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publication date: Jun 3, 2010
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author/source: Robin Roberts
A Plaid Cymru AM has raised fears Severn Bridge maintenance costs may be passed from a business to taxpayers. Chris Franks said the firm operating the crossing raised nearly £226m in tolls in three years and spent £15m on corroded cables on the original bridge. He fears "necessary" repairs will not take place before the crossing returns to public ownership in 2016. About1,500 street lights in Swansea will be switched off this month as part of the city council's cuts. It plans to save up to £100,000 a year by dimming some lights as early before switching off completely at midnight. High energy lights will also be replaced with more efficient bulbs. Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion are among other councils in Wales looking at cutting the street lighting bill. Euro NCAP has issued the results for the safety performance of three new cars. Of these three cars, the BMW 5 series achieved the highest result in pedestrian protection with a respectable 78pc. The BMW 5 series also scored 100pc in Safety Assist and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta is equipped with a reactive seat and head restraint offering good protection. The BMW seat and head restraint also provides good protection against whiplash injuries in the event of a rear impact but the Mazda CX -7 offered poor protection against whiplash. Followers of the eagerly anticipated Audi A1 compact hatchback are now free to explore miniaturised 3D ‘virtual’ versions of the car in near ‘photo real’ quality in Audi Centres across the country, and even at home, long before the first full size cars hit showrooms. Innovative ‘Augmented Reality’ web-based recognition technology enables customers to interact with a 3D ‘photo-real’ version of the car. Users simply hold up a special ‘MagicSymbol’ printed in the A1 brochure or downloadable from the internet, and the technology recognises this and merges an A1 model into real footage in real-time. The Technology Strategy Board has commissioned a study into the capability of UK automotive. It will give government and businesses a detailed view of the current state of the industry and its ability to take advantage of the transition to low carbon technologies. Fuel card fraud has risen to £40m per year, with a 6pc rise over the past two years, according to Keyfuels. That rise means an additional three million victims, according to the firm. “Fleet managers should ensure their fuel cards have the necessary security features, or fraud could end up costing their business a great deal of money,” said Keyfuels managing director Peter Bridgen. |
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