Answers: How up to speed is your knowledge of the road
Here are the answers to our "How up to speed is your knowledge of the road?" quiz.
Are you up to speed on the rules of the road?
As new plans are announced to tackle motoring offences, are you up to speed on the rules of the road?
Campaigners want train line axed by report reopened
The Beeching Report led to the closure of the line between Tavistock and Bere Alston in Devon - which campaigners now want to re-open.
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Local roads 'may have to close due to poor repair'
More flooding or another severe winter could leave much of the local road network unusable highways bosses have warned.
Crumbling carriageways are costing small businesses £5 billion a year and some local roads might have to close unless more Government money is made available for resurfacing, said the Local Government Association (LGA).
It said that last year council highways teams fixed 2.2 million potholes - 500,000 more than the year before.
But the LGA said that, despite these efforts, the backlog of repairs was growing longer, now estimated at £10.5 billion with one in five roads classed as being in "'poor condition".
It added that alongside "decades of under-investment from government", the key factor was recent freezing weather and flooding which has caused an estimated £1 billion damage.
Mother 'distraught' on platform as baby travels on tube
A mother was left "distraught" on a London Underground platform after a train pulled away with her baby on board, the BBC reports.
The woman was at South Kensington station when she pushed the pram onto the tube, only for the doors to shut before she could board.
Despite passengers pulling the emergency cord, the train continued to the next station, Gloucester Road.
Transport for London staff called ahead to Gloucester Road, where the baby was taken off the train by a couple and a passenger Malcolm Dyer, 59, before the mother was reunited with her child.
Mr Dyer told the BBC: "She pushed the pram on and all of a sudden the doors shut on to her hands, so she naturally let go and left the baby on there and the train started moving.
"I shouted at someone to pull the alarm, which they did and the train stopped momentarily. The baby was merrily sleeping, unaware of anything that had happened."
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Middle lane hoggers to face on-the-spot fines
Drivers who hog the middle lane or tailgate other cars face on-the-spot fines of £100 and three points on their licence, under new measures announced today.
The fine for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving or not wearing a seat belt will also rise from £60 to £100.
Report by Amy Welch.
Answers: How up to speed is your knowledge of the road
Here are the answers to our "How up to speed is your knowledge of the road?" quiz.
Read the full storyAre you up to speed on the rules of the road?
As new plans are announced to tackle motoring offences, are you up to speed on the rules of the road?
Read the full storyPolice to issue on-the-spot careless driving penalties
Under new measures announced by the Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond, police are to be given powers to give on-the-spot fixed penalty notices for careless driving.
A fine of £100 with three points on the driver's licence will be issued for offences such as tailgating or middle lane hogging.
The fixed penalty will also enable the police to offer educational training as an alternative to endorsement.
The most serious examples of careless driving will continue to go through the court, where offenders may face higher penalties. Drivers will still be able to appeal any decision in court.
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RAC: Raising mobile phone fine to £100 'justifiable'
– Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC FoundationAnti-social behaviour is as big a problem on the roads as it is in wider society. Giving police more discretion to act, and freeing up resources to allow them to do so by cutting procedural delays in court, is good news.
We are also pleased to see that the stick is accompanied by the chance of re-education for moderate offenders.
Raising the fine level to £100 is justifiable to tackle the plague of handheld mobile phone use which slows drivers' reaction times even more than being at the drink-drive limit or taking cannabis.
Careless driving fixed fines 'downplay seriousness'
– Neil Greig, Institute of Advanced Motorists director of policyThis is a major change in traffic law enforcement and the IAM is concerned that issuing fixed penalty tickets for careless driving downplays the seriousness of the offence.
Careless covers a wide range of poor to reckless driving behaviour that often merits further investigation.
This could free up traffic police time and allow them to maintain a higher profile. But without traffic cops out on the road to enforce this new approach it will have little impact on road safety.
AA president welcomes fines for driving 'pet hates'
AA President Edmund King has welcomed Government plans to tackle middle lane hogs and drivers who tailgate other cars.
He said: “We are pleased to see that at long last new powers and fines will be given to the police to tackle the top three pet hates of drivers – tailgaters, mobile phone abusers and middle lane hogs.”
Drivers who hog middle lane face £100 on-the-spot fine
New government plans to tackle motoring offences are to be announced today by Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond. The plans include:
- Drivers who hog the middle lane or tailgate other cars face on-the-spot fines of £100 and three points on their licence
- Police are also expected to get powers to issue instant fixed penalty notices for not giving way at a junction or using the wrong lane at a roundabout
- The fine for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving or not wearing a seat belt is expected to rise from £60 to £100
- The fixed penalty for driving without insurance is expected to rise from £100 to £200
- The fixed penalty forcareless driving will be £100 with three points on the driver's licence
- The Government plans to bring the changes into force from July
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