Head of EU exit at the port says money needs to be ‘issued rather than talked about’
Dover port is not Brexit ready because it is still waiting for government funds to be released for vital infrastructure for the new border operations, it has been revealed.
It comes as it emerged that the government was considering forcing drivers to obtain a special Brexit passport before entering Kent in a bid to avert queuing chaos in January.
Continue reading...Tyre attachment designed by four students aims to reduce road transport pollution
A device that captures microplastic particles from tyres as they are emitted – and could help reduce the devastating pollution they cause – has won its designers a James Dyson award.
The Tyre Collective, a group of masters students from Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, scooped the UK prize of the international competition with their solution for the growing environmental scourge of tyre wear caused by road transport.
Continue reading...Pupils treated for ‘potentially life-changing injuries’ after double-decker hit bridge
Three children required surgery for “potentially life-changing injuries” after a double-decker school bus crashed into a railway bridge.
The top of the bus was ripped off almost completely when the vehicle hit the bridge in Wellhouse Lane, Winchester, on Thursday.
Continue reading...Citroën’s ‘urban mobility object’ is classed as a light quadricyle and can be driven without a full licence
The vehicle is cheap and the reactions from the pavement are a bonus, from the disbelieving double-take or uncontrolled giggle to the frankly envious where-do-I-get-one-of-those (plus the odd pitying stare, but then this is Paris).
At first glance, Citroën’s new Ami, a playful polypropylene cube on wheels with an unashamedly Toytown aesthetic, seems hardly the kind of car to excite the passions of France’s drivers. But, perhaps because it is not a car, that is just what it is doing.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Testimony of HGV drivers from ex-Soviet countries raises fresh questions over supply chain
Haulage drivers delivering to Amazon distribution centres across Europe allege that safety records are being deliberately manipulated and wages withheld in a breach of the e-commerce multinational’s pledges about working conditions in its supply chain.
HGV drivers recruited from former Soviet-bloc countries have told the Guardian that they were instructed to cheat tachograph machines that log their working hours, so that they could drive illegally long and unsafe stints in western Europe.
Continue reading...Historic bridge’s arms stuck at different angles on Saturday following mechanical fault
Tower Bridge was stuck open for over an hour because of a mechanical fault, causing central London traffic to be gridlocked.
The historic bridge’s two arms were stuck at different angles after opening to allow ships to pass underneath on the River Thames on Saturday evening, with witnesses saying they failed to come down at the same time.
Continue reading...Victims from town of Calne died after their vehicle hit a house and caught fire on A4
Floral tributes have been left to four young men who died after their car crashed into a house and caught fire.
The incident happened at 3am on Sunday on the A4 in Derry Hill, near Calne, Wiltshire. Police said the occupants of the house immediately called 999 and were evacuated while the fire service extinguished the blaze.
Continue reading...Victims from town of Calne died after their vehicle hit a house and caught fire on A4
Floral tributes have been left to four young men who died after their car crashed into a house and caught fire.
The incident happened at 3am on Sunday on the A4 in Derry Hill, near Calne, Wiltshire. Police said the occupants of the house immediately called 999 and were evacuated while the fire service extinguished the blaze.
Continue reading...Activists want London mayor Sadiq Khan to cancel Silvertown road tunnel project
Three Extinction Rebellion activists have locked themselves to a rig in the middle of the Thames to protest against a planned road tunnel underneath the river in south-east London.
The keys to the locks around the protesters’ necks have been delivered to the capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, with a note asking him to come and talk to them. However, the mayor’s office issued a statement ignoring the request and confirming plans to build the Silvertown tunnel are continuing.
Continue reading...Thousands of people took part in a silent march in Bayonne for Philippe Monguillot, 59, who was declared brain dead after an attack by passengers who refused to wear face masks. He later died in hospital.
The driver’s family organised the march from the bus stop where the assault took place. Monguillot's colleagues used their right to refuse to work in the aftermath of the attack but will resume work on Monday under reinforced security, the local operator said
Continue reading...Exclusive: council given only hours’ notice of emergency purchase of 1.2m sq ft ‘Mojo’ site
The government has secretly purchased 11 hectares (27 acres) of land 20 miles from Dover to site a vast new Brexit customs clearance centre for the 10,000 lorries that come through the Kent port from Calais every day.
It will be the first customs post erected in the UK to deal with goods coming from the EU for 27 years.
Continue reading...One French driver in five admits to a Jekyll and Hyde personality when they take the wheel
The French are the road-rage champions of Europe, according to a survey, with the highest number of drivers who feel they become more aggressive when they get on the road.
The 10th annual poll of “responsible driving” published by the Vinci Motorway Foundation and carried out by the Ipsos polling agency in 11 European countries, revealed that one French driver in five – and more in the Paris area – has a Jekyll and Hyde personality behind the wheel.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Discovery of prehistoric structure is another reason to give up ‘disastrous, white elephant’ scheme
Leading archaeologists say a £1.6bn scheme to build a road tunnel through the historic Stonehenge landscape should be scrapped altogether after the sensational nearby discovery of the largest prehistoric structure ever found in Britain.
Mike Parker Pearson, professor of British later prehistory at University College London, said: “This is just another reason to give up this disastrous, white elephant of a scheme.”
Continue reading...Those who can, should go back to work, Boris Johnson has said. But how will people get to work safely? If we take public transport, will there be enough space to physically distance? If we take the car, will the roads cope with all the extra traffic? Josh Toussaint-Strauss tries to figure out some answers, with the help of Peter Walker and Matthew Taylor
Continue reading...Data reveals police recorded seven incidents of motorists in UK driving over 130mph
Two-thirds of Britain’s police forces caught people driving in excess of 100mph during the first three weeks of the coronavirus lockdown, new data has shown.
The extreme speeds were not confined to motorways, as drivers also took the drop in traffic as an invitation to break the law on urban roads, thus endangering lives, police said.
Continue reading...Roads, rail and buses receive funds to increase capacity and ensure space for social distancing
Roads, railways, buses and trams are to receive a £283m funding package to improve public safety and protect services, the transport secretary has announced.
Grant Shapps said the funding – £254m for buses and £29m for trams and light rail – would increase both frequency and capacity of services while ensuring there is enough space on vehicles to allow for social distancing.
Continue reading...Two drivers slightly hurt but fall of 260-metre structure revives memories of Genoa disaster in 2018
A bridge on a normally busy provincial road in northern Italy collapsed on Wednesday but, with virtually no traffic due to the coronavirus lockdown, there were just two casualties who suffered minor injuries.
The 260-metre bridge on the SS330 road near the town of Aulla – roughly mid-way between Genoa and Florence – collapsed at 10.25am local time.
Continue reading...Country is first to implement measure nationwide in attempt to reduce congestion
Luxembourg is to become the first country to offer a free public transport system, as the government tries to reduce particularly dense car traffic.
Some cities have taken similar partial measures but the transport ministry said it was the only time such a decision had encompassed an entire country.
Continue reading...Nearly 70 people have been injured in a pile-up involving about 200 vehicles on a busy highway in a suburb of the Canadian city of Montreal.
Two people were still trapped in their cars hours after the crash, which happened at 12.30pm on Wednesday in La Prairie, Quebec, said Sgt Marie-Michelle Moore with the Sûreté du Québec, the province’s police force and highway patrol authority.
Continue reading...Labour says PM’s decision not to visit flood sites or call Cobra meeting is ‘a disgrace’
Severe flood warnings remain in place and rescue operations were continuing in stricken communities on Monday evening, as the government faced criticism for its response to what has been described as unprecedented flooding in parts of the country.
With thousands of properties flooded after a month’s worth of rain fell on parts of Britain over the weekend, and more than 200 flood warnings still in place, Labour said it was “a disgrace” that the prime minister was not visiting affected towns and villages and was resisting calls to convene the Cobra emergencies committee.
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