Carlos Tevez, a Manchester City football player has been charged with driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance.

Cheshire Police arrested him on the 8th March when the 29 year old player was caught driving in Macclesfield.

He has been given bail and is due to appear in court on 3rd April.

Footballers are very much in the spotlight and should set an example to their fans of all ages. Losing your licence as a player, I can imagine would be detrimental to your work life and social life, but nobody is above the law and we need to take responsibility for our actions.

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Plans to offer practical driving tests from fire stations were given the go ahead today by road safety minister Stephen Hammond.

Driving tests will be available from the Salford fire station in Greater Manchester every Tuesday and Thursday from 16 April. A number of other fire stations in the Manchester area could also offer tests in the future. All tests will be conducted by DSA examiners.

The move is part of an initiative to offer a more local service for driving test candidates. As well as using conventional test centres, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is working with public and private sector partners to provide driving tests in areas that don’t have a local test centre.

Practical driving tests are already available from some branches of Halfords, and earlier this month Nottingham Trent University also started hosting tests.

Hammond, said: “By working alongside Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service the Driving Standards Agency is ensuring people taking their driving test have access to a more convenient option.

“This partnership is a great example of how the public sector can work together to reduce costs and provide a better service.”
Chair of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority, councillor David Acton, said: “This is a really exciting partnership as GMFRS is the first fire service in the country to see its stations host driving tests.

“It’s an example of the Service’s innovative approach to road safety, because fire-fighters are called to road traffic collisions to cut people from the wreckage of cars and sadly many of them involve young drivers.”

Research has shown that many drivers are wearing inappropriate footwear and that fashion often outweighs practicality.

Women wearing high heels are risking the heel getting caught and both genders wearing certain shoes or boots with poor grip risk their foot slipping of the pedals when driving.

It is advised to keep a spare pair of shoes in the car for driving, ideally ones that can be fastened securely or laced up and ones that have good grip. Wearing a good pair of shoes is just as important as not drink driving, wearing your glasses or not texting on your phone, as correct footwear makes driving less hazardous.

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The debate over whether women are better drivers than men is likely to rage for a long time to come.

However, there is one area behind the wheel where they certainly appear to come out on top – although it’s nothing to be proud of.

According to a report, the fairer sex is more likely to swear while out on the road.

Researchers found that almost half (48 per cent) of women use foul language while at the wheel, compared with 40 per cent of men.

Breaking figures down to specific incidents, more than a third of women questioned said they swore when they were ‘cut up’ by another driver, compared to just over a quarter of men.

Those using satellite navigation devices, however, were the biggest culprits in the cursing league. The systems appear to frustrate and irritate drivers with more than half (55 per cent) of those who use one swearing while on the road.

The study, for Direct Line, revealed the younger generation were far more likely to use expletives than the older generation.

Over half (58 per cent) of those aged 20-29 swore when behind the wheel, compared with just 15 per cent of those aged 40-49.
Direct Line car insurance spokesman Simon Henrick said: ‘People often use bad language during times of stress and many normally mild mannered people use expletives to express their irritation when behind the wheel.

The concern is that the use of aggressive language and offensive gestures towards other motorists can escalate an already stressful situation and it can also quite feel intimidating for passengers in the vehicle.’

The study, which questioned 2,013 motorists, found acts most likely to cause swearing included drivers pulling out of junctions without leaving sufficient distance, drivers not signalling and motorists using their mobile phone while driving.

The only motoring incident that significantly upset men more than women is when a motorist uses the overtaking lane when not overtaking, with more than double the number of men (15 per cent) than women (7 per cent) admitting this makes them use foul language.

The rising level of noise in urban areas, especially traffic noise could see a decrease in the number of some species of songbirds.

Researchers from Canada surveyed 113 different sites and found that the number of species appeared to be lower in areas where noise levels were higher.

They suggest that noisy environments masked the sound of the bird song and if females could not hear the lower frequencies, potentially they would not mate and the number of offspring would decrease.

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The Toyota i-Road will be making its début at the Geneva motor show over the next few days and it looks set to tear up the personal mobility rulebook.

The compact, all-electric three-wheeler offers a supposedly comfortable enclosed cabin for two occupants and features ‘Active Lean’ technology that pitches the vehicle through corners like a scooter.
Click here

The zero emissions, near silent powertrain gives a range of 30 miles, with recharging from a conventional power supply taking just three hours.

The i-Road Concept aims to offer future commuters all the benefits of a scooter or motorcycle but with added comfort and safety as standard.

Toyota says: “People using this kind of vehicle want something that is more comfortable, offers better weather protection and is safer than a two-wheeler such as a scooter or motorcycle, but has similar benefits of low running costs, easy parking and around-town manoeuvrability.”

The little i-Road measures 2,350mm long, 1,445mm high and just 850mm wide, making it no wider than a standard two-wheeler. That means the driver can benefit from the ability to ‘filter’ through traffic, something the current Renault Twizy can’t do.

Thanks to the “Active Lean” technology, the driver never has to put his or her feet on the ground, meaning Toyota could create a much safer and waterproof shell for added comfort. The system uses a lean actuator and gearing mounted above the front suspension member, linked via a yoke to the left and right front wheels. An ECU calculates the required degree of lean based on steering angle, gyro-sensor and vehicle speed information, with the system automatically moving the wheels up and down in opposite directions, applying lean angle to counteract the centrifugal force of cornering.

The concept is just that for the time being but Toyota hopes that creations like this will play a significant role in reducing urban traffic congestion and air pollution.

For images, see here:

http://cars.aol.co.uk/2013/03/04/meet-toyota-s-three-wheeled-answer-to-personal-mobility/#photo-1

What do you think? Would you drive this unusual yet ground-breaking vehicle? Sound off in the comments section below!

Snow banked up on either side of a fast, icy, Russian road. A high-powered Audi speeds along driving at speeds of over 60mph. The driver…an eight year old girl!

Parents of an eight year old girl, posted a video online of their daughter driving. With mum sitting in the back of the car and dad occasionally griping the wheel to steady the car, both parents appeared pleased with their daughter’s achievements and at one point, the dad was persuading her to pick up her speed.

After posting the video online, they have been bombarded with criticism and the police are also investigating.

At the end of the video, the girl is seen leaving the car and picking up a windscreen wash container, which she used to reach the pedals.

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New signs to make drivers more aware of their speed have been unveiled in Suffolk.

The 10 temporary Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) and mobile signs are a joint effort between Suffolk County Council and Suffolk police.

The signs, which show the speed you’re travelling at, will be moved to locations across the county identified by Suffolk police, county and parish councillors as having the biggest impact.

The mobile tripod-mounted signs will be used by the community speedwatch groups for up to four weeks at a time. Officers have met with volunteers from 39 groups across the county to explain how the signs can be used, and some have already started using the kit.

In Waveney, the signs are being deployed in 24 locations around villages north of Lowestoft in a continuing bid to get motorists to think about how fast they are going through residential areas.

Thanks to volunteers from the local Community Speed Watch (CSW) team, the sign, nicknamed Sid (speed indicator device) by the team, is being moved around north Lowestoft – taking in Flixton, Somerleyton, Sands Lane in Oulton, Church Lane in Lound, Corton Long Lane and Lowestoft Road in Blundeston in the past week.

It will continue to be used in these parishes as well as in Bentley Drive, Higher Drive and Gorleston Road in north Lowestoft. The device will also soon be shared with teams in Reydon and Yoxford.

Louis Smith, local CSW co-ordinator, said: “Community Speed Watch in villages north of Lowestoft has now been running for three years with eight or nine volunteers carrying out regular checks at locations in the six parishes and ‘Sid’ is now complementing this work.”

PCSO Sue Kershaw, of the Lowestoft North Safer Neighbourhood Team who patrols villages north of the town, said: “Speed is the thing I get most complaints about when I’m out talking to people.”

Guy McGregor, cabinet member for roads and transport at Suffolk County Council, said: “Many people, including pedestrians, cyclists and horseriders, are anxious about the speeds of vehicles on local roads. I am confident that the signs will help to encourage drivers to slow down and will also reassure vulnerable road users.”

He said there were already VAS signs across the county, but mainly fixed ones, adding the mobile signs were for more impact and also gave additional responsibility to the speedwatch groups.

Tim Passmore, Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “Better road safety in Suffolk is a major priority of our new Police and Crime Plan.”

A finance company boss, who caused a crash back in May 2010 which left a passenger of another vehicle permanently disabled, has had his original sentence overturned.

Michael Berry avoided jail when it was claimed that due to his job, a jail sentence could mean the collapse of the company and potentially put 17 jobs at risk.

However, with the woman involved in the accident spending four months in hospital and needing to use crutches to walk, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision and ruled that Berry must serve 12 months in prison.

At the original trial he was given a fine of £50,000, a suspended 18 month jail term and a five year driving ban.

Sir Declan, sitting with Lord Justice Higgins and Mr Justice McCloskey in the Court Appeal said: “In our view there were no circumstances justifying the exceptional course of suspending the sentence of imprisonment in this case and accordingly we consider that the sentence was unduly lenient.”

The 12 month prison sentence will now take place of the suspended term and fine however, Mr Berry will still keep his five-year driving ban.

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Motorists in South Wales could be the first to lose their licences if they are found to have poor eyesight.

Police in the area will introduce random checks and ask motorists to read the number plate of a vehicle 20m away. Should they be unable to do this, their licence can be revoked within hours.

The DVLA and police work closely to enable licences to be revoked almost instantly. The changes come after a campaign to highlight the issue after a young girl was knocked down by a 87 year old driver who had refused to surrender his licence after he failed an on the spot eye tests days earlier.

Supt Steve Furnham, of South Wales Police said: Any vehicle in the hands of somebody who doesn’t have full control of it is a lethal weapon.

He hopes that the threat of losing your licence will prompt those with eyesight problems to address the issue.

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