Monday 28 July 2014

A3 drink-drive teenager banned after crashing mum's car

The 19-year-old defendant got behind the wheel after drinking "six or seven cups of beer"

Surrey Police roads officers tweeted this photo of the wrecked Vauxhall Corsa

A teenager from Deepcut who lost control of his mother's car on the A3 after drinking at a party has been disqualified from driving and fined.
Harry Samuels, of Crofters Close, pleaded guilty to drink driving at Guildford Magistrates' Court.
Prosecutor Nick Wilson told the court how at around 2am on Saturday June 22 this year, police responded to reports of a crash on the A3 southbound carriageway at Guildford.

When they arrived officers found Samuels, 19, standing by the verge having lost control of the Vauxhall Corsa, colliding with the central reservation crash barrier and causing the vehicle to roll.
They administered a roadside breath test which Samuels failed, posting a reading of more than double the legal alcohol limit.

The defendant was arrested and gave a full confession, saying he thought the car had crashed because of a faulty tyre, however he did not rule out that his being over the drink-drive limit had contributed to the accident.

Keji Kuku, defending, said his client was "very remorseful".
He told the court that on the night of the incident, Samuels had attended an 18th birthday party in Weybridge with a friend, with whom he had arranged to stay afterwards.


'Wrong decision'
An incident occurred which caused the party to abruptly finish, and the defendant lost contact with his friend.
Mr Kuku said Samuels had walked for about half-an-hour while trying to order a taxi, but because he could not properly describe where he was no-one agreed to pick him up.
Eventually he got into his car, which he had borrowed from his mother and driven to Weybridge, and attempted to drive home.

The court heard the crash happened because the defendant felt the car veer violently to the left and had corrected to the right.
He had drunk "six or seven cups of beer" at the party.
"He made the wrong decision to get behind the wheel," said Mr Kuku. "He regrets that decision."
The court heard Samuels was a person of previous good character whose prospects of promotion at work would be damaged while he did not have a driving licence.

Chair of the magistrates, Jon Curtis, disqualified the defendant from driving for 19 months, but gave him the opportunity to reduce the period of the ban by four months if he undertook a drink driver awareness course.

Mr Curtis fined Samuels £360 for the offence, imposed a costs order of £85 and a victim surcharge of £36, telling the defendant he would have to pay the money within 14 days.

Driving licence costs to be slashed by a third with a first-time application cut from £50 to only £34, and cost of renewing after 10 years to fall to £14 from £20

  • First licence application to fall from £50 to £34 as part of DVLA review
  • Transport minister Claire Perry says it will help young drivers with costs

The cost of applying for a driving licence is to be slashed by up to a third under plans being announced today.
New drivers who want their first licence will pay just £34, down from the current £50.
The price of renewing licences and the fee for tacographs will also be cut under efforts to ease the cost of motoring.

The coalition has long argued it is ending the war on the motorist, curbing parking fines and cutting the duty on petrol and diesel.
New transport minister Claire Perry, promoted in this month's reshuffle, will today launch a consultation on the plans to dramatically cut the cost of a driving licence,
She said: 'The cost of driving can be significant, especially for new drivers. 
'I’m pleased to say that we are planning to save drivers £18million a year by cutting licence fees, thanks to the DVLA making significant savings to their running costs.'
 
Drivers who apply online for their first driving licence would see the fee drop from £50 to £34.
Drivers who renew their licence after 10 years would see the fee drop from £20 to £14. The online reduction is 32 per cent and the paper application reduction is 15 per cent.
All driver tachograph cards would fall from £38 to £32. 
The Department for Transport expects the changes to save drivers nearly £18 million and the industry around £2 million every year. 

Transport minister Claire Perry said young drivers were especially affected by the high cost of motoring
Transport minister Claire Perry said young drivers were especially affected by the high cost of motoring

Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: 'I have been working hard to drive savings across the whole public sector and it's great to see the benefit of these efficiencies feed through to drivers and businesses' pockets. What the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) have shown today is that you can do more for less.' 
DVLA is currently reviewing all the fees they charge to motorists. Today's consultation is the first step in this ongoing review.
The consultation closes on August 25 2014 and the Government is hoping to introduce the new fees by the end of October 2014. 


Saturday 12 July 2014

Liverpool bus lane suspension trial is extended


Bus on bus lane in LiverpoolThe trial suspension was started in the hope of improving traffic flow in the city

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The enforcement of bus lanes in Liverpool will remain suspended until November, the city's mayor has announced.
A nine-month trial introduced by Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson was due to end later this month.
But due to the amount of roadworks taking place in the city centre, the council has decided to continue the suspension.
Mr Anderson said the extension will be used to help gather data.
He said: "We wanted to get a better and clearer picture of what effect the suspension is having.
"I want us to be certain we've got a clear picture before we make any big decisions and we need to be sure if it is the roadworks or the bus lane suspension making the difference."
The suspension was introduced by the mayor in October to improve traffic flow in the city.
However, the idea has been criticised by bus company Arriva and the Green Party, who argued that bus lanes do work in the city centre.
Tom Crone, Green Party councillor for St Michaels ward, said: "We want to promote people using buses to reduce congestion. If we push people into their cars we will only have more pollution.
"Pretty much every European city is investing in and supporting their bus lane network. It's only Liverpool that's in this questionable position."