We as a nation are getting older; in 1970, the average life expectancy was 71.92 years, in 2015, that jumped to 81.60 years of age, and it still rises. This, of course, has a knock-on effect – the number of drivers aged over 90 topped 100,000 in 2017, and over 5 million British drivers are aged 70 or above.

We’ve even seen a 15% spike in ‘Centenarian’ motoring – currently, there are 265 Brits over 100 that still hold a valid UK driving licence.

And yet, the only time that an official eye test is undertaken for driving, is at the time of the test – reading a number plate at 20 metres. Simple maths tells us that there could be a reasonable number of drivers that had never done that either, as the test was only introduced in 1937.

Better regulation of testing

The road safety organisation, GEM Motoring Assist, are calling for compulsory eyesight testing every ten years, although they have said that in an ideal world, that would be every two years, particularly for those aged forty and over.

At first glance (no pun intended), it would seem another road safety campaign that’s been designed to grab headlines and column inches, but dig a little deeper into the statistics, and there seems to be a valid defence behind the call.

According to figures released by the DVLA, nearly 50,000 drivers had their driving licence refused or withdrawn due to vision problems between 2012/16, and nearly 3,000 fatal or serious injury collisions each year occur as a result of poor eyesight. A 2014 study by the road safety charity Brake, revealed that nearly 1.5 million motorists have never had their eyes tested.

The campaign has been started as a result of an accident involving a pensioner and a three-year-old girl, who was tragically killed as she waited at a pelican crossing with her mother – the driver admitted to not being able to see the child, red light, or pelican crossing; he’d been advised to stop driving by an optician.

Safer roads

There may be a minority of motorists that see this as a potential stealth tax, perhaps more so when GEM road safety officer Neil Worth states: “The most practical measure would be a sight test every ten years, along with licence renewal which would make it practical and enforceable”, but current photocard licences can be renewed from as little as £14, and with eye tests available from £10 (currently), £2.40 per year doesn’t sound so bad.

Perhaps if the campaign took off, insurance companies would be willing to offer reduced premiums to those that prove their vision, after all, there should be a significant reduction in serious or fatal accidents each year, leading to safer roads and reduced claims.

There is further benefit to drivers also; eye tests can help detect numerous undiagnosed conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid disorders, high cholesterol and even multiple sclerosis – the eyes are an excellent indicator of health when examined correctly.

Driving blind

If you’re a spectacle or contact lens wearer, there’s a high chance that you already have an understanding of your vision capability, but for those of you that have never taken an eye test, it’s worth knowing that you can lose up to 40% of your visual acuity without even realising that there is a problem.

Many high street opticians offer free eye testing for qualifying persons, but should you have to pay, the typical price is anywhere between £10 – £20 for a full examination, so perhaps it’s worth considering as a precautionary measure, especially for those aged forty plus, or on long-term medication. You may gain a better understanding of your own vision, or even health. A simple test is to stand 20 metres from a car and see if you can read the number plate – if you can’t, it’s time to book that eye test or stop driving.

It’s also worth knowing that the police are able to revoke a driver’s licence on the spot if the driver fails a basic roadside sight test, and that you could be liable to prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000 if you fail to inform the DVLA about a medical condition that could affect your driving.

If you think that compulsory eye tests for British motorists could help with road safety, then you can sign the ‘Driving Blind’ petition here.

Do you think that compulsory eye tests could help with road safety? Should drivers have a more rigorous sight test when applying for their licence? Have you ever had a ‘moment’ that could be down to not being able to see clearly? Let us know.

News from global advisory, broking and solutions company, Willis Towers Watson says insurance premiums have fallen 11% since 2017.

The most recent Confused.com Car Insurance Price Index shows that drivers in the UK are now paying, on average, £95 less for comprehensive car insurance than they were twelve months ago, with an average premium costing £752 a year. The Confused.com Car Insurance Price Index uses the data from all the enquiries submitted on their comparison website and the company say they hold the most comprehensive data in the UK, with their website producing over 24 million quotes every year.

Is it all good news?

The insurance premiums of young drivers dropped, with the average cost of insurance for a 17-year-old dropping by £403. One big reason is the increased use of ‘telematics’, which monitors the driving patterns of motorists, with safer driving habits reflecting a lower annual premium. Still, insurance costs remain high for young people, who pay an average of £1,889 each year.

Older drivers are benefitting too, with those aged 68 paying an average of £496—an 8.7% quarterly cut—and the average female aged between 61-65 pays half the national average insurance bill, at around £356 a year.

Northern Ireland drivers enjoyed the biggest drop in insurance premiums, seeing prices 4.3% lower (£894). It’s not good news for everyone, though, with motorists in the Scottish Highlands and Islands experiencing a rise in premiums in the past three months, by an average of 1%.

While motorists will welcome the reduction in the cost of premiums, prices aren’t anywhere near as low as they were in the second quarter of 2008, when the average car insurance premium cost, on average, £499. Confused.com reports that prices are up by £37 since 2016 and £74 since 2013.

Reducing premiums

UK motorists saw a steep rise in car insurance premiums, last year—due to a change former Lord Chancellor, Liz Truss made to the Ogden discount rate—with average premiums rising to £847 in the second quarter of 2017.

After a severe backlash from the insurance industry, who called the changes “reckless in the extreme”, saying they would have to make dramatic increases the amount customers would have to pay for car insurance—to make up for the shortfall they’d have to pay out in larger lump sums—the Ministry of Justice made a slight alteration to the discount rate.

After prices reached a high of £847 last summer, the cost of insurance premiums has reduced over each of the last four quarters including a 2% fall since April.

Steve Fletcher, Head of Data Services at Confused.com, said: “While prices are continuing to drop, they are doing so at a much slower rate than the last quarter. This suggests there appears to be a correcting of the steep increases we saw this time last year, where insurers increased their premiums following the change to the Ogden rate. What we are now seeing is the plateauing of increases over the past three years, and potentially the home-coming of a period of steadily decreasing premiums.”

Ways to slash your insurance costs

If you have a garage so full of junk, you can’t use it for its intended purpose, maybe you should declutter. You may find you don’t need half of what you’ve been storing—if you even remember what’s there. Parking in a garage instead of on the road will often bring down your insurance bill—but not always—so experiment with quotes to find what’s best for where you live.

Consider increasing your voluntary excess—but make sure you have the money set aside should you need to make a claim—and, if you can, pay your insurance premium on an annual basis instead of each month. This will shave a nice bit of money off your bill.

There are many other ways to reduce your insurance costs. Another way is to drive fewer miles. Insurers look at mileage because the further we drive, the higher the chance of being involved in an accident. We’re all guilty of driving when we could walk or cycle. Leave the car at home sometimes and you can help your wallet, your health, and the environment.

Comparison sites such as Confused.com are wonderful tools for finding a great deal on car insurance but don’t rely on them, alone. Many insurers aren’t on comparison sites, so explore those too before making a purchase. Search before your policy is due to expire to avoid an often costly auto-renewal.

PetrolPrices currently has a deal with Confused.com to help you find the cheapest car insurance, and if they can’t beat your renewal cost, they’ll pay the difference plus give you an extra £20! With Confused, you compare quotes from over 120 insurance providers to help find the cheapest, and best, cost for your insurance. If you want to save money on your car insurance, start comparing today!

What do you think of this news? Have you seen a reduction in your car insurance premiums? What strategies do you use for lowering the cost of motor insurance? Let us know in the comments.

Brexit is on a fast-track to becoming one of the nation’s greatest disasters or triumphs, depending on your viewpoint. Even now, it’s a political hot-topic that that is contentiously debated up and down the country. With the vote being so tight, whatever the outcome half the country would’ve been celebrating and the other half not.

Whatever the rights or wrongs of it, it’s here and it’s happening, being driven by a desire to be free of bureaucratic red-tape imposed on us by the EU. And yet, if we reach a ‘no deal’ on the process, we may find ourselves with yet more red-tape – the International Driving Permit being just one small element.

International driving

Currently, British residents need an International Driving Permit (IDP) if they intend to drive in certain countries such as the United Arab Emirates, it’s essentially just an official multi-language translation of your regular licence, that’s recognised throughout the 140+ countries that aren’t covered with any EU agreement, it can’t be used as a standalone licence, and will only be issued to full UK driving licence holders.

With regulations as they stand now, drivers can jump in their car and take a trip to France, Germany … anywhere in Europe, with nothing more than a tank full of fuel and a passport, but if the Government can’t reach a deal with BREXIT, drivers will need an IDP for travelling throughout Europe too.

Whilst this doesn’t sound disastrous, and at just £5.50 (currently) for twelve months, it’s not going to break the bank, but as with a number of government systems, the infrastructure behind it could fail us.

The IDP system

It’s estimated that just 100,000 International Driving Permits are issued annually at the moment, this is done through the Post Office, at the counter or by mail – there’s no online system for it. To satisfy the 100,000 demand, 89 branches of the Post Office can offer this service, that’s throughout the country.

Latest figures suggest that should we need to have an IDP to drive in Europe, it could affect around 7 million motorists.

We’re told that the Department for Transport are looking to upgrade the systems and put plans in place to handle the surge in numbers, with estimates saying that around 4,500 Post Offices could be upgraded to offer the IDP service, but as with most government announcements, no set date or figures have been issued, which could lead to a backlog or delay.

Applications

You can apply for an IDP up to three months in advance of travel, but remember that it’s also valid for twelve months, so maybe if you’re planning on taking a driving trip abroad this year, it could just be worth applying for one shortly, before the rush happens. In the event of us reaching an agreement with Brexit, and you not needing an IDP, you’ve lost £5.50, but equally, you may just save your holiday.

To apply for an International Driving Permit, you’ll need to locate your nearest branch offering the service, you’ll also need a full UK Driving Licence, £5.50, a signed passport photo and proof of identification, such as a passport.

The application process takes around 5 minutes.

The industry

Regardless of what deals are reached, you can guarantee that there will be more disturbances for the UK motorist following on from Brexit, the IDP could just be the tip of the iceberg. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have stated that additional EU tariffs on cars could add around £2.7 billion to imports, and £1.8 billion to exports, with the import tariffs adding around £1,500 to the list price of any car imported from the continent.

Other studies have said that typically, most ‘British’ cars have around 70% of European components in them (which does include UK components) – around 1,100 lorry loads of components arrive daily from Europe, so prices could still rise regardless of agreements, but in the worst case scenario, British automotive companies could move their manufacturing facilities abroad, with Eastern Europe being favoured.

Whatever the future may hold, PetrolPrices will be the first to bring you the news regarding any impact on the motorist, hopefully an agreement will be reached that should mean we don’t suffer financially, and the Government won’t see this as a way to further stealth tax our vehicles.

Would having an IDP be an issue for you? Do you feel that BREXIT will affect the motorist in other ways? What would happen to the UK car industry if prices were raised by £1,500 for each car? Let us know your thoughts.

PetrolPrices recently wondered, as we’ve looked at the prices across the country for fuel many times, what the difference in cost across the country was like for parking. We’ve written about parking before and many people have mentioned to us the cost of parking and how ridiculous it can be. With this in mind, we set out to document the maximum cost of parking per hour of all council owned car parks and on-street parking across England.

Motorists are continually seen as the target for local authorities and Government that need propping up; a number of councils are facing increasing cuts to their budgets, particularly Social Care, and as recently as March, Northampton County Council effectively stated they were bankrupt, and other councils are close to following them. The Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) has stated that as many as half of the local councils could raise their parking charges in the next few months, by as much as 45%, and Sunday charges haven’t been ruled out.

London problems

The City of London has some of the highest property prices in Europe per metre2, analysts tell us that space is a commodity, and as such, should be paid for at the market rate to make use of it. Councils tell us that it is part of the congestion charge effect, and they’re raising prices to combat the levels of air pollution created by cars. Motorists will tell you that finding a space in London isn’t easy, and trying to avoid paying additional charges after Congestion and T-Charge means further driving, more congestion and more pollution.

Up until 2004, there were strict requirements for parking space provisions for any new build in London, meaning that the city could only grow or develop as the space warranted; no parking provision, no building. Once those regulations were abolished, the average parking space ratio for residential housing blocks fell from 1.1 spaces to 0.6, thereby putting a greater emphasis and strain on the on-street and council owned parking facilities.

If the analysts are correct, and we should pay market value for on-street space, then we’re paying for exactly that – the space. If the space is occupied, it can’t be used, so why do certain vehicles have to pay up to 50% more for the space, whilst others get it free? (Westminster introduced a ‘D-Charge’ in which pre-2015 diesel vehicles pay a flat 50% extra). A diesel car is as pollution-free as the most modern and cleanest of the ULE vehicles when they’re parked.

£8 per hour for diesels

The London Borough of Islington charges a standard rate of £6 per hour for parking, although diesel drivers face a further surcharge of £2 per hour, regardless of how modern the diesel is. Without the diesel surcharge, the City of Westminster tops the list with a fee of £7.26 per hour.

Compare that to the district of Blaby in Leicestershire, parking charges are a maximum of £0.15 per hour, or the thirty plus areas that still offer free parking. At least 50 of the UK councils make zero profit from parking charges, some even run at a loss to help support trade and businesses in the local area.

The top 10 most expensive places were:

1. Islington – £6 + £2 diesel charge
2. Westminster – £7.26
3. Camden – £5.55
4. Kensington and Chelsea – £4.90
5. Tower Hamlets – £4.60
6. Oxford – £4.50
7. Nottingham – £4.40
8. Thanet – £4.00
9. St Edmundsbury – £4.00
10. Lambeth – £4.00

Data shows the maximum cost per hour for either on-street or off-street parking in a council charged area. This data does not take in private car parks in any town.

It is also worth noting that the Brighton and Hove also charged a maximum of £4 an hour.

Cheaper for green vehicles

A number of cities have recently introduced free parking for the drivers of green vehicles, and some car park operators are looking to slash fees by 20% for the same, and yet given that an electric or hybrid vehicle has the same footprint, weight and capacity to occupy a parking space as a regular vehicle, and therefore the same ‘wear & tear’ properties, surely they should be paying the same? Electric vehicles by their very nature are expensive, whilst they now may be a viable alternative for the fossil-fuelled vehicles, that’s only the case if the consumer can afford to take that choice; penalising drivers for not being able to afford a newer and more expensive car is unjust.

Forcing the motorist from the city centres will have further impact; high street shopping is already on the decline – a 2.2% drop in September 2017 for the year, although December 2017 saw that figure rise to 3.5%, analysts tell us that the drop is due to internet shopping, yet out-of-town retail parks continue to enjoy year on year growth. Could high parking charges and added congestion charges, T-Charges, ULEZs be having an impact on the high street?

Motorists targeted as cash cows

Could these staggeringly high parking charges be part of a ‘make hay whilst the sun shines’ strategy by the local authorities? With experts predicting that the high street will evolve into a place of leisure with bars, clubs, restaurants etc, the traffic and congestion problem (and therefore, the pollution problem) will lessen.

Treating the motorist as a simple but effective means to make short-term money is a near-sighted policy and will only result in a catch-22 situation; towns will lose footfall, leading to loss of business, reduced revenue stream for any local authority (rents, rates and additional spend), increased expenditure on public transport infrastructure, and a need to find the lost revenue from other avenues – the ‘car’ will be a no-go zone thanks to being effectively forced off the road. And yet still they continue to add stealth taxes on every aspect of car ownership.

As one of the biggest resources to help the motorist, PetrolPrices would like to see an investigation into the policy decisions made regarding parking charges and pricing, with particular respect to geographic variations, and justifiable amounts; why does providing a single parking space in London cost 50 times more than elsewhere in the country? Particularly when it’s on-street parking rather than a dedicated facility.

What’s the parking cost like near you? How do you overcome the cost of parking? Let us know below

J. D Power, the world leader and trusted advisor in consumer insights and brand performance has released their 2018 UK Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) and there have been big changes since last year.

The study uncovered many more reports of problems from premium brand car owners than from those who drive volume brand vehicles and the problem is in-vehicle technology.

A clear winner

The J. D Power Vehicle Dependability Study — now in its fourth year — examines issues by the original owners of vehicles after one to three years of ownership and looks at those problems experienced within the past 12 months.

This UK VDS, conducted between February and April of this year, used the responses of 13,536 owners of new vehicles registered between February 2015-February 2017.

The top 13 best-performing cars in the UK are volume brands, with Hyundai ranking the highest—an improvement on an already superb fifth place, in 2017, and it doesn’t stop there for the Korean car manufacturer, who ranked well in the segment categories, too.

Hyundai i10 came top in the rankings for Best City Car, with the Hyundai i20 placing second in the Best Small Car category, and the brand ranked third highest for the Best Compact Car, with their Hyundai i30.

2018 Nameplate VDS Ranking

Problems per 100 vehicles (PP100)

Hyundai 78
Suzuki 87
Kia 94
Skoda 97
Nissan 100
SEAT 102
Dacia 105
Peugeot 107
Toyota 109
Vauxhall 113
Honda 115
Ford 116
Volkswagen 119
Mercedes-Benz 124
Mazda 127
Industry Average – 128
Jaguar 137
Volvo 138
Renault 139
Mini 153
Citroen 164
Land Rover 169
Audi 175
Fiat 177
BMW 192

What is the study measuring?

The principal measure of vehicle reliability involves the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100). The lower the score, the greater the quality of the vehicle and Hyundai ranked highest here, too, with a score of 78 PP100. Mercedes-Benz (124 PP100), ranked 14th overall on the 2018 VDS and were the highest-ranking premium brand of vehicle.

J. D Power examined 177 problems from eight categories, including features, controls, displays, engine, and transmission.

The Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Index measures satisfaction of car owners on a 1000 point scale. The industry average is 767, yet when any of the 10 most severe problems with in-vehicle technology occur, the APEAL index drops by 5-13%.

Fifty-four per cent of drivers of cars where none of the top 10 problems occurred said they ‘definitely will’ buy or lease the same brand of car again compared to only 37% of drivers who encountered one of the top 10 highest-severity problems.

Technology malfunctions

New and emerging in-vehicle technologies are wonderful when they work, but owners of premium cars report in-vehicle technology malfunctions, which continue for 12-36 months of vehicle ownership or lease.

Among the six most common owner-reported problems in the UK VDS included pairing and connectivity issues with Bluetooth devices, commands not being recognised with voice recognition technology, and—although not a commonplace problem—issues with engine and transmission continue to be of concern for motorists, due to their costly and sometimes dangerous consequences when they fail.

Despite the technological advancements made within the automotive industry, the biggest problem drivers face is of engines not starting.

Part of the reason premium brand vehicle owners are reporting more car problems is that the premium brand manufacturers are incorporating ever more complex features into their models, and, as we know, the more features something has, the greater the opportunity for things to go wrong.

Josh Halliburton, Head of European Operations at J.D. Power said, “Automotive systems are more complex than they’ve ever been and premium brands especially are incorporating autonomous driving building blocks—adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, automatic braking—into their models.

“It’s imperative for manufacturers to address this issue in order to improve the level of consumer trust in the technology.”

It’s worth noting, that as the 2018 models aren’t in the study, we don’t have a complete take on the current vehicle reliability situation and of improvements that manufacturers may have since made.

Will you switch brands?

Overall, the study gives motorists a good idea of the car brands that are most reliable and those who aren’t doing so well. Comparing results from the 2017 VDS also highlights which car manufacturers are improving and who hasn’t had a good year for complaints.

Take Romanian manufacturer, Dacia, for example. In 2017, they ranked 21st overall, with 151 (PP100). In the 2018 VDS, they’re in sixth place, scoring an impressive 105 (PP100). On the other end of the scale, the Swedish manufacturer, Volvo has fallen from an amazing joint first place, in 2017, with a score of 83 (PP100) to now having a score of 138 in 2018 and placing 17th, overall.

BMW, despite seeing a slight improvement in the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles in the past 12 months, have remained at an unimpressive last place for vehicle reliability.

The results of the study are, perhaps, most useful to those motorists who buy cars less than three years old, but whether we buy new or older cars, many drivers will have both their favourite brands and those they avoid.

Car brands develop stereotyped identities and we don’t always choose a certain brand after examining accurate and current information, but get swayed by a mixture of experience with a model of car and information—correct or not—we pick up along the way.

Do the results of the study match up to how you feel about certain brands of cars? What information do you use when deciding which vehicle to buy or lease? Are you an owner of a premium car with in-vehicle technology problems? Tell us in the comments.

Another day, another report on how the UK Government are ‘leading the charge’ on Electric Vehicle Infrastructure. It has been suggested that this new strategy from the Government will be the most significant technological advancement since the creation of the internal combustion engine, which is most certainly a bold claim.

We reported back in May that the infrastructure isn’t in place to cope with demand, and while it’s true that updates to the Road to Zero strategy have included infrastructure, they’ve mainly focused on charging points and charging technology.

However, with the Government targeting at least 50% of all new car sales to be Ultra Low Emission (ULE) by 2030, how will they manage that? Currently, the number of cars registered for road use is around 30 million.

The Road to Zero

The UK will be hosting the first ever Zero Emission Vehicle summit later this year in Birmingham. In attendance will be policy makers, industry experts, academia and financial institutions with the goal of providing a platform for the experts and senior government officials from around the world to meet, discuss and produce strategies for the future of zero-emission vehicles, placing the UK at the forefront.

Is it possible that this latest news has been influenced by the need to show the UK’s credentials in the fight against pollution against the court case that the EU brought against the UK earlier this year? The EU took the UK and five other major polluters to the European Court of Justice in May after they failed to meet both the 2005 and 2010 EU directives.

The government has already committed to investing around £1.5 billion in Ultra Low Emission vehicles by 2020, and the infrastructure to support them, but with just one charging spot for every nine vehicles currently, how far will that money go? With around 150,000 ULE vehicles using the road network currently, what happens when we get to 5 million? Not forgetting that the Government are looking toward the 15 million mark by 2030.

Future plans

This latest report revealed that discussions are taking place regarding the infrastructure and how we can fully optimise the situation. Some of the proposals included:

• Have charging points included in all new house builds
• New lampposts built to incorporate charging points
• The launch of new £400m Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund
• Creation of a £40m programme to develop wireless and on-street charging tech
• A scheme for business with electric vehicle owners to claim up to £500 for the installation of a charging point

In theory, this sounds like an excellent way forward, but there are two details not yet mentioned; the proposals are ideas, not planned actions with a set start date, and a potentially more significant problem – the supply network.

Supply network problems

The increase in demand for electricity in 2030 due to electric cars could reach as high as 8GW; this is an additional figure to the current peak of 60GW. To put that in perspective, the new Hinckley Point nuclear power station will provide a further 3.2GW to the national grid. Reports say that at present, as few as six cars charging could lead to a localised power outage at peak times, and Energy UK have said that being able to cut the power off at times of peak load and demand is preferable than investing in new cables across the country. There are also suggestions of tariffs for peak charging times, which are first thing in the morning and late evening.

Energy analysts have predicted that with just 33% of new car sales being a fully electric vehicle in 2035, they would account for around 3% of the total energy demand and that there would be a need for an additional 400,000 charging points at the cost of £30bn. The government are targeting a minimum of 50% of areas having charging points, but have said they’d like to get that as high as 70%, and that’s at current levels of charge/output – what happens as the battery technology develops to greater levels of power, therefore requiring more electricity?

All electric

Even for die-hard internal combustion fans, the prospect of electric vehicles is now a genuine and viable alternative – performance levels are similar to their counterparts, the range is usable in the real world. Experts predict that when battery prices fall to £95 – £120 per kWh (currently around £145), prices should be comparable to a traditionally powered vehicle; when mass production started in about 2010, that figure was closer to £750 per kWh.

Perhaps the only thing that’s keeping everyone from rushing out and buying one is the charging situation – many of us don’t have off-street parking, and public charging stations can be an inconvenience, and while that’s the case, the Government don’t need to worry too much about the generation of power. Hence the statements made ahead of the Zero Emission Vehicle summit – giving details of potential solutions to problems that don’t yet exist rather than finding solutions to the very real problem of power generation.

BP believes electric is the way forward, and recently bought Chargemaster, the UK’s biggest charging network to help invest in the future. This echoes a move by Shell last year when they purchased Chargemaster rival NewMotion. With big oil going electric, the government introducing such schemes seems a bit late.

What do you think of the Road to Zero strategy? Should the Government place more emphasis on creating solutions for power generation? More to the point – is this latest ‘report’ hype ahead of the summit? Let us know in the comments.