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The number of 'rogue drivers' appears to have dropped according to the results of a joint police and government operation in which 6,689 vehicles were stopped randomly over a 24-hour period earlier this year.
Compared to a similar operation in 2006, the level of drivers stopped without valid vehicle tax and the level of those stopped without a valid licence fell by half.
In addition, the level of vehicles stopped without a current MOT fell to 1.5% from 4.2% and the number of uninsured drivers stopped fell from 1.9% to 1.2%.
"Uninsured drivers add £30 a year to every motorist's insurance premium and it is estimated that uninsured and untraced drivers kill 160 people and injure 23,000 every year," said road safety minister Jim Fitzpatrick.
"But we know we need to do more which is why we are introducing a new offence of being the registered keeper of an uninsured vehicle which will leave uninsured drivers with nowhere to hide," said Mr Fitzpatrick.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association...
The used car market may be showing the first signs of recovery after a loss of confidence among consumers, one industry body has claimed.
According to the HPI Used Car Valuations Index, depreciation prices for 12-month-old city cars are slowing considerably, while it also showed values for three-year-old city vehicles and small models are beginning to even out.
However, despite this the group described the overall situation as "grim".
It stated the value of three-year-old cars as a whole have dropped in price by 28.1 per cent, compared with this time 12 months ago.
Valuation expert Martin Keighley said: "Used values for November are generally down apart from smaller cars which remain stable."
He added: "We can expect further falls for December."
Last month, HPI claimed colour was a crucial factor in the price sellers could get for used cars.
New research carried out by What Car? has car buyers are getting the best deals for eight years with average discounts of nearly £2,000.
With the economic downturn biting, some cars are being offered at a staggering 45% the magazine found.
What Car? reckons average discounts are around £1,932, which is £244 more than at the beginning of the year.
The magazine said Ford Fiestas were on sale at 15% off, while consumers could get 10% off a Volkswagen Golf.
New car sales slumped in the UK in the past three months and are set to fall further over the winter period which is a notoriously slow time in the industry even when the economy is rosy.
What Car? editor Steve Fowler said: "Even if you're not comfortable haggling on a price, it should be simple to get a brilliant bargain at the moment.
"With so few people dipping into their pockets, sales staff will be almost begging buyers to make an offer."
The Vauxhall Insignia has been voted the annual European Car Of The Year by a 59-strong jury of senior motoring journalists from 23 European.
In one of the hardest-fought contests in recent years, the Insignia beat the Ford Fiesta by a single point, polling an impressive 321 votes with Volkswagen Golf coming in third.
Steve Cropley, editor-in-chief of Autocar magazine said: "We are delighted to be able to deliver good news at such a tough time.
"The market's the toughest we've seen for 20 years, but nothing alters the fact that the Insignia is a great car... it deserved to triumph and it did."
Bill Parfitt, Chairman and Managing Director of General Motors UK, was equally encouraged by the win.
"This is great news for GM/Vauxhall and its employees, suppliers and retailers.
"Vauxhall has made great strides in recent years, particularly in design and dynamics, and the Insignia illustrates what we're capable of achieving."
The government has delayed its controversial plans for a vast increase in road tax for at least a year.
Changes announced in the last Budget meant that from 2009, all cars that had been on the road since 2001 would face rises in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), but it now seems likely that the u-turn in policy will be announced in next week’s Pre-Budget Report.
The VED changes would have affected almost 70 per cent of Britain’s 26 million drivers, but it was the retrospective aspect of the tax that most infuriated MPs of all parties.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Higher polluting cars should face some form of punitive taxation, but it is vital that green taxes are seen as well thought through and fair – it’s questionable whether such a sharply-increased retrospective tax will ever be seen in that way.”
The AA was also against the retrospective VED changes. It argued that increasing VED for post-2001 vehicles would make some cars almost impossible to sell on.
Despite the much-publicised financial woes of parent company General Motors (GM) in America, industry experts believe that Vauxhall’s Merseyside plant should survive the worst of any fall-out.
According to Garel Rhys, of the Cardiff University Business School, Vauxhall's prospects in the UK and in Europe were not as perilous as GM's in the United States.
Of all Vauxhall's European plants, the most at risk was probably Antwerp in Belgium, with Ellesmere Port on Merseyside, where the Astra model is made, comparatively safe, he said.
But Prof Rhys, a professor at Cardiff's centre for automotive industry research, said that all car companies would suffer from an expected downturn in sales.
Shares in GM in the United States have hit an all-time low amid fears for the future of the company.
Prof Rhys said: "GM's position in Europe is much better than its position in North America, but sales of vehicles are falling and this is bound to lead to consolidation and rationalisation.
"This rationalisation could include...
The recently-formed Motor Codes Limited have warned vehicle owners that delaying or skipping your car's annual service could be a false economy, costing significantly more in the long run!
The Group says that although the average cost of a basic car service is around £125, average repair costs of many makes and models indicate that it is money well spent.
Failing to have your car maintained correctly means you run the risk of being hit with repair costs like an exchange of engine (£2,575) or a cylinder head gasket (£520).
Motor Codes claimed its advice is even more important when it comes to used cars.
The organisation stated motorists are hanging on to their cars for longer and it added a regular service history will keep its value up when owners do sell.
Motor Codes director Chris Mason said: "If you don't carry out scheduled maintenance or fail to have repairs carried out promptly, you could eventually end up paying more."
Earlier this year, the group reported a new code of practice had been launched...
The BMW 3 Series has been voted the most reliable motor in the UK.
The survey, carried about by Fleet News, also rated BMW as the most dependable manufacturer overall.
The poll assessed 881,000 cars based on the number of breakdowns per 100 of each model type and came out in favour of the BMW 3 Series ahead of the Toyota Avensis and Honda Accord. Next up were the Volkswagen Golf, MINI, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, BMW 1-Series, Honda Civic, Ford Focus and Audi A4.
In the manufacturers section, BMW beat Honda and Toyota into second and third places. Ford, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz completed the top six.
The award completes a great year for BMW, having also won three environmental honours in recognition of its EfficientDynamics technologies.
The UK's largest car dealer, Pendragon, has announced it expects to make an estimated £30m loss this year.
The group, which operates the Stratstone and Evans Halshaw brands, also said its dealership closures would reach 75 by the end of the year and that it had made 20 per cent of its workforce redundant - the equivalent to 2,500 jobs.
The closures and redundancies will result in a £15m loss this year but Pendragon said it expected its actions to result in savings of 'at least' £60m next year.
It also confirmed reports it was 'considering options' regarding the future of its Pinewood software subsidiary.
"Assuming no significant further downturn in economic activity between now and the year end, we expect to report a full year loss before exceptional items for 2008 of £30 million," Pendragon said in its interim management statement.
"Notwithstanding a further reduction in the new car market the positive actions taken on the cost base and the favourable impact of the recent interest rate cut lead us to be...
Latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have shown the new car market fell in October at its fastest rate since 1991. New car registrations fell 23 per cent in October to 128,352 units - the sixth consecutive month the motor industry has seen a downturn. Overall car sales this year are down 8.8 per cent compared with the same time last year.
However the rising popularity of diesel cars continued and they now claim a record market share of 45.6 per cent.
The supermini sector continues to go from strength-to-strength, with the Vauxhall Corsa being the best selling model in October, while the Ford Focus remained overall the best seller over the first ten months of 2008.
“October has proved another difficult month for the UK motor industry and action is needed to help restore consumer confidence and encourage buyers back to the showrooms,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.