This week has seen news that Toyota will be making further recalls to their cars.

Last week there were concerns about the accelarator, now it is concern over brakes.

Where does this leave the Toyota driver in relation to the law?

It is hard to imagine that there are many Toyota drivers that are not aware of the potential fault given all of the publicity. This has effectively put them on notice that there may be a safety issue with the car.

If a Toyota driver was involved in an accident, having been made aware of the potential safety issues, then they may face criminal charges because they drove a car knowing that there may be a fault.

Dangerous driving can be committed in relation to either the manner of driving or the condition of the car.

If you are convicted of dangerous driving then the court must disqualify you from driving.

The best advice to Toyota drivers is to ensure that their car is not affected, if it is then arrangements must be made immediately for it to be collected and repaired.

Average speed cameras could be fitted on all of Britain’s motorways if new proposals are approved by the Government. 

In a recent report the governement agency predicted that if all drivers stuck to 70mph, the UK’s carbon emissions would be cut by 1.4 million tonnes.

The Sustainable Development Commission argued against traditional speed cameras saying that drivers slam on the brakes as they approach and then speed off after.  Average speed cameras encourage more smoother driving, which, it argues is more environmentally friendly.

The average speed camera devices lead to fewer accidents and speeding tickets on the roads where they are installed than normal speed cameras, a new report by the Government’s environmental advisers claims.

The government is looking to extend this beyond motorways with a new generation of cameras that can track journeys over a network of streets. This could mean speed cameras being fitted on all residential roads with a speed limit of 20 mph.

Quite how this would work in practice is unclear. The average speed cameras work by calculating the distance travelled and the time taken, arriving at an average speed. It is rare indeed to be able to drive at anything approaching the speed limit on Britains crowded urban streets.

We may not have the choice of speed soon as the report goes further, suggesting capping all cars to make it impossible to break the speed limit. Given that the courts sometimes accept special reasons for speeding such as an emergency this would be an interesting development

If you are caught speeding in Nottingham from today there is now an alternative to points on your licence.

A course for drivers who have been caught speeding is being launched in Nottingham today.

The course will be for people caught speeding and will be an alternative to points.

This type of course is available in many parts of the country but until today was not available in Nottingham.

It is estimated that as many as 15,000 motorists a year will take the half-day course, which  looks into why people speed and the consequnces of speeding

Guidelines vary across the country as to whether motorists are eligible for the speed awareness course. Generally it is available for people who have no points on their licence and who were only slightly over the speed limit.

Drivers will have the option of going on the course which means they will not have any points put on their licence.