How parking on someone else’s drive is legal and other strange laws

Parked on someone else’s drive? It’s not an instant offence (Picture iStock/Alphotographic)

想象一个醒来d finding someone else’s car dumped on your drive. It might sound strange but it happens. And astonishingly there’s no simple fix because one of Britain’s strange laws means it’s not immediately illegal.

You read that right. The 1991 Road Traffic Act handed over parking enforcement to local authorities. They can fine drivers for parking on public roads. But a drive is private land and the council has no jurisdiction over that.

The land owner isn’t allowed to remove the rogue car either as that could make them responsible for damaging someone else’s property.

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Cut the cost of motoring by buying an unlikely classic car

A classic car? Really? Yup, many think so. (Picture Vauxhall)

One way to cut your motoring costs is to own a classic – a car that’s more than 40 years old. But you’ll probably think some of the motors that turn 40 this year make an unlikely classic car, clapped out rather than classic.

Owners of pre-1982 cars don’t need anMOT and don’t pay any car tax. If you read on below, you’ll see that manyclassicswon’t cost a fortune to buy either. Get the right one and it’ll even appreciate in value too.

Here we look at some of the cars that turn classic this year – at least in name. We also see how many remain and reveal what it might cost to buy one.

Audi 100

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How we pay for our roads will have to change but to what?

pay for our roads
Government needs to come up with a new way of raising money from drivers (Picture iStock/George Clerk)

The model for how we pay for our roads has been broken by the uptake of zero emissions electric vehicles. From 2030, the sale of brand-new internal combustion engine cars will be banned in the UK. That means the government has to start working out how to replace the money it makes from petrol and diesel cars.

Why does tax need to change?

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What does the war in Ukraine mean for car drivers?

The cost of living is increasing and so is what you pay to go motoring (Picture iStock/Simon Bradfield)

The devastating effect of war in Ukraine is being felt to a lesser extent across Europe and into the UK too. Here we look at how the war is affecting car users today and the impact it could have in the future.

更贵的燃料

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Are you a pothole crisis pro? Take our quiz to find out

Road repairs required but how much do you really know about potholes (Picture iStock/Lubo Ivanko)

Every year a survey of the nation’s roads reveals a depressing picture of the country’s pothole crisis. The latestALARM surveyhighlights that £17m was paid to drivers in England and Wales after their cars suffered damage from potholes.

But aside from running the gauntlet of them every time you take to the road, how much do you actually know about potholes? Take our quiz to find out. We hope you learn something about potholes in the process.

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Expert advice: simple car checks before an Easter getaway

cheap car checks
You really don’t want your bank holiday to end up like this (Picture iStock/Jimdoberman)

Before you hit the road this Easter, make sure youdownload the Green Flag app.

This Easter bank holiday weekend thousands of drivers will take to the road for breaks with or to see family. At Green Flag, we’ll be here 24/7 to help with any breakdowns that try to ruin those plans.

But, with a few quick and easy checks, you can help prevent a breakdown from happening. So, before you set off, give these a read (and give your vehicle a bit of TLC).

Check your tyres

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Expert advice: how to use less fuel driving and save more money

use less fuel driving
Follow our tips below and you’ll use less fuel driving (Picture iStock/BrianAJackson)

With the price of fuel increasing almost daily, we’ve had a lot of people asking how they can use less fuel driving and get more miles for their money.

There isn’t a magic solution for using less fuel. It’s all about making lots of little savings that combine to result in more miles per gallon.

The most important factor is how you drive

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Now thieves are targeting electric vehicle charging cables

charging cables
Charge your EV in the street and you might get your cable nicked (Picture iStock/Coldsnowstorm)

Thieves are increasingly targetingelectric vehicle (EV)charging cables as a quick way to make money.

The cables are either dismantled and the metals inside them are stripped out and sold. Alternatively crooks sell them to other EV owners for up to £200 a go.

Industry experts fear charging cable theft could escalate over the coming years, with sales of new combustion engine cars banned from 2030. The results could cost the UK’s EV drivers millions of pounds annually.

What are charging cables made of?

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More drivers than ever taking speed awareness courses

speed awareness courses
Get nicked by one of these and you could end up on a speed awareness course (Picture iStock/BrianAJackson)

More drivers are being sent on speed awareness courses after breaking the law than ever before. The courses enable drivers to avoid points, fines and potentially expensive increases in insurance premiums.

Drivers attended the courses virtually during the pandemic with 1.5 million licence holders doing so in 2021. It was the greatest number since records began for the courses. Most of the drivers attending courses had beennicked for speeding.

What are retraining courses?

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Expert advice: your E10 questions answered

e10 questions
Any questions about new E10 petrol? Our expert answers them (Picture iStock/Sturti)

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the newE10汽油so I thought it would be useful to answer some of them.

E10 has been the cheapest petrol on garage forecourts since September 2021 when it replaced E5 as the forecourt standard. It gets its name because the bioethanol content was doubled to 10 per cent. Bioethanol is an alcohol-based fuel that is made from plant bi-products. The government chose to do this because it believes it’s a simple way to reduce the CO2emissions from petrol cars.

Read on and I’ll answer some of the most popular questions about E10 petrol.

Will E10 damage my engine?

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