Thursday 3 September 2015

Drive Dynamics - Justin Wilson death: Drivers stage touching Golden Gate bridge tribute to British racer.

Wilson's teammate Marco Andretti led a procession of cars over the famous US landmark to honour the 37-year-old, who died this week from injuries sustained in a freak accident last Sunday.

Andretti drove the late racer's number 25 car in front of four other vehicles.

Wilson, from Rotherham in South Yorkshire, was fatally injured after a piece of debris from a fellow racer's car bounced directly into his open cockpit.

Wilson was airlifted to hospital from the Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania, but died on Monday after not waking from a coma.

His team, Andretti Autosport, have announced that Indycar veteran Oriol Servia will drive the Briton's Honda at Sonoma Raceway this weekend.

Servia said: "It's hard for the words to come out the right way.

"I have known and raced Justin for more than 10 years. I have an enormous amount of respect for him as a racer, but his qualities as a human were definitely an inspiration to anyone who ever met him.
"I am honoured and emotional with the opportunity of driving his car this weekend."

Wilson raced in Formula 1 in 2003, starting the season with Minardi before moving to Jaguar.

He went on to have a successful career in the United States, winning seven races in the Champ Car series and then tasting his most recent success in the IndyCar series.

F1 drivers have also paid tribute to Wilson, with former world champion Jenson Button describing him as a "great person and racing driver"

Honda have also announced a contribution to a fund established this week to benefit the two daughters of Wilson and his wife Julia.

A donation of $50 (£32) will be given for very lap completed at Sonoma by each of the 13 Honda entries - which could bring to total contribution to more than $55,000 (approximately £35,600).

For more information visit - http://www.express.co.uk/

Wednesday 2 September 2015

Drive Dynamics - The world's most dangerous and safest places to drive

Eritrea - Least Safe Place to  drive
On the map above, each country is colour-coded to reflect the number of road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants per year.
Most of the bottom 10 - including Eritrea, the deadliest driving destination, according to the World Health Organization's figures (with 48.4 deaths per 100,000 residents), Libya (40.5) and Iraq (31.5) - are unlikely to feature on the travel itineraries of most Britons. But a couple - Thailand (38.1) and South Africa (31.9) - are popular holiday destinations.
Relatively risky roads can also be found in Ecuador, Vietnam, Brazil, Paraguay, Kenya and Laos.
Other notable findings include the fact that Portugal is less safe than the rest of Western Europe and the US is twice as dangerous as Canada.
San Marino - Safest Place to drive
The safest places to drive include the Maldives (1.9 deaths, though the lack of roads probably helps), Norway (2.9), Denmark (3), Sweden (3) and Switzerland (3.4). Britain is just behind, with only 3.5 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants per year. But they are all outshone by San Marino, which recorded not a single death for the year in question (2010).

For more information visit - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Tuesday 1 September 2015

Drive Dynamics - Police cars with no sirens risk response times, federation says

West Midlands Police has a fleet of 109 Vauxhall Corsa cars intended for neighbourhood policing.
The Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said the vehicles had been used for more than 100 urgent calls in the last 12 months.
The West Midlands force said the Corsas were "not intended for response work".
'Frustrating'
The Federation's health and safety official Pete Harkness said: "Officers are ordered to drive the Corsa at patrol speed and obey the rules of the road.
"But the absence of a siren means they often cannot get traffic to move out of their way and this, in turn, can delay them getting to an emergency situation.
"This is very frustrating for the officers and they feel they are letting the public down by not getting to them as quickly as possible in a crisis situation."
The union blames cost-cutting for the use of cars without sirens.
Superintendent Kerry Blakeman, from the force's operations department, said officers who respond to call-outs in cars without sirens have to follow the Highway Code and cannot break the speed limit to cut through traffic.
He said: "Incidents graded as 'immediate' are responded to as soon as possible, usually in a matter of minutes and on many occasions require the use of lights and sirens.
For more Information visit - http://www.bbc.com/

Monday 31 August 2015

Drive Dynamics - Everton footballer Darron Gibson due in court on drink-driving charge

Everton star Darron Gibson will appear in court accused of crashing his sports car into a cyclist while drink-driving.
Gibson, 27, is alleged to have been behind the wheel of his black Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo car when it hit the bike before driving away.
Irishman Gibson is alleged to have then pulled into a petrol station nearby and collided with a petrol pump.
Police were called and charged the Premier League footballer with driving without due care and attention, driving with excess alcohol and failing to stop after a road traffic collision, near his home in Altrincham, Cheshire, on the evening of August 16.
Gibson, a Republic of Ireland international who plays in midfield, began his career at Manchester United before joining Everton for around £1 million in 2012, but his career has been ravaged by injuries.
He is currently out of action due to a groin injury.
Gibson will appear at Trafford Magistrates' Court later today.
For more information visit - https://uk.news.yahoo.com/

Drive Dynamics - Justin Bieber stopped by police for unsafe driving in his new Ferrari and ticketed for overtinted windows

Justin Bieber got pulled over by cops in Beverly Hills on Saturday night while tooling around town in his brand new Ferrari.
A passer-by counted four squad cars with lights flashing lined up behind the sports car on a residential street.
The singer, 21, was cited for unsafe passing on the right, according to TMZ, and also given an equipment violation for his darkly tinted windows.
The unsafe passing ticket means a fine of $238 for the pop star and he'll also have to pay $25 for the equipment violation infraction.
His traffic stop comes in a busy weekend for the Canadian who will debut his new single What Do You Mean at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night.
But his late night encounter with the police clearly didn't phase the young superstar.
He started posting photos on his Instagram account early Sunday morning showing himself during rehearsals at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
In one pic he's seen drawing on his photo that was being used to show his seat placement and making comments to some of the other celebrities pictured in the auditorium.
In another he's seen 'flirting' with Britney Spears' image and kissing her seat photo.
Justin has a history of vehicular issues, including an arrest for allegedly driving under the influence and drag racing in Miami, Florida, in January 2014.
In June, he pleaded guilty to assault and careless driving stemming from a collision with a photographer in his hometown of Stratford, Ontario, in August 2014.
Justin, who at the time was on a 'peaceful retreat' with then girlfriend Selena Gomez, was arrested after the incident in which a mini van collided with an ATV.
After pleading guilt, he was given a $750 fine for careless driving and an absolute discharge on the assault charge.
For more information visit - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Tuesday 25 August 2015

Drive Dynamics - British racing driver Justin Wilson dies after IndyCar disaster.

Tributes are being paid today to Justin Wilson, the British IndyCar driver, who was declared dead this morning after being hit by debris during a race on Sunday.
Wilson, 37, had been in a coma since a large piece of bodywork from another driver’s car struck his helmet during the race in Pennsylvania.
Friends and family of the Sheffield-born racer had flown to be at his bedside at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown.
For more information visit - http://www.thetimes.co.uk/

Tuesday 18 August 2015

Drive Dynamics - Great-grandmother celebrates 101st birthday by driving tank

A feisty great-grandmother who is blind in one eye has celebrated her 101st birthday by driving a tank.
Hilda Jackson was determined to drive a 100,000 FV432 tank, even for just a few metres, to celebrate her big day.
The former nurse, who has 11 great-grandchildren, finally completed her dream at the Tank School in Usk, South Wales - and celebrated by sipping on a glass of sherry in the cockpit.
Hilda Jackson at the Tank School in Usk, South Wales (Caters)
Mrs Jackson's 72-year-old daughter Margaret Austin said her mother had wanted to do it for her last few birthdays and would not be deterred by health issues.
Mrs Austin, from Abergavenny, South Wales, said: "Mum was very thrilled about it all. I thought it would be great for mum to get a chance to sit in the tank. But she told me 'I'm not going to go all the way there without going into the cockpit' she's quite feisty.
"Only one person can be in it at a time so once she was in the driver seat she asked how to switch it on. The instructor said that wouldn't be the best idea, but she turned it on anyway. She was surprised and pleased because she was afraid that the noise would be too loud for her."
Mrs Jackson has always been fascinated with driving and even went on a five-month car drive around Europe in the 1950s with her visiting relatives from Australia.
Alastair Scott, owner of the Tank School, at Little Trostrey, near Kemeys, said: "It was a great pleasure and honour to have Hilda visit us last Sunday and get her at the controls of a tank.
"Hilda was by far our eldest tank driver the youngest was nine she won all our hearts and admiration."
For more information visit - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/