London to Ban Old Petrol and Diesel Vehicles

Vehicle owners in London could soon be banned from driving in the capital on UK due to a new legislation on old petrol and diesel vehicles. This could potentially cause issues for millions of UK residents, and not just the ones that live in London.  It has been confirmed that diesel engines registered before 2014 and petrols registered before 2005 could be potentially banned from the centre of our capital.

London will take a big leap towards banning older diesel and petrol private owned vehocles from the city centre when the proposed Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). It has been pointed out that a second stakeholder meeting is expected soon and will reinforce a proposal to ban diesel and petrols engine vehicles that don’t meet the European EU6 and EU4 emission standards from the central Congestion Charge Zone.

“We announced last February the intention to introduce an Ultra Low Emissions Zone in 2020 for central London and we have been working towards that goal since,” says TfL. Tfl also stresses that no decision has been made about the rules that will operate the ULEZ, and that final decision will not be made until later this year.

There is also a fear among most of people that ULEZ will be implemented far beyond London up to the North and South circular roads. This new legislation will increase the cost of travelling in London for millions of people who don’t comply with EU6 and EU4 standards.

What do you think about the London issue on banning Petrol and diesel cars and vehicles, please let me know your thoughts in the comment section!

 

Michael Schumacher – Wakening Process Still Continues

Michael Schumacher – Wakening Up Process Still Continues – says that official sources despite German media claiming that the attempts have been put on halt. Michael’s doctors are continuing efforts to bring him from artificial coma despite the deports from German news magazines. Michael’s manager followed this miss-information by stating that despite the process taking a long time, it was unchanged and still goes according to plan.

Sabine Kehm the manger of Schumacher said that: This phase can take a long time, which, much to our regret can lead to many misinterpretations. His wife Carolina with two children Glina and Mick has remained at this bedsides for more than a month now. It has also been repodted that during last week French investigators close the official issue into his accident closing out any criminal wrongdoing.

There has been a lot of statements from the family and relatives of Michael, most of the express sympathy to all who has supported Michael in this had time:

‘Michael’s family would like to again express their sincere thanks for the continuous sympathy coming from all over the world.

‘The good wishes they receive help the family and we are convinced they also help Michael, who still is in a waking up process.

As often in such situation, no day is like the next.

‘The family is thankful for ones understanding that they would not wish to disclose medical details in order to protect Michael’s privacy.

Please don’t forget to share your thoughts on this Michael Schumacher accident.

EU Car Sales Increased by 5.5% in January 2014

According to ACEA data (The Association of European Car makers) state that car sales increased by 5.5% to 935,640 vehicles, from January 2013. It was the fifth consecutive month of growth, which have been supported by big discounting by manufacturers.

Car sales in Greece increased by 15.4%, Portugal increased by 31.8%, and even Ireland rose by 32.8%. This shows a great sign of economic recovery in EU countries. All the major EU markets posted growth, with the UK and Spain up 7.6%, Germany up 7.2%, Italy up 3.2%, and France edging ahead 0.5%.

Here is the quote from the official document:

In January 2014, demand for new passenger cars in the EU increased for the fifth consecutive

month, with a rise of 5.5% in registrations. However, in absolute figures, the total of 935,640

units registered marked the second lowest result to date for a month of January since ACEA began the series in 2003 with the enlarged EU

In January 2014, most EU markets posted growth, as did all the major ones, from +7.6% in the

UK and Spain, to +7.2% in Germany, +3.2% in Italy and +0.5% in France.UK

Prince Harry Goes on Track

The Royal fun-lover Prince Harry went to the race track at the weekend with a visit to the famous Goodwood Motor Circuit.

After being welcomed by well known petrolhead Lord March, owner of Goodwood, the Prince went for some hot and fast laps in a classic Aston Martin DB4, before jumping into a Lamborghini Gallardo for an even faster run as part of his activities for the Royal Foundation Endeavour Fund.

Prince Harry definitely enjoyed himself, because after that he went for some more fast laps in a Jaguar F-Type and an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and only after that he went for his charity-centred visit (which was the main point of his visit actually).

The Prince, who is fourth in line to the throne, also had a chance to met injured servicemen who have been helped by the Fund, before paying a visit to the Boultbee Flying Academy, based at Goodwood Aerodrome.

Lord March said: “We’re delighted to have Prince Harry attend a track day here at the Goodwood Motor Circuit and to support the work of the Royal Foundation Endeavour Fund, which has established some wonderful projects to help injured service personnel. As a former Royal Air Force base, Goodwood has a connection with military service that stretches back 75 years, so it’s something that we feel quite a part of.”

Unfortunately there is no information on how was Prince Harry was able to pass those laps.

Please don’t forget to leave your comments and let me know your thoughts. 🙂

How do you call a thing that goes in the back of your car?

Lately on the internet I found a lot of questions like how is the device called that goes in the back of your car, or how is the device called that separates the boot of your car. Or even how do you call a device that keeps your dog or pet safe in the boot of your car.

It’s quite an interesting topic because generally speaking this device is called a dog guard, but many people call it differently depending on their associations and country of residents.  So here is the full list of how people generally call the same kind of device.  Here is a list for your for most common names for a device that separates the boot of your car from the rest of the car:

Dog Guard – Dog guard is a term mostly used in UK. Possible variations of this keyphrases are: pet guard and dog guards. Dog guard is a device that will keep you pet safe and secure in the boot of your car. You can find more information about this device variety at our dog guards page.

Pet Barrier – Pet barrier is term mostly used in USA. Possible variations of this keyphrase is dog barrier. Pet barrier has the same kind of purpose as dog guard.

Cargo barrier – Now this is an interesting term because it looks pretty much like the the standard dog guard but has a different purpose. It is designed to keep your cargo in the boot. And usually is much more solid peace of equipment. Generally speaking a cargo barrier (wiki link) can be used for dogs, pets and animals, but dog guards and pet barriers are not designed to hold your cargo in place, especially during an accident.

So hopefully this will help you a  little bit more with your research. If you are looking for a really high quality dog guard you will find a wide range of vehicle specific ones at Travall. Thank you for reading this article, please don’t forget to leave your comments. 🙂

Mercedes 2014 S-class Coupe Revealed

Mercedes has revealed their brand new 2014 S-Class Coupe model. This new model is packed with a high end technologies such as the ability to lean into bends which is quite amazing and unique not just for Mercedes but for any car. Just like the S-Class Salon this model uses a system called Magic Body Control, which basically reads the road and improves ride comfort.
The external overview of the car is quite simply to concept car showed back in 2013 at Frankfurt Motor Show. However the internal design is a totally different thing. The design is what most people would call – quite aggressive and has a sporting appearance. Here is what Gorden Wagener the vice president of Daimler group has to say about the new S-Class Coupe model:

“Our new S-Class Coupé is one of the most gorgeous coupés of all times, representing the most radical aesthetic departure from its predecessor.”

This might also be one of the first cars where what’s under the bonnet is not as interesting as what sits at the end of it: a full LED lighting system complemented by 47 Swarovski crystals (17 for the daytime running lights and 30 for the indicators). There are more LEDs at the back of the car, arranged in two rows across the broad rear panels.

The new S-Class Coupe will also feature a heads up display that shows important information on the windscreen – know isn’t that the car of the future? This car will be visible to general public on Geneva Motor Autoshow, which will take place on March 4th 2014. Don’t miss the chance to see all the coolest picture from that show on my blog! So please come back soon for more updates.

Best and Worst Drivers in UK

Have you ever wondered who are the best & worst drivers in United Kingdom? Here is some great statistical information for you on UK drivers in 2012 (the latest that I could get). The statistic shows that Smethwick has the highest ration of banns across UK, making it 0.77% of total 20,914 drivers in this city, meaning 160 were banned.

Best Drivers in UK

Harpenden in Hertfordshire has the best drivers in UK. Out of the 23,347 auto owners there, only 19 picked up a ban in 2012 – which only stands for 0.08% Harpenden was closely followed by Rayleigh in Essex, which had 20 out of 22,606 drivers banned back in 2012 ( stands for 0.09%). Our capital (London) has gained highest total of drivers banned in 2012, at 9,336. However, with almost 2,497,931 drivers holding licences in the London, the percentage figure is only 0.37% which is quite small.

Worst Drivers in UK

Location	No. of licence holders	No. banned in 2012	% banned in 2012
Smethwick	20,914	160	0.77%
West Bromwich	26,101	191	0.73%
Barking	22,591	164	0.73%
Nelson	23,942	162	0.68%
Bradford	166,171	1084	0.65%
Tipton	20,736	131	0.63%
Merthyr Tydfil	26,153	163	0.62%
Peterhead	21,872	131	0.60%
Wishaw	21,769	130	0.60%
Dagenham	51,576	308	0.60%

This map here will give you an idea about where those good and bad drivers are located:

Please come back soon for some more information on different auto news and car accessories topics!

New Stealth Cameras for UK Motorways

Have you already heard about the New Stealth Cameras for UK Motorways ? Well if you haven’t here’s some information for you, and trust me, you won’t be very excited or happy about it.
The new stealth cameras are about to be installed to catch motorists who exceed the limit of 70mph on a variety of UK motorways. The main reason why they are called stealth is because they won’t be so visible for drivers, as will have a dark grey colour rather than as standard yellow. For the first time ever the highways are about to be loaded with those cameras.

According to highway agency the new cameras will help to reduce road accidents as driver will proceed with more caution. But from my point of few I don’t see it happening as cameras will be literally invisible for drivers, especially when driving over 70mph, so I don’t really see how that can stop any potential driver from slowing down. Some people suggest that those new stealth cameras are not so much about road safety but about generating income hough fines.

A spokesman of British Alliance Drivers stated that:

“We are opposed to speed cameras in general. The evidence of their success in promoting safety is not good and in reality what is happening now is that the police are using speed cameras to fund their other activities through speed awareness courses. If these cameras are grey rather than yellow they are going to be harder to spot and so will have no impact in slowing traffic down. If there is a good reason for the traffic to be slowed down then the cameras need to be as visible as possible.”

And I as a UK driver completely agree with that statement. So what do you think about the new Cameras across UK motorways, will they have an impact on rad safety?