CARADVICE SAFETY FEATURE

At CarAdvice we are serious about safety. We are proud to add to our already comprehensive Safety library with the the Safety Series. Written by our new Editor in Chief, John Cadogan, and Matt Brogan this 6 part series will address key aspects of road safety and clarify many of the common misconceptions.

• Part One: Changing a Flat Tyre
• Part Two: Safe Overtaking
• Part Three: Holiday Driving Tips
• Part Four: Tyre Safety

Toyota Corolla gets VSC standard across the range

Australia’s most popular small car just got a whole lot safer with Toyota offering vehicle stability control (VSC) as standard across the entire Toyota Corolla range.

Each Toyota Corolla produced since December has received the standard fitment of VSC, which also comes with traction control.
This move will have a big impact on the level of safety [...]

Only time will beat the breathalyser

UK personal breathalyser manufacturer AlcoSense has debunked a number of common myths about drink driving and reinforced that only time will reduce your blood alcohol content (BAC).

AlcoSense CEO, Hunter Abbott, said attempts to beat the breatho were futile and often made matters worse.
“Breathalysers are pretty foolproof devices and if you have been drinking there is [...]

P-plate driver records BAC reading 19 times legal limit

21 year old Canberra P-plate driver Joanne Gross has recorded one of Australia’s highest ever blood-alocohol readings – a staggering 0.385 per cent.

The result, 19 times the legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit for a P-plate driver in the ACT, followed a road side breath test where police say Ms Grosse was so drunk that [...]

Toyota Prius production to be slashed as recall woes continue

Toyota’s popular environmental crusader, the Prius hybrid, will have its production levels slashed this month as the Japanese manufacturer struggles to address claims of braking system problems.

Nearly 450,000 third-generation Prius models were recalled earlier this year amid claims the brakes could fail to properly function when the car switched between petrol and electric mode or [...]

Queensland Government to consider BAC of 0.02

The Queensland Government has released a discussion paper outlining plans to reduce the state’s blood alcohol limit for drivers from 0.05 to 0.02 per cent.

The new limit would bring Queensland in line with Sweden and Norway, which record the lowest road toll figures in the world.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says she believes the reduced limit [...]

Tests demonstrate danger of poorly maintained vehicles

Western Australia’s motoring body, the Royal Automobile Club (RAC), this week demonstrated the danger of a poorly maintained vehicle in tests at its Perth-based driver training centre.

The tests, which were conducted at 60km/h, simulated both wet and dry conditions, as well as the ability to swerve around objects. The results were worrying, to say the [...]

US Congress requests Toyota workers’ alleged letter of concern

US Congress continues to apply pressure to Toyota, requesting to see a 2006 memo written by Japanese Toyota workers who were concerned about production quality and vehicle safety.

The Los Angeles Times earlier this week reported that a letter of concern was sent from Toyota workers to management more than three years ago.
It expressed unease among [...]

Mazda to fit brake override technology to all future models

Although Mazda hasn’t yet experienced any of the unintended acceleration complaints recently experienced at Toyota, the manufacturer has today announced that it will install a brake override system on all future models as a precautionary step.

Toyota recently announced it will install the system on all its models from 2011 onward following two recent safety recalls [...]

NHTSA confirms 60+ complaints about repaired Toyotas, LaHood may mandate override systems

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the US has received more than 60 complaints about unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles after they have been serviced as a part of their recalls.

The NHTSA’s David Strickland said the administration had begun to take action concerning the complaints.
“NHTSA has already started contacting consumers about these complaints [...]

Child-restraint safety – how will Australia’s new laws affect your child?

New child-restraint laws are being enacted across Australia right now, placing a hefty burden of additional responsibility on parents. Babies up to six months must ride in rear-facing baby capsules, while children from six months to four years must be secured in an approved child restraint, and from four years to seven kids must ride [...]

Ford Falcon BFIII and FG E-Gas models recalled

Ford has today announced the recall of its BF Mark III and FG Falcon E-Gas sedan, wagon and utility variants for a potential issue with the car’s braking system.

The recall affects only those vehicles fitted with Ford’s E-Gas engine (dedicated factory LPG system) built between October 20, 2008 and September 4, 2009 inclusive (9,072 vehicles).
The [...]

Road Rules – It’s time to take some lessons, Australia

Most people are road-rule idiots. I know I was, up until about 18 months ago when I read the almost-400-page online version of the Australian Road Rules for an assignment I was boning up on. It’s a seriously long-winded, hard-to-read document. If you printed it out, you could use it for self-defence.
The magnitude of stuff [...]

Total Recall – How will Toyota’s recall dramas affect its reputation?

Everyone not dead from the neck up over these past 18 months will know Toyota’s been in the news lately.

A year or so ago, it was all good – a predictably ‘Toyota’ outcome. GM fell flat on its face and became, essentially, a US Government department (okay, that’s taking it a bit far) and [...]

2010 Hyundai Sonata voted safest in US by IIHS

The US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has today named the 2010 Hyundai Sonata as its safety “best pick”.

The award was made more difficult this year when the IIHS added a roof strength test to its existing front, side, rear and headrest measurements – all of which Sonata excelled at.
Past winners of the IIHS [...]

Vehicle security under threat from new key replicating device

Vehicle security is set to take another battering with a new invention, known as Electronic Key Impressioner (EKI), able to digitally copy the internal structure of a car’s keyhole for later copying.

The device is inserted in to a vehicle’s keyhole where it scans the surfaces to form an electronic impression of the key, then transmits [...]

Toyota Tacoma added to growing recall numbers

Toyota’s on-going recall woes are set to continue with approximately 8,000 vehicles likely to be added to the tally today. The news comes as Toyota announced the addition of its US-based Tacoma model to growing list.

This time round the issue relates to a potentially faulty drive shaft that, according to a Toyota spokesperson Mr Brian [...]

NSW top cop blames video games for reckless teen driving

It seems that when you can’t blame the driver, the lack of training or even the parents, any scape goat will do, with one of Australia’s top cops saying video games could be influencing the apparent growing level of reckless driving among teens.

New South Wales Police Commissioner, Mr Andrew Scipione, told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph yesterday [...]

Honda CR-V, Accord Australian recall expands

As part of a worldwide recall, Honda Australia has today expanded its recent local recall of 1,323 Honda Accord and 22 Honda CR-V units produced between 2001 and 2002 by a further 703 vehicles.

The recall was issued to replace the driver’s SRS airbag inflator which, although yet to malfunction, is believed to contain a defective [...]

VACC warns blasé motorists to not ignore vehicle safety

Keeping in theme with our editor’s column today, the VACC has released some worrying photos which it claims prove motorists are deliberately ignoring the safety of their vehicles.
The images show worn or badly damaged vehicle components that, in some cases, are so bad drivers of the vehicle are lucky to have to have not been [...]

Toyota Prius global recall announcement

Toyota has today announced an official global recall on its most technologically advanced model, the third-generation Toyota Prius.

A total of 2378 new Toyota Prius vehicles in Australia are effected, with more than 400,000 vehicles involved in the recall globally.
The recall is unrelated to the current Toyota pedal crisis with no other Toyota or Lexus models [...]

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