The car industry, like many other industries, is going through rapid and exciting technological change. With self-driving cars, fuel cells, electric charging stations or “mobility as a service”, the nature of driving is going to change. One of the latest innovations is using hydrogen for fuel.
Buying a vehicle is probably the second biggest purchase we make in life but it’s not always a positive experience. After all, there is a lot of pressure to make the right choice. Now there are new ways to buy new cars which could streamline the experience. One is buying new vehicles in shopping centres, just like other consumer products, and another is buying via a car company website.
Some toll roads in Sydney are so congested during peak hours that travelling times are much lower than forecast. Even so, drivers are paying the same tolls on each trip. Is it fair that we pay tolls whether or not we have a fast or predictable journey?
One of the powerful arguments for self-driving vehicles is they can potentially bring the road toll down dramatically, by eliminating human error.
Since 1 December 2016, P-plate licence holders in NSW are banned from using mobile phones at all while driving.
In 2016, nearly three times as many men than women died in crashes on NSW roads. It’s a terrible statistic considering it is usually twice as many men who die. It is worse considering the efforts made to reduce distracted driving to bring the road toll down.
Diesel, once hailed as more efficient and less polluting than petrol, may be on the way out. While the VW saga drew attention to diesel emissions, there are signs this fuel is losing favour.
Authorities can see the polluting effect of diesel.
People who no longer live in Sydney often say they left because of traffic and parking headaches. Even Melburnians pay much lower fines for the same offences than Sydneysiders, who are racking up huge parking fines. Meanwhile, councillors in Adelaide are calling for CBD parking fines to be cut in half because they are deterring visitors.
The Get your hand off it campaign begun in June 2013 warned against using hand-held mobile phones while driving. Yet Queensland University of Technology (QUT) found using a hands-free mobile while driving is just as distracting as holding one.
Copenhagen is bicycle city – there are now more bikes than cars! In 1970, there were about 350,000 cars and 100,000 bikes. Today, there are 265,700 bike riders compared to 253,600 car drivers, right in the heart of the city.