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News in brief
publication date: Jun 25, 2009
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author/source: Robin Roberts
The sustained weakness of Sterling against the Euro has forced Ford to announce and average 4pc price increases across its range from the start of July 2009 on all orders received after 30 June. It is the third time this year that Ford has raised prices. They rose by 4.7pc in February and by 3.75pc in April. The list price of Ka, Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo models will rise by between £600 and £650 while an S-Max will cost £700 more and a Galaxy will go up by £800. Pupils from Fitzalan High School, Cardiff went to the British Grand Prix last weekend as part of their prize for being finalists in the F1 Schools Technology Challenge last year. They were given VIP treatment at the event, met teams and walked around the paddock. Motorists are being urged to become familiar with foreign driving rules before they set off on annual holiday. Insurer Sheilas' wheels found 15pc of motorists sustain damage abroad, 2.8 million don't know speed limts and a third break the law by not carrying a warning triangle and adjusting their headlights not to dazzle. More worryingly, nine in ten assume they are automatically covered on insurance when driving abroad. Many motorists are unaware of the dangers they face on different types of roads, according to the AA in response to the Eurorap survey which is released today. AA / Populus research* shows that drivers are most confident when driving on the very roads that the EuroRAP study and national statistics show to be the least safe - single carriageway A roads. In the AA / Populus survey 65pc said they felt confident driving on A roads whereas fewer (60pc) said they felt confident driving on motorways yet they are in fact the safest roads. For the thirteenth consecutive month, new registrations of commercial vehicles have declined in Europe. They totaled 138,830 units in May, decreasing by 39.0pc compared to May last year. Five months into 2009, the downturn was -37.6pc and affected all countries across all vehicle categories. The case for building more roads has been knocked by new research showing that the proposed roads are running over budget and that even if they go ahead, they are unlikely to solve traffic problems. Government figures unearthed by Campaign for Better Transport reveal that the Highways Agency's road building programme is significantly over budget. These cost increases, combined with expected cutbacks in public spending, mean that it is highly likely that many of these schemes will not be built. Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis announced four companies will begin supplying low carbon and all-electric vans to selected public sector organisations later this year. This is part of a £20 million Department for Transport scheme to use public sector procurement to help demonstrate the potential of new technologies for decarbonising road transport. |
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