Drivers

Secondhand car buyers urged to carefully inspect vehicles, while owners told to beware tests that are suspiciously quickRise of the ‘ghost owner’: 18,000 UK vehicles in use without proper recordsYou have just bought a secondhand car. It was older than you wanted, but were reassured because it had recently passed its MOT.Within a few days, you notice a problem with the steering and take it into a garage to be checked. As well as that issue, they find the tread depth of the tyres is so low it should not have passed the test. Continue reading...

Two men died at the scene after head-on motorway collision near Kincross, police sayTwo drivers have died in a motorway crash in Scotland involving a car apparently travelling in the wrong direction on the carriageway, police have said.The two men died at the scene of the collision on the M90 near Kinross, a town in Perth and Kinross, at 10.30pm on Friday. Continue reading...

UK motoring group fined £4.2m for not showing full price of lessons at time of bookingThe AA has been fined £4.2m and ordered to make payments to more than 80,000 learner drivers for not showing the full price of lessons at the time of booking, an illegal practice known as “drip pricing”.The UK competition watchdog, which launched an investigation into the practices employed by the AA Driving School and BSM Driving School last year, said that the AA-owned businesses must repay more than £760,000 as a result. Continue reading...

Follow the day’s news liveAlbanese didn’t return with shiploads of diesel. That doesn’t mean his Singapore visit wasn’t a successGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government is launching a new advertising campaign to encourage the public to minimise their use of fuel amid the global crisis caused by the US-Israel war on Iran.The TV, digital and billboard campaign, which will begin rolling out on Monday, is called “Every little bit helps” and is part of the second level of the government’s four-tier fuel security plan.…lays the groundwork for Australians to understand what to do now as fuel supplies hold up. It also signals that instructions will be communicated if and when we move to future levels.This campaign will help communicate the Government’s plan to the public and outline what actions they can take to help.The global fuel shortage is affecting us all and every little bit helps. From running errands in fewer trips to only filling up with the fuel you need, this will help us keep essential services moving. Continue reading...

Shop around, coast downhill, band together – drivers tell of how they’re dealing with the costliest gas in the USJack Nooney has pretty much made peace with the traffic since moving to Los Angeles five years ago, but recent soaring gas prices have certainly added another layer of insult to his daily commute. The musician and full-time grocery deli employee drives from his San Fernando Valley apartment to Santa Monica daily. While it’s just nine miles each way, with LA traffic that often equates to a whole gas-burning hour.Nooney, who makes $20/hour, says it’s become glaringly clear that fuel costs will eat up more of his already tight budget. Angelenos are now paying on average nearly $5.90 a gallon – and some stations are charging a shocking $8 a gallon. The outsized prices are directly related to the Iran war, which has created the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market, according to the International Energy Agency. Continue reading...

Bank holiday traffic predicted to peak on Thursday, as petrol and diesel prices surge from fallout of Iran warBusiness live – latest updatesDrivers are being urged to hunt for the cheapest petrol and “to fill up as usual” as UK travellers prepare to make 21.7m journeys on what is expected to be the busiest Easter on the roads in four years.The average price of a litre of unleaded petrol rose by 20p from 132.83p on 1 March to 152.83p by the end of the month, raising concerns about the cost of filling up for Easter journeys, as rising oil prices triggered by the US-Israel war with Iran translated to higher prices at the pumps. Continue reading...

Britons are likely to have little loyalty to the car park operator as it goes into administration with a £305m debt burdenNearly a century old and once host to London fashion week, the NCP car park in Brewer Street in London’s Soho is facing an uncertain future. Its former glories – which at one time included separate rooms for chauffeurs and changing rooms for theatregoers – have long given way to complaints about a lack of security and high parking charges, but this week things got worse.National Car Parks, one of the UK’s biggest car park operators, which dates back to 1931, filed for administration at the high court in London after struggling to pay its rents and buckling under a £305m mountain of debt. This means the future of 340 car parks across the UK, in town and city centres, at hospitals and airports, is uncertain along with the fate of 682 people who work for the Japanese-owned business. Continue reading...

Carmaker’s decision to drop NissanConnect EV app on relatively recent cars fuels warnings from expertsOwners of some Nissan Leaf electric vehicles are angry after the carmaker announced it would shut down an app that lets them remotely control battery charging and other functions.Drivers of Leaf cars made before May 2019 and the e-NV200 van (produced until 2022) have been told that the NissanConnect EV app linked to their vehicles will “cease operation” from 30 March. This means they will lose remote services, including turning on the heating, and some map features. Continue reading...