£90 fine for texting at the wheel in UK

Use of mobile phone while driving is not only hazardous for the driver but also a nuisance for the following traffic as a distracted driver while texting slows down right in the fast lane - much to the agony of the followers, beside a likelihood of accident.

UK has announced that the fines for texting while driving will be increased by 50 per cent from £60 to £90. Announcing the crackdown, UK Transport Secretary Mr McLoughlin admitted he had used a mobile phone to make calls while driving, although he would not do so now.

However critics said the higher penalty has to be backed up by tougher enforcement as texting by drivers is now rife.

The number of penalty points offenders receive on their licence will remain at three. There had been calls for the 150,000 or more drivers a year convicted of offences involving mobile phones to incur a six-point penalty.

The higher fine will also apply to a range of other fixed penalty offences, including speeding and running a red light.

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Driving in Singapore: When height, not age, would matter

[ via Today Online ] 24 Dec

Come the new year, height, and not age, will determine whether your child has to be in child restraints or use booster seat cushions or adjustable seat belts while travelling in a car, the Singapore Police announced Friday.

The change, which kicks in on Jan 1 but will only be enforced from February, affects anyone below 1.35m tall - even adults. Current rules, which came into force in 1992, stipulate that anyone above the age of eight can use normal seat belts.

Drivers who fail to ensure their passengers adhere to the new rule face a composition fine of S$120 and will be docked three demerit points.

Read more: Today Online

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South Australia | Rural road speed limit drops to 100 km/h

[ via Big Medicine ] 16 Dec

Road Safety Minister, Jennifer Rankine today reminded all road users about the reduced 100km/h speed limit now in force on 45 rural road sections within a 100 kilometre radius of Adelaide and on Yorke Peninsula.

“New signs indicating the rural default 100km/h speed limit have now been located on all of those 45 road sections replacing the previous 110 km/h signs,” Ms Rankine said. “School holidays start today, so I urge all road users travelling to holiday destinations in the coming weeks to familiarise themselves with the reduced speed limit in that inner circle regional road network.

“We’ve taken this action because over the past five years, almost one fifth of all fatal and serious injury crashes in South Australia occurred within a 100 kilometre radius outside of metropolitan Adelaide.

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