Motoring Newsbriefs

Feb 9 2010 Maurice Glover

Get off the phoneMORE drivers are using hand-held mobile phones at the wheel.

Figures for the 12 months up to last November show 27 per cent more car drivers and 18 per cent more van and lorry drivers were flouting the law.

'This is very worrying. We know that drivers' reaction times slow by almost half when they are having a chat on their mobiles and a third when texting. It has been illegal to use a hand-held phone at the wheel since December 2003 and yet we have still seen this increase. A small, but growing, minority of drivers choose to flout the law, yet their actions can have tragic consequences,' said RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister.

'In 2008 the use of a mobile phone was a contributory factor in 16 fatal road accidents and many more where people were seriously injured.

'Police must be given the resources to tackle this menace and drivers persuaded that what they are doing is potentially lethal,' he said.

Watch your car being builtCAR buyers are being given the chance to see the model they have ordered taking shape on the production line.

A special viewing gallery has been provided at the Bentley factory in Crewe to allow prospective customers of the new Mulsanne watch the progress of their car.

The gallery has been created to offer a perfect view of every stage of the build process in a new, 7,500 square metre assembly centre.

To be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, the new model is due to go on sale later this year.

Currently, 100 workers are carrying out tests on the first bodies being developed in pre-production.

This includes tearing apart completed bodies with specialist cutting gear to analyse the breaking point of seams or welds as well as minutely measuring the accuracy of finished components and bodyshells.

'We are exhaustively testing the build process to achieve the absolute precision and quality we require,' said senior production manager Gary Picken.

Boost for FordMOST of the vehicles sold under the Government's scrappage scheme have been Fords.

The showroom incentive has triggered a total of 38,500 orders for new cars and vans so far, according to the company.

'We're set for another year of challengers, but Ford and its dealers have the vehicles and expertise to maintain our strong sales momentum. We have further enhanced our offer by paying this years' VAT rise and look forward to new S-MAX and Galaxy models going on sale this spring,' said managing director Nigel Sharp.

Registrations of 22,128 in January were up by five per cent on 12 months ago and the Fiesta and Focus continued as the first and second best sellers respectively in the UK market.

One speed for allTHE Department for Transport wants to simplify speed limit rules for buses, coaches and trucks.

In a consultation document, it says changes are needed because of differences between new vehicles, fitted with speed limiters and older vehicles which are not.

'This can cause confusion for other drivers and creates a disincentive for companies to invest in safer and more fuel efficient vehicles,' said a spokesman.

The department is calling for a 65mph limit for all buses, minibuses and coaches with more than eight passenger seats and a 60mph motorway limit for all vans and trucks over 3.5 tonnes.

It also wants to ban all vans and trucks over 3.5 tonnes and all buses, minibuses and coaches with more than eight passenger seats from the right-hand lane of motorways.

Hot salesHALF of the super-fast Honda Civic Type R MUGEN models due to be built this year are already sold.

Fans have already snapped up 10 examples of the hand-built road-legal racers set to go into production at Northampton-based MUGEN Euro next month. The cars cost £38,599.