 80mg per 100ml in the bloodstream to be set at 50 mg. Road safety groups insist that the proposed changes could save up to 50 lives per year in the UK

West Midlands Police have warned motorists that they face the strong possibility of having their vehicles stolen if they leave them running during cold and frosty mornings. Leaving your keys in the ignition of your unlocked vehicle is an open invitation for an opportunistic car thief.

With many areas across the region being hit by a variety of cold weather conditions many vehicle owners will become more relaxed in their approach to security. It is far too tempting to return to a warm house if you feel it is too cold to wait for your vehicle to de-ice.

The police have advised all motorists not to leave their car open or running for any length of time even if it is within clear view of your property.

Quite simply, there are some people who will steal anything if they are given the chance.

In addition to giving anti-theft advice the police have also warned drivers not to attempt to use their vehicles if they cannot see through their windscreens properly. There have been a number of accidents that could have been easily prevented if motorists had simply taken the time to ensure that they were able to see clearly before setting off to work or any other kind of journey.

Westminster Council has reported that it is owed a whopping £4.5 million in parking fines from foreign drivers. It appears that the main culprits are those who own the most expensive luxury vehicles. The council is not able to enforce any kind of legal action on drivers who live abroad as they cannot accurately trace where they live.

The council believes these drivers are clearly in breach of British motoring laws and have asked the government to grant it the power to locate overseas motorists that are avoiding the payment of vehicle parking fines.

As the law stands, foreign motorists who bring their vehicles into the UK should register them with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency ( DVLA ) within six months of vehicles arrival. Once a parking ticket has been issued councils can request the relevant information from the DVLA. However, this process cannot be carried out if the vehicle has not been registered to a British address.

Westminster Council has said that drivers who break parking laws in Britain should face penalties irrespective of whether they are UK citizens or live abroad.

A spokesperson for the council stated that there are a small number of motorists who believe this country’s motoring laws do not apply to them, and this situation ought to be corrected.

Swindon Council has announced that it will remove all fixed point speed cameras. All cameras will be scrapped over a six month period. However, the move was heavily criticised by road-safety campaigners.

The bid to remove the speed cameras began when Swindon Councillor, Peter Greenhalgh, objected to these cameras by saying they were a tax on drivers and a tool to raise revenue for the Government whilst the council had to pay over £300,000 for maintenance.

The Government responded by stating that councils receive £110 million annually for road safety and speed cameras had been put in place to reduce accidents and save lives.

Road-safety charity BRAKE said that the removal of speed cameras in Swindon will not encourage motorists to stay within the desired speed limits that are essential in the battle to reduce road accidents and fatalities. The charity insisted that those who break speeding laws will no longer have the additional worry of having to slow down for speed cameras.

A spokesperson for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents commented that there is evidence that shows that speed cameras reduce accidents. Motorists have a tendency to break speed limits if they believe they will not be caught

Rental vehicle firm, Avis, has released the results of  a new study which focussed on the identification of British and foreign road signs by motorists. Alarmingly, the results showed that over 50% of participants were not able to give the correct answer to questions put to them during the survey.

Although it could be argued that not every motorist will be able to recall every road sign, it was pointed out that the most basic of UK signs had drivers completely baffled. Signs such as ‘No Cycling’ and ‘No Overtaking’ were not identified by survey participants. Around 54% of respondents also thought that a ‘No Overtaking’ sign simply meant ‘All Motor Vehicles Permitted’.

Avis also said out that most motorists who are over 30 did not have to face the modern Driving Theory Test and this could have had a significant impact on survey results. However, it would be good practice for these motorists to brush up on their road sign recognition skills. Anyone who wishes to do so can obtain relevant information from the Department of Transport.

The car rental company also highlighted the fact that they had conducted the survey in order to assess how they could help UK motorists to cope with foreign road signs. They did not bargain on finding that many drivers would struggle on basic questions about the Highway Code.