14th Jun 2018 7 mins 11 Car Safety Systems Set To Become Mandatory The European Union are on a mission to stop all road deaths. Yes, you read that correctly. What on the surface seems like wild optimism has is in fact been strategized and last month a plan titled Vision Zero was unveiled to the world. Its remit is simple in theory if not reality, to achieve ‘close to zero fatalities and serious injuries’ on highways across the continent. As if to complicate matters the powers that be have given themselves a mere 30 years to realise the ambition.
1st Jun 2018 5 mins What Car Sells The Most In Which Country End of year reports go some way to revealing just how well (or poorly) a car manufacturer has performed. Sometimes however raw sales do not tell the whole story. Far from it. Indeed greater insight is often found in assessing what sold where. Geography has long played a significant role in the motoring industry, with certain countries boasting certain favourites. And clear preference can shape strategy.
30th May 2018 3 mins Could 50mph Speed Limits Become More Common? The Welsh government have announced plans to introduce 50mph speed limits on five stretches of motorway from June. New speed cameras will be installed in a bid to tackle harmful Nitrogen Dioxide emissions that pollution critics believe have been swept under the carpet in recent times. The announcement has received mixed reviews to put it kindly and ignited fierce debate nationwide.
21st May 2018 6 mins Is The EZ-GO The Future of Taxis? At the 2018 Geneva Motor Show Renault revealed a concept car detailing their vision of how ride hailing services would operate in the not too distant future – the EZ-GO. The EZ-GO is an electrically powered, level 4 autonomous vehicle, meaning it will operate independently of a driver. It will certainly need that ability as one of the most obvious features missing from the vehicle is a drivers seat - as well as basic controls like a steering wheel and pedals.
18th May 2018 5 mins What Is Left Foot Braking? Left foot braking is a driving technique that can be used with all different types of transmissions to varying degrees - but is it something that should be employed often, or even at all? Assuming you learnt to drive in a car with a manual transmission, your driving instructor would have taught you to use your right foot for the accelerator and brake while your left was for the clutch. Alternatively, if learning in an automatic it’s very likely your right did everything while your left foot did nothing.
4th May 2018 3 mins The Future of Roads - Smart Motorways The very first smart motorway was implemented on the M42 east of Birmingham back in 2006. This pilot programme examined the effects of using monitoring technology to manage and enhance traffic flow efficiency, instead of committing to road widening construction programmes. The data gathered by that first scheme ascertained that journey reliability on Smart motorways could be improved by 22%, and also that the number of accidents that resulted in injury was reduced by half while their severity was also significantly reduced.
3rd May 2018 4 mins World Car of The Year - British Design Wins Again The prestigious World Car Awards were held in New York earlier this month, shining a light on the best the automotive industry had to offer in 2017/18. Recognised as the leading ceremony of its kind the WCA’s are bestowed on the say so of storied writers from all corners of the globe.
2nd May 2018 3 mins Who's Restoring The Classic Car Industry? The classic car industry is worth a staggering £5.5 billion to the UK economy but is now faced with the very real prospect of extinction. Indeed of the 34,900 people believed to work within the sector an average age of 42 hints at, or more accurately screams at, a precarious disconnect amongst today’s youth. Strident efforts are predictably being made to breathe new life into the restoration of vintage vehicles and by extension pique the interest of a whole new generation. They’re needed.