Sat Nav devices can be useful but only if they are used in conjunction with road signs and a little common sense. Without this they can also be a disaster. One driver who was meant to be delivering cars from Turkey to Gibraltar ended up in a lane in Skegness after his sat nav device directed him towards a nature reserve called Gibraltar point. Of course the blame cannot be put solely on the sat nav device, presumably the driver is at fault for programming completely the wrong destination into it in the first place. And just for fun, here is a map showing the distance between the two destinations.

The transport secretary Ruth Kelly has set out plans for pay as you go lanes on motorways. Under the scheme motorists would pay around £5 a time to use the lanes which would allow them to bypass motorway jams. On some motorways widening schemes would be put in place to create an extra lane but others would make use of the existing hard shoulder. Whilst the idea is interesting I'm not entirely sure using the hard shoulder is a good idea. Personally I thought that it was kept clear to allow breakdown and rescue services to quickly reach an accident, and to give motorists somewhere to stop if in trouble. A few years back I had a problem with my car when driving in the fast lane of the motorway. My car suddenly lost all power and I had to pull across all three lanes of traffic onto the hard shoulder where the car ground to a halt. Needless to say I was shaken but very relieved that the motorway was not busy and that there was somewhere for me to stop. I wonder what would have happened if that option was not available.

It still amazes me how many people continue to use their mobile phone whilst driving and I wonder whether they are aware that if they get caught they could end up with points on their driving license. Under new rules drivers could also face two years in jail if they kill someone whilst using their mobile phone at the wheel. Those who read or send text messages whilst driving are also likely to get between four and seven years in jail. I wonder whether this will have an effect on people who routinely do this, I'm guessing for most the message won't get through until they actually kill someone.

A koala survived after being hit by a car and dragged several miles before getting stuck in the cars front grill. He was late found with his head stuck in the grill and was taken to a wildlife hospital in Queensland. He was not found to have any serious injuries and has been named Lucky.

A lady has passed her driving test after 27 years of tuition. Teresa Clarke started learning to drive in 1981. Since then she has spent £15,000 on 450 hours of tuition with 20 different driving instructors and has failed 12 tests. She eventually passed after taking a two week intensive course. I thought my husband had been learning to drive for a long time, so far he has been learning for 10 years. Perhaps this article will make him try a little harder.

According to this article the demand for used fuel efficient cars is up as people in the US try to cut their fuel costs. Apparently prices of used hybrids and fuel efficient small cars have risen considerably within the last six months with cars that were cheaper last year no selling at a premium. The most fuel efficient vehicle currently on the market is the 2007 Toyota Prius hybrid and because Toyota have capped production of the 2008 model you would expect to pay 9% more or an extra for one of these. I wonder whether we will see something similar happening in the UK. I have been considering upgrading my very old G Reg (1990) Fiesta but when I realised just how many miles it does on one tank of fuel I thought I would hang onto it for a bit longer. 

This is BMW's latest concept car and surprisingly it is made of cloth. The cars skin is made of an expansion resistant textile which stretches across movable metal wires controlled by hydraulics. The car is more flexible than a car with a metal skin and it is able to change shape at a touch of a button to suit the owners mood.

A government alcohol abuse expert has been banned from driving after being caught drink driving not once but twice. He was fined £1,500 for the two offences he committed in August and December 2006. It makes me wonder what hope there is for the rest of the population if the very experts put in place to make a difference break the laws themselves.

This is what happened when a learner bus driver went under a low bridge. The top deck of the bus was ripped off and left in the road making it an open top bus. No one was injured in the accident but the road was sealed off for an hour whilst a recovery firm took the bus away.

I found this interesting article on the BBC’s website that suggests more than a third of motorists are unable to read a basic road map. I gave it a try and managed a rather poor six out of ten. Unfortunately I have no excuse not to know the answers; I used to work for A to Z maps. Doh.

Jack Kirby has made a 1965 Ford Mustang out of 5,000 Budweiser cans. How cool is that?

A man pulled over by police on suspicion of driving whilst drunk was found to be completely naked. The man was wearing only his shoes and socks and had four friends in the car with him. They were so drunk they did not appear to notice that their friend was naked.

It seems to me that it’s becoming much more economical to have a smaller car these days. Not only do you pay less tax and less insurance, some council’s are bringing in further measures to force people with larger vehicles to pay more. Richmond council already charges people with the most polluting cars more for a perking permit. They are now also thinking about charging higher fees for parking meters and council car parks for so called gas guzzlers. Having worked in Richmond and seen that most people have large or high performance cars I can see this is likely to prove unpopular with residents, still it might make them think about using their cars slightly less or maybe getting a smaller car.

A man at a gas station in Wawa got a shock when he stopped at the pump to fill up and a snake crawled out of the engine compartment of his car. The snake was a boa constrictor which had crawled into the engine for warmth. The snake which measures 5 feet in length was later caught by police but was not charged with an offence.

A firm which advises councils on green transport has sent an email to its employees advising them to drive to work or use public transport because they think cycling in London is too dangerous. The firm which has advised Transport for London has now had to distance itself from the email after a furious backlash by TFL. Personally I don't think I would cycle in London because drivers do not seem aware of pedestrians, let alone looking out for someone on a bike.

A lorry driver was jailed for dangerous driving after he was caught eating spaghetti from a pan whilst driving his lorry. The driver who is from the Netherlands was caught near Ipswich and was stopped because he was veering over the white lines because he was using his hands to hold a knife and fork while driving his 40 tonne lorry with his knees.

If you are thinking of buying a new car you might want to check out consumerreports.org. You can select a make of car and see a crash test video of how it performs in safety tests. My car is too old to even be on the website, I guess that means its time to get a new one.

We all know its stupid to drive a car whilst drunk. One driver in Switzerland not only drove whilst three times over the legal limit, he also managed to crash his car into a police station.

Driving a lorry can be tricky at the best of times but driving a lorry whilst three times over the legal alcohol limit and cooking sausages, well that’s a challenge. One German lorry driver did just that and managed to set fire to his lorry when the gas hob he was using fell over. 

Research has been conducted by BSM that suggests playing computer games make younger drivers drive faster. The survey on the BBC website suggested that a third of young drivers are more likely to drive faster after playing a computer game. Whilst 34% of the drivers questioned thought that computer games could help improve driving ability. A quarter of drivers also imagined that they were driving for real when playing a driving simulation game. If we believe these statistics it could go some way to explain the high number of road deaths caused by and involving younger male drivers in the 17 to 24 age range. However I do think that other factors probably influence younger drivers more. Younger drivers are more likely to be more influenced by peer pressure, driving faster to look cool in front of their friends for example and playing music so loud that they are less aware of the dangers surrounding them. As someone who plays a lot of computer games myself I used to be very fond of destruction derby on my Playstation (on which the main aim is to destroy all your opponents cars) when I was learning to drive and would often play it directly before going on a driving lesson (my driving instruction didn’t really see the funny side when I mentioned this). Whilst I loved the game and enjoyed smashing up all the cars I was able to draw the line between the game and the reality and I think perhaps we should credit other younger drivers with a little more common sense

The government has recently brought in tougher penalties for people who use a mobile phone whilst driving. These new penalties apply to using a hand held mobile phone whilst driving; so it is still possible to use a hands free set with your phone. The fine has now doubled from £30 to £60 and it is also possible that three points could be added to your licence if you are caught.

I’m not sure that these changes are going to have any effect on drivers that persistently drive whilst using a mobile. As someone who uses my car rarely I find that my safety as a pedestrian has been compromised on numerous occasions by drivers who are simply having a good chat on their phone and are more intent on the conversation than watching the road. There has been legislation in place to fine these people since 2003 and I still see just as many drivers flouting the law. Only the other day a driver failed to notice me on a pedestrian crossing because he was talking on his mobile and was lucky to stop before hitting me. Of course the driver seemed to think that this was my fault.

The fact is that even with this legislation in place and even if people were to obey it, you still have the option to use a hands free set with your mobile whilst driving. Independent research shows that this can be as dangerous as driving whilst drunk because it reduces you concentration and awareness of your surroundings. While I appreciate that it is reassuring to have a mobile phone with you whilst driving in case you get lost or break down I think that this legislation needs to be still tougher to discourage drivers from putting others in danger. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6382077.stm

On receiving a renewal notice for my car insurance today, I thought I would look around to see if I could get a better quote elsewhere. After looking around at several different websites that compare quotes from different insurance companies I noticed that the company I currently have my insurance with was offering a cheaper quote that the one in my renewal letter. Is this a case of a “brand new customer’s only policy”.

Thinking this a little strange I went direct to my current insurer’s website and input my details for a quote. Sure enough it came up considerably cheaper than the quote in my renewal letter; in fact the total difference was a sum of £146.44.  I decided to call my insurer directly causing much confusion with the call centre staff as I explained I wanted to pay the price I was quoted on the internet and not the more expensive one in my renewal letter.

After checking through the information and calling me several times to double check the details I was finally offered the considerably cheaper quote I had obtained on the internet. It makes me wonder how many customers just renew their car insurance with their current company and end up paying hundreds of pounds extra for cover just because they don’t have the time to double check the figures. Even if you just obtain an online quote from your current insurer it could still save you money.