It looks like there’s going to be a lot of dancing in the street during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend.
According to our research1, one in seven Brits (that’s around eight million of us) are planning a street party over the Jubilee four-day weekend.
But what does this mean for anyone hitting the road?
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The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations are on the first weekend in June. Ahead of it, Britain is basking in the knowledge that we get a four-day weekend to help Her Majesty celebrate. But what are you going to do during it?
Below we outline five great motoring ways to spend the long bank holiday weekend.
Imagine waking up and finding someone else’s car dumped on your drive. It might sound strange but it happens. And astonishingly there’s no simple fix because one of Britain’s strange laws means it’s not immediately illegal.
You read that right. The 1991 Road Traffic Act handed over parking enforcement to local authorities. They can fine drivers for parking on public roads. But a drive is private land and the council has no jurisdiction over that.
The land owner isn’t allowed to remove the rogue car either as that could make them responsible for damaging someone else’s property.
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One way to cut your motoring costs is to own a classic – a car that’s more than 40 years old. But you’ll probably think some of the motors that turn 40 this year make an unlikely classic car, clapped out rather than classic.
Owners of pre-1982 cars don’t need an MOT and don’t pay any car tax. If you read on below, you’ll see that many classics won’t cost a fortune to buy either. Get the right one and it’ll even appreciate in value too.
Here we look at some of the cars that turn classic this year – at least in name. We also see how many remain and reveal what it might cost to buy one.
The model for how we pay for our roads has been broken by the uptake of zero emissions electric vehicles. From 2030, the sale of brand-new internal combustion engine cars will be banned in the UK. That means the government has to start working out how to replace the money it makes from petrol and diesel cars.
The devastating effect of war in Ukraine is being felt to a lesser extent across Europe and into the UK too. Here we look at how the war is affecting car users today and the impact it could have in the future.
Every year a survey of the nation’s roads reveals a depressing picture of the country’s pothole crisis. The latest ALARM survey highlights that £17m was paid to drivers in England and Wales after their cars suffered damage from potholes.
But aside from running the gauntlet of them every time you take to the road, how much do you actually know about potholes? Take our quiz to find out. We hope you learn something about potholes in the process.
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Before you hit the road for a bank holiday getaway, make sure you download the Green Flag app.
This bank holiday, thousands of drivers will be hitting the road, and we’ll be here to help 24/7 if any breakdowns try to ruin your journey.
But, with a few quick and easy checks, you can help prevent a breakdown from happening. So, before you set off, give these a read (and give your vehicle a bit of TLC).
With the price of fuel increasing almost daily, we’ve had a lot of people asking how they can use less fuel driving and get more miles for their money.
There isn’t a magic solution for using less fuel. It’s all about making lots of little savings that combine to result in more miles per gallon.
Thieves are increasingly targeting electric vehicle (EV) charging cables as a quick way to make money.
The cables are either dismantled and the metals inside them are stripped out and sold. Alternatively crooks sell them to other EV owners for up to £200 a go.
Industry experts fear charging cable theft could escalate over the coming years, with sales of new combustion engine cars banned from 2030. The results could cost the UK’s EV drivers millions of pounds annually.
More drivers are being sent on speed awareness courses after breaking the law than ever before. The courses enable drivers to avoid points, fines and potentially expensive increases in insurance premiums.
Drivers attended the courses virtually during the pandemic with 1.5 million licence holders doing so in 2021. It was the greatest number since records began for the courses. Most of the drivers attending courses had been nicked for speeding.
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the new E10 petrol so I thought it would be useful to answer some of them.
E10 has been the cheapest petrol on garage forecourts since September 2021 when it replaced E5 as the forecourt standard. It gets its name because the bioethanol content was doubled to 10 per cent. Bioethanol is an alcohol-based fuel that is made from plant bi-products. The government chose to do this because it believes it’s a simple way to reduce the CO2 emissions from petrol cars.
Read on and I’ll answer some of the most popular questions about E10 petrol.
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.
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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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.
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.
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.
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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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.
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.
