Speed limiters proposed in Scotland
16/06/09 16:27
Scotland’s Transport Minister has
launched a new ten-year road safety framework, which sets what are
claimed to be the ‘toughest’ targets in the UK for for reduction of
injuries and fatalities. Read More...
The future is electric
22/05/09 08:55
The future is electric. That’s the
message I got from speaking to industry experts at the
All Energy
exhibition in Aberdeen this
week. Exhibitors and visitors from around the world were showcasing
their renewable energy technologies. Read More...
50 limit moves up agenda
21/04/09 08:48
Increasing political chatter suggests
that we are moving closer and closer to a 50 mph blanket speed
limit on single carriageway roads. But is this really fired by any
evidence that it will actually improve road safety? Read More...
Talk of 50 mph limit avoids the issue
28/03/09 13:46
UK Government ministers are said to be
considering a default 50 mph speed limit for all single-carriageway
roads. Read More...
Battle rages over Forth Bridge
05/01/09 15:04
Congestion charges stall
06/12/08 11:33
It has been a bad couple of weeks for
those determined to tax us twice for using the roads we have
already paid for. Read More...
Boosting the economy with a roads programme
05/12/08 10:52
The opening of the new motorway that
closes the Cumberland Gap in the UK motorway system, on the 50th
anniversary of the opening of the first motorway, is a cause for
celebration. But it also highlights the chronic under-investment in
Britain’s primary transport network.
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America's motor giants face uncertain future
30/11/08 10:38
Leaders of America’s big three motor
giants – GM, Chrysler and Ford – headed to Washington seeking a
rescue package from the US government.
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Are hybrids really good for the environment?
04/07/08 19:48
The BBC's 'Top Gear' programme isn't always the most
thought-provoking programme on television. Normally it is pure
entertainment. However, the recent item about the Toyota Prius did
suggest that we think more deeply than many of the Hollywood elite
about our evironmentally-friendly motoring solutions. Read More...
So fuel price increase is nothing to do with tax?
29/05/08 12:26
When the Prime Minister and the
Chancellor flew to Aberdeen to meet with the bosses of the UK oil
industry, Gordon Brown tried to deflect attention from high fuel
taxes as the cause for the current fuel price crisis. Instead, he
tried to focus attention on fuel supply as the real cause.
Read More...
Biofuels - vision or mirage?
09/04/08 15:54
Everywhere you go these days –
particularly in the United States – the talk is of biofuels. People
seem to have latched onto the idea that we can grow our own fuel as
being the panacea for all our fossil fuel ills.
But, have the supporters of biofuels stopped to think things through? Read More...
But, have the supporters of biofuels stopped to think things through? Read More...
Claim that potholes endanger lives
31/01/08 16:53
Britain used to be known for the
quality of its road surfaces. No, don't laugh, it really did.
Manufacturers from this country went to France to give their
suspension a serious test, now the continental manufacturers are
coming here for testing because our road surfaces are notorious.
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I do not like being lied to
14/09/07 13:32
I do not like being lied to. But
almost every day, governments, transport authorities and
environmentalists come out with statements that are quite simply
untrue. Read More...
The UK now has the lowest number of petrol stations since 1912
22/08/07 15:00
At 9,500 petrol station forecourts, the
UK now has the lowest number of petrol stations in its history
since 1912 according to figures just released. This year to date
150 filling stations have closed, on top of the large number in
recent years. Read More...
London congestion charge will hit some hard
09/08/07 09:35
Transport for London (TfL) is
proposing radical changes to the road tolls to link them to carbon
dioxide emissions. If the proposals go ahead there will be a lot of
hefty losers and a few winners. Read More...
Tribeca opens new market for Subaru
04/08/07 11:24
When Subaru first appeared in the UK
they were seen as workhorse vehicles for rural types. Pick ups and
estate cars with some go-anywhere ability thanks to their four
wheel drive system. Then, along came Colin McRae spearheading their
high-profile world rally championship successes, Subaru suddenly
became the sporty.
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You face a long drive in future to fill up
11/04/07 16:21
Remember when getting a loaf of bread
or a pint of milk meant just a short walk (or a short drive in the
country) to the local corner shop? Now you probably make a family
excursion to your local Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury's or Morrisons. Now
think about refuelling your car. Remember when refuelling the car
was something you did when the fuel light came on? Oh, fuel light
on, there's a station... fill up. Read More...
Anti-car brigade are stuck in the past
07/04/07 16:18
When are our politicians going to waken
up to the fact that emissions from cars are something that simply
won't be a problem in ten to twenty years time. Given that most
"planning horizons" are ten years or more, our politicians are
accelerating global warming by spouting a lot of hot air over a
problem which will simply disappear.
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XK8 air intake icon meets resistance in USA
26/03/07 16:08
The delicious XK8 has been facing some
unusual resistance in the US market. Speaking with Ian Callum,
Jaguar's design director he tells how there is some resistance to
the XK8's air intake which harks back to the E-type
original. Read More...
Now Scotland does a U-turn on tolls
12/03/07 16:06
The Scottish Transport Minister, Tavish
Scott, has announced that plans to introduce nationwide tolls on
Scotland's roads have been shelved for at least four
years.
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Government getting cold feet on road tolls
14/02/07 16:04
With 1.7 million names reportedly on
the anti road toll petition on the Downing Street website it
appears that the Government may be getting cold feet over the idea.
Tony Blair is emailing all participants to try to persuade them
that the government is only looking at the idea... honest!
Read More...
African experience shows how much progress we have made on emissions
07/02/07 16:03
Time spent in heavy traffic in Nairobi
was a graphic reminder of how much the air quality in this country
has improved, thanks to improvements in vehicle
emissions.
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Congestion charges could cost thousands for commuters
03/01/07 15:59
As more insight is gained into the
Eddington Review, which proposes a system or road charging for
England (similar charges are proposed in the National Transport
Strategy for Scotland), it is becoming clear that motoring in the
future could be very expensive. Read More...
Nanny state gone mad?
02/01/07 15:58
I had to check the date when I heard
that the Crown Prosecution service has floated the idea that
talking to a passenger while driving could be made an
offence.
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Tightening up on traffic law
15/12/06 15:57
There have been suggestions that the
Government will toughen up on traffic law, increasing the potential
penalties for various offences. Is this finally a recognition that
the focus on enforcing speed limits is entirely out of proportion
with its effect on road safety? (Only 5% of accidents in 2005 were
caused by exceeding the speed limit according to Government
figures.)
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Chancellor avoids temptation to hammer road users... for the moment
08/12/06 15:56
Putting 1.25p on a litre of fuel could
be seen as road users getting off lightly and, certainly, all the
green campaigners who have been baying for motorists to be squeezed
till their pips squeaked, have been clamouring to get on the media
to tell us so. Read More...
Where are all the extra cars to come from?
01/12/06 15:55
In advance on the Eddington Review
which will propose a tax per mile for roads used, Professor David
Begg said that the alternative was to build five times as many
roads as are currently proposed. Where are all these extra cars,
suggested in this horror-story scenario, supposed to come
from?
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Rong Wei for Rover
19/10/06 15:52
With Ford having bought the Rover name
to protect their own Land Rover brand, SAIC - who bought the rights
to the Rover models - have had to reconsider their plans to start
producing the cars with the Rover badge.
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LUNI
18/10/06 15:51
Many years ago one of our motoring
magazines started a campaign which they named LUNI - light up now
idiot! As the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us,
it is is as important a campaign now as it was then.
Read More...
Why do Japanese cars beep so much?
13/10/06 15:49
I've been driving a Nissan Note for the
last week. Why does it have to beep so much? This constant nagging
of differing tones of beep gets a bit wearing after a while.
Read
More...
Why change our switchgear?
07/10/06 15:50
I'm driving a Vauxhall Astra Twintop at
the moment and very good it is too. But it has reminded me... why
are manufacturers changing our switchgear to the type where the
lever moves, but returns to its off position? Read More...
Unclogging Britain's motorways
10/09/06 15:42
I recently drove along the M42 just as
they were preparing to allow traffic to use a fourth lane, during
peak periods, in a bid to beat congestion. The fourth lane is the
hard shoulder. Read More...