Driving - Spring 2013

SPRING 2013

It seems the UN decade of action on road safety

isn’t going to be as easy as it looked

TWO DOWN, EIGHT TO GO

driving

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Visit driving.org/appleCall 020 8686 8010

The UN decade of action on road safety is two years in, but what has happened so far? Howard Redwood has taken an insightful and in-depth look at how progress is going on the worldwide safety initiative so far.

The European Transport Safety Council is in charge of overseeing Europe’s efforts to enact the UN’s objectives for the campaign, but the first year has seen the figures rise. Howard takes a look at the reasons behind the latest figures and suggests what can be done to get back on track.

ROAD DEATHS AND TAXES

10P

There are so many distractions around these days – things happening outside of the car that pique our curiosity, insistent technologies sat inside the car that demand our constant attention. It used to be that you could get in the car and get away from everything else, but now the whole world travels with you.

Which all means that advanced driving is as much about your state of mind and general awareness as it is technical driving ability, according to DIAmond chief examiner Mike Frisby.

DRIVING WHILE DISTRACTED

5P It’s not been the most auspicious of starts for the UN’s decade of action on road safety – the casualty figures have got worse. We’ve got an interesting article from Howard Redwood on p10 looking at some of the reasons behind the increase, but it’s clear to all concerned that governments across the world need to not be distracted by the financial crisis and continue to invest effective safety initiatives.

Spring seems to have come around quite quickly since we put our winter edition together back in December, but you wouldn’t really know it from the weather. Our tips for safe driving still hold true with ever-changing conditions and roads left ravaged by ice and storms.

The nostalgic among you probably hark back to a golden era of motoring, back when the living was easy and the roads were clear. Of course, history tells us that things were much less safe back then, but Mike Frisby has donned his rose-tinted spectacles and wonders whether we might be able to learn something. Food for thought.

WELCOME

spring 2013 | driving

03

EDITORSam Burnett

[email protected]

DESIGNERMatt Russell

[email protected]

ADVERTISINGMary O’Brien

[email protected]

DIAMOND CHIEF EXAMINERMike Frisby

[email protected]

Driving is published by Driving Magazine Ltd

Copyright © DIA (Int.) Ltd 2013

Driving Magazine, Leon House, 233 High Street, Croydon CR0 9XT

The views contained may not be the views of the publishers. Publication of an advertisement does not imply approval for the goods or services offered. Reproduction by any means, electronically or otherwise, in whole or part, of any material appearing in this magazine is forbidden without the express prior permission of the publishers.

TWO YEARS IN, THE DECADE STARTS HERE

Modern cars have become so capable and reliable that we tend to take them for granted, says Mike Frisby in his latest piece. He’s been thinking about whether we’re spoiled by modern safety systems and a laissez faire approach to modern motoring.

ESP, ABS, traction control, lane assist, smart lighting, accident prevention – a new car can come loaded with fancy kit. But do you understand all of the technology in your modern car? It certainly seems that drivers are in danger of being left behind, so the driver education system needs to change, explains Mike.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

6P

The Volkswagen Golf is the latest in a long line of premium German hatches from the marque going back to 1066. Or at least that’s what it feels like.

Next up is the impressive new Skoda Octavia. It’s got a crisp new look, the revised family face and it’s made yet another step up in quality – and value too, with frugal diesel engines.

We also recently tried the new Fiat Panda 4x4, a car we thought would be a triumph of marketing over practicality. Boy, were we wrong.

SOME CARS WE’VE DRIVEN

14P

Sam Burnetteditor

THERE’S NO BLACK BELTFOR DRIVING, BUT YOU CAN DO A DIAMOND TEST

A black belt, a gold medal: the signs of accomplishment are clear in many areas of life. If you’re a driver who wants to be among the best, there’s really only one benchmark – the DIAmond standard.

There are no gimmicky techniques to DIAmond driving, just a sound knowledge of the rules of the road and some common sense. It’s a tried and tested formula that makes for safer drivers.

Passing the DIAmond Advanced Test shows you’ve got the knowledge to set you apart. And if you can pass the Special Test – the toughest driving qualification outside of the emergency services – you’ve definitely got what it takes to help others develop their driving. Visit driving.org/diamond/test

Call 020 8686 8010

£125

Special test

Advanced test

£78


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It’s easy, and quite common, to get distracted however well you can drive

Kamira / Shutterstock.com

David Fowler / Shutterstock.com

Driven to distraction

ne of the more common places for crashes to occur is at road junctions. Not surprisingly, that is also a common place for drivers to

fail their advanced test. But why?We are traveling very slowly, expecting to

see other vehicles approaching and knowing that we may have to wait. It doesn’t get much simpler.

While most people think drivers on test are on their best behaviour, they do in fact display many of the habits they have while driving normally. Distractions and poor observation or judgment are the most common, which lead to poor decision making.

Distractions come in many forms and it’s easy, and quite common, to be distracted, however well you can drive. Most good drivers are aware of day-to-day distractions, some in-car: radio, passengers, controls, unfamiliarity of the vehicle; and some outside the car: pedestrians, cyclists, shops, nice views (your imagination) and unusual or unexpected movements.

On test the external distractions may still be there, however the in-car distractions are quite different to those normally experienced: pressure, lack of self belief and ability, worry, having to make decisions under pressure,

being watched and fear of making the wrong decision.

Experiencing these feelings can lead a good driver to make rash decisions; not wanting to appear hesitant or demonstrate a lack of confidence. The result of which will generally lead to doing exactly what they fear – making poor judgments.

The answer: remain confident in your ability and drive as you always do. If you feel you have to adapt the way you drive to keep the examiner happy, you are not driving to a high enough standard. If events occur during your day-to-day drive, caused by distractions, or just poor decision making, you need to reflect on why.

This is not time to take an advanced test to prove you are OK, but an opportunity to find a strategy that will help you cope better and reduce your risk which will in turn improve your driving and produce a driver who can comfortably pass any driving assessment.

Many sportsmen and women will have a coach or mentor to help them develop their skills. Driving is no different and having a driving coach to discuss your concerns with about driving is a good start. Once you have achieved your personal goals for driving I am certain you will be prepared to pass a DIAmond test.

DIAMOND 05

LOTS OF DRIVERS GET WORRIED WHEN THEIR SKILLS ARE UNDER SCRUTINY, BUT THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF, SAYS DIAMOND CHIEF EXAMINER MIKE FRISBY

A cure for what aids you

driving | spring 2013

DIAMOND CHIEF EXAMINER MIKE FRISBY LOOKS AT THE GOOD OLD DAYS AND WONDERS IF WE’RE JUST A LITTLE TOO COMFORTABLE IN MODERN CARS…?

n the advanced driving arena, DIAmond is fairly young at 21 years old. Certainly compared with other brands that

have been around for 50 years or more. Of course, back in those days cars

were more primitive things that required a skilful driver. The man of the house was responsible for cleaning the family wagon (presumably while his wife cleaned the house) and making sure it was maintained so the chances of breakdown were minimised. Sunday would be the family day, off everyone would go for a trip out – Dad driving – while the passengers amused themselves with I-Spy and car counting games.

Advanced driving was seen as the thing to do to earn your grille badge and get noticed by other drivers, as well as benefit from the insurance boost. Still, the fact remains that a mere handful of the total number of licence holders have ever taken an advanced test, so has it really made a difference?

As the years have moved on and cars have progressed to be ultra-safe, ultra-comfortable, sleek, prestigious and almost self-driving, the role of the driver has become far less important. Cars practically drive themselves. You can point them down a straight piece of road, stick on the cruise control and all the gadgetry will take over to protect you. ABS, ESP, traction control, airbags, side-impact protection.

I

FEATURE


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While all this is guarding you and your family in the badly maintained car that was bunged through the car wash a week ago, with lights and levels that were checked at the last service 20,000 miles ago, you can select some easy-listening music from your surround-sound audio, CD-changer system, or scan through your MP3 device for your favourites.

And if you don’t know where you are going and you left a bit later than expected today, you can set your satnav while you drive to find your destination. If the worst comes to the worst you can always give someone a call on the hands-free telephone. All of which has of course been taught on your L-test and any advanced training that you may have had since.

Is it any wonder we are driving into each other at the rate of 4,000 times a week?

So, this is where we are after 100 years of the car but where are we going? If we do nothing to improve what we are doing then it seems obvious that nothing much is going to change. The three Es (engineering, enforcement and education) are widely regarded as the way to improve the current KSI figures (or at least get them back on track after 2011’s rise) and to reach the next road safety target of 2020, which is a 50% drop in the previous decade’s figures.

Engineering has provided arguably the biggest step forward, with massive improvements in car development and road infrastructure. We should be thankful that it has, because with current behaviour we’d

Alisdair Macdonald / Rex Features

KeystoneUSA-ZUMA / Rex Features

surely have seen cars banned as death rates rocketed to unthinkable levels.

The design and development of the car alone should have been enough to provide the opportunity for the UK to have a zero death rate, or extremely close to it. The increasing problem is the perception that good driving skills have become redundant as modern cars have become safer. Most drivers are happy to rely on technology and be ignorant of its limitations. They ditch their already low ability to make good decisions on the basis that the technology is there if they need it, which they invariably do.

Roads are now straighter, wider and better lit, and many obstructions have been removed at junctions to improve the driver’s view. Better, but arguably too much, signage has been put in place to help the driver anticipate hazards, and with all this in place drivers are becoming less able to use the advanced technology and undoubtable capability of their vehicles due to poor decision making leading to lower speed limits being imposed.

Enforcement is in place, but there are fewer officers on the roads to police them and the government has plans to reduce the road safety budget by 80%, which leaves us with the infrastructure that’s already in place to catch offenders. The reality now is that those being caught are the ones who fail to see the camera in time and slow down too late or end up having a crash.

Accumulation of points will not make most drivers think too hard unless they either run out of money and change their behaviour on financial grounds, or get near to losing their licence which may also be viewed as too high a penalty for them.

Driving has to change, and so do the habits of driversThat can happen after three offences, but enforcement is like the technology – by the time you get to use it, it could be too late.

So we come to education. But what education? There is no requirement to continue education once you have obtained a full licence, and before that it is not compulsory to receive training by a professional or to be assessed as competent before taking a driving test. Post-test, the only time you are offered an educational course is if you have committed an offence. It’s good to offer drivers the chance to take training, but this is a retrospective action that may come too late.

So what is the solution? Driving has to change, as do the habits

of drivers, and the education process for the current and next generation of drivers who will be setting the standards for their children.

Drivers need to understand the technology they have in their cars. Knowing what it is, how it works and its limitations and they need to believe they are not immortal. Even stopping very quickly can cause serious injury – our bodies were not designed to do that.

There is a lack of empathy towards all other road users, particularly vulnerable ones, and however good vehicle technology gets they remain vulnerable. Driver education will have to cater for preparing drivers in skills like people and mind management rather than improved vehicle handling skills. It will be more of a heart and mind process. We are all born with a survival instinct and we have been for many years creating a culture where roads are treated as the battleground rather than the playground.

We need to reverse the trend and advanced driving should be seen as the way to improve the way drivers think, help them understand the necessary skills to structure a good journey management plan, prepare them to deal with the challenges that roads present, understand fully the vehicle they drive, and most importantly the high level of danger that may occur to other road users when technology has been activated by their own poor judgments.

T

THE DECADE OF INACTION?

THE UN DECADE OF ACTION ON ROAD SAFETY STARTED IN 2011, BUT SO FAR THE FIGURES HAVE GOT WORSE. HOWARD REDWOOD TAKES A LOOK AT THE LATEST EUROPEAN REPORT ON PROGRESS IN REDUCING ROAD DEATHS

he UN’s decade of action for road safety kicked off in 2011, encouraging the use of a five-pillar strategy to aid the development of

interventions to save five million lives in over 100 countries. The countries have to set their own goals, but Europe has taken a big leap.

Overseeing the campaign in Europe is the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), a non-governmental organisation formed in 1993 in response to public concern about unacceptably high European road casualties. It brings

together experts with international reputation and representatives of 45 national and international organisations concerned with transport safety from across Europe. Together they exchange experience and knowledge to identify and promote research-based contributions to transport safety. The ETSC provides an impartial source of advice on transport safety matters to the European commission, the European parliament and to national governments and organisations concerned with safety throughout Europe, Israel, Norway, Serbia and Switzerland.

The objective of the ETSC is to reduce

the 2010 road death figures (the individual figures defined as ‘a person killed in traffic, who was recorded as dying immediately, or within 30 days, from the injuries sustained in a collision’, according to the ETSC’s report) of the 31 participating countries by 50% over the next 10 years. A tall order, and the first year of the decade of action has produced mixed results.

In 2011, the average reduction of deaths across the 31 countries was 3%, down 940 on 2010 numbers to 30,108. It can be seen from the graph that Norway managed a 20% reduction in road deaths


FEATURE


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cited as ‘a culmination of several road safety measures, such as lower speed limits on higher risk roads and the opening of new motorways in conjunction with a higher compliance rate to the wearing of seat belts’, according to Rune Elvik of the Institute of Transport Economics in Norway.

Latvia reduced its road deaths by 18% in the same period. This was attributed to ‘increased fines for traffic offences, safety audits and a developed system to manage high risk areas’, said Aldis Lama of the Latvian ministry of transport.

However, 13 other countries reversed their trend in reducing road death, among them the UK and Germany. The German road safety council attributes the country’s 10% worsening to better than average weather, allowing more motorists additional exposure to risk through the mild winter.

The current 3% average reduction across the continent is lower than the previous 10 years (5.7%), and the vice president of the European commission, Siim Kallas, has called it a ‘wake-up call’.

We all know that interventions come

at a price, and that statisticians and accountants always want to see a distinct ‘return on investment’. From the 2011 figures, it would appear that the cost to prevent a single death could be as much as €1.84m. In the pan-European austere climate, this is rather a lot, and there has to be a way of reducing this cost in monetary value and human life. However, the saving so far created when presenting the 2011 figures against 2010, is estimated at approximately €1.74bn. At the current rate of progress (-3%), which is far shorter of what was expected, it is estimated that between now and 2020, the 31 countries would have lost, what would have been an additional saving of nearly €2.1bn.

Although we are discussing deaths, there would certainly be an advantage to concentration on serious injury. The difference between the two in a collision could be a matter of the difference of a split-second reaction to a hazard, or, as any emergency services personnel will tell you, a matter of millimetres when being struck or impaled by an object. The UK is in the half of the 27 EU States that use the same definition of a

Fig. 1: Percentage change in road deaths between 2010 and 2011* Provisional estimates used for 2011, as the final figures for 2011 are not yet available at the time of going to print** UK estimate based on 3% increase in killed in 2011 Q1-3 compared with 2010 Q1-3

DIAmond is actively involved in Europe-wide consultation and activity to improve road safety. Through our international arm, the Institute for Driver Education (IVV) we and members worldwide regularly meet with key stakeholders such as ECTS and the EU to discuss and share information, research, ideas and initiatives aimed at improving road safety globally. In the UK and across the world, we are actively engaged in training and education initiatives designed to deliver both better driver training programmes, and better drivers to our roads. DIAmond continues to be an internationally respected quality marque for driver education, with developed and emerging economies worldwide regularly seeking our advice on developing driver training. See ivv.org for more information on our international activity (new website coming soon) and learningtodrive.org for information on our learn safely, drive safely campaign we recently started in the UK.

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‘serious’ injury, which is, ‘an injury which would render an individual to spend 24 hours or more as a hospital in-patient’.

The UN cites a ‘five-pillar approach’ to road safety, including road safety management; infrastructure; vehicle safety; road user behaviour and post-crash care.

These interventions should make any country’s roads safer. The problem appears to be integrating them into one clearly defined action to be used by all participating countries. The sixth road safety performance index report has managed to establish what can be achieved by collating the road safety management pillar to get the statistics in the report. Within this pillar there are a number of generic characteristics that enable its universal application to all countries, irrespective of development status. It uses a common thread from health and safety monitoring known as Popimar (policy, organising, planning and implementation, measuring performance, audit, review), organising roles and responsibilities, researching planning and training, implementing the scheme, auditing it a various points and re-evaluating the effects in order to make improvements.

There is one catalyst required to make this work – funding. Some countries are not putting enough money into the cause to be able to reduce road deaths by the agreed 2020 limit. Ring-fencing funds is essential to complete the task. The UK and 15 other states have no budget for this road safety initiative, so what are they relying on? Four others are actually lacking a plan at all!

The UK has a plan, but abandoned road safety targets in the strategic framework for road safety published last year. In neurolinguistic programming, there is a saying: ‘If you do what you have always done, you are likely to get what you have always had’. If there is no target to work towards, then will any strategy be as effective as it could be? By not speculating in the investment, how can we possibly get a reward of savings in the long run? We are not just referring to money, but to lives as well.

Out of the five pillars, vehicle safety is probably the most noticeable to the driver. Injury prevention in the vehicle design stage aids the fifth pillar of post-crash care, but it is now being reported in the UK that road user behaviour (the third pillar) is changing. This is changing partly through the driver’s false sense of security that the technology is to replace inadequate driving knowledge, or a shortage of driver skill. Speeding tickets and fines have reduced in the last five years, partly due to the switching off of speed cameras, but statistics concerning drinking and driving show that the police are more prolific with roadside tests. In 2009, 15 motorists per 1,000 population were stopped and checked, resulting in 11.6% being found over the legal limit.

Maintaining and updating infrastructure is expensive, but we are starting to see vehicle to infrastructure technology taking place, where traffic management systems are able to communicate with vehicles’ onboard computers. However, most of these innovations have been funded by manufacturers, not the European Union or national government.

For every UK adult, the government collects £12,071 in taxes each year, of which £449 per head is spent on transport, including road infrastructure. This equates to about £22bn, far short of the £88bn which the strategists say should be being spent to try to catch up with the building and maintenance programme. Many local authorities are reporting a current 11-year backlog.

It is commendable that the ETSC exists, and by cleverly using other countries’ statistics to cajole their neighbours into position in the tables we have a mindset that wants to improve road safety everywhere, but we are prevented from doing individual government funding restraints. The report refers to this problem many times and calls on governments to ‘revise road safety action programmes by giving political support and commitment and funding; to disseminate knowledge and improve initial training’. This would certainly be a start.

The UK has a plan, but abandoned road safety targets in last year’s strategic framework

driving | winter 2012

he Volkswagen Golf has in so many ways become a big bag of cliches – well, not the car itself, exactly, but writing about it. Ooh, look at that lovely premium interior, the excellent build quality and

conservative styling. But it’s not quite as good to drive as the Ford Focus. Reviews write themselves before you even get a chance to get behind the wheel.

So, to cut a long story short, does the seventh-generation Golf do anything to vanquish those stereotypes? No. But that’s really a good thing, because it just keeps getting better with every new iteration. It has this everyman appeal, while at the same time making every man feel exclusive behind the wheel. It’s the sort of car that makes you feel good.

One of the most impressive things about the car is the roster of standard equipment that puts most rivals to shame. Every Golf comes kitted with DAB radio, Bluetooth, cruise control, ESP, a touchscreen control panel and Volkswagen’s XDS system, which simulates a limited-slip differential and is designed to counteract understeer. The car even comes with a post-collision braking system that applies the brakes after an accident to stop the car from rolling into the path of oncoming traffic. The options list is equally impressive, featuring radar cruise control and an emergency

braking system that will hit the brakes below 18mph if you’re about to crash.

It doesn’t shame itself on the road, either. It won’t leave you grinning, but neither is the driving experience stressful. It’s the opposite, which is just what you want these days, a car that takes the pain out of being on the road. Volkswagen has shaved – nay, sliced – about a hundred kilos off each model, to the benefit of consumption, emissions and driving dynamics. It’s good that manufacturers are finally starting to reverse the trend of successive generations getting ever fatter.

You can imagine the nerves there must be when it comes to replacing a model as successful as the Golf. There must be some trepidation for any manufacturer trying to replace a successful model – very often they can’t even manage to replicate that success, let alone build something that’s even better than what went before.

The seventh-generation Golf might be a little pricier than other cars, but it’s a worthwhile premium. It’s big enough for a family of four or five and a reasonable amount of swag, but it’s still small enough to be a cinch around town and comfortable enough for long-distance cruising. In many ways it’s the best all-round car you can get for this money and a lot more besides.

T

Generation game

SEVENTH TIME, STILL LUCKY FOR THE VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

It has everyman

appeal, yet makes you feel good at the wheel

PRICE£19,645 (1.4 SE)TOP SPEED126mph0-62MPH9.3secECONOMY53.3mpgCO2123g/kmENGINE TYPE, CC1,390cc four-cylinder petrolPOWER120bhpTORQUE148lb-ftGEARBOXSeven-speed automatic

Verdict 10/10

REVIEWS


15

ometimes it’s the little things that set something apart. Take Jennifer Aniston, back in her early Friends days. She was just another pretty comedy actress until she got herself a fancy haircut and

suddenly became some sort of cultural icon. It’s similar with the Fiat Panda – it hasn’t got itself

an expensive fringe, but it has been kitted out with a 4x4 system that will both astound and delight you. It begs you not to take it seriously with its cutesy looks and retro interior, but the proof of the pudding is in the driving through it without losing traction, as they say.

We tried the Panda on an off-road course designed for Land Rovers – that would be daunting enough in itself, let alone the fresh dumping of several inches of snow overnight. The Panda shrugged the whole thing off, though, and remained imperturbable, sailing down roads rendered all but impassable.

The Panda certainly has character, which the 4x4 only adds to – the suspension has been raised 40mm, adding useful extra comfort. We’d definitely recommend the 0.9-litre TwinAir engine for its characterful burble. The 4x4 makes a brilliant all-purpose small car – you need never use a road again.

lipping out of the factory a careful 30 seconds after the Golf overleaf is the new Skoda Octavia. It’s based on the same new VW group platform that offers cost-cutting flexibility for the company.

Skoda has always pitched the Octavia in a sort of half class between the Focus and Mondeo to avoid too much competition with family members, but the lines seem to be getting blurred, because quality and refinement has taken another perilous step closer to Audi and Volkswagen.

It’ll go on sale from £15,990 though, which is not at all unreasonable for a car this size. Some may baulk at

the 1.2-litre engine that comes with that particular price tag, but it’s an inspired unit.

Realistically you’re looking more in the region of £20,000, but the diesel engines are excellent (especially the 1.6 we drove) and the Octavia comes with some impressive features. The eight-inch touchscreen is great, and the Skoda comes with all the same safety gizmos as the Golf, as well as things like adapative automatic headlights, and park assist that will park the car for you.

The Octavia is reasonable to drive too – it’s planted through corners, but the ride is somewhat unsettled, struggling to filter out the worst of the bumps.

S

S

Kung fu PandaITALIAN CITY CAR DOES TRAINING, BEATS EVERYONE

Czech mateCAVERNOUS FAMILY HATCHBACK, NOW WITH MORE SENSIBLE

PRICE£13,950 (4x4 TwinAir)TOP SPEED103mph0-62MPH12.1secECONOMY57.6mpgCO2103g/kmENGINE TYPE, CC875cc two-cylinder petrolPOWER85bhpTORQUE107lb-ftGEARBOXSeven-speed automatic

PRICE£19,240 (SE 1.6 TDI)TOP SPEED121mph0-60MPH10.4secECONOMY74.3mpgCO299g/kmENGINE TYPE, CC1,598cc turbodieselPOWER104bhpTORQUE184lb-ftGEARBOXFive-speed manual

Verdict 9/10

Verdict 8/10

I am thinking of taking the DIAmond test. How does it work?

I have seen a few breakdowns where the warning triangle has been placed right behind the broken-down vehicle. Where is the correct place to put it in case I break down and is it a legal requirement to carry one?

If you are thinking of taking a DIAmond test, be it the Special or Advanced Test, the first step will be to book it. Call us on 020 8686 8010 or visit driving.org/diamond. The next step is to find a trainer to ensure your driving meets the standard of the DIAmond test. You can do this by going to the website above, entering your postcode and following the onscreen prompts to find a fully qualified driver trainer to train you up to the required standard.

When you are ready to take the test, your examiner will meet you at a mutually convenient time and location to begin your test. You will

be asked to drive for either 60 or 90 minutes depending on which test you take, on all types of roads including motorways. For the Special Test, you will also be asked to provide a commentary both in and out of town. Both tests will require you to complete two reversing exercises, which may also include a reverse around a corner to the right.

Once the test is complete, the examiner will give you your result there and then along with a debrief. Successful candidates will have their certificate posted to them along with a year’s membership of DIAmond advanced motorists, our quarterly e-zine.

If you have broken down, you first need to get your vehicle off the road if possible and ensure everyone is safely out of the car. If you are causing an obstruction, put on your hazard warning lights.

You must place the warning triangle on the road at least 45 metres behind your broken-down vehicle. Ensure you place it on the same side of the road as your vehicle, but you must never use them on motorways due

to the increased risk involved in walking along the carriageway. You must take great care when placing and retrieving the triangle. Wearing a hi-vis vest will make you more conspicuous to approaching traffic.

In the UK it is not a legal requirement to carry a warning triangle, however it is advised. If you drive abroad, always check up on the countries you are going to and passing through along the way, as it can be a legal requirement.

DIAmond test

Breakdown triangles

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