Alessandro Rapinese denies he is waging personal vendetta against cyclists amid a public backlash
The mayor of Como has set the wheels of controversy in motion for banning bikes in the walled historical centre of the lakeside city after being hit by one.
Alessandro Rapinese’s ban, which comes into force in September, targets about 30 streets and means cyclists, whether on e-bikes or push bikes, will have to dismount and walk through those areas.
Continue reading...Head-on collision between two vehicles on M9 in County Kildare also injured four other people, say police
Five teenagers have died and four other people have been seriously injured in a crash involving a car driving in the wrong direction on a motorway in the Republic of Ireland, police said.
Gardaí confirmed the bodies of the youths, all male, had been removed from the scene of the two-vehicle collision, which happened at about 3am on Sunday on the M9 in County Kildare.
Continue reading...Calls for speed limiters or mandated helmet use after research into injuries at three paediatric trauma centres
The number of children involved in crashes on e-scooters has soared in recent years, with some as young as nine involved in collisions, research has found.
Researchers carried out a review of injuries among the under-16s at three specialist paediatric trauma centres – Alder Hey in Liverpool, and Sheffield and Royal Manchester children’s hospitals – between January 2019 and December 2024.
Continue reading...Popular national pastimes of drinking and football will make post-Mexico Monday a day of sore heads and sleepy children
England are through to the round of 16 in the World Cup and, as is customary in the run-up to a major international footballing fixture, the country may be losing its mind.
Because piled on top of the 60 years of hurt for the men’s team, England fans have another obstacle to overcome with the forthcoming fixture: a gruelling kick-off time of 1am BST.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Research suggests financial penalties necessary if number of large vehicles on roads is to be reduced
Drivers who are told about the safety risks posed by SUVs to cyclists and pedestrians are very unlikely to be deterred from buying one, a new study has found.
The findings indicate that if governments want to reduce the number of large, dangerous vehicles on the roads, it is likely to require financial penalties, according to the psychologists at Swansea University who led the research.
Continue reading...Truck was carrying Afghan families returning Pakistan when it overturned, official says
A truck overturned in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing 18 people on board including 10 children, a provincial official told Agence France-Presse.
Deadly traffic crashes are common in Afghanistan, due in part to poor roads after decades of conflict, dangerous driving and a lack of regulation.
Continue reading...UK researcher uses maths to explain seeming inevitability of phenomenon experienced by many motorists
It is a situation experienced by many motorists: one driver overtakes another only to find the slower car is right behind them when they reach a red light. Now a researcher has used mathematics to reveal why the situation feels inevitable.
Dr Conor Boland from Dublin City University has called his work “The Voorhees law of traffic”.
Continue reading...Footballer pleads guilty to one count of driving dangerously after his offence was caught on camera
A Chelsea footballer who was caught on camera speeding down the hard shoulder of a busy A road in his Lamborghini has been handed a lengthy driving ban.
Wesley Fofana, 24, pleaded guilty at North East Surrey magistrates court to one count of driving dangerously on 20 April along the A3 Esher bypass in Hook, Hampshire. The incident came to light after another motorist captured the footage on a dashcam and reported it to the police.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Isabel was fined three times in one week in Sydney. ‘I was like, there’s been some kind of malfunction,’ she said
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Isabel didn’t even realise she had broken the law until three fines turned up in her mailbox.
The fines – collectively worth more than $1,200 and nine demerit points – were all for seatbelt offences within the same week in Sydney while she helped a friend move house.
Continue reading...Police say one 30-year-old died at the scene on the Hume Highway and the other, also 30, was airlifted to hospital but died soon afterwards
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Two women have died after being hit by a car while trying to help an injured kangaroo on a busy freeway in Melbourne’s north.
The deaths have prompted warnings about the dangers of stopping to help wildlife.
Continue reading...Campaigners call for Paris-style parking charges amid fears big vehicles are taking up excessive public space
The number of giant cars in England’s cities has increased tenfold in recent years, according to researchers, who warn the vehicles are taking up excessive public space and posing a threat to public safety.
Analysis published by Clean Cities has found SUVs have gone from 3% to 30% of existing cars in the past two decades. In London, the number of SUVs has increased from about 80,000 in 2002 to about 800,000 in 2023.
Continue reading...Motoring groups welcome plan to ban over-70s who fail eye tests but call for young drivers to face passenger restrictions
Motoring groups have welcomed government plans to overhaul road safety laws that could result in over-70s being banned if they fail eyesight tests but have implored ministers to go further with measures they believe could protect younger drivers and their passengers.
Ministers are considering cutting the drink-drive limit in England and Wales and introducing mandatory eye tests for older drivers, the Times reported on Monday. The proposals also reportedly include tougher penalties for uninsured driving and failing to wear a seatbelt – but not measures to stop inexperienced drivers being responsible for the safety of groups of their friends.
Continue reading...Ministers also considering lowering drink-drive limit among measures to reduce road deaths and injuries
Older drivers could face mandatory eye tests and the drink-drive limit could be cut as the government tries to reduce the number of road deaths.
In a major overhaul of the UK’s road safety laws, ministers are also reportedly considering tougher penalties for uninsured drivers and failing to wear a seatbelt.
Continue reading...Two men and a woman, all aged 19, died at the scene in Mackay after a late night crash involving multiple vehicles
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Three teenagers have died in Queensland after their car crashed into a dual-cab ute while attempting to overtake a truck.
Two 19-year-old men and a 19-year-old woman died at the scene in Mackay, more than 800km north of Brisbane, after a crash involving multiple vehicles late on Friday night.
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Continue reading...Data shows many children involved in e-scooter accidents speeding, not wearing helmets, and ‘doubling’ their friends
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Every three days, a child injured on an e-scooter would come through the emergency department doors at the Sunshine Coast university hospital, according to Dr Matthew Clanfield.
Between 2023 and 2024, 176 children were treated at the Queensland hospital.
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Continue reading...Carmaker reportedly has yet to announce plan for repairs after telling motorists not to charge their cars
Thousands of drivers have reportedly been left in limbo after warnings that their car could catch fire due to a battery defect.
Ford issued an urgent recall of its Kuga plug-in hybrid car in early March, warning drivers not to charge the battery because of a risk it might short-circuit while on the road. The problem could cause a loss of power or a fire, according to the recall notice. Four weeks later, the manufacturer has yet to announce a timescale for repairs and owners report that it is failing to respond to their requests for an update.
Continue reading...Hundreds of teenagers have been given an IN10 police endorsement since 2020, says road safety charity
Electric scooters have been blamed for a surge in the number of children being penalised for driving without insurance.
Since the start of 2020 almost 800 children aged between 13 and 16 have been given an IN10 endorsement – the code used by the police for “using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks” – according to data obtained by a road safety charity.
Continue reading...Researcher at Swansea University says tiny plant spores mixed into bitumen can extend surface lifespan by 30%
For all motorists, but perhaps the Ferrari-collecting rocker Rod Stewart in particular, it will be music to the ears: researchers have developed a road surface that heals when it cracks, preventing potholes without a need for human intervention.
The international team devised a self-healing bitumen that mends cracks as they form by fusing the asphalt back together. In laboratory tests, pieces of the material repaired small fractures within an hour of them first appearing.
Continue reading...Families have been informed of the incident, say Essex police, but no details of the deceased have been released
Four people have died after a vehicle crashed into a building in Essex, police have said.
Officers were called to Magdalen Street in Colchester at about 4.40am on Saturday to reports of a crash.
Continue reading...Constable Rosie Prior and a motorist were fatally struck by HGV that also hit a teenage boy, who was left with serious injuries, say police
A North Yorkshire policewoman has died after she was struck by a lorry while helping at the scene of another crash on the side of a highway.
Constable Rosie Prior was standing on the verge of the A19 at Bagby, near the village of Thirsk, on Saturday morning when she and two others were struck by an approaching heavy goods vehicle (HGV) just before 9am, authorities said.
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