A report from The AA has found that indiscriminate use of 20 mph speed limits and speed humps by local authorities can increase carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption.

Tests revealed that a car that achieves 58.15 miles per gallon at a steady 30 mph in fourth gear will only deliver 52.3 mpg at 20 mph in third gear and traveling over speed humps has an even greater impact with 6 speed humps over half a mile causing fuel consumption to increase by 47 percent to 30.85 mpg.

Whilst traffic calming measures are necessary in some areas the report shows that badly placed 20 mph restrictions or speed humps can increase CO2 emissions unnecessarily.

Edmund King, the AA’s president said “We need independent research to ascertain both the safety and environmental implications of 20 mph zones so that authorities don’t make a huge and widespread environmental mistake. Researched guidance on 30 mph versus 20 mph limits versus speed humps will help road engineers to make informed decisions on where best to site lower speed restrictions on urban roads.”

AA: Fuel For Thought

An investigation has been launched after a survey by The Department of Transport revealed that a massive 5% of vehicles are unlicensed, costing taxpayers £217m over the last year. Up from 3.6% in 2005 the figure is double the DVLA’s target of 2.5%. The situation for motorcycles is even worse with a staggering 37% of all motorcycles being unlicensed.

It has also emerged that over 60% of people who failed to pay fines for untaxed vehicles were not pursued through the courts or using debt collectors and many people were not chased after their first offence.

The National Audit Office has warned that confidence in the DVLA’s ability to enforce Vehicle Excise Duty risked being seriously undermined.

Pay-per-mile road pricing trials will be held in at least one UK city within the next five years.

A draft road transport Bill, published on Friday proposes to grant new powers to charge for each mile driven on congested roads to at least one local authority with Manchester and Birmingham thought to be the favourites.

The new Government proposal will make £200 million per year available to local authorities that agree to introduce road charging schemes to test the technology prior to a national roll out.

Satellite tracking or electronics tags fitted to vehicles and roadside beacons are expected to be used and any profit is to be spent on improving public transport.

Source: The Times

Police chiefs have called for the number plate system to be overhauled in a bid to beat “car cloning”.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has warned that an increasing number of car number plates are being stolen or cloned to allow criminals to escape motoring fines or commit crimes without being identified.

The Police estimate that there was an increase of nearly 25% in the number of registration plates stolen last year, with in excess of 40,000 vehicles having their plates snatched in 2006.

Superintendent John Wake of the ACPO Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service told the BBC that there was no confidence in the DVLAs ability to prevent cloning. The registration plate was the “first form” of identification of a vehicle he said, adding “I don’t have confidence that beyond that you can identify that that vehicle is the legitimate vehicle for that plate”.

The Association of Chief Police Officers now wants all cars to have tamper-proof plates fitted and a new central body established to issue vehicle registration numbers.

More at the BBC.

The average car insurance premium has almost doubled over the past 10 years according to The AA.

The latest AA British Insurance Premium Index shows that the average annual car insurance premium jumped by a massive 4.35% over the last quarter of 2006 to nearly £806, its highest ever level. The average third party, fire and theft premium rose again but only very slightly, to nearly £1,000.

Comprehensive car insurance premiums are now almost double the average quoted when the Index was launched in July 1994. The previous highest average quoted premium was £777.57, in January 2004.

Kevin Sinclair, managing director of AA Insurance said “Over the past three quarters, premiums have risen by nearly 6% and I believe this trend will continue.” He added that he expects third party, fire and theft insurance premiums will also continue their upward trend. “Young drivers account for a quarter of all road fatalities and are five times more likely to have an accident than a driver aged 35-plus. Premiums reflect this shocking record while many insurers will no longer cover young drivers.”

The AA Insurance Premium Index

The DVLA are warning motorists to be on the lookout for stolen V5 vehicle registration certificates when buying a used car. Thousands of the faulty logbooks have been stolen from the DVLA and it is believed that several hundred are already in circulation.

Motorists who are looking to buy a car are urged to check the serial number that appears at the top right hand corner of the registration certificate. If it bears the prefix BG and falls within the range BG 9167501 to BG 9190500, they are advised not to purchase the vehicle.

These V5C certificates could be used to sell stolen vehicles that have had their identity changed to match that of a legitimate vehicle, a practice is known as cloning. The cloned vehicles are sold on to unsuspecting members of the public who suffer significant losses when their vehicles are confiscated by the police.

The stolen certificates have a different background colour on the Notification of Permanent Export (V5C/4) tear off slip on the second page, which looks mauve on the front and pink on the reverse. On legitimate documents they should be mauve on both sides.

If you are concerned whether a certificate is genuine ring DVLA’s helplines on 0870 241 1878.

Plans are afoot for the road tax system to be abolished and a new system, a pay as you drive scheme called “Travel Tax”, to be brought into line. Trials have already begun in some areas. Your car, bike, truck etc will be fitted with a GPS tracking device which tracks where your car goes, when it went and how fast it got there.

The government’s proposal will mean you having to purchase a tracking device for your car and paying a monthly bill to use it. The tracking device will cost about £200 and in a recent study by the BBC, the lowest monthly bill was £28 for a rural florist and £194 for a delivery driver. A non working Mum who used the car to take the kids to school paid £86 in one month. On top of this massive increase in tax, you will be tracked. Somebody will know where you are at all times. They will also know how fast you have been going, so even if you accidentally creep over a speed limit you can expect a Notice of Intended Prosecution with your monthly bill!

If you care about our freedoms and stopping the constant bashing of the car driver, please sign the petition on No 10’s new website at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/

According to a report just out from Endsleigh Insurance claims for car theft in Hull are 126.1% above the national average with Bradford coming in second at 107.4%, followed by Leeds with 95.6%.

The report also says that car owners in Norwich are least likely to have their vehicles stolen, followed by those in Solihull and Swindon.

An Endsleigh spokesman said “The overall national picture on car theft is good news for drivers and there us no doubt that improved car security has significantly contributed to this drop.”

Read the full article on the BBC web site here.