The Freight Transport Association has announced that GreenRoad, a leader in driver performance and road safety management, is the latest partner of the association’s innovative Van Excellence scheme.

GreenRoad is designed to significantly reduce crash incidents and cut fuel consumption by enhancing driver performance while behind the wheel and a typical GreenRoad customer sees up to a 10% reduction in fuel consumption and emissions, as well as a 50% reduction on collision costs.  

The Van Excellence scheme aims to raise standards and improve the image of the UK’s growing van sector and includes a tough accreditation system and a strict code of practice. It is backed by many household names and is a standard set by van operators for use by van operators, formalising “best working” practices already used by leading companies in the commercial vehicle sector.  

Mark Cartwright, FTA’s Van Project Manager, said:

“We are delighted to have GreenRoad on board as partners of Van Excellence.  As leaders in driver performance and safety management they bring a huge amount of value to the scheme in terms of experience and expertise, and their support is invaluable.”

For further information on the Van Excellence scheme visit www.fta.co.uk

City Emergency Braking on the up!

The Volkswagen up! is not even on UK roads yet, but it has just been awarded the title of What Car? Car of the Year 2012, as well as Best City Car, at the What Car? Awards.

Volkswagen had a successful night at the motor industry’s annual ‘Oscars’, which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The Golf was voted the top Small Family Car category for the sixth time overall and fourth consecutive year, and Volkswagen also won the coveted Safety Award.

Commenting on the awards, What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: ‘The Volkswagen up! sets new standards for a car at £10,000.  It’s a city car that can seat four adults, while offering new levels of refinement, quality and maturity at this price; none of its rivals feels quite so grown-up.  Buyers will be looking for even more for their money than ever in 2012, so the up! is a worthy winner of the What Car? Car of the Year.’

Meanwhile the Safety Award was in large part the result of the availability of Volkswagen’s new City Emergency Braking system on the up!.  The What Car? judges were impressed by this particular example of ‘big car’ technology filtering down to a smaller model and the system uses sensors to scan the space ahead. It then applies the brakes automatically if it detects that the car is about to hit an object in front. 

Director of Volkswagen UK, Chris Craft, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted with the awards we have received from What Car? this year.  The magazine continues to be one of the most thorough and important sources of new car buying information for UK customers and winning the overall Car of the Year accolade gives our new city car, the up!, the best introduction to the UK market that we could have hoped for”.

First models should arrive in UK showrooms in March and Volkswagen contract hire on the up! range is on the site now.

The full list of category winners at the What Car? Awards 2012 is below.

New Ford Focus

The new Ford Focus has just been recognised by Euro NCAP as the first car to receive four Euro NCAP Advanced safety awards, as its Driver Alert and Forward Alert technologies are also recognised. This follows on from recent news that the new Ford Ranger is the first pick-up to achieve a five star Euro NCAP safety rating.

The Euro NCAP Advanced awards recognise car manufacturers that make new safety technologies available and Ford is only one of two car manufacturers to hold four of these awards.

Ford’s Driver Alert system is designed to combat driver fatigue using advanced camera technology and on-board sensors to evaluate a driver’s control of the vehicle. It monitors the vehicle’s position relative to lane markings and if any deviation is found, it sends out a warning signal. This feature is available on the new Focus, C-MAX, Grand C-MAX, Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy.

The Forward Alert accident management system scans the road ahead using radar technology and if it detects slower or stationary traffic ahead and determines a collision is likely, it alerts the driver by an audible chime and flashes a warning signal in the instrument cluster. If you take no action (i.e. you fail to brake immediately) the system triggers another function called brake support. The Forward Alert system has three sensitivity settings and can be switched on or off. This feature is available on the new Focus as well as the Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy ranges and if you are interested, we have the latest Ford contract hire on all models on the site now.

Volkswagen up!

The new Volkswagen up! city car and the new Volkswagen Beetle have both been awarded five-star Euro NCAP ratings. The up! features Volkswagen’s innovative City Emergency Braking function which scans the road ahead at speeds less than 18mph and if it detects an impending collision, brakes the car if necessary (i.e. you haven’t braked).

Both vehicles also attained top results in occupant protection in all seat positions and also excellent child protection results for 18 month and three-year old children.

New Beetle

Both cars have an impressive level of safety equipment with vehicle dynamic control (ESP) and seatbelt reminders both praised. The full results for both cars can be viewed at the Euro NCAP website and the up! and the new Beetle now join the Golf, Golf Cabriolet, Jetta, Passat, Polo, Scirocco, Sharan and Tiguan in achieving top safety marks. Volkswagen contract hire is on the site now for the whole range.

SKODA Citigo

The new SKODA Citigo city car has just been awarded the maximum five star safety rating by Euro NCAP, with the Euro NCAP testers praising the car for its level of standard safety equipment. The SKODA Citigo is also the first city car to be awarded five stars by Euro NCAP, so this is a major coup for the brand.

The Citigo received praise for its safety assistance systems, passenger protection and was also highly rated in the whiplash test. Infant safety also scored well and in particular, the Citigo has head-throrax airbags and belt fastening reminders as standard across the range.

Together with the Volkswagen up! and SEAT Mii, the SKODA Citigo offers a low-speed, active emergency braking assistant called City Safe Drive. This technology operates automatically at speeds lower than 18mph and depending on the speed and level of traffic, can mitigate the affects of a crash or prevent it altogether.

ESP installation chart

Electronic Stability Control (ESP) must now be standard on all new cars and light commercial vehicles in the EU from the 1st November 2011. ESP will also become compulsory in all new EU vehicles from 31st October 2014 and this is part of the European Commission strategy to improve road safety.

Bosch developed ESP and in 1995 it was the first company worldwide to start series production. By 2010, 41 per cent of all cars and light commercial vehicles weighing less than six metric tons worldwide were equipped with the innovative safety system.

The Electronic Stability Program uses intelligent sensors to check 25 times per second whether the driver’s steering input matches the direction of travel and if it detects the vehicle is likely to become unstable, it intervenes by reducing the engine torque in order to restore stability. If that doesn’t correct the issue, it then additionally brakes individual wheels and also incorporates with the functions of antilock braking (ABS) and traction control.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) latest poll has concluded that the proposed European MOT rules represent a road safety danger issue, with 60 per cent of motorists saying the first MOT should continue to be carried out after three years.

The new European Union directive is proposing we move to a minimum of four years for the first test and then every two years thereafter, rather than the annual MOT test in the UK. In Europe this is known as the four-two cycle.

In the UK, according to data released by the IAM, 27 per cent of all three year-year old cars fail their first MOT however in France, the failure rate for the first MOT (after 4 years) is only 6 per cent. The survey also found that most motorists are comfortable with the current UK MOT test procedure with 63 per cent believing the test will always pick up potential dangers.

IAM chief executive, Simon Best, said,”In a time when people are struggling financially, the MOT seems to be one cost they are happy to pay. The IAM is wary of abandoning our well-established and accepted cycle of MOT testing. The poll suggest that most motorists are happy with it”.

DIAmond Advanced Motorists, the company that organises and administers driving tests on behalf of the Driving Instructors Association (DIA) has recommended some motorway driving tips to reduce stress and improve road safety. Motorways are statistically the safest roads but as we know, when things do go wrong, it usually involves more than one vehicle and serious injuries.

The motorway driving tips;  

1. Plan your journey a day before you travel and have an alternative route if there is heavy traffic.
2. Check out the weather forecast and leave a reasonable time for your journey, with a stop every 2-3 hours to stretch your legs. Recent research has found that 15-20% of motorway incidents is caused by driver fatigue.
3. Do the basic maintenance checks on your vehicle – check the lights are working, tyre pressures, oil level, windscreen washer and water levels.
4. If you are an experienced motorway driver remember that many other drivers around you many not be, so keep on the lookout for the unexpected.
5. When joining a motorway on a slip road try and make sure your speed is the same as the traffic on the main carriageway when you pull onto the motorway.
6. Make sure you fully understand the motorway road signs before you set out (The Highway Code has all the details).
7. Take a few minutes to get use to the speed of the motorway and always look as far ahead as possible for potential hazards i.e. “is that car likely to pull out to overtake the lorry?”.
8. Keep your lane discipline and stay in the left hand lane (number 1) for normal driving - don’t hog the middle or outer overtaking lanes.
9. Check your mirrors regularly to see what is happening behind you before giving a signal and allow your signal to flash a few times before pulling out into another lane. Don’t forget to check your blind spot by a quick sideways look.
10. When overtaking move out briskly past the slower vehicles and only return to the left once you can see the vehicle you have passed in your rear-view mirror i.e. don’t “cut them up”. 
11. Don’t tailgate the vehicle in front as this is one of the most common causes of accidents on motorways. You should leave at least a two- to three-second gap between you and the vehicle in front.
12. When approaching a junction watch out for drivers who want to exit the motorway and may have left it too late, as they may make a risky manoeuvre.
13. Be aware that other cars or vans may be joining from the same junction so allow them to join by changing your speed or changing lanes.
14. Plan to leave the motorway in good time as the first exit sign is usually one mile from the exit slip road and sometimes two miles on busier exit junctions. The exit sign is repeated at the half mile stage and at the exit, so make sure you are in the left hand lane with plenty of time to exit.
15. And finally, when you have left the motorway do check your speed. You have been travelling at high speeds for some time and 30mph may appear “slow” when in fact it is the legal limit on most urban roads. 

TyreSafe and British Horse Society

TyreSafe has just teamed up with the British Horse Society, the UK’s largest equine charity, to educate both amateur and professional horse owners about the importance of correct tyre pressures and tyre maintenance. The British Horse Society represents the 4.3 million people who ride horses or drive horse-drawn vehicles and will lend its support to a range of future tyre safety campaigns.

The partnership is also timed to coincide with Equifest 2011, which takes place from the 18th to the 21st of August, at the East of England Showground in Peterborough. At the event, the Society will distribute various leaflets that advise on tyre safety and in particular in relation to horseboxes and trailers. The information is being used in conjunction with VOSA, NFU Mutual and PRP Rescue Services who will be also conducting a vehicle weight investigation during the show.

All visitors with horseboxes and trailers will be invited to weigh their vehicles to see if there is a problem with overloading, which does impact on tyre safety. In addition, correct tyre selection, rubber degradation, inflation and general condition are all areas that will be covered in the leaflets and advice being handed out.

Sheila Hardy, Senior Executive, Safety, The British Horse Society, said,”The British Horse Society are delighted to work in partnership with TyreSafe to ensure that all equestrian transport is as safe as it can be. Many people often overlook their tyres when they do their checks prior to setting off and we hope that advice from this professional body will remind them how important it is to do this. A puncture when you have an animal on board is no joke and can be a stressful and costly matter”.

Weather forecasters are predicting that yet again, the UK will experience another harsh winter with temperatures colder than average and more ice and snow expected. A recent YouGov poll of senior decision makers at small businesses found that 58% said their “business suffered last year” as a result of the snow across the UK. The report also found that 74% of employees were affected by the snowy conditions and 26% didn’t make it into work at all.

The online tyre retailer, mytyres.co.uk, is recommending that small businesses think about fitting winter tyres for those employees most affected. An example of where winter tyres helped a business continue trading effectively was the fitting of these specialist tyres to a major online supermarket grocer delivery service’s vehicles. The company said that fitting winter tyres improved the safety for its drivers and provided improved grip and stability, helping them make their deliveries.

To give you an idea of how winter tyres are more effective, the British Tyre Manufacturer’s Association found that a car braking at 60mph on a wet road (with the temperature at 5 degrees Celsius) stopped five metres shorter, which is equivalent to more than one car length. So if it is essential that your drivers are mobile this winter it may well be worth considering fitting winter tyres for extra tyre safety?