News - Page 2263

A VEHICLE left in a public car park is four times more likely to be broken into or stolen than one left all day at home in the street, the annual Association of Chief Police Officers summer conference has heard. Police are now aiming for 2,000 secured car parks with anti-theft measures, including closed-circuit television, by the year 2000 to combat the problem.

POLICE chiefs have called for new powers allowing them to charge drink-drivers by the roadside. Ken Williams, chief constable of Norfolk Constabulary, said it would speed up the process for dealing with those who drive while over the limit.

TRANMAN Solutions has clinched a key fleet management software deal, bringing in a host of major customers. In a six-figure acquisition Tranman has taken on the Profleet Fleet Management software division of Prolog Business Systems.

AVIS Europe has unveiled a project to slash training times by half, while also making it a more 'real' and memorable process. The flagship is a multimedia facility for training rental sales staff who will deal with customers on a day to day basis.

RILEY, the classic English car name killed off by British Leyland rationalisation in the 1960s, is set to make a dramatic comeback. The much-loved marque will return in the form of a high-performance luxury coupe based on the platform of R40, the new Rover 600 and 800 replacement which will be launched at the Motor Show in October.

DEALERSHIP group Greenhous is planning major expansion of its franchised dealerships as part of a restructuring of the business. The move by the £155 million turnover group included the sale of Fleet Management Services to Abbey National-owned First National Vehicle Holdings for an undisclosed amount.

THE Government's commitment to widen the fuel duty differential between conventional fuels and 'clean' fuels in forthcoming Budgets will kick-start the alternative fuel vehicle revolution, it was claimed this week. And fleets, which are already in the vanguard of running compressed natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and electric vehicles, are set to lead the way as the cost of petrol and ordinary diesel continue to spiral.

BRITISH Car Auctions is getting set for a mass of vehicle remarketing business with the S plate's arrival tomorrow (Saturday). And specially established to cope with the demand is BCA's new and fully operational fleet services department, based at the Belle Vue auction centre, Manchester.

TROUBLED used car dealership The Car Group is in talks with finance houses after revealing it is expecting second half trade to result in losses of more than £1 million.

PHH Vehicle Management is continuing its automation drive by installing software that will handle the company's sales operations. PHH is working with Saratoga Systems to automate the sales side of the company, which follows on from similar operations with its Home Equity and Vehicle Sales services.

SERVICE and repair times published by Glass's Information Services have been updated to take in work on some of the most modern vehicles. The Institute of Consulting Motor Engineers Service and Repair Times guide now contains information on ABS, air conditioning systems, pollen filters, engine management systems, air bags and a more comprehensive coverage of suspension systems and sub-assemblies.

VEHICLE information provider CAP Motor Research is planning a major expansion drive in both the UK and Europe. The Leeds-based company is recruiting more staff to provide more specialist information on used vehicles prices and future residual values of vehicles in the UK. In addition the company, part of Emap Automotive which publishes Fleet NewsNet, is planning to launch into the European market.

COMPANY car drivers at TeleLarm Care have voted to drive Nissan Primeras instead of Ford Mondeos or Vauxhall Vectras. Consequently the Chertsey-based supplier of communications systems for the care market - nursing homes, sheltered housing schemes and elderly people living at home - has signed a three-year solus contract with Nissan.

HONDA will back away from the UK diesel market when its crucial new Accord range goes on sale in October. Instead, a heavily-revised 1.8-litre petrol engine is to spearhead a drive to make the company's D-sector product line-up into a more attractive fleet market proposition.

THE Motor Rider Training Association is calling on fleets who are swapping cars for motorcycles to train drivers. Figures released by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions revealed that the number of deaths and injuries to motorcycle riders increased by 6% in 1997 compared to the previous year.

EVEN German autobahns could not prevent a SEAT setting an impressive inaugural economy record in a drive from the north cape of Norway to the southern tip of Spain. Despite managing to cover 3,700 miles in just 59 hours and 42 minutes the SEAT Alhambra TDi achieved an average 42mpg.

EIGHT different proposals for revising company car tax have been analysed by the Association of Car Fleet Operators and the findings submitted to the Inland Revenue. The Inland Revenue is investigating alternatives to the current benefit-in-kind tax arrangements for company cars, based around a switch from business to private mileage tax breaks.

ROAD tolling trials in Leicester have given the clearest indication of how motorists will react to congestion charges if they are widely adopted in cities.

A REPORT is set to reveal that Government department fleets and ministerial cars are failing to follow their own 'green' motoring guidelines. A Liberal Democrat operation is under way to try and prove that little to nothing has been done within the Government and its departments to switch to alternatively-fuelled vehicles and reduce car use despite much bravado.

COMPANY car drivers could be among workers affected by European proposals to specify acceptable working hours. The EC has already issued a working time directive stating acceptable hours in most areas of industry, but left transport out of the document.

A CLOSED sale of more than 200 Peugeots at ICA Bristol achieved a 100% conversion rate and saw many vehicles achieving more than their CAP clean price. The sale featured 224 ex-contract hire, daily rental and management cars, ranging from 10,000 to 45,000 miles. A total of 48 dealers from the Lion used cars network took part in the auction.

TELEWORKING and video conferencing have to play a greater role in UK business life if the Government is to meet its goals of beating congestion. The white paper promoted teleworking as a substitute for high-mileage driving patterns, saving companies both the time and cost involved in staff driving to see clients or remote sites.

A BOOST in the number of fleet managers sending company car drivers for training is expected after the Government drove home the importance of improving company car drivers' skills behind the wheel in its white paper.

TELEMATICS and in-car traffic information systems look set to proliferate as hi-tech solutions are employed to beat congestion. The white paper gave strong hints that new road building schemes would be few and far between, placing more emphasis on better use of existing roads.

FLEET managers have broadly supported moves by the Government to highlight the need for companies to train their drivers. The white paper singles out company car drivers as having a disproportionately high number of accidents and says it intends to work with the motor industry to cut down on accidents.

MAJOR new initiatives to cut car crime, reduce accidents and remove polluting vehicles from Britain's roads have been outlined in the white paper and broadly welcomed by authorities. And the measures are set to benefit fleets which typically operate the cleanest and most secure vehicles, although safety groups and the Government believe companies have major steps to take to improve safety with the wider adoption of driver training.

FLEETS face a geographical lottery over urban road pricing after the white paper left it up to local councils to decide whether to implement road pricing. Legislation is to be introduced to allow local authorities to charge road users to reduce congestion, as part of a package of measures in a local transport plan that would include improving public transport.

THE Government has called on major employers to play a constructive role in establishing 'green' commuter plans for their staff. The transport white paper argued that such plans can improve companies' environmental performance and image, and give them a commercially valuable green halo.

GOVERNMENT efforts to gather evidence on successful road tolling schemes will include overseas research and involve looking at UK-based schemes, including the Dartford Tunnel. Although the current licence tolling in the tunnel which takes traffic under the River Thames, runs out in 2001, the Government may continue the charges as the first example of ring-fenced tolling under the white paper.

FLEET drivers could see their work significantly changed by white paper measures introducing tolls on trunk roads and motorways. If such charges were deemed to be excessive, essential car users used to travelling on business throughout the country could find themselves limited to much more local areas to avoid being hit by motorway charges, according to the Association of Car Fleet Operators.