Classic and historic vehicles are often very well maintained by their owners and have a much lower accident and MoT failure rate than newer vehicles.

The current requirement to undergo an MoT test goes over and above the obligations set out in European legislation. Following a public consultation which showed high levels of support for the proposals, vehicles manufactured before 1960 will be exempted from the MoT test from 18th November 2012 reducing costs for owners.

Owners of affected vehicles will still be able to take exempt vehicles for an MoT test on a voluntary basis.

Mike Penning said:

“We are committed to cutting out red tape which costs motorists money without providing significant overall benefits. Owners of classic cars and motorbikes tend to be enthusiasts who maintain their vehicles well – they don’t need to be told to look after them, they’re out there in all weathers checking the condition of the engine, tyres and bodywork.

“Owners of classic vehicles will still be legally required to ensure that they are safe and in a proper condition to be on the road but scrapping the MoT test for these vehicles will save motorists money.”

The Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Norman Baker has announced the final approval to proceed with a pilot of Tram Train technology in South Yorkshire, with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
lead with the delivery of the vehicles and sponsoring the pilot in collaboration with Network Rail, Northern Rail and Stagecoach Supertram.

The pilot will allow us to determine the practical and operational issues of extending Tram Trains from the national network to on-street running and running trams and heavy rail vehicles safely over existing heavy rail infrastructure. It will also allow us to gauge passenger perception and acceptability of Tram Train.

The knowledge that we obtain from the pilot will enable us to understand the technical and operational challenges involved in this project so that the concept can potentially be rolled out elsewhere in the UK.

The pilot will see the introduction from 2015 of new Tram Train vehicles capable of using both light and heavy rail infrastructure, so providing continuous travel from Sheffield’s Supertram network onto Network Rail’s national rail network, as well as providing more capacity on the Supertram system itself.

The new vehicles will provide three services an hour operating from Parkgate Retail Park in Rotherham, travelling through Rotherham Central Station and joining up to the existing Supertram network at Meadowhall where the services will then continue onwards to Sheffield City Centre. The project is also expected to create 25 new driver jobs locally, plus around 10 additional jobs in maintenance and revenue protection.

The pilot will run for two years and alongside the additional capacity being provided for the Supertram system, is expected to cost £58 million, including the cost of the vehicles and infrastructure changes.

The Government announced plans today to crack down on those who drive while under the influence of drugs.

Legislation unveiled in the Queen’s Speech will create a specific drug driving offence. Currently police have to demonstrate that driving had been impaired by drugs in order to prosecute.

Under the proposed legislation it will automatically be an offence to drive a motor vehicle if you have certain controlled drugs in your body in excess of specified limits. This will make it much easier for police to take action against drug drivers.

Devices to screen for drugs in the body are expected to receive type approval from the Home Office by the end of the year.

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said:

“Drug drivers are a deadly menace – they must be stopped and that is exactly what I intend to do.

“The new offence sends out a clear message that if you drive whilst under the influence of drugs you will not get away with it.

“We have an enviable record on road safety in this country and I want to keep it that way. This measure will help to rid our roads of the irresponsible minority who risk the lives of innocent motorists and pedestrians.”

An independent review of drink and drug driving law in 2010 recommended that a new specified limit offence should be developed. The exact drugs covered by the offence and the specified limits for each will be determined following advice from an expert panel and a public consultation.

Earlier this year the Department for Transport announced the formation of the panel and today is confirming the membership. It includes experts in the field of alcohol and drug misuse and will also work with officials from the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Department of Health.

The penalty for the new offence will be a maximum of 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000, and an automatic driving ban of at least 12 months.

It is expected that drug-driving will be made an offence, with fines and sentencing guidelines similar to existing legislation in countries such as Australia, Spain and Germany.

Police will be given the power to test the saliva of suspected motorists to check whether they have been taking substances which could impede their ability to drive safely.

Prime Minister Mr Cameron said:

“We want to do for drug driving what drink driving laws have done for driving under the influence of alcohol”

“That’s why we’re doing what we can to get drugalysers rolled out more quickly. And this week we’ll publish a new drug-driving offence so that driving under the influence of drugs itself is a crime, just like it is for drink-driving.”

Police would initially test motorists who have been driving erratically for drink-driving and would then have the option of adding a drug test to the roadside test.

It is not yet clear which drugs would be included under the offence. The impact of individual drugs is being assessed by a panel of scientists who will report back to the Home Office.

Dial-A-Ride, the bus service for local people in North East Lincolnshire who find it difficult to use conventional public transport, is looking for drivers.

Training will be provided for volunteers whoonly need to have a full driving licence and some free time.

New drivers are needed because previous volunteers have been recruited to paid employment by a local bus company.

To apply, contact the coordinator Midge Curry on (01472) 269666.

Mobile phone using motorists are to be the subject of a Humberside Police campaign in May.

Police will target irresponsible drivers in the hope of further reducing casualties on the roads and improving driver attitude and behaviour. Details from the Transport Research Laboratory, shows drivers reactions and responses are dramatically impaired when using mobile phones when driving, with results comparable with a driver who has consumed twice the legal alcohol limit. Legislation introduced in December 2003 prohibits the use of hand held mobile phones while driving and there is increasing anecdotal evidence that misuse, particularly by people driving for work purposes, is continuing. During 2011, 2,960 penalty tickets were issued to motorists for driving whilst using their mobile telephone, representing 44.2 per cent of all fixed penalty tickets issued for motoring offences. However, that is not the overall figure for people dealt with for the offence as increasingly offenders are being referred to the considerate driver scheme (for which figures are not known at this time).

Casualty reduction officer, PC Barry Gardner, said: “Mobile phones in cars are distracting and if used inappropriately and indeed illegally whilst driving, it considerably increases the risk of a collision.

“Research shows that a driver using a mobile phone is four times more likely to crash, causing injury or death to themselves or others and that is why it is an area we concentrate on policing.

“We concentrate on the offence every day of the year but during May there is extra focus on it with the purpose being to draw the attention of motorists to the offence and make them aware of the real risks posed by using their phones when behind the wheel.”

Throughout May all uniformed officers will be paying particular attention to the offence with a view to enforcement, education and encouragement. Anyone dealt with for mobile phone use and other distraction type driving or riding offences will be dealt with in a number of ways including receiving an Enforceable Fixed Penalty Notice (EFPN) – costing £60 and three penalty points. Or they may be offered the opportunity to attend a considerate driver course which costs £95 and is aimed at educating drivers. In more serious cases it may be more appropriate to consider prosecution for careless or dangerous driving by way of summons. Road safety advice leaflets will be distributed throughout the course of the campaign relating to the correct use of mobile phones whilst driving and appropriate advice.

The Coalition Government has today revealed that the Labour Party electrified less than 10 miles of railway track in 13 years of government.

The statement is a correction to an answer to a Parliamentary Question asked by Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Committee on Transport, Julian Huppert.

Commenting, Julian Huppert said:

“Today’s figures show that you can’t trust Labour with our railways. Their record is appalling: foisting yearly rail fare increases on to passengers while failing to use that money to invest in services.

“Instead, they let inefficiency cripple our system, burdening taxpayers and passengers alike.

“Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government are doing the right thing to clean up this mess by investing more in our railways than at any time since the Victorian era.

“The Coalition Government has committed to electrifying over 800 miles in 5 years but electrification is just one part of our huge program of investment.

“We’re delivering Crossrail, creating a national High Speed network, reopening old lines, lengthening trains and bringing down costs.

The OFT has announced its decision that British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (VAA) engaged in anti-competitive practices in relation to the pricing of passenger fuel surcharges, and has imposed a fine of £58.5 million on BA. VAA brought the matter to the OFT’s attention and, under the OFT’s leniency policy, has not been fined.

The OFT has concluded that between August 2004 and January 2006, BA and VAA co-ordinated their surcharge pricing on long-haul flights to and from the UK through the exchange of pricing and other commercially sensitive information. This decision brings the OFT’s investigation to a conclusion.

The £58.5 million fine imposed on BA is a reduction from the level of fine originally agreed between the OFT and BA in August 2007 as part of an early resolution agreement. The fine was reassessed following the issue of a Statement of Objections in November 2011 in light of a number of factors. These included legal developments regarding penalty setting for competition law infringements and the fact that the overall value added to the OFT’s investigation by BA’s co-operation was greater than had been anticipated at the time of the original agreement.

Ali Nikpay, OFT Senior Director of Cartels and Criminal Enforcement, said:

“This decision brings an end to this investigation and sends out a strong message that co-ordinating pricing through the exchange of confidential information between competitors is unlawful. The size of the fine underlines that it is important for companies to take steps to ensure that they have an effective compliance culture. The fine would have been higher still but for the co-operation provided by BA throughout the OFT’s investigation. Without this, together with BA’s admission of the infringement, the case would have taken considerably longer to resolve.”

As part of an inquiry currently examining the Government’s road safety strategy, on 24 April the Transport Committee will take oral evidence about the safety issues facing the growing numbers of cyclists on roads in town and country.

At this session the Committee will question transport ministers Mike Penning and Norman Baker, who are responsible for the Government’s policies on road safety and cycling. MPs want to ensure that their questions to these ministers reflect the most pressing safety concerns for cyclists using UK roads.

As part of the evidence session the Committee will also hear evidence from newscaster and cycling advocate Jon Snow, Times newspaper Editor and cycling campaigner James Harding and cycling advocate and author Josie Dew.

Submit your question via twitter, by adding the hashtag #AskCycleMinisters to your tweet, by 11am on Friday 20 April.

The Departmentof Transport has recently released a report th at gives information on motor vehicles in Great Britain that were licensed on the 31 December 2011 (the end of quarter 4/end of the year), or were registered for the first time during 2011. The statistics are derived from data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which administers vehicle registration and licensing records in Great Britain

• At the end of 2011 there were 34.2 million vehicles licensed for use on the roads in Great Britain, of which 28.5 million were cars.

• Between 2010 and 2011 the total vehicle stock number increased by 0.3 per cent. Since the recession of 2008-09 the annual growth in licensed vehicles has only averaged 0.4 per cent, lower than the 2.4 per cent averaged between 1996 and 2007.

• Just over 2.38 million vehicles were registered for the first time in Great Britain in 2011. This represents a 36 thousand vehicle, or 1.5 per cent, decrease from the previous year. However, the 2010 first registration figures received a boost from the previous government’s Vehicle Scrappage Scheme.

• The number of newly registered cars powered by diesel has continued to rise. For the first time the proportion of cars registered for the first time that run on diesel has tipped over the 50 per cent mark.

• Average emissions from all the licensed cars first registered from 2001 onwards was down by 1.5 per cent from 2010 to an average of 163 g/km. The average CO2 emissions from cars newly registered in the year fell by over 4 per cent from 2010 to an average figure of 138 g/km. Since 2001 the average emissions of new cars has fallen by over 21 per cent.

• At the end of 2011, the most common car in Great Britain was the Ford Focus (1.4 million) followed by the Ford Fiesta (1.3 million).

You can find out more or download the full report from the Department of Transport website