Newslink January 2022

For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com
UK roads getting
worse, says RAC
Some 38 per cent of drivers surveyed for
the RAC’s annual Report on Motoring
said the condition and maintenance of
local roads was a concern, up from 33
per cent in 2019. This puts it ahead of
other issues such as drivers using
handheld phones (32 per cent), the poor
standard of other motorists’ driving (27
per cent) and the aggressive behaviour of
other drivers (26 per cent).
52 per cent of drivers believe the
condition of local roads have deteriorated
over the past 12 months – compared to
just 6 per cent who believe they have
improved. The RAC says the findings
correlate with its own data, which shows
there were 1,871 call outs during the
third quarter of 2020 for damaged shock
absorbers, broken suspension springs or
distorted wheels – breakdowns that are
‘most likely to have been caused by poor
road surfaces’.
This is the highest third-quarter
percentage of all RAC breakdowns seen
since 2015.
Take the 20m test, says DVLA
DVLA has launched a new campaign to
encourage all drivers to have their
eyesight checked.
The campaign stresses the difficulties
driving in winter can cause which are
exacerbated by poor vision, such as bad
weather, ice on windscreens, low winter
sun and more likelihood of driving in
poor light or darkness.
The campaign calls on all drivers to
ensure they have their eyesight tested
every two years as a minimum. If you
don’t meet the minimum eyesight
standard, you must stop driving and tell
the DVLA.
Before then, why not ask your family
and friends to take the 20-metre number
plate test? That’s the distance at which
you need to be able to read a car number
plate. But how far away is 20 metres? It
is around the length of five parked cars,
or the length of 2 double decker buses.
Worryingly, a survey by DVLA found
that fewer than 50 per cent of motorists
are aware that they must read a number
plate from 20 metres.
Going like the wind
An Irish driver was caught
speeding at 201km/h (124mph)
on the M9 near Kilkenny in
the middle of torrential rain
and high-speed winds as a
result of December’s Storm
Barra. The irony... he was
stopped just as local police
were urging all drivers to
“exercise extreme caution” as a
result of the appalling weather
conditions...
NEWSLINK n JANUARY 2022
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