With the UK being in lockdown since the start of January, many of us will have left our cars parked up, only using them for essential reasons.
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Drivers facing rising forecourt prices as barrel of oil hits 13-month high
With the price of a barrel of oil back up to January 2020 levels and some analysts predicting prices could hit $80 this year as pandemic restrictions ease, the RAC is warning UK drivers need to brace themselves for further potentially dramatic pump price increases.
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Police receive 89 dashcam videos of driving offences every day
Members of the public submitted an average of 89 pieces of dashcam footage to police forces every day in 2019.
A freedom of information request from breakdown service the RAC shows that 32,370 video recordings were submitted that year, which is double the number recorded in 2018 (15,159).
The data also shows that 25 per cent of these submissions resulted in a prosecution.
The RAC’s research suggests police forces are making it easier for members of the public to submit examples of bad driving. All 44 forces now accept footage with the ‘vast majority’ online through their websites.
Most submissions were sent to the Met Police, with 8,082, followed by Surrey (3,542) and the West Midlands (3,242).
A wide variety of potential offences were recorded, including dangerous or careless driving, driving too close to cyclists, going through red lights and using a mobile phone behind the wheel.
RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “Even before the decline in the number of roads police enforcing traffic offences, law-abiding drivers were often frustrated that there was never an officer there to deal with infringements they witnessed.
“The advent of dashcams, phones with cameras and helmet cameras have been a game changer as drivers can now easily submit footage to almost every police force.
“As so many drivers and cyclists are now using dashcams and helmet cameras every road user needs to be very conscious that any of their actions that aren’t in accordance with the law could end up with the police. Some will inevitably find this out the hard way while others will hopefully become increasingly mindful of it.”
Williams added that the fact only 25 per cent of submissions result in a prosecution is likely because footage is not conclusive, while mobile phone footage might not capture enough of an incident to prove wrongdoing, unlike continuously recording dashcams.
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Petrol prices rise for third consecutive month
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EU flag removed from UK driving licences and number plates
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Ministers told to slash drink-drive limit
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British drivers to escape EU speed camera fines due to Brexit
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Supermarkets push the average price of fuel up 2p per litre
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Motor insurance premium costs have fallen in recent months
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Drivers who pay car insurance monthly could be up to £500 worse off
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COVID extensions could cause Christmas MOT rush
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Drivers planning 13m trips this Christmas – but thousands won’t be travelling due to Covid concerns
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Fuel prices static despite a sharp rise in the price of oil
Fuel prices remained almost unchanged in November despite a barrel of oil shooting up $10 to $46 a 27% monthly rise, data from RAC Fuel Watch shows.
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Road traffic sees largest falls since quarterly records began
The amount of motor vehicle traffic on the roads fell 18.9% for the year ending September 2020 following coronavirus lockdown measures.
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Waiting until last day to switch car insurance ‘can ramp up cost of policy’
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Cars across the UK failing MOT due to ‘avoidable faults’, finds survey
housands of vehicles are failing their MOT tests across the UK due to avoidable faults, according to new research.
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Motorists submitting more than 35 dashcam videos to UK police each day
Drivers across the country submit more than 35 dashcam videos of potential traffic offenses being committed to UK police forces each day.
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