News

What official cars say about attitudes to air pollution

March 29, 2018

Two thirds of Scottish Government ministerial cars are diesel it emerged this week following an investigation by The Scotsman. Under plans to reduce the air pollution that is estimated to cost the lives of over 40,000 people around Britain every year, the dirtiest vehicles are to be banned from city centres in Scotland by 2020. It is...

Driving

ETA bike market

March 29, 2018

We don’t believe that a bicycle needs to be expensive or new. Many older bikes are well made, cheap to buy and have the added benefit of being less attractive to thieves. We’re great fans of town bikes – a style that’s popular in continental Europe, but largely overlooked here - but pretty much any bicycle, of any age, is a great way to get...

Cycling

World's first 3D printed car ready for mass production

March 23, 2018

Electric car company XEV and 3D printing company Polymaker claim their new LSEV is the world's first 3D printed car ready for mass production. The £5,300 electric car car, which weighs just 450 KG has a top speed of 43 miles per hour and a range of 93 on a full charge. CEO of Polymaker, Dr. Luo Xiaofan, said: “XEV is the first real mass...

General News

Is it a car? Is it a motorcycle? Is it a scooter? No, it's a Qooder

March 23, 2018

The arms race that has seen the number of disposable razor blades escalate to as many as five appears to be spreading to the transport world. You need only look at the original Mini, or Fiat 500 or VW Golf to notice how cars are becoming increasingly bloated. And now the same may be happening to powered two-wheelers. The popularity of...

General News

Driving in France 2018

March 23, 2018

The snow has melted, the equinox has passed, and spring has sprung… in theory if not entirely in practice. However, even though a chill in the air remains, it’s surely open season on daydreaming about summer. If you're one of the five million British motorists heading to France this year, the ETA Guide to Driving in France is a free e-book...

General News

Win a bicycle whistle

March 23, 2018

The Bookman bicycle whistle might be based on nineteenth century technology, but its benefits for urban cyclists remain up to date. Established in Birmingham in 1870, Acme Whistles has teamed up with Swedish bicycle accessory supremo, Bookman, to create a new design of whistle for today’s rider. According to Bookman’s Johan Lidehall: “Most...

Cycling

Beautiful infrastructure puts people first

March 15, 2018

If it's possible to beautify an electricity pylon, why shouldn't all infrastructure be elegant? Indeed, when physical and organisational facilities exist to serve people, and most should, beauty should perhaps be an imperative. Iceland has commissioned highly sculptural electricity pylons that resemble giant human figures striding across...

Cycling

What is the point of the Catclaw?

March 15, 2018

It's highly unusual for the subject of road danger to be covered objectively by the mainstream media, which is odd given the alarming frequency at which it claims the lives of children. When a four-year-old girl on a pavement in Liverpool last year was crushed to death in front of her mother by a driver who didn't want to hold up traffic,...

General News

HGVs in bus lanes

March 15, 2018

Bus lanes can get pretty crowded these days. As well as buses of all sizes, they can now find themselves home to taxis, motorcycles, mopeds, scooters and tricycles (non-motorised and motorised). Oh, and in amongst all that lot, bicycles are permitted to use them as a refuge of sorts. With all this in mind, news comes that HGVs in Wales...

Cycling

Intelligent Speed Assistance - we'd be stupid to ignore it

March 9, 2018

An Army officer caught doing 130mph in his Aston Martin this week received little more than a slap on the wrist after arguing he needed his driving licence in order to complete an army tour of the Falklands. James Golding was lucky. Not only did the magistrate go soft, but more importantly, his driving at almost twice the limit did not...

Driving