Huge changes are being made to MOT rules - making it harder for some vehicles to pass

New MOT rules will be introduced 20th May 2018 making it harder for diesel cars to pass.

The vehicles are to be put through tougher emissions tests and faults rated in three defect categories -

• Dangerous - immediate risk to road safety / impact on environment
• Major - vehicle less safe, impacts environment, puts other road users at risk.
• Minor -  no significant effect on safety of the vehicle or impact on the environment.

Any car that has been fitted with a diesel particulate filter that give out "visible smoke of any colour" during tests will get a Major fault and also automatically fail. If the filter looks as if it's been removed or tampered (unless it can be proved it has been done so for filter cleaning) the car will also fail.

Neil Barlow, head of MOT policy for the Driver and Vehicles Standards Agency told Auto Express the new rules will "help motorists do the right thing".

He added: "We're changing the wording on the certificate. We've done a lot of research with motorists to find out what sort of information helps."

Steering is also to be looked at in the DVSA's new criteria.

A steering box leaking oil would get a Minor fault but if the oil was dripping badly it would be pushed up to Major and fail.

Reverse lights will be checked and brake discs also inspected to see if they are "significantly or obviously worn".

An RAC spokesman said they fear the changes could end up confusing motorists.

He said: "Rather than MOT failures simply being black and white, the new system creates the potential for confusion as testers will have to make a judgement as to whether faults are Dangerous, Major or Minor.

Motorists WILL be fined for driving above 70mph on 'smart' M1 - 24-hours-a-day

Traffic cops have warned Sheffield motorists that they will be issued with fines for travelling above the 70mph limit on the new smart M1, 24-hours-a-day.

The fines can be issued even where there is no variable speed limit in place on the motorway as police warn they are intent on 'catching speeders'.

The M1 in Sheffield, between junctions 32 and 35A, was officially converted into a 'smart' motorway in March last year, following months several of engineering. The work created an extra lane on the motorway by utilising hard shoulder being for traffic.

Traffic flow on the smart motorway is controlled by overhead gantries which change speed from the national limit down to 30mph if there's traffic ahead.

Highways England says the changes will reduce delays on the 18-mile stretch of motorway, which is used by more than 110,000 vehicles each day.

Darren Roberts, manager of the Casualty Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST) for Derbyshire Police said prosecuting more people will held to stop speeders.

He said: "The cameras are not there to generate money “

The standard fine for being caught speeding is £100 and three points.

For more on this story please visit thestar

Mum makes fake road camera to tackle speeding cars

A mum has erected a fake speed camera because she was worried about the threat to her children's safety from speeding cars.

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, told the BBC: "The speed limit here is 30mph but we have cars and lorries speeding through here all the time."

She added: "We looked at what people had done in other villages with the same problem and realised that if it's on private land it's not illegal."

France cuts speed limit on roads after alarming rise in deaths

The French government has said it will lower the speed limit on two-lane highways to 80km/h (50mph) from 90km/h, in an attempt to reverse an alarming rise in road deaths.

Highway deaths reached nearly 3,500 in 2016, with about 55% of those deaths (1,911 victims) occurred on the 400,000km of so-called secondary roads across France, two-lane routes with no separating guardrail.

The government says the lower speed limit could save 350 to 400 lives a year.

“Unsafe roads are not inevitable,” prime minister Edouard Philippe said after a meeting of the government’s road safety council.

“Lowering speeds reduces the number of accidents, as well as the severity of these accidents,” he said.

The government also plans to crack down on the use of cellphones while driving. Police can now suspend a licence if the driver is found to have broken other laws while using a phone that could “endanger his own security or that of someone else”.

To read more details on this story please visit:  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/10/france-cuts-speed-limit-rise-deaths