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Posts Tagged ‘Brake’

Annual Road Sense campaign announced

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

The country’s number one car rental site has announced that it will be joined by road charity Brake in this year’s launch of the Road Sense campaign. An annual event organised by Carrentals.co.uk, the scheme aims to make motorists more aware of a particular area of road safety. This time it is aiming to encourage drivers to be more vigilant about checking the quality of their tyres and brakes.

Carrentals.co.uk boss, Gareth Robinson, explained: “During the winter, when UK roads are icy and dangerous, we want people to be sure to get their tyres and brakes inspected. By doing so we can all help to have a positive impact on the number of accidents on UK roads this year.”

The website is hoping that drivers will be encouraged to look after the maintenance of their vehicles at a time when families are still struggling with tight budgets. Brake is concerned about the number of accidents and deaths on the UK roads which involve younger motorists.

The charity’s director, Katie Shepherd, said: “It is an honour to partner with Carrentals.co.uk this year on the new Road Sense campaign. With Road Safety Week taking place in the UK Brake wants to encourage people to consider the safety of other road users, get their cars checked out regularly and to ‘have a heart at the wheel’.”

Mr Robinson added: “Brake and ourselves both have a common goal within the Road Sense campaign, that of lowering the number of serious accidents on UK roads.”

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12 point driving ban not being applied

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Research conducted by a driving charity and an insurance company has revealed that a quarter of all drivers who have accumulated 12 points, or in some cases a great many more, are still being permitted to take to the roads. According to Direct Line Insurance and Brake, one driver is still getting behind the wheel with 32 points.

Any motorist managing to accrue 12 points should, in theory, be banned from using a vehicle for at least six months. However, exceptions are made if a driver can prove that losing their license would result in what is termed ‘exceptional hardship’. This could be the loss of a job, or a partner walking out etc.

According to official figures, 10,072 drivers currently on the road have managed to evade a ban by persuading a judge that their lives would be damaged if they could no longer use a vehicle.

Julie Townsend, campaigns director at the charity Brake, has called on the government to take the situation seriously. She said that the points system was in place for a reason and that it was shocking that so many who should no longer hold a license still do. She explained that drivers allowed to get away with multiple offences were a danger to other motorists and the general public.

Direct Line’s pricing and underwriting director Andy Goldby said the wrong message was being sent out by allowing so many motorists to flout the law. He added that the ‘exceptional hardships’ people were claiming didn’t appear to be all that exceptional at all.

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Increase in motorway speed limit to be considered

Friday, September 30th, 2011

The government is to look at proposals by the Department for Transport to raise the legal speed limit on motorways in England and Wales to 80mph. According to Philip Hammond, secretary for transport, the 70mph restrictions which were introduced in 1965 have become outdated. He said that advances in technology and safety meant that the number of people killed on the roads in Britain had been reduced by 75 per cent since the 70mph limit was first introduced.

According the DfT, the speed limit should also be reviewed in light of the fact that nearly half of all drivers admit to pushing past 70mph on the motorway. However, safety charity Brake has said it will not support any policy which could potentially endanger lives on the roads.

Mr Hammond said that he did not feel that increasing the speed limit would do this and that reports from other countries showed that pushing up the limit only meant a slight increase in drivers’ average speeds.

The plans have been criticised by the Campaign for Better Driving. Stephen Joseph, chief executive, said that drivers would not benefit from the increase. He explained that fuel bills would increase, more pollution would be pumped into the atmosphere, more congestion would be created and there would be a rise in the number of road casualties.

Brake’s senior campaigns officer, Ellen Booth, said it would be unethical to support Mr Hammond’s proposals and that the charity would oppose any speed limit increase. She explained that road deaths did not just involve the victim but their entire family.

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Eurotunnel faces possible bank holiday strike disruption

Friday, August 26th, 2011

The possibility that French Eurotunnel drivers could walk out on strike over the bank holiday weekend means that some holidaymakers planning to head to the continent for a short break may have to rethink their plans. Eurotunnel has said it will do everything within its power to keep schedules running as normal, but added that it would not be taking any more bookings at present.

The French drivers have threatened not to turn up to work because of a dispute over pay. Eurotunnel said it was considering redistributing UK drivers to Calais to make sure the possible disruption did not impinge on services.

Meanwhile, there are likely to be delays on a number of rail services across Britain as operators use the long weekend to undertake track maintenance. However, Network Rail said it would be running around 1,700 more trains than it did over the same weekend last year in order to keep the disruption to a minimum.

Association of Train Operating Companies’ chief executive, Michael Roberts, said he expected around 5.5 million people to use trains over the bank holiday. As usual, a large number of replacement buses will be running to accommodate passengers on routes where there will inevitably be cancellations and delays.

Motoring organisation, the AA, said it expected some 16 million vehicles on the UK’s roads this weekend. Motorists have been advised to take care after a recent study by Brake, a road safety charity, and Direct Line indicated that more than 70 per cent of motorists polled admitted they had lost their concentration while behind the wheel in the last 12 months.

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