Category: Fleet News

With much of the high street closed since March, personal care appointments have also fallen by the wayside – and that includes trips to the optician.

However, GEM Motoring Assist has urged drivers not to let this be an excuse for getting behind the wheel with deteriorated eyesight if they feel their vision has altered for the worse.

Strained eyes? Don’t drive

The road safety organisation said anyone with even minor concerns about their eyesight needs to ‘do the responsible thing’ and avoid driving.

“Please don’t put yourself and others at risk. Instead wait to have a proper eyesight test before you get behind the wheel,” advised GEM road safety officer Neil Worth.

The comments come after the furore last week surrounding the prime minister’s aide Dominic Cummings, who sparked outrage when he admitted he had driven 26 miles to a local landmark in order to check his vision upon recovering from apparent COVID-19 symptoms.

It prompted a host of motoring groups to speak out and urge other drivers not to undertake journeys of any length as a way of ensuring accurate eyesight.

According to GEM Motoring Assist, poor vision is linked to more than 3,000 serious road accidents each year. It has long been campaigning for a stricter eye test for drivers than the current one brought in back in 1937.

This only requires motorists to read a number plate at 20 metres and does not test peripheral vision, depth perception or focus.

Tom Cosway, brand representative at Fuel Card Services, comments: “None of us have had our eyes tested recently and while the majority will still be within the recommended two-year timeframe, others may not. We would implore those people and anyone who has noticed a decline in acuity during lockdown not to drive.”

Fleet managers across the UK should take note of the latest research from What Car? showing how many of the latest infotainment systems could pose a threat to driver safety.

According to the publication’s findings, there are a host of vehicles on today’s market that make use of overly-complicated systems that could be a cause of distraction for drivers.

Distraction poses a serious risk to road users

Editor of What Car? Steve Huntingford said: “Distracted drivers are a factor in a growing number of road accidents, so it’s important to choose a car with controls that are responsive and easy to use while you drive.” 

What Car? tested 20 of the UK’s most popular models and assessed their infotainment systems for the amount of time that the driver needed to take their eyes off the road in order to carry out a range of basic tasks, such as changing heating settings, reconfiguring sat-nav directions or retuning the radio.

Here are the results in terms of the highest levels of distraction:

• MG ZS with 8.0-inch touchscreen
• Fiat 500X with 7.0-inch touchscreen and Uconnect Live
• Skoda Citigo-e iV with colour screen and phone holder
• Peugeot 508 SW with 10.0-inch Connected 3D Navigation and voice recognition
• Lexus RX with 12.3-inch multimedia display

Top of the list, offering the lowest levels of distraction, were the BMW 3 Series with Live Cockpit Professional, Mercedes-Benz CLA with 10.25-inch touchscreen, and Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid with Connect Plus and Porsche Communication Management.

“The best systems provide physical buttons and voice control, while those that are most distracting have sluggish touchscreens and require too many steps to carry out commands,” Mr Huntingford concluded.

Ellie Baker, brand representative at Fuel Card Services, comments: “Distracted drivers pose a danger to both themselves and others. Fleet managers should therefore take these findings into account when considering their next purchases and the impact that vehicle choice can have on driver safety.”

A new campaign has launched in urban areas to decrease speed limit areas of 30mph to 20mph the day before the Easter weekend.

Leading medical practitioners are calling on the government to introduce an Emergency National Urban Limit to alleviate pressure on the NHS. Driving slower should result in fewer victims of collisions for the NHS to care for during this critical time.

Not-for-profit organisation 20’s Plenty for Us, formed to campaign for mandatory 20mph limits, has teamed up with several local communities to support Lower the Baseline, an initiative to increase awareness to ultimately reduce healthcare admissions.

To the Times, over one hundred doctors wrote, “..each month there are nearly 3,000 road traffic collision-related admissions to NHS hospitals in England alone. Lowering and enforcing speed limits would reduce the frequency and severity of road traffic collisions.”

In an article to help improve the NHS’s capacity, the BMJ published on 24^th March: “First, we suggest an immediate reduction in motor vehicle speed limits. In England alone there are around 35 000 non-fatal admissions to hospital every year related to road traffic accidents; more than one in 10 of these are serious and likely to require intensive support, including anaesthesia and surgery. Evidence from around the world shows that lowering speed limits can lead to major reductions in injuries. In Canada, for example, lowering the speed limit from 40km/h to 30km/h was associated with a 28% decrease in pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions and a 67% decrease in major and fatal injuries.”

Further information about Lower the Baseline is in more detail here.

Fuel Card Services is an independent agent of fuel cards as well as fleet management tools, including tracking, discounted vehicle maintenance, mileage counting, and driver walk around check list.

Kia is celebrating an array of awards as part of this year’s Driver Power survey, with the manufacturer’s Sorento model a standout performer.

Picking up a total of six honours in 2020, it was an impressive performance and goes to highlight the popularity of the brand among the UK motoring public.

Sorento scoops a double

The Kia Sorento claimed this year’s Best Large SUV title and was also voted the Driver Power Car of the Year. 

Stuart Milne, executive editor of Auto Express, revealed it was the model’s low running costs, excellent infotainment package and the ease with which drivers can make use of the vehicle in their daily lives that helped push the Sorento ahead of the competition.

Responding to the awards, president and CEO of Kia Motors (UK) Paul Philpott commented: “These wins for Kia are especially important to us as they’re voted for by our customers, people who live with our vehicles day to day.”

He added that the marque takes “huge pride in these awards and will continue to listen to customers and deliver what they want”.

Indeed, it wasn’t just the Sorento that fared well in this year’s survey, with the Picanto picking up Best City Car and the Rio being named Best Supermini. The marque’s Niro HEV also claimed the Best Small SUV title, while the Niro PHEV was named Best Plug-in Hybrid.

Ellie Baker, brand representative at Fuel Card Services, comments: “This is an amazing result for a brand that has captured the imagination of UK car buyers. It’s a brilliant achievement and one that’s fully deserved given the commitment of Kia to deliver models of the highest quality.”

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VCV) is celebrating 70 years of the VW Transporter – the
world’s longest continuous production run for a commercial vehicle.

The model has come a long way in its 70 years and remains among the most popular light
commercial vehicles on the market today.

Six generations since 1950

The Transporter T1 was produced from 1950 to 1967 and was the first model to hold this
prestigious name. It was entirely hand-built and saw many of its parts coming from the VW
Beetle, including the engine and gearbox.

Fast forward to the Transporter T2 (1967-79) and the marque saw the model evolve with a
new front end and sliding doors as standard. The Transporter T3 (1979-92), meanwhile, took
the vehicle to new heights of popularity with its expanded cargo space, wider wheelbase and
all-wheel drive.

A technical revolution was seen in the Transporter T4 (1990-2003), with multiple options for
customisation for buyers for the first time. It was then the Transporter T5 (2003-15) that
placed the comfort of drivers at the forefront of design thinking.

Finally, launched last year, the Transporter T6 (2019-present) now comes with all the latest
mod cons, including intelligent driver assistance, infotainment and two-tone paint schemes in
a nod to the T1.

It’s a model that continues to capture the imagination of buyers and one we hope will be in
production for many years more.

Ellie Baker, Brand Manager at Fuel Card Services, comments: “The Transporter is a van
that’s synonymous with reliability and functionality. It’s great to see the model reach its 70-
year milestone, with many more years still in store.”