Monthly Archives: July 2008

July 25, 2008
Tailgaters endanger the safe driver

Tailgaters are people, who drive too close to other cars, normally wanting to overtake, cause disruption or make the driver in front speed up. According to national figures, tailgaters are twice as likely to follow safe drivers who stick at the speed limit.

Tailgaters are responsible for around 10,000 road accidents per year in Britain alone! The study undertaken also revealed that 90 percent of drivers were being followed too closely when they observed the Highway Code.

The tailgaters use bullying tactics and unfortunately, their targets are usually safe drivers who are parents with small children, the elderly and disabled.

When one is tailgated, the heart rate increases and this causes stress, which is not good when driving. This stress is even more likely to cause the accident.

Tailgating has also been named as the most annoying habit on the road deeming it the worst offence especially for a safe driver.

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July 21, 2008
Police Driving incidents on the increase

Many accidents per year are caused by wreck less and careless driving. Drink driving is an obvious main component but many accidents are also caused by tiredness, eating whilst driving, speaking on the mobile and other activities that take drivers hundred percent concentrations off the road.

When these accidents occur, the prime thing that happens is the Emergency services are called. As it is an emergency, the services will arrive as soon as they can to the incident spot. As they are in a hurry, Police often cut lights, put their own blue flashing lights onto warn others and drive at very high speed. They also are allowed to drive through traffic and travel in the hard shoulder on motorways.

The driving the Police carry out in these situations often lead to further accidents. Although the Police drivers have been specifically trained to arrive promptly and drive appropriately, they still sometimes cause accidents.

The accidents the Police create result in whiplash, broken bones and in some cases death. Figures released by Parliament reveal that the number of car accidents involving Police have increased thirty percent in a year.

It is clear that Police drivers have to maintain a high standard due to the nature of their work. It is the responsibility of all other drivers to behave responsibly when they see or hear a emergency service approach if they do not or are caught at the wrong time when Police are responding to emergencies then there are some severe consequences. Take care when you see an emergency patrol approaching, ensuring your own safety, your passengers and fellow drivers. Drive Safe!

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July 16, 2008
Driving Test Scam exposed!

The BBC has recently uncovered one of the biggest driving test frauds. The scam involves fraudsters taking practical driving tests for people who have paid them up to £500 to do so. The process involves the scammer to pass himself or herself off as the person in the provisional photocard.

The DSA described the problem as a very serious one. Andy Rice head of the DSA’s fraud team said “It is quite common for these people to take up to 100, sometimes over 200 tests before they are caught and arrested”.

This is a very serious problem and potentially dangerous. With people trying to cheat the system, there are so many people who are likely to have a vehicle collision. The AA recently released a post that stated that people who hadn’t took the test themselves were 9 times more likely to have an accident, which will probably be a serious one.

Britannia Driving School will not condone any cheating people and are aware that it is vital you take and pass your own driving practical test. For further information, please see our driving information pages.

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July 12, 2008
Rubbish Petrol! (Petrol made from rubbish..!)

It might sound ridiculous but British inventors have just launched an idea to create petrol from household rubbish! The chemical company – Ineos stated that it had now patented a method of producing vehicle fuel from waste, such as city waste, agricultural and organic waste.

They have named the fuel – ethanol and apparently one tonne of dry waste can produce 400 litres of the energy. It might sound like a tough idea but in fact it is quite simple – the new process works by heating the waste to produce gases, then feeding the gases to bacteria, which produce ethanol that can be purified into a fuel.
The launch date for this product is set for 2010. This comes as a relief as motorists have watched petrol prices soar on an average of 133.3p per litre of diesel.

Biofuels are backed fully by the governments as one of the key conducts to decrease carbon dioxide emissions.

The invention process for this new biofuel had started 20 years ago and now is finally ready to be brought into the public market. When the fuel is made in an industrial scale, Ineos will launch the product in the United States, Canada and Europe first.
Inenos expect at least 10 per cent of North America and Europe’s petrol use to be replaced with bioethanol.

This is certainly an idea that is revolutionary that will cut fuel costs and gas emissions. It looks clear that many of us will use rubbish to fuel our vehicles in the years to come!

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July 8, 2008
The New sophistication of the Sat Nav

The Sat Nav already can be considered as a sophisticated driving device, but now there are plans to better the aid completely by adding a special feature. This characteristic will warn drivers when they are travelling on the most dangerous roads in Britain. This will be programmed into the satellite device so that drivers can become aware when they stray onto a road of this kind.
The feature will warn drivers about roads such as a route in the Peak District between Macclesfield, in Cheshire, and Buxton, in Derbyshire. It will work by high rate collision statistics. For example, the A537, also known as the Cat and Fiddle will be included, which is only an 8-mile stretch but has had 21 fatal or serious collisions on it from 2004 to 2006.
The government is backing the plans and believes that this will help drivers to take extra safety precautions when travelling on dangerous roads.

This new sat nav will be tested this year and hopefully be available next summer. The device will speak to the user and state “You are entering a high-risk area. Please be careful’.”

In conclusion, the tool will help to decrease the current accident statistics that are found on dangerous roads. The devices are set to be reasonably priced and available in all good car accessory shops and super stores.

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July 4, 2008
£5 million insurance claim!

Through the past four years, deceptive motor insurance claims have increased by a massive 70%. It is true to say that the car insurance field is the highest targeted by fraudsters at present. The Association of British Insurers has recently announced that the British are submitting dishonest motor claims of up to £5 million a week!

Four years ago, insurance companies identified 14,000 people who had made false motor insurance claims. Last year the number stood at 24,000 and has further increased this year.

The motor insurance companies have concluded that because of the credit crunch, families in particular are forced to take desperate measures and this certain dishonesty is just one way they choose.

Motor insurance swindles add about £40 a year to the premiums of law-abiding drivers.

As for insurance fraud as a whole, which includes motor, household, travel and liability cover, insurance firms uncovered a total of 91,000 fraudulent claims last year, amounting to £557 million. Four years ago, the figure was £263 million.

Insurance should only be used when it is a genuine claim, so it helps with your insurance annual costs and overall will help you to be a more honest person, which is always highly regarded.

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