Revealed: the best and worst motorway services in the UK

motorway services
Do you have a favourite motorway services? A review of user ratings reveals the best (Picture iStock/Gas Station)

At some point this year, you will have to pull into a motorway services. But the kind of experience you have – supreme or shoddy – will depend on which services you use. A new survey has revealed that there’s a huge difference between the best and worst.

Car dealership Brindley Group carried out the study. It looked at user reviews on TripAdvisor, Google and MotorwayServicesOnline for all 100 of the UK’s services on our 29 motorways. Researchers then collated review marks to award an average score out of five for each site.

What is the UK’s best services?

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James Foxall Leave a comment

Registration plates: take our quiz to see if your number’s up

Number plates have been around for more than a century. How much do you know about them? (Picture iStock/MisterClips)

Today is the first of the two annual new-car registration plate changes for 2022. Number plates are such a fixture of motoring you see them whenever you look at a car from the front or back. But how much do you know about them? Take our cunning quiz to find out.

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James Foxall 22 Comments

Proof of why tired drivers pose a threat to other road users

tired drivers
Being tired at the wheel can have potentially lethal consequences (Picture iStock/LSOPhoto)

It’s obvious driving and sleepiness don’t mix. But some new research shows just how much of a threat tired drivers can pose to other road users.

It’s not only nodding off at the wheel that can be dangerous. Tired drivers struggle to anticipate hazards, drive too quickly and aren’t as aware of other road users. They’re all the traits we associate with drink driving. Hardly surprising that statistics show driver fatigue may play its part in up to one in five road crashes.

How was the study carried out?

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James Foxall 2 Comments

Rules of the road your driving instructor may not have told you about

rules of the road
Do you know when you should and shouldn’t use your car’s horn? (Picture iStock/PixelsEffect)

There are so many rules of the road that driving instructors can’t be expected to tell you everything. That, after all, is what the Highway Code is for.

But just in case the regulations have changed since you took your test we’re outlining some of the things most of us do, that we shouldn’t. Some can even result in hefty fines.

Be careful when you use your horn

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James Foxall 11 Comments

Expert advice: how to make sure you don’t void your car warranty

car warranty
A warranty should give extra protection to your car but they’re easy to void (Picture: iStock/Rido Franz)

Buy a new car and by law it must come with a warranty. And increasingly, if you buy a used car, particularly if it’s manufacturer approved, it’ll also have a car warranty.

These guarantees vary in length from between seven and three years if it’s a brand-new car; between one year and three months if it’s a used car.

But they come with a strict set of terms and conditions. Drivers must abide by these if the warranty is to remain valid throughout its term. Here are five things you should steer clear of if you want to maintain your car warranty.

Keep your car maintained

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Mike Shaw Leave a comment

Find out how much you really know about Mondeo man’s favourite Ford

ford mondeo
When it was put up in 2001, this was said to be the biggest billboard poster in the world (Picture Ford)

Ford has revealed that the next version of its once best-selling Mondeo saloon won’t be available in the UK. In the face of waning sales, Ford has decided the current fourth generation Mondeo will be the last to be sold brand new.

The inspiration for ‘Mondeo Man’, the big Ford has been part of the fabric of British society for nearly three decades. But how much do you know about it? Take our quiz to find out.

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James Foxall Leave a comment

Half of all speed cameras are switched off, new report finds

speed cameras
There’s a 50% chance this will be switched off but drivers are still speeding (Picture iStock/Daniel Heighton)

Love ’em or hate ’em, speed cameras have been a part of British motoring life for more than 30 years. But your chances of getting a ticket for speeding from a fixed camera are now significantly reduced. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by BBC Panorama has revealed that only around half of fixed speed cameras now work.

Meanwhile, another request to police forces showed that the highest a driver has been caught speeding at between 2018 and 2020 was 163mph, more than twice the legal limit.

Why have speed cameras been turned off?

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James Foxall 5 Comments

How much do you know about alternative fuels?

A transport revolution is underway with the adoption of battery-powered electric vehicles. Although they’re new to us, there’s nothing radical about using a fuel that isn’t petrol or diesel. But how much do you know about alternative fuels? Take our crafty quiz to find out.

There have been all sorts of alternative fuels for cars over the years. But how much do you know about them? (Picture iStock/SimonSkafar)
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James Foxall 2 Comments

Is a city near you getting a Clean Air Zone this year?

clean air zone
London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone is the pioneer. More are being launched in 2022 (Picture iStock/Cheekylorns)

You might have heard of London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone. But depending on where you live in the country, you’re more likely to have a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) coming to a city near you this year. We investigate what these are, what they mean to car drivers and reveal which cities are getting them in 2022.

What are Clean Air Zones?

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James Foxall 11 Comments

Expert advice: what cold weather does to your car

cold weather
Winter affects many parts of your car (Picture iStock/Hutchyb)

Winter is here and with the cold weather comes a whole lot of challenges, and not just for us drivers. Cars too will be suffering in the lower temperatures. Here are the different ways icy conditions affect your car and some handy suggestions for ways to reduce their impact.

Low temperatures thicken the oil

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Mike Shaw 4 Comments

Read up on the new rules coming to a road near you in ’22

new rules
From next year, local authorities will be responsible for policing yellow box junctions (Picture iStock/JikGoe)

New year new rules, at least in the UK. For 2022, there’s a bumper set of new laws that will apply to drivers. If you’ve been struggling to keep up or read about and then forgotten some of them, don’t worry. We’ve summarised them below. Read on to see what’s new for ’22 when it comes to driving.

Bus lane and box junction fines are changing

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James Foxall 47 Comments

The manual handbrake is history and it’s costing us dear

manual handbrake
Most new cars have an electronic parking brake (Picture iStock/Kenneth-Cheung)

If you bought a car that’s either new or just a couple of years old, you might have noticed something missing between the seats. Back in the day there used to be a lever that would operate the parking brake, more commonly known as the handbrake.

No longer. The reassuring old handbrake has been replaced by the much less substantial electronic version. And it could be costing us dear. Read on to find out why.

What is an electronic parking brake?

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James Foxall 16 Comments

Expert advice: 6 questions to ask when getting your car serviced

getting your car serviced
Ask our questions and you’ll get him rather than the dodgy place next door (Picture iStock/Minerva_Studio)

For most of us, getting a car serviced ranks somewhere close to going to the dentist. It’s expensive, it involves hassle and we can’t get away with not doing it. But there is another way.

Pick the right garage to start with and you can make the experience an altogether more positive one. Of course, it’s impossible to know what a garage is going to be like until you use it. But ask the following six questions and you’ve got a fighting chance of picking a decent one.

What trade body do you belong to?

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Mike Shaw 5 Comments

Little Green Flag. A recovery service for Cozy Coupes this Christmas.

Photo credit: Aaron Chown/PA Wire

We’re excited to introduce ‘Little Green Flag’, a roadside recovery service that’s a little different to usual.

If a child has outgrown their Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, we’ll recover it, take it to be recycled, and new toy wheels will be gifted to children’s charity, The Toy Project. The Toy Project will then give the toys to disadvantaged families, schools, and nurseries just in time for Christmas.

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Jack Stoker Leave a comment

Driving licence backlog causing 10 week delay on new permits

driving licence backlog
Applying for a driving licence hasn’t been straightforward for some younger and older drivers (Picture iStock/stocknshares)

If you’ve applied for your driving licence and it still hasn’t turned up, you’re not alone. New figures have revealed that drivers are facing a 10-week wait if they’ve applied for a new driving permit.

The driving licence backlog is so bad that MPs are demanding action by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). We look at what’s causing the problem and what you can do about it.

How bad is the driving licence backlog?

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James Foxall Leave a comment

Our guide to carrying a Christmas tree safely by car

carrying a christmas tree
Both children and Christmas trees should be securely fastened if you’re planning on driving with them (Picture iStock/Romrodinka)

It’s that time of year when thoughts turn to buying and carrying a Christmas tree. The British Christmas Tree Growers Association claims there are around seven million ‘real’ Christmas trees sold in the UK every year.

It’s all very well deciding you want a tree that wouldn’t look small in London’s Trafalgar Square. But if you can’t get it home, it’s a waste of money. Follow our tips below on carrying a Christmas tree successfully and above all, safely.

Measure up for carrying a Christmas tree

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James Foxall Leave a comment

Our 2021 Christmas gift guide for car fans

If you need a bit of help with ideas for presents, read on to see half a dozen (Picture iStock/Tonito84)

Whether you want to give someone a pointer towards a present you might like, or you’re buying something for a car nut, we’ve got the answer. We’ve found half a dozen affordable gifts for all age groups with stuff that’s fun as well as more practical.

Build it and they will have fun

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How to go about rejecting a faulty car

rejecting a car
You might end up deciding to reject a car if your dealer can’t fix it satisfactorily (Picture iStock/Skynesher)

Increasing numbers of owners are rejecting their cars. Law company Stormcatcher claims people seeking legal advice for rejecting a car has skyrocketed over recent months.

But what does rejecting a car mean and if you want to do it, how do you go about it? Read on for all the ins and outs.

How can you reject a car?

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James Foxall 1 Comment

Expert advice: cold-cheating winter kit to carry in your car

winter kit
Having a glove with your ice scraper will prevent frost-bitten fingers (Picture iStock/AlenaPaulus)

Around this time of year I always think about winter and what to carry in my car to make life simpler and safer. Compiling a winter kit of equipment to carry in the cold months is easy. It might help you out when temperatures plunge and it could be a life saver if you get stuck in snowy conditions.

Make de-icing a bit nicer

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Mike Shaw 15 Comments

EV charging points: how easy is getting one installed at home?

ev charging points
This is probably the home charging dream for most people. (Picture iStock/sl-f)

New electric car sales in the UK are currently booming and the number of charging points can’t keep up.

For the first 10 months of 2021, there has been an 88 per cent increase in electric vehicles (EVs) sold compared to the previous year. Now, one in 10 new cars sold is battery powered. In October this year, 16,155 new EVs left the showroom.

Throughout the UK, according to Zap-Map, over that same period there were around 900 new charging points. That’s one charging point for every 18 cars. It’s hardly surprising that many EV drivers are looking at having a charging point installed at home. But how easy is it?

Can’t you charge with a normal plug?

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James Foxall 10 Comments