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The RAC is making a call for better awareness and has joined forces with the Sleep Apnoea Partnership Group to alert drivers to the issue and the dangers of falling asleep at the wheel.
The RAC is making a call for better awareness and has joined forces with the Sleep Apnoea Partnership Group to alert drivers to the issue and the dangers of falling asleep at the wheel.
The RAC has opted to roll out a universal spare wheel designed to speed up the fix time and minimise inconvenience for members who experience a puncture without having a spare, following a successful trial of the product which began last Autumn. By early February all RAC patrols across the UK will be equipped with the Dynomec-produced wheel, which provides a solution to the increasingly common problem brought about by manufacturers not including a spare wheel in their cars as standard.
Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke clinched the inaugural West Wales Rally Spares RAC Rally Championship with one round still to run as they slid their Kumho-shod MKII Escort to a fourth consecutive victory on 8 September’s Red Kite Historic Stages event. Commenting on the result, Kumho’s European motorsport manager Steve Thompson said: “Marty and Phil have performed faultlessly throughout this excellent new championship and thoroughly deserve their win. We are naturally delighted with the way our tyres have aided their cause.”
Following a rise in the number of manufacturers that fit emergency tyre inflation kits instead of spare wheels, the RAC has introduced a ‘universal’ spare wheel to handle call outs for unfixable punctures.
The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) recently held a Centenary Lunch for its past presidents and current and past board members. Held at the prestigious RAC Club in London, the Lunch offered its attendees the opportunity to meet and share memories of the RMI and the industry.
GT Radial exhibited its first city bus tyre in addition to displaying its GT Assist programme at the CV Show. The GAU861 has an extra reinforced sidewall protector to ensure maximum resistance to curbing and impact damage, while its tread pattern comes with a new depth of 20.2mm to improve mileage performance. Available initially in 275/70R22.5, the tyre can be used in both steer and drive positions on both 4×2 and 6×2 configurations and is M+S marked indicating excellent traction in mud and snow conditions.
A new report commissioned by the RAC Foundation suggests that the Treasury will need to make up a shortfall in fuel duty caused by more efficient cars. The Association of British Drivers suggests that drivers are subsidising general taxation by far too much already and that redressing this imbalance should be the priority.
The Royal Automobile Club will host its first Charity Cup Golf Competition to raise money for BEN at Woodcote Park on Tuesday 24 April. The Club will donate all funds raised from the event to BEN, the UK's only charity for those who work in the automotive and related industries, as well as their dependents; and the Henry Surtees Foundation.
Pro-MOTe, the lobby group set up to campaign to keep annual MOTs, has welcomed news that ministers have dropped plans to reduce testing frequency to 4-2-2.
In a written ministerial statement this morning, Transport secretary Justine Greening announced: “Having listened closely to the very many views put forward and considered the available evidence, I have decided that I am not going to carry out further work in relation to relaxing the first test date or the frequency of testing.”
Bosch has demonstrated some of its oldest and newest automotive technology at the RAC Future Car Challenge and London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. On Saturday 5 November, Bosch showcased its latest split-axle hybrid technology in the Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4, which took part in the 60-mile RAC Future Car Challenge, driven by Rory Reid from CNET; on the next day Peter Fouquet, president of Robert Bosch UK, took part in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run in a 1904 Mercedes-Simplex touring car, which uses a Bosch magneto and spark plug.
Speculation that Aviva was planning to sell RAC begin in March 2011 and followed the earlier sale of a number of subsidiary motoring related businesses that came with the company’s 2005 purchase including Auto Windscreens, Lex (the vehicle leasing company) and the BSM driving school operation.
APT Tyre Distributors Ltd of Goole in Yorkshire has become the 800th tyre service provider to enrol into the Infleet network. APT Tyres owner Alan Payling signed the service agreement after successful negotiations with the Infleet sales manager David Tattler. The news marks rapid expansion for the fleet business which announced its 500th provider just over 18 months ago.
A coroner from Gloucestershire has re-ignited the tyre aging debate, by calling for a ban on vehicle tyres that are more than 10 years old. Alan Crickmore has reportedly committed to write to the Transport Secretary calling for MOT after hearing how a mother of two died when the 13 year-old tyres fitted to hear car failed, causing a high speed crash.
Nazma Shaheen’s M-registered Toyota Lucida was travelling northbound along the M5 when the tyre burst and veered right and then left onto the hard shoulder. It then clipped a kerb and rolled over, throwing Mrs Shaheen clear of the vehicle on May 6 last year. Recording a verdict of accidental death, the coroner said he did not think she would have died if the tyre had been newer.
For the last three years Infleet has supported ABF – The Soldiers Charity as its chosen charity. The fleet company, having sponsored a race at the greyhound track in Wolverhampton for several years, recently arranged to exclusively sponsor a particular rave in support of the ABF. The company has also contributed to several other ABF charity events.
Perhaps one reason why the company is particularly keen to support its chosen charity is because Infleet commercial director Chris Comport is also a Colonel in the Territorial Army and he has been associated with the forces for over 35 years.
Infleet recently moved its call centre to RAC House adjacent to the M6 Motorway in Walsall, West Midlands. The centre houses vehicle support technology and the company says the move will enhance the roadside tyre breakdown support that Infleet supplies to its fleet customers. Infleet Commercial Director Chris Comport said: “RAC have managed our call referral facility very successfully over the last five years at another location, but when they offered us a move to RAC House in Walsall we had no hesitation in accepting…Short but efficient call centre desk time is crucial in dispatching one of our 700 service providers to a vehicle in distress within a speedy process.”
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