A monthly snapshot of current UK news stories on the subjects of cars and driving: Invalid penalty charges, recalled cars remain on the road, a million cars unserviced and more.
Invalid penalty charges issued to thousands of London drivers
Adjudicators have ruled thousands of penalty charge notices (PCNs) invalid due to the issuing boroughs' inability to produce up-to-date certification for traffic cameras.
The City of London and the boroughs of Greenwich, Harrow, Lambeth and others were unable to provide the required certification; consequently, appeals were granted pertaining to almost 7,300 penalty charges issued in those boroughs.
Despite the shockingly high number of successful appeals, the AA said that it believes there are many more cases where motorists have been improperly charged. AA also said that hundreds of drivers who received the invalid penalties have paid them early to avoid additional charges.
The alleged transgressions that prompted the issue of PCNs included driving in bus lanes and stopping in yellow box junctions.
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said,
Local authorities are responsible for local traffic measures and they should make sure penalties for the use of bus lanes are fair and proportionate.
They must ensure their Traffic Management Orders are up to date, and we will be sharing proposals to modernise this process, making it more efficient for local authorities.
Drivers who suspect they may have been improperly penalised are advised to challenge charges with the relevant local authority, and then to appeal rejected challenges with London Tribunals.
Less than 1% of London's PCNs are appealed.
Over a million British motorists are not bothering to service their cars
Research by breakdown recovery specialists Green Flag has revealed that 1.3 million drivers have not had their cars serviced on schedule. An additional 5% of drivers don't know when their next service should be.
In total, this implies that up to two million vehicles could be on the road without having had a recent service.
33% of those who missed their vehicles' services said that they could not afford the cost of servicing. Another 25% said that they didn't consider servicing necessary as their vehicles were running fine.
As part of Green Flag’s survey, a number of key reasons were identified for why drivers don’t keep up with their car’s servicing schedule. Other reasons given included not having the time (13%), difficulty finding a reliable mechanic (12%) and, unbelievably, not realising there was a regular schedule for servicing their cars (10%).
Regtransfers advises drivers to keep their car's service records up to date. This routine maintenance task may be inconvenient and expensive, but regular servicing will prolong your car's lifespan, helps to keep it running safely and reliably, and reduce the chances of MOT failure. A missed service is often a false economy. See our article on how to save money on servicing and maintenance.
Recalled vehicles with potentially dangerous faults remain on UK roads
A study by automotive data specialists carVertical shows that three-quarters of recalled vehicles have not been taken into dealerships for important remedial work on a range of faults.
The study, covering the period from January 2023 to September 2024 analysed data from vehicle history reports pertaining to that period, and found just 28% of the UK's recalled vehicles had their recall defects corrected.
carVertical's Matas Buzelis said,
As cars become increasingly modern and incorporate more electrical components, recalls are becoming more common.
Fortunately, these issues are usually resolved during regular vehicle maintenance, causing minimal inconvenience to drivers.
You need to get your car fixed or replaced by the manufacturer if there’s a problem. You will not usually have to pay for any repairs or parts.
If your vehicle has a serious safety defect, the manufacturer will write to you to tell you what to do. You must not drive the vehicle.
Drivers are advised to check their registration number with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency to find out if their car has been subject to a manufacturer's recall.
Lower Scottish speed limits meet opposition
Moves to reduce speed limits in Scotland for cars while raising them for heavy goods vehicles have met vocal resistance from politicians. The Scottish Conservatives have claimed that the proposed changes would 'penalise ordinary people' but fail to reduce dangerous driving. Opponents have also attributed the planned revision of speed limits to an ongoing 'war on motorists'.
Transport Scotland launched a consultation seeking the public's input on the proposed changes, which would see many speed limits updated.
The plans include cutting the national speed limit on single-carriageway roads from 60mph to 50mph for cars, and raising the limit on the same roads from 40mph to 50mph for HGVs. On dual carriageways, it is proposed to raise the HGV speed limit from 50mph to 60mph.
The Scottish Conservatives said: "Instead of finally taking action to fix Scotland’s roads and protect drivers, the SNP now want to punish them with more restrictions."
