NEW Apple Software Feature ‘do not disturb while driving’

Apple has announced that its next iPhone software update will feature a ‘do not disturb while driving’ mode.

The iOS 11 update due out later this year, will provide all iPhones with the function, which is designed to address the dangers associated with smartphones and distraction.

The software will be able to sense when a person is driving, and when activated will block notifications from calls and texts as well as social media. The user won't even be able to access the phone’s homescreen to open apps.

The driver will be able to set a personalised automatic text response to notify anyone attempting to make contact that they’re currently behind the wheel.

The new feature will assume a person is driving if their phone is connected to the car via Bluetooth. Alternatively, it will use a phone's WiFi antenna to sense when it’s moving at car speeds.

Passengers will be able to override the feature by turning on the screen with the iPhone power button and then clicking on a button marked ‘I'm not driving’.

Once the update has taken place, Apple will prompt drivers to use the new feature on the first occasion that they drive with an iOS 11-powered iPhone.


The move has been welcomed by the RAC, who are encouraging motorists through their campaign  #BePhoneSmart to make a personal pledge to not use their handheld phone while driving.

It has also been welcomed by Brake, who describes mobile phone use behind the wheel as a 'growing menace'.

Source: roadsafetygb

Call for drink-drive limit to be cut

councils and fire authorities have urged that the legal drink-drive limit should be lowered in England and Wales in order to cut alcohol-related accidents. A lower limit would also save £300 million a year by reducing the number of 999 responses and hospital admissions


The request is for the current limit of 80mg to be lowered to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
The Scottish Government reduced its legal limit for drivers to 50mg in December 2014 and Northern Ireland will also soon drop its limit to the same level, and even lower for professional and learner drivers.

The LGA said it was estimated that lowering the limit in England and Wales could save up to 170 lives in the first year, rising to more than 300 lives in the sixth year.

New provisional government figures show that reported "serious" drink-drive accidents between 2014 and 2015 in Great Britain had risen from 880 to 980, an increase of 11 per cent, while total reported drink-drive accidents had increased by 2 per cent from 5,620 to 5,740.

The same figures showed the number of people seriously injured in reported drink-drive accidents between 2014 and 2015 had risen from 1,070 to 1,170, an increase of 9 per cent, while the total number of drink-drive casualties had increased by 3 per cent from 8,210 to 8,480.

The organisations said England and Wales had one of the highest drink-drive limits in the world and the highest in Europe, with the exception of Malta, which has also announced plans to lower its limit to 50mg.

Simon Blackburn, chairman of the LGA's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: "England and Wales will soon have the highest drink-drive limit in Europe, which is not sending the right message to motorists and safety campaigners.

"Latest figures show that alcohol has contributed to a rise in both the number of road accidents and those injured in the UK.

"The Government should be leading by example by toughening up drink-drive laws in line with other European countries which will make roads safer and save lives. In Scotland alone, adopting a lower alcohol limit has led to a significant fall in fatal road accidents.

"A lower alcohol limit would help to deter motorists from drinking at all before getting behind the wheel and encourage them to have 'none for the road'."

 Source http://www.independent.co.uk

New roadside test will identify tired drivers

The health services provider Austin Health and the Institute for Breathing and Sleep joined together to develop a roadside test that will identify tired drivers, and keep them off the road. 

The result of the collaboration was ‘smart glasses’  - they track eye movements and measure the length of blinks. The researchers hope the product will help police ‘dramatically reduce fatigue-related road death’.

As part of the project, researchers studied drowsiness in night-shift workers during driving tests and found a tenfold increase in ‘microsleeps' and double the number of lane crossings. They also found drivers struggled to keep their eyes open and had more trouble staying in the middle of a lane.

The researchers believe the technology could hold the key to changing driver behaviour toward getting behind-the-wheel while tired, in the same way the breathalyser changed attitudes towards drink-driving.

DtT figures show that during 2015, fatigue was recorded by police as a contributory factor in 4% of fatal accidents and 2% of serious injury accidents in the UK.

However, the UK’s Road Safety Observatory suggests that sleep-related collisions are under-reported and in fact are more likely to account for 16% to 20% of all collisions.

 

- See more at Source : http://www.roadsafetygb.org.uk

Four year MOT exemption for new cars proposed

The amount of time that new cars are allowed on Britain's roads before requiring an MOT could rise from three to four years, under government proposals. The change could be in effect from 2018 after a public consultation.
Northern Ireland and many European nations already have such an exemption. The Department for Transport said safer technology and improved manufacturing means new vehicles stay roadworthy for longer.

It cites figures showing the annual number of three and four-year-old cars involved in accidents where a vehicle defect was said to be a contributory factor has fallen from 155 in 2006 to 57 in 2015.

MOTs were first introduced in 1960 for vehicles more than 10 years old, with the exemption period dropping just 7 years later to three years.

Vehicles must currently undergo the test on the third anniversary of their registration and every 12 months once more than three-years-old. This requirement excludes cars and motorcycles made before 1960, goods vehicles powered by electricity and tractors.

A number of parts are checked during the MOT test to ensure vehicles meet legal standards, including lights, seatbelts, tyres and brakes, and emission levels are also examined.

More than 2.2 million cars each year require a first test, at a maximum cost of £54.85, with motorists facing a fine of up to £1,000 for driving a vehicle without a valid MOT.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: "We have some of the safest roads in the world and MOT tests play an important role in ensuring the standard of vehicles on our roads.

"New vehicles are much safer than they were 50 years ago and so it is only right we bring the MOT test up to date to help save motorists money where we can."
In November, a poll for the AA of more than 19,000 drivers suggested 44% were in favour of MOTs after four years, while 26% were opposed, and a third did not have a view either way.

Commenting on the proposals, AA president Edmund King said: "The benefits are that there will be cost and time savings for drivers, whilst the downside is that we are likely to see some more cars with faulty tyres and lights slipping through the net."

www.radar-detectors.co.uk

How would you treat a driverless car?

Scenario: Say you're driving down a two-way street and there's a vehicle parked in the opposite lane. The oncoming traffic therefore needs to pull out into your lane to overtake.

What do you do?
Many of us just drive on as we have right of way. But eventually one of us feels charitable and slows down to allow the oncoming car to overtake, giving permission with a quick flash of headlights or a beckoning wave.

Now consider if this oncoming car was a driverless or autonomous vehicle (AV)?
would it be able to understand what you mean when you flash your lights or frantically wave your hands?

Its sensors could decide that it's only safe to overtake when there's no oncoming traffic at all. which on a busy road this may be never, leading to increasingly exasperated passengers and increasingly angry drivers queuing behind.

These safety-first robot cars could become victims of their own politeness and end up being bullied and ignored by aggressive, impatient humans.

This, at any rate, is one of the conclusions to be drawn from research carried out by Dr Chris Tennant of the psychological and behavioural science department at the London School of Economics.

His Europe-wide survey, commissioned by tyre-maker Goodyear, finds that nearly two-thirds of drivers think machines won't have enough commonsense to interact with human drivers.

And more than two-fifths think a robot car would remain stuck behind our hypothetical parked lorry for a long time.

Robot v. human

Driving isn't just about technology and engineering, it's about human interactions and psychology.

"The road is a social space," as Carlos Cipolitti, general director of the Goodyear Innovation Centre in Luxembourg, puts it.

And it is this social aspect that makes many people sceptical about driverless cars.

"If you view the road as a social space, you will consciously negotiate your journey with other drivers. People who like that negotiation process appear to feel less comfortable engaging with AVs than with human drivers," says Mr Tennant in his report.

Of course, humans are always sceptical about new technologies of which they have little experience. That scepticism usually diminishes with usage, however.

And even many sceptics accept that emotionless AVs could cause fewer accidents than we humans, with our propensity to road rage, tiredness and lack of concentration.

A statistic often used out is that human error is responsible for more than 90% of accidents.

But 70% of the 12,000 people Mr Tennant and his team interviewed agreed that: "As a point of principle, humans should be in control of their vehicles."

An an even greater proportion - 80% - thought an autonomous vehicle should always have a steering wheel.

AV pioneer Google - which aims to develop cars without steering wheels - reckons it can meet most of these real-world challenges.

It has already filed patent requests for tech that it claims will be able to identify aggressive or reckless driving and respond to it; and recognise and react to the flashing lights of police cars and emergency services.

In time then, it may well be able to programme its cars to recognise the different meanings of headlight flashes, and interpret the intentions of human drivers by their behaviour.

In the latest Google self-driving car project monthly report, head honcho Dmitri Dolgov says: "Over the last year, we've learned that being a good driver is more than just knowing how to safely navigate around people, [it's also about] knowing how to interact with them."

These interactions are "a delicate social dance", he writes, claiming that Google cars can now "often mimic these social behaviours and communicate our intentions to other drivers, while reading many cues that tell us if we're able to pass, cut in or merge."

Google's test cars have now racked up more than two million fully-autonomous miles of driving on public roads in California, Arizona, Texas and Washington, reporting a handful of minor accidents to the Californian authorities.

Interestingly, quite a few of these accidents have involved human-driven vehicles going into the back of the Google cars, suggesting perhaps that the ultra-cautious robots, with safety as their first priority, are more timid in their approach than we're used to.

Mr Dolgov admits that the self-driving software is not yet ready for commercial release.

Source: BBC

Drivers caught using phones for first time now face points

Under new government plans drivers in England, Scotland and Wales caught using a mobile phone for the first time will automatically receive penalty points.
Previously, motorists in some police force areas could avoid points by taking a remedial driving course. However ministers believe it is not a tough enough measure to deter people from using a hand-held phone while driving.

They have also confirmed plans to raise fines for offences from £100 to £200 and penalty points from three to six.

The scrapping of the driving course option is among several measures announced in a government response to a consultation on punishments for drivers caught using hand-held phones.
The government first announced that it was going to increase fines and double penalty points in September.

The new measures, which are due to take effect next year, follow the jailing last month of lorry driver Tomasz Kroker, who killed a mother and three children while distracted by his phone.

Fine numbers plummet

The number of fines issued for motorists caught using a mobile phone illegally has plummeted by 84% since 2011.

Some 16,900 drivers were handed fixed-penalty notices in England and Wales last year, compared with 123,100 in 2011, Home Office data shows.

Motoring groups believe the decline is due to a 27% fall in the number of full-time dedicated roads policing officers in England and Wales (excluding London) between 2010 and 2015.

Department for Transport figures show that a driver being impaired or distracted by their phone had been a contributory factor in 440 accidents in Britain last year, including 22 which were fatal and 75 classed as serious.

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: "By ruling out courses and doubling the fine, ministers are reflecting public concern and showing they want to stamp out a potentially lethal activity before it becomes entrenched behaviour for a growing number of drivers."

The measures will not affect Northern Ireland, where drivers are currently given three penalty points and a £60 fine for the offence.

The Department for Infrastructure has said there are no plans to change this, but it "will continue to monitor changes being made in Britain to see what can be learned".

Source BBC

Death crash driver who drove at 95mph in 30mph zone jailed for 12 years

Matthew Scrimshaw killed a woman while speeding at up to 95mph in a 30mph zone has been jailed for 12 years.

The 37 year old was driving on the wrong side of the road when he hit Iris Higginson, 67, in December 2014. Scrimshaw was also 1.75 times over the blood alcohol limit.

The judge said it was the longest sentence he had passed for death by dangerous driving in a 30-year career

Nottinghamshire Police

Ahead of the crash Scrimshaw's Audi TT was captured on CCTV on Mansfield Road, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, at speeds of 88mph and 95mph, the trial heard.

Mrs Higginson who "had been doing absolutely nothing wrong" died at the scene when her Vauxhall Corsa was hit almost head on.

Scrimshaw made no attempt to comfort her, help her or call the police and left the scene to hide the fact he had been drinking, the prosecution said.

Judge Michael Stokes, who also banned Scrimshaw from driving for 15 years, said: "I have had to deal with some appalling cases involving extremely dangerous driving, but I cannot recall a case of a defendant who has demonstrated such an overriding contempt for the law and for the feelings of other people."

Scrimshaw was also found guilty of causing serious injuries by dangerous driving in relation to a friend who was a passenger in his car. He suffered a broken jaw and foot.


Speaking outside court, Ms Higginson's daughter-in-law Pauline Hotchkiss described her as "a wonderful lady".

She said the family had received justice "but we will not get over" the death of the great-grandmother.

A decision was taken not to proceed on charges of failing to stop at an accident, driving with excess alcohol and failing to report an accident.

Det Sgt James Greely, of Nottinghamshire Police, said it was some of "the worst driving I have ever investigated".

Can you drive your car after an MOT fail if the old test hasn’t expired?

Can you drive your car after an MOT fail if the old test hasn’t expired?

There is a lot of speculation around this topic online, some sites claim that drivers are within their rights to continue using a car with an in-date MOT certificate, even a tester has since deemed it unroadworthy.

The government has updated its guidelines warning motorists that they face prosecution if they drive their car following an MOT failure – even if its previous test hasn’t expired.

“You must not drive the vehicle on the road if it fails the test, even if the MOT hasn’t run out.”
It adds that the only exceptions are to drive to have the defects fixed, or to a pre-booked MOT appointment.

If you’re caught driving a car in a dangerous condition, you could face a fine of up to £2,500, a driving ban and three penalty points.

Source: http://www.motoringresearch.com

Stop a Douchebag

We have come across something quite interesting through "anonymous" about an issue in Russia where people are driving on pavements to avoid traffic.  A small group of people have come up with a great way to combat this problem 

On sidewalks and footpaths, the brave young protagonists stand in the way of bad drivers, politely ask them to head back to the road and if they refuse, plaster a hard-to-peel-off sticker (which proclaims in Russian: I Spit on Everybody, I Drive/Park However I Want) on the windshield, right in front of the driver’s seat.

"Stop a Douchebag" - is a Russian youth movement that attempts to enforce the road traffic regulations in Russia.

To read in more detail please visit the anonymous site

The Movement's channel on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/stopxamlive

 

Teenager becomes first to pass UK driving test using a sat nav

Credit: SWNS

Grant Ferguson, 17, has become the first person in the UK to pass his driving test – using a sat nav.

His local driving test centre was chosen as one of 20 in the UK to trial the revised practical exam with the help of a GPS navigation system.

The examiner set up a route on the device for the first twenty minutes of the test and Grant followed the sat nav verbal instructions - with the instructor still in the vehicle.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) expects 1000 learner drivers will take part in the revised tests which are set to continue until the end of the year. If successful, it could be the biggest shake up of the test in almost 20 years! the last big change was when the written theory exam was introduced in 1996.

Grant Said:

"I had been learning to drive for about a month when the opportunity came up to try out the new test. I felt like I was part of an important change. I'll definitely be buying a sat nav because that's what I know and it gives you a bit of freedom to go where you want.
I was a bit relieved that I didn't have to do the reverse around the corner in the test."

 

The changes could see the three-point turn and reversing round a corner scrapped. These will be replaced with more commonplace manoeuvres such as reversing out of a parking bay.

The DVSA say that candidates will also be asked safety questions while on the move, instead of at the start, and asked to operate switches such as screen heaters.

Motoring groups have urged caution in removing manoeuvres like a three-point turn,saying it can be essential if sat navs lead drivers down a dead end road.

What do you think? would this be a good permanent change, should tests just be made longer to include more rather than scrapping other useful things? alternatively should the range of things you could be asked to do increase to at least ensure the manouvres are learnt?

Have your say below

Tougher sentences for disqualified drivers

Brake has congratulated the Government on delivering tougher sentences for disqualified drivers as part of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act, which came into force on Monday, April 13).

Under the new rules anyone convicted of causing death by driving while disqualified will face a maximum of 10 years in prison, up from only two years previously.

There is also a new offence that has been created "causing serious injury by driving while disqualified" anyone convicted of this offence will face up to four years in prison.

Ed Morrow, campaigns officer for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “This is an important day for everybody involved in campaigning for better justice for victims of criminal driving.

“Getting behind the wheel when a court has already found you to be a danger on the road, and has disqualified you from doing so, is one of the most selfish decision you can make as a driver.

“It is entirely right that maximum sentences are being increased, and we hope that judges will make use of them where appropriate.

“This is a good first step to securing better justice for victims and families, many of whom have been left feeling betrayed by inappropriate charges and paltry sentences.”

The road safety charity says that there are a number of other urgent issues with how the justice system handles cases of criminal driving, and it will be pressuring whoever forms the next Government to follow the current Ministry of Justice review through to a satisfactory conclusion.

Source Fleet News

Plans For Super Highway Means Ultimate Road Trip Could Be Possible From Britain To USA

A 12,400 mile super highway is being proposed that would take you from Britain to America in what would be the ultimate road trip.

The idea has been put forward as a way to improve Russia's tourism, with the hope that people would be more willing to travel through the country having a much more desired destination at the end, like the States.

The Siberian Times report that the route would be based on The Trans-Sibera Railway, going through cities like Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk and Vladivostok. Not exactly most sought after tourist locations it must be admitted.

Head of Russian Academy of Science says that the project is 'ambitious and very expensive' and that it not only gives the chance to improve roads in the country, but also the railway.

"It will solve many problems in the development of the vast region. It is connected with social programs, and new fields, new energy resources, and so on. The idea is that basing on the new technology of high-speed rail transport we can build a new railway near the Trans-Siberian Railway, with the opportunity to go to Chukotka and Bering Strait and then to the American continent." Vladimir Fortov, the Head of the Russian Academy of Science

The real selling point for the rest of the world, is that you could theoretically travel, by car, from Britain via the Channel Tunnel and then all the way to the USA.

With it being 12,400 miles, it could take more than 200 hours to get over there, and that is probably only as far as Alaska. However, you'd just have to make a road trip as epic as that.

Source

Warning over drug-driving law and prescribed medication

People who have been prescribed powerful anxiety or pain relief drugs are being warned about a new drug-driving law.

The new legislation will includes some prescription medicines.The limit levels for which are set above  prescribed doses so most patients should still be safe to drive. Those who are unsure are advised to seek the advice of a pharmacist.

The new law, was introduced 2 March 2015 in England and Wales, aims to catch those who put the lives of others at risk while driving under the influence of drugs.

It sets very low levels for eight well known illegal drugs, including cannabis and cocaine, but also includes eight prescription drugs, where the levels have been set much higher.

Prescription drugs covered by the new law

• Clonazepam (seizures or panic disorder)
• Diazepam (anxiety disorders, alcohol withdrawal symptoms or muscle spasms)
• Flunitrazepam (AKA Rohypnol is a sedative) 
• Lorazepam (convulsions or seizures caused by epilepsy)
• Oxazepam (relieve anxiety, including anxiety caused by alcohol withdrawal)
• Temazepam ( insomnia problems)
• Methadone (heroin addiction and for pain relief)
• Morphine (moderate to severe pain)

Robert Goodwill MP, Road Safety Minister, says as long as they stay within prescribed levels, most people will still be able to get behind the wheel of a car.

"If you are taking your medicine as directed and your driving is not impaired, then you are not breaking the law and there is no need to worry," he said.

"We advise anyone who is unsure about the effects of their medication or how the new legislation may affect them, to seek the advice of their doctor or pharmacist.

"There will also be a medical defence if a driver has been taking medication as directed and is found to be over the limit but not impaired.

"Drivers who are taking prescribed medication at high doses [are advised] to carry evidence with them, such as prescriptions slips, when driving in order to minimise any inconvenience should they be asked to take a test by the police."

Ed Morrow, campaigns officer for road safety charity Brake said the organisation strongly welcomed the new drug-diving law.

"This much-needed progressive move by government will make it much easier for police to deal with illegal drug-drivers," he said.

"We are confident that the necessary measures are in place to ensure drivers who take prescription medication are not unfairly penalised.

"However, many prescription medications can have a negative effect on your ability to drive safely, and there is a worrying lack of awareness of this among the public."

UK Driving Licences to Display Union Flag

The Government today announced plans to play the patriotic card by adding a Union Flag to all new UK driving licence photo cards in the near future.

The move was announced by transport minister Claire Perry who explained the thinking behind it. “People in this country rightly take pride in our national flag which is why I am delighted it will now be displayed on British driving licences.

“Celebrating Britain strengthens our sense of national identity and our unity. I will feel proud to carry my new licence and I hope others will too.”

Accompanying the announcement came an image revealing how the new driving licence photo card "could look". The picture shows a photo card complete with Union Flag in addition to the European Union flag which already appears on UK driving licences. The Union Flag is set to find its way on to all new driving licences issued in England, Scotland and Wales from an as yet unspecified date in the not too distant future.

The Union Flag's arrival on licences comes hot on the heals of other more impactful announcements affecting UK motorists. The tax disc met its end on October 1st 2014 while the DVLA announced a drop in driving licence fees later that month. The paper counterpart to the UK licence is also set to be phased out on June 8th 2015.

French Police Watching British Drivers

The A64 marks the final stretch before reaching their holiday destinations in France. Most are in a hurry to get the holiday started and going a little faster than they should. French police say many foreign drivers break the speed limit because they think they can avoid a fine. EU figures from last year show that foreign drivers make up 5% of road traffic but account for 15% of speeding offences in the 28-nation bloc.

New EU legislation came in to force November last year that was aimed at tackling that anomaly. The legislation means member states can exchange data on motoring offences, to track down guilty drivers. So if a French camera catches a Spanish motorist speeding, that driver will still have to pay a fine in Spain (provided the driver is the owner of the vehicle) The UK and some others however opted out of the EU directive. This means the only way UK motorists can be sanctioned on French roads is if they are caught in the act by the police and made to pay on-the-spot fines.

There is a 32-strong special division of the gendarmerie that is equipped with special binoculars that can calculate speeds. They watch discreetly, about a kilometre before a toll booth, on a section of the A64 where the speed limit is 110km/h (68 mph). French motorists are given a fine that they can pay at a later date, but foreign drivers are in for a surprise. They have to pay cash up on the spot (the fine can be up to 375 euros (£323), If they don't have any money on them and they are on their own, they will be driven to the nearest cash point. If they really have no money at all, then an on-duty judge will be called to decide what to do. But that can mean waiting around for up to three days and the car will not be allowed to move.

• There are a variety of things that you can also be fined for including speeding
• Maximum speed on motorway is 130km/h (80 mph)
• On-the-spot fine of 90 euros if driver goes up to 40km/h over limit
• If speed breaks limit by more than 40km/h, police can seize car and demand 750-euro fine
• Driver must have a reflective jacket and warning triangle in car - fine can be 90 euros if either is missing
• In-car radar detectors are illegal
• law to carry one unused breath test see here for more information

Pretending not to speak French will not help drivers. The police quite often have a very adequate level of English. British police sometimes even join their French counterparts on missions in northern France, though they do not have the authority to issue fines on French territory.

The UK government are staying out of the new EU data exchange for several reasons. It is not happy that the directive means exchanging vehicle owner information, rather than driver information - and often, it argues, the offending driver does not own the vehicle.

The UK government also says fines are a poor deterrent for bad driving, compared with points on a driving licence, or the threat of losing a licence altogether. And the government wants to assess the cost of setting up the EU-wide data exchange system before joining in.

Sources: BBC, Sunday Times