Posts Tagged ‘motoring’

Cold And Flu Remedies Could Seriously Affect Driving Ability

November 4th, 2010

The common cold is far more dangerous than you might think. Many people are unaware that driving under the influence of drugs, even prescribed ones, is a criminal offence which carries the same penalties as drink driving. This winter millions of drivers risk breaking the law by dosing themselves on cough and cold remedies that could make them unsafe on the roads.

The average adult will suffer up to 4 yearly colds, so be careful when you’re stocking up on medicine for the start of the official cold and flu season. Many can cause a level of drowsiness that is the equivalent to being drunk, with slower reaction times and a drop in hazard awareness. Such medicines can include those which relieve allergies, coughs, travel sickness and sleep remedies.

Experts think warnings on packets of cough and cold medicines are often hard to find, and are calling instead for a traffic light scheme to alert users to the potential driving hazards. The traffic light system is already in operation in France, where a set of pictures are used to demonstrate levels of drowsiness in different products. Still, critics say this is not a clear set of warnings.

ITV’s This Morning Doctor, Chris Steele agrees, urging drivers taking medication to check with their doctor or pharmacist before getting behind the wheel. He added that even taking medication at night may not mean it is safe to drive the next morning, as some drugs can take several hours to disappear from the body.

Dr Chris spoke in support of GEM Motoring Assist, who launched an initiative to combat drug driving and increase the safety of Britain’s roads this Christmas. The Chief Executive of the company, David Williams, stated that “too often the warnings on medicine packaging are vague and difficult to find which causes great confusion and can lead to real dangers on our roads”.

A drink driving ban will require the help of a solicitor with experience in motoring offences


Ambulance Speeding Case

November 4th, 2010

Paul Bex, an ambulance driver from Cambridge, faces losing his job after being caught speeding at 112mph by a speed camera in Lincolnshire. Bex was making his way quickly to the North East to transport an organ after being told it was imperative to make the journey within 3 hours to save the life of a patient needing a liver transplant.

Appeals from his employers Lifeline Medical Transport Service have been ignored so Paul will have to stand up in court on 7 July to contest the claims.

A loophole in the law means that it is in fact illegal for ambulances not carrying a patient to exceed the speed limit, even in cases of medical emergency. Anyone caught speeding in excess of 100 mph faces a 12 month ban. The news has caused Mr Bex a lot of stress, as if he loses his license as an outcome he will be unable to continue working. He said, “I was doing my job safely and as quickly as possible. Now I find out I could lose my licence”.

Don Williams, President of the British Ambulance Association, said the law was nonsense. Ambulance drivers have a duty of care towards a patient and if a surgeon tells them the situation is time-critical, it is in their duty to get the organ to the patient as quickly as possible. Ambulance drivers are trained to the same high standards as police officers and are equipped to drive safely at high speeds. Williams proposed a change to the legal definition of an ambulance so that transporting human tissue would be included.

Just last week, an ambulance driver accused of speeding in a similar situation had his case dropped. Mike Ferguson plans to continue campaigning to clarify the law so that other emergency service drivers will not have to suffer at the same expense. In 2004 ambulance drivers transporting patients were exempted from penalties resulting from being caught by speed cameras, which previously affected more than 1,000 each year.

Careless driving and driving whilst under the influence of alcohol can lead to a Drink driving ban.


How To Determine The Amount Your Personal Injury Claim Is Worth.

October 22nd, 2010

Understanding how much compensation your injury is likely to receive is an important part of all personal injury claims and often one of the most awkward to guess. The amount you receive varies depending on your circumstances and there are many things to consider.

To determine the amount your claim may be worth you must understand the types of damages you may be eligible to receive compensation from. Generally you will be eligible to receive compensation for the following; Medical care and any related expenses that may exist, loss of income due to the accident because you have been unable to work or receiving treatment for your injuries. Any permanent physical disability or disfigurement caused, loss of ability to participate in social, family or educational purposes. You can also claim for emotional upset such as stress, embarrassment, depression or any psychological impact the accident may have had on your well being.

When determining the amount of compensation to be rewarded then usually it is easy to calculate the amount of medical expenses and loss of earnings you have experienced. Right at the beginning of negotiations the solicitor will add up the total medical and other loss of earnings which are called, ‘general damages.’

If your injuries are minor then the solicitor will decide how much to award you in relation to the, ‘general damages,’ already considered. When your injuries are particularly severe or long lasting then the amount of damages rewarded will be much greater. Loss of future earnings may also be added on at this point.

One other factor which is considered in personal injury claims is the degree of fault the other party were considered to be at. Another factor that will be considered in a personal injury claim is the amount of fault of the other party. The degree of fault by the other person is also considered when adding up the total claim amount.

If you have recieved a driving ban and/or penalty points on your driving license then Widdoes Mason, car accident claims lawyers can help. Widdows specialise in road traffic accident claims an can offer help and expert legal advice.


Driving As You Get Older

September 15th, 2010

These days people are often very eager to start driving but often people are less eager to stop driving as they get older. The question of road safety is usually the only thing that stops people from driving.

Often people think they are good drivers. It’s rare to hear anybody admit that they are less than sufficient behind the wheel.

A new scheme called SAGE- Safety Driving With Age has been introduced by Leicestershire County Council recently. The scheme is run for drivers who are sixty years old and over and offers them an opportunity to have their driving skills assessed by a selection of driving instructors after a drive lasting around one hour.

The assessment does not in any way endanger your driving licence, it just allows you to get an in-depth understanding of where your strong and weak points lie. There are lots of updates and changes being made to the road system all the time so revising the Highway Code before your drive is sensible.

During the actual driving the assessor will take notes and is free to talk to you. The drive is not intended to make you feel under pressure at all.

On your return from the drive the assessor will supply you with a few pointers and discuss how you could improve your driving in general.

Most of the drives are with people in their 60s and 70s. The assessment can be great in boosting confidence as the assessor will also point out your strong points.

If you are one of the few people who need to update their driving then you will probably be offered advice and guidance as well as further training so that you can be on your way to safer driving.

This new scheme hopes to encourage people over sixty to identify their strengths and weaknesses and therefore reduces the number of accidents and motoring offences on our roads.

If you want to find out more about motoring offences then Oliver & Co’s site has more information on everything from drink driving to speeding. For law jobs contact Sacco Mann.


Teenager Unable To Explain Reasons Behind Motoring Offences

September 11th, 2010

A teenager has been banned from driving for one year and ordered to partake in 120 hours of unpaid work after admitting to committing a number of motoring offences.

The teenager pleaded guilty to involvement in an accident after taking a car without consent and drinking and driving. He also had no insurance and no licence. The offences committed were very serious and required a lot of consideration from the magistrates involved.

The court were told that the teenager was out at an 18th birthday party when he heard a phone ringing. On further inspection he found the phone inside a bag that also contained some car keys. He decided to take the car keys and went on to take the vehicle without consent.

Just after he left the party he was involved in a collision and the police were called. When they arrived at the scene the youth admitted that he was responsible for taking the car. He was unable to explain his actions and police believe that the alcohol in his system was partly to blame.

After police performed a breathalyser test on the youth he was found to be well over the legal driving limit of 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath. He registered at 49 micrograms.

The defence team working on the case have told how their client is usually a respectable member of the community and is a dedicated member of his village tennis and rugby clubs. The actions he took are believed to be completely out of character.

The judge chose to sentence him to a one year community order that sees him carry out 120 hours of voluntary work. A yearlong driving ban has also been enforced and six points will be added to his licence. He has also been ordered to pay 85 in court costs.

If you commit a driving offence you will need to contact an experienced driving offence solicitor.


F1 Giant McLaren Make Second Road Car For Bigger Market

August 31st, 2010

It’s been over a decade since the British racing giants made history with the fastest production car ever made (at the time), their iconic F1. Only 106 of the hyper cars were made but Chairman Ron Dennis has made a striking statement “Since 1966, when McLaren first raced in F1, 106 teams have come and gone – and that tells me that if we stay solely as an F1 team it will lead to extinction.” Their latest creation, the MP4-12C is said to be an attempt to avoid the fate that has cursed many of their fellow F1 brothers, by becoming a fully fledged road car manufacturer.

Dennis claims the company will build over 1,200 of the cars in the first year alone, producing around the same amount of cars as the companies it will be competing with. It will cost around 150,000 which is standard supercar money and there have been 1,600 pre-orders already.

The factory which is set to be producing the car by 2011 has not yet been built, but when it is it will create 300 new jobs. The MP4-12C was revealed by McLaren at a press conference at their futuristic headquarters outside of Woking, it was uncovered by its first two test drivers, team F1 racers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Antony Sheriff, Managing Director, said “The 12C won’t take you to the edge of what’s possible, It will take you to the edge of the edge. It’s what we call an ‘and’ car. It’s powerful and efficient; lightweight and safe; fast and comfortable.” It will be built around a revolutionary Carbon Monocell which is incredibly strong and will be capable of reaching 60mph in “under three seconds”.

Although there is no doubt of the supercar status of the MP4, it is unlikely it will cause as much of a fuss as the F1. The bigger question is whether the success of this car and this brand will fade along with their exclusivity? Will every millionaire want one if they know the wont own the only one on the roads? It’s a question that only time will answer but one that could determine the future of this Formula racing giant.

The new McLaren is bound to cause a few driving bans as many of the owners of the previous F1 were convicted of driving offence solicitor within months of receiving the car.


Males Drivers Cause The More Serious Accidents

August 25th, 2010

Recent research has discovered some startling facts surrounding the age old debate of who is most likely to crash the family car, Mum or Dad? When it comes to road accidents, women drivers are more likely to have scrapes and bumps while men are more prone to head-on collisions, a survey has found.

Their findings suggest Women drivers are actually more prone to minor scrapes and bumps in their cars, whilst men are more likely to be involved in a head-on collision or the more serious accident..

As well as having head-on collisions, men are more likely to hit crash barriers and trees or drive up and down embankments.

Men are also more likely than women to drive through floods or suffer a vehicle fire, according to the study which looked at five years of accidents.

Women suffer more than men from having their car broken into and having something taken from inside, while men are more likely to have their car stolen outright.

Diamond’s managing director Sian Lewis said: “Women tend to be in more accidents at slower speeds where cars are close together, while men have more high-speed accidents where it is easy to lose control.

“Our research suggests the way men and women drive is different. Possibly men drive faster and more aggressively than women, while women are more easily distracted than men behind the wheel of a car.”

She went on: “It’s very strange that men’s cars are more likely to catch fire than women’s. “I can’t explain why that would happen. But one reason why women are more likely to have their car broken into is perhaps because they’re more likely to leave expensive items, like their handbag or sunglasses, on show than men.

To avoid a drink driving ban, then visit Freeman Keep On Driving and avoid your driving conviction and find expert driving lawyers.


Eight Of The Worst Driving Habits And Offences

August 24th, 2010

Choosing to speed can be one of the stupidest choices drivers make. People driving on the roads speeding constantly and a ‘boy racer’ culture has meant the problem has increased over the last few years. It is a proven fact that the time difference of a journey taken obeying the speed limit compared to one breaking the speed limit is not only safer but it also only means arriving a minute or two later- so there really is no point to speeding.

Being overtaken by bad drivers is another dangerous offence. People who overtake and then run out of space to fit back into their side of the road can create problems and accidents involving those around them.

Another common and irritating road faux pas is not dipping your headlights when oncoming traffic is seen, this is very dangerous as it can leave oncoming traffic dazzled.

Making use of fog lights when conditions are foggy and poor is completely acceptable. Using them when conditions are fine is not acceptable. It is also illegal in many countries.

One consistently annoying habit is tailgating. Driving too close to the car in front of you can result in accidents and intimidation and distraction of other drivers.

Lane hogging is a popular irritant of road users. The rules of roads in this country state that drivers must stick to the left hand lane unless they are overtaking.

Flitting from lane to lane in slow moving traffic is very irritating to other drivers as well as being a pointless exercise in itself. Traffic is annoying but even so it is best to avoid behaviour like this.

A dangerous act that road users often undertake is the intimidating of pedestrians and cyclists, it is important to be fair to others around you whether they are road users or not.

If you commit a driving offence you will need to contact an experienced driving offence solicitor.


Caught Speeding? What To Do Next.

August 22nd, 2010

Many motorists have been caught out by speed cameras on the roads in Britain. What to do when you receive one of these fines is fairly simple. Motoring law can seem complicated due to the different fines you can receive and the different types of speed cameras around.

There are a few different varieties of speed cameras around and some are fixed and others are in-vehicle. When you are caught by one of the fixed cameras there is always the chance that you may escape due to there being no film in the camera that is not always the case though.

When you are charged with a speeding offence you will receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) within a period of fourteen days of you committing the offence. You will be required to fill in the forms and return them within twenty eight days of receiving them. You must identify who was driving at the time of the incident- failure to do so can mean you receive 6 points on your licence. If you drive shared company cars you will be required to keep a record of when you were driving each car.

Summons and fixed penalty notices are received frequently by drivers. If you do not argue against them you will usually have to pay 60 and accumulate 3 points on your licence. If, however, you decide to contest it you will see your case going to court. Often you will be offered a ’speed awareness course,’ rather than receiving penalty points, courses like this are intended to educate you as a driver.

Many people often wonder what is deemed to be a speeding defence. The best way to avoid getting a speeding endorsement or fine is to avoid speeding in the first place. Speeding is a road traffic crime and can cause accidents, therefore it is considered very serious by the courts.

If you are the vicitm of a road traffic accident Liverpool you may be eligible to claim compensation using solicitors Liverpool EAD.


Where Is Britains Most Dangerous Road?

August 12th, 2010

The most dangerous road in Britain has been named in a damning report which concludes one in ten motorways and A roads present an ‘unacceptably high risk to users’. The Road Safety Foundation has released the findings of its study into some of the most dangerous and high-risk roads in the UK, were half of the fatal road accidents in the UK happen on just 10% of the country’s roads.

This segment of the single carriageway was the spot for 21 fatal and severe injuries in 2008. The study, which looked at approximately 28,000 miles of British motorways and A-roads, was created in a bid to persuade the government to focus expenditure on improving road safety measures. The RSA (Road Safety Foundation) has released conclusions of the study into some of the most hazardous roads in the UK .

To combat these incidents 5000,000 has been spend on road safety measures ranging from educing the speed limit, installing high-friction surfacing, barriers and signs, widening the carriageway, and using mobile speed cameras plus the use of unmarked police cars and evens a police helicopter being used in conjunction with ground teams to enforce the speed limit.

The report found that a third of all fatal and serious crashes occur at junctions, while one in four crashes involve a motorbike. Furthermore, the report also revealed that Scotland has emerged as the most hazardous area surveyed in the report. With over 12% of Scotland’s motorways and A-roads rated in the higher risk categories, with one in nine fatal road traffic accidents occurring on the country’s roads.

Dr. Joanne Hill, director of the RSF, said: “Too often we pay for emergency services, hospitals and care for the disabled rather than taking easy steps to put road design faults right. Not only can Britain reduce road deaths and serious injuries bit, by targeting a relatively small mileage of high-risk roads, we can do so with good economic returns.

For expert motoring advice and a road traffic lawyer, then visit Freeman Keep On Driving avoid a driving conviction and find road traffic solicitors.