News

Commuters looking to go green may want to snap up a new line of electric bikes, which goes on sale next month. The A2B range markets itself as the fastest vehicle of its kind and can reach speeds of up to 20mph. Two versions of the bike are available, the A2B Hybrid and the A2B Metro. Each costs £2,000 and is charged via a mains plug. Julie...

A charity for the blind is working with sports car-manufacturer Lotus to develop an artificial petrol engine sound for quiet electric vehicles. The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association believes that near-silent vehicles will put blind and partially sighted people at risk and wants the European Union to set minimum noise requirements for...

The Toyota Prius is facing stiff competition from a new hybrid built by rival car maker Honda. Last month the Honda Insight was the best selling car of its size in Japan, the first time that a hybrid vehicle has held top spot during a monthly sales period. According to figures from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, 10,481 Honda...

Tens of millions people have now watched what is the arguably the most impressive bicycle street trials riding ever captured on film. http://youtu.be/Cj6ho1-G6tw Why is trials riding growing in popularity? Investment in cycling facilities in Britain is poor – street trials relies on no more than the correct type of bike and the urban...

A new design of in-car air conditioning claims to deliver fuel savings of nine per cent. The Enhanced Air Conditioning (EAC) system is designed to maximise the efficiency of hybrid vehicles by minimising the time that the petrol or diesel engine has to run solely to drive the air conditioning. According to the Ricardo Company, the...

Speeding could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new in-car computer. The Intelligent Speed Adaptation system automatically keeps vehicles to the legal limit and is set to be trialled in London. Cars travelling too quickly along roads will be automatically slowed down thanks to the technology, which involves the use of sat nav-style...

Technology that prevents vehicles from breaking the speed limit is to be fitted to a taxi and a bus in London as part of a six-month trial. Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) works in much the same way as the GPS systems now fitted to many cars. The technology uses a digital map in order to determine the local speed limit and then either...

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has launched a scheme which aims to make young drivers safer on the roads. An assessment giving those aged between 17 and 24-years-old information on their style and ability behind the wheel is now available. The initiative involves motorists being given appraisals on their driving from...

A report by the National Audit Office has revealed that vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists are at an increasing risk of death and serious injury. The number of cyclists killed and seriously injured on Britain’s roads rose by 11% between 2004 and 2007. Over the same period there was no significant increase in cycling. One in...

Calderdale in West Yorkshire has been named the most dangerous place to cycle in Britain, with cyclists in the area at 15 times the risk than those in York. A new study by the cycling organisation, CTC, rates local authority areas in England according to how safe they are,and its results show that where bikes are concerned, there is...