Pit Stop News Cyclists could soon be forced to fit bells to their pedal bikes, under a proposed new Government legislation. Labour's Road Safety Minister, Lady Hayman, claimed she wants to make the bells on cycles a compulsory item to help protect pedestrians. This has been classed as "A matter of priority", although a Conservative Party spokesman has dismissed the idea as ludicrous. More people miss their cars more than their partners, it has been claimed. The survey, commisioned by Green Flag, the breakdown recovery company, state that over half of the drivers questioned said they could not be without their car for more than a day. Only 10 per cent said the couldn't do without their husband or wife. Theives have stolen two high powered rally cars from the World champiuonship team Subaru. The two Imprezas were stolen after a Land Rover Discovery was used to smash through the gates at the Oxfordshire plant, which was then dumped, and the two cars taken away. Over 100,000 drivers who were breath tested last year, failed the test. Poilce carried out the highest ever number of tests in 1996 - 781,000 of them. A car has been built for the man who has everything, including a price on his head, by a British Security firm and Toyota. The Toyota Landcruiser Amazon looks externaly just like the normal �36,000 off roader, but in reality it is a vehicle designed for transporting VIP's who are the target of terrorists. The �160,000 armoured car has controls on the dashboard, marked 'Arm' and 'Fire', which controls the smoke grenades, while Security specialists Scott Broder, has installed transparent armour plating instead of glass. The chassis of the car is made from blast resistant metal, and the super reinforced fuel tank can withstand a 10KG Semtek explosion at 3.5 metres. In case of a gas attack, the vehicle also has it's own air supply. Millionaire Hugh Edeleanu is driving from John 'O Groats to Land's End and trying to break his own speed record, in his Turbocharged JCB Digger. The current record is 34 Hours and 15 minutes. Hugh will drive the Landshuttle digger the 963 miles non stop, except he will stop only for refuelling. US Traffic cops have been donated 9,000 gallons of engine oil by Mobil. the police in Washington need the oil to keep their fleet of cars on the road for the next 15 months. A police detective who had his car broken into, got a letter from Doncaster police offering him counselling with their Victim Support Officer - the post he holds. An AA report has revealed that if you want to avoid a car crash, stay off of the roads on a Friday. That's when the average number of crashes soars to 1,195 and when over 18 per cent of accidents and breakdowns happen. The safest day to travel is Sunday. Italian car maker Alfa Romeo has been forced to recall more than 1,000 cars because there are fears that the drivers air bag could deploy accidentally. All of the new 1.6 and 1.8 and many 2 litre models of its 145 and 146 series are to be recalled, which is 1,302 in the UK alone. The airbag could explode if the underside of the car is hit hard, as there has been one case already. Do you fancy owning a Ferrari for a week, or a Porsche for a month, or even a Vauxhall Tigra for life? Avis, the car rental company, is running a competition that allows just that. Everybody who hires a car from them., and is over 30, will automatically be entered into the competition. In a desparate bid to cut down on 40,000 deaths every year, US road safety groups want a legislation that forces parents to put children under 13 in the back seat. In the US, high speed police car chases could soon case to happen. There is uproar over them as an average of 300 people are killed in the US as a result of these chases. The Maricopa Indians, a tribe in Arizona, USA, have objected to a highway which crosses their land, being named after movie star John Wayne. The indians are upset because they disagree about the way their ancestors were portrayed in his films. A road in Shipton, Shropshire was closed recently after a car accident. A van was buried when a lorry overturned in front of it, and shed its load of potatoes. The lorry collided with a car, overturned and shed its load over the Escort van was engulfed in the landslide. It`s female driver was injured and taken to hospital. The other drivers in the incident were also slightly hurt. Jaguar has ceased production of its legendary V12 5.3 litre engine after 26 years. The original unit was launched with 272 Brake horsepower (BHP) in the E-Type in 1971. Today, their next generation 4 litre V8 engimne, as used in the new XK8 coupe, has more power - 290 BHP and it also has better economy. To try and sell more models, Ford has now introduced leather interiors in all Scorpios as standard, in an attempt to make the slow selling model more appealing. The Jaguar XK8 has broken all records with the company by outselling any other sports car in the campany`s history. 5,500 coupes and convertibles have been sold in the first four months of 1997. Half of these vehicles were sold in America, and about a quarter of them were sold in the UK. Volvo, who have at last got rid of their staunchy, box car like image, will be releasing high performance versions of their S40 and V40 saloon and estate models in the autumn. The 150 mph T4 versions, which have a 1.9 litre turbocharged engine, which produces 200 BHP, will do 0-60 mph in just about seven seconds. Prices for thre range will start from just under #20,000. Jeep, the US manufacturer, is recalling every right hand drive model sold in the UK since their launch in January 1993. There is a possible weakness in the steering box mountings which must be checked by supplying dealers. This affects 19,000 vehicles, but the 1997 Cherokee, which is on sale now, is not affected by the recall, as the possible fault has been rectified. An American driver, Archie A Arnold, recently died. Before he died, however, hewanted to have a little fun, so he told his friends and relatives of his wishes. When he died, he wanted two parking meters erected on his grave, as he hated them and the meter maids so much. They duly granted his request, and set them permanently to expired! In the USA, Peter Nunn`s petrol station has bebbed 171 times in four years. Peter, from New York, says that he has given up trying to call the police each time he is robbed, as he is too embarrassed. His phone has also been stolen! The little known supercar from Nissan, the Skyline GT-R, is finally to be released in the UK. The �50,000 supercar, which has a 2.6 litre, 24 valve engine and is blisteringly quick, capable of warp speed, will be released after the London Motor Show in October. Potential owners will have to be quick, as only 100 will be available in the UK. It features include four wheel drive, electronic rear wheel steering, and it has been called "one of the great driving experiences" by Nissan. It also holds the record for being the only production car to have lapped the notorious German F1 track, the 14 mile Nurburgring in less than eight minutes. Sybil Mollard received a letter from the LA motor licensing agency in the USA recently. It read "We have received a report that you may be deceased. Please come into our office with proof of identity and evidence that you are not dead.". Saab, the Swedish car maker, is recalling every car in its 900 series as there are fears that the throttle may stick. The recall will probably affect 20,000 cars in the UK, leading to 170,000 worldwide. Saab stress that no accidents have occured, although 10 cases were received in America. The official word is that a build up of corrosion on the throttle housing could lead to "unintended acceleration." Defective parts will be replaced with brass components, which are non corrosive. This ironically comes after their recent newspaper advertising campaign in which the 900 set the world endurance record by driving 25,000 at 140 mph. The advert stated "You'll never need to do it - but it's nice to know you can.". A car which hit the back of Fritz Hoffmann's car in Berlin, Germany turned out to be the one he had sold a year earlier - he sold it because he thought it was jinxed! Polite billboards in Maryland, USA that said "Welcome to Maryland - please drive gently.", and "Leaving Maryland - we enjoyed your company." have been joined by "Just what you dread - Road Works ahead." Meanwhile, holiday traffic jams in Maryland are being eased by a group of state employees which helps motorists who have broken down or been involved in minor accidents. Patrol members do not compete with the American AA mechanics, but they do carry supplies of water and petrol. In Poland, car theives who stole Warsaw bishop Herbert Luthe's Mercedes, returned it a day later. It had since been cleaned, polished, and had a full tank of petrol. Aston Martin is joining forces with the great motorsport engine builder Cosworth Engineering, who were behind a series of motorway storming Ford models. Aston, who is now owned by Ford, called them in to tweak the engines in the Volante, Vantage and the V8 Coupe. As well as this, the DB7, their most advanced model, will get a rethink over the next two years, which also includes the mind blowing 400 bhp plus GT model. The number of deaths on US roads has fallen - even though speed limits were raised two years ago. Most states now have a limit of 65 mph, which was previously 55 mph, and Montana does not have a speed limit. Squeegee bandits may be very annoying on the streets but they have gained recognition in print. The roadside windscreen washers are included in the latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary. Car-jackers, hotters and rollerbladers have also made it in for the first time. A Tory MP who backed a "Kill Your Speed" campaign has been caught driving at nearly twice the speed limit. David Ruffley, MP for Bury St Edmonds, was fined �550 for doing 55 mph in a 30 mph zone. The Vauxhall Vectra is the cheapest car in its class to repair, according to statistics on the cost of repairing real life prangs. The figures were compiled by fleet car accident management company Velo using data from 30,000 company car accidents over the last 12 months. Vauxhall dealers are giving away a book that shows how to adjust your driving seat to avoid back problems. Nearly two thirds of drivers covering more than 10,000 miles a year are said to have back trouble aggravated by the wrong seating position. Renault has sold one million Twingos in the four years since the car was launched. The 1,000,000th car rolled off the production line at Filns in France and was presented to French Lottery winnner Gilles Rouzauld, who works at the plant. The car is also built in Spain, Taiwan and Columbia. The car industry is attacking a government proposal to allow people to disconnect their airbags. It is claimed the move, prompted by a rash of child fatalities caused by air bags, will cause 400 deaths a year. The US Army is trying to reappropriate a Sherman Tank from a citizen in New York State. He's breaking the rules, the Army says, by keeping it fully operational and not storing it in a museum. Ferrari owners will soon be able to opt for a matching Mobile Phone. Manufactured by Hagenuk, the phone was officialy launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Land Rover has extended the chassis repair programme from the Defender to cover the Discovery and Range Rover Classic models. The scheme allows owners to replace sections of a damaged chassis and avoid risking a write off, as where before, you were only able to purchase a full chassis section. Twenty per cent of British drivers fall below the eyesight standards required to pass a driving test, according to Specsavers opticians. Canadian accessory manufacturer On Track (001 604 538 7362) claims to have solved the problems associated with Gatso proof number plates. Instead of replacing the plate, On Track supplies a strip of reflective plastic which covers the original, making it opaque from the roadside but still readable from directly behind the car. The US Govcernment is investigationg complaints that the straps of built in child seats on Chrysler's popular Voyager MPV can trap children. Chrysler has issued a video with guidance on the proper use of the seats, which are not yet available in the UK. British cars have topped the first ever government approved security league table. The Jaguar XK8 and Range Rover 4.0 litre SE share the top spot in the 72 car ranking conducted by What Car? using test procedures approved by the Home Office. At the other end of the scale, the Renault Clio and 1997 model VW Polo took joint last place, although VW has since improved the locks on it's 1998 model. VW and Renault are not alone in performing below par. Of the 72 cars tested, What Car? found that 64 would fail to meet Home Office guidelines stating that locks must withstand attack by a thief for at least two minutes. Full results of the test can be found in the September issue of What Car? Although the BMW Z3 2.8 is now offially on sale for �28,115, buyers who place their order now will have to wait until March for delivery. Ferrari made its last F50 on 30 July. Destined for an Italian customer, the barchetta red car was signed off and its numbered badge attached by Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo at a special ceremony attended by the F50 assembly workers. Despite making only 349 cars, Ferrari estimates it could have sold 450 F50's to legitimate buyers. The Metropolitan police is reconsidering its decision to scrap black box recorders in police cars after the success of a similar scheme in Berlin. Senior officers are said to be stunned by the results of the Berlin pilot scheme, where accident levels have fallen so significally that the project has been widened to include most of the vehicle fleet. Accident recorders were removed from Londons police cars 18 months agao, despite strong evidence that their presence was also responsible for a dramatic reduction in accidents. Reasons for the decison were never made public, but lack of funds and interest at the highest levels were thought to have played a part. Home Office statistics have revealed that British motorists are more likely to be victims of car crime than those of any other European country. With one in ten motorway deaths occuring on the hard shoulder, the AA is advising motorists to ensure that they get out of their car and sit on the verge while waiting for assistance. A European directive banning the sale of leaded petrol from 2000 could spell disaster for up to 250,000 motorists. The directive was signed by the EC environmental council in June and will be ratified by the European Parliament iun the autumn in a process which inside sources have descibed as a "formality". Although Greece, Spain and Portugal have been exempted from the ban until 2005, the Government has accepted the plans in an attempt to reduce pollution levels. As a result, leaded fuel will be banned in the UK from January 1 2000, although classic and sports car enthusiasts will supposedly be able to purchase four star through a handful of specialist petrol stations. The remaining 250,000 motorists whose cars cannot be converted to run on unleaded fuel will be forced to fill up with unleaded and add cartridges containing lead replacment additives. Racing Driver Emerson Fittipaldi is launching his own line of cigars. The smokes will be marketed from a store in his home town of Miamai. Churchill Insurance was so overwhelmed with queries from customers wanting to buy the canine star of its recent TV ad that is decided to start selling them. Priced at �10 for Churchill customers, and �12.50 for non customers, you can order your very own nodding dog by calling 0181 313 3030. Boffins are testing a wobbly speed hump which jolts speeding vehicles, but is soft on slower vehicles. The hump is a liquid filled cushion protected by a rubber mat. Drive over it at low speed and you'll be fine, but between 20 and 30 mph, the soft centre becomes rigid. It's currently undergoing testing at the Transport Research Laboratory in Berkshire. In Malaysia, drivers convicted of holding a mobile phone while driving will be banned for six months under new laws. Lsast year, 180,000 motorists were caught making calls on the move. Meanwhile in the UK, thousands of motorists could soon face being stopped and fined for using a mobile phone while driving. Although the Government has rejected calls to ban the use of mobiles on the move, the Home Office wants police to follow the example of the Gloucestershire force and pull drivers over. In a two hour trial last June, it stopped 15 people for driving without due care and attention, and nine were using mobile phones. Six were fined �20. "We were looking for people not in proper control of a vehicle," said PC Gary Shellard. "It was a rainy day and the potential for accidents was huge." Although safety groups have been calling for a ban, the Government says existing legislation gives the police enough power. "A �20 fine is a lot to pay every time you use your phone," said PC Shellard, "but it would be easier if it was an offence in its own right.". Three teenagers have each been given 15 year jail sentences for stealing road signs in the USA. The youths were found guilty of manslaughter after three people died in a crash at a Florida junction from which a Stop sign had been removed. Fake wolf eyes are being installed next to busy roads at a beauty spot, to stop deer being killed. When car lights are reflected in the imitation eyes, they'll startle deer away from the road in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. The LA motor licensing department sent a letter to driver Sybil Mollard saying "We have received a report that you may have decesed. Please come into our office with proof of identity and evidence that you are not dead.". A mechanic has been banned from driving - for the 63rd time! Edmund Flahive, 38, of Leicestershire, who lives yards from a police station, was also jailed for the 19th time for breaking bans. Eastern European countries are seeing red as worn out Royal Mail vans take to their roads. The bright red LDV 400's are being snapped up in countries such as Poland and Latvia, thanks to a �200 left hand drive conversion kit. A Royal Mail spokeswoman said "The LDV 400 is easy to convert, and has a trusty Peugeot engine. Most of the vans are four years old with 80,000 miles on the clock, but some have covered more than 140,000 miles. They are great workhorses.". (Not to mention the fastest things on the roads!). Cows on the island of Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia, have been given plastic reflector earrings to make them more visible to motorists at night. The earrings are similar to the red reflectors fitted to the rear mudguards of bicycles. Volkswagen has improved the security on its Polo hatch (see above) with new door and steering column locks. The Polo now shares the Passat's "free wheeling" ignition lock, and the steering lock is almost impossible to overcome. Social worker Mary Murray, visiting a Mexico City prison, asked inmates to help after she locked her keys inside the car - so one prisoner threw a brick through her windscreen! Want to know more about about wacky personalised number plates? Who's Who On The Road, which is published in October, lists details of 6,000 registrations. Publisher William McGee advertised for people to write in if they had an unusual plate - but the book doesn't reveal prices. Lazy sales reps and car theives should all be worried by a new spy in the sky device being secretly installed in cars and vans. Fleet managers using on-screen computer maps can locate a tagged vehicle to within 25 yards, and precisely record its movements. The Trantrak system was developed by Coventry based Technical Telecommunications International to improve efficiency of delivery fleets. Links to security systems permit tracking a stolen car. The system also means no rep can argue he's stuck in traffic if the computer shows his car is in the pub car park! Motorists were left fuming after schoolboys broke into a traffic department depot and put rouge diversion signs up around Lille, France. An advert in a German lonely hearts column of a newspaper read: "Small businessman would like to meet girl with a Porsche, with a view to marry - send photo of Porsche.". A thief is in hospital after breaking into a shooting enthusiasts car in Texas, USA. He thought a metal box was full of money so used a blow-torch to open it - but it contained 6lb of gunpowder. Speeding motorists could soon find themselves being slowed down by in car computers that overide the driver and apply the brakes. Trials of roadside beacons that send radio signals to the computers of passing cars, telling them the speed limit, are scheduled to start next year on the M4. If a car is going too fast, the computer applies the brakes and the driver will find the throttle won't work if he tries to speed up. Police patrol cars in Scotland are being fitted with roof mounted electronic emergency signals in five languages for foreign drivers. The 18 messages, displayed at the touch of a button, include Follow Me, Road Flooded, Accident and Do Not Overtake. A storm has blown up over a new speed trap beating gadget that its makers say is so good they'll refund speeding fines if it doesn't work. The pledge has brought a protest from police who accuse the firm of inciting drivers to break the law. Northampton based TBS Industries says its �299 Phazar is legal to use as it doesn't scan or jam police signals but "soaks up" radar waves so signals can't bounce off a car. The Phazar, originally designed to enable jet fighters to outwit missiles, is classed as a reflector, not a transmitter, and thus escapes the rules of The Wireless Telegraphy Act. TBS put the Phazar on sale after police traps on the A14 caught 40 speeding motorists. Inspector Hugh Jones of Northamptonshire Police commented: "On the A14, we have recorded cars travelling at speeds of up to 130 mph. We want more legislation to help us, but in the meantime it's up to drivers and the companies who sell this type of device to realise what the consequences of excess speed can be - the death of someone.". One of the worlds biggest computer chip manufacturers, Intel, has set up an in car computing division to put the power of a home PC in a cars dashboard. The chips will be the brains behind the vehicles entertainment centre, and allow drivers to make calls or fax documents by voice recognition technology. A new non corrosive antifreeze has been developed by NASA. The green fluid, which can be painted on cars to make it easier to scrape off ice, uses only ingredients approved by the US food and drug administartion for human intake, and is totally biodegradable. In the former Soviet republic, Chechnya, pipelines are being tapped by drivers who steal the oil within them, and then refine it with home made equipment to make their own low grade petrol. Piet Voose, charged with driving a getaway car in a robbery in Ritterdam, Holland, was released after police realise that he did not have any arms. In Turkey, traffic accidents are killing so many people that health officlas in Ankara want motorists to carry body bags inside their cars. Over 2,700 people died on Turkey's roads in the first seven months of this year. Hollywood celebrities are rushiing to buy pick up trucks in an attempt to outwit the gutter press. The trucks are being used to take rubbish to local dumps after a spate of magazine articles exposing the contents of stars' dustbins. Paul Catmur is selling the perfect gift for the police officer who has everything. Paul of Dudley, West Midlands, is asking �12,000 for the personal registration number COP 999, which he bought in 1973. The Army is set to sell off a fifth of its Land Rover fleet by Christmas. The 4,000 Series III Land Rovers - some less than 15 years old - are being sold through Midlands firm Military Vehicle Spares at an old air base near Lichfield, even though the new Land Rover Defenders replacing them will not arrive for another two years. A drunk driver in Bari, Italy called police on his mobile phone to report that his steering wheel and pedals had been stolen. He then rang back minutes later to tell them not to worry, as he'd got into the back seat by mistake. A schoolboy wrecked a �28,000 Volvo V70 on a test drive after convincing sales staff he was a 22 year old businessman. The 15 year old crashed at high speed while taking friends for a spin in the P reg car in Somerset. A TV ad for Chrysler's Jeep has broken the record for the longest running car commercial. Because the vehicle is parked under 10 feet of snow and can't be seen, the ad will never date. Minor traffic offenders in Hawaii, USA can easily get a cop to tear up a ticket if they have no money for the fine. They just agree to accompany him to the nearest hospital and donate a pint of blood. Naughty number plate R4 NDY (RANDY) has not been issued by the DVLA, despite dozens of drivers offering more than �10,000 for it. The registration is among 20 R plates to be banned by the authority. An advert showing a Porsche driver crashing his car after being distracted by a model has been slammed as tasteless. With the slogan "Dress to kill", the black and white ads for clothes tretailer Wallis appeared in women's glossy mags in September. Other ads show a captivated train guard about to be decapitated by a tunnel wall, and a man about to drive a lawnmower over a sunbather. But the campaign has caused outrage. "Death is not a funny subject", said a spokeswoman for the National Council of Women. Police are combining forces in an effort to combat a new outbreak of "bridge bombing". A joint operation between the British Transport Police and motorway cops is aimed at putting a stop to the so called bombers who hurl potentially lethal missles from bridges spanning major roads and railway lines. The move comes after actor Sean Connery escaped injury when the Range Rover he was driving was hit by a brick thrown from a road bridge near Chertsey, Surrey. Police officers are convinced a hardcore of tearaways, some as young as 12, are behind the attacks. The anti bombing campaign, involving the BTP and the Central Motorway Police Group responsible for the M5, M42 and M6 in the West Midlands, begins this month. Officers will target housing estates close to major road and rail links in a bid to gather information and make youngsters aware of the dangers of bridge bombing. Police will also be using more than 60 high definition cameras sited close to bridges in an attempt to catch the bombers on film. In July, teenage vandals brought terror to the Midlands after hurling concrete blocks at cars travelling along the A5 and M54 near Telford in Shropshire, and the M54 in Staffordshire. Sports car maker John DeLorean, wanted in Britain for questioning following the closure of his Belfast factory set up with Government money, is to be stripped of his luxury American estate and art collection by a court because of an unpaid legal bill. DeLorean were mostly remembered for making the car that was featured in the Back To The Future films, and also of making the bodies from stainless steel, which does not rust. Caterham is developing its wildest Rover powered Super Seven yet. The minimalist Superlight gains an extra 50 bhp from a new 1.8 litre K series engine, which replaces the current 1.6 litre unit. It will be launched by the end of the year. Latisha Wright, 11, from Lynchburg, Virhinia, USA, took her mothers car on a 50 mile night time drive - and not only found her way to her aunt's house, but stopped to fill up with petrol. An horrific Motorway smash which left three dead and 62 injured has led to 27 driver proscutions. More than 100 vehicles were involved in the pile up on the fog bound M42 in March. Charges range from causing death by dangerous driving, to having faulty tyres. Citezen's Band radio is enjoying a revival in the US as a low cost alternative to car phones. The CB industry is marketing a new line of radios for cars, which can be used to get help on police monitored channels at the fraction of the cost of a cellphone call. New York detectives placed a metal colander over a car thief's head and attached it to a photocopying machine by wires. Thinking it was a lie detector, the crook confessed to stealing 27 cars! Articles taken from various isues of Auto Express, Complete Car, Autocar, Top Gear, Max Power, Motor Trader, and various newspapers. Stephen Graham