The charity coalition also states that a speed limit increase, aside from bumping up the number of road casualties, will also raise air pollution levels and be tougher on the tax-payer’s pocket as a result of said issues.

However, we mustn’t forget that higher motorway speeds or no speed limits are in place throughout other European countries and across the world- perhaps we should look to these examples for evidence before a decision is made?

All the while here at The Van Insurer, we’ll still be comparing van insurance and finding you the cheapest quotes available – whatever the outcome!

A large range of Citroen dealers now provide the recently released offer which could help lower the costs of repairing your van should the worst happen. The latest part to be added to the list is the replacement clutch and the beauty of the scheme is that should you require a part involved in the list, you will only ever pay the advertised price. It applies to all Citroen LCVs and cars no matter how old the vehicle.

The current parts and prices on the list are:

• Front windscreen wipers blades – £24.16
• Front or rear brake pads – £79.16
• Front brake pads and discs – £187.50
• Rear brake pads and discs – £229.16
• Timing belt – £245.83
• Clutches – £415.83

Scott Michael, Citroen’s Commercial Vehicle Operations Manager said;

‘The expansion of the Fixed Price Repairs scheme makes it an attractive proposition for our LCV customers. It brings peace of mind that genuine Citroen parts are being used and fitted by skilled and fully Citroen-trained technicians.’

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The thieves are stealing the convertors in order to sell on the composite materials to scrap-metal dealers, a business which is becoming more lucrative by the week. Along with the theft, vehicles can be severely damaged while the catalytic converter is removed meaning large fleets have an expensive problem, especially if all their vehicles are damaged.

A van insurance spokesman said;

‘Prices for scrap metal have been on a general upward path since late 2008 and along with the global recession has revived the criminal interest.’

If your fleet is comprised of vehicles which are raised from the ground, such as pickups and SUVs, then they may well be an even bigger target for thieves because they don’t need to be jacked up in order to steal the materials.

There are a number of precautions you can take to ensure your vehicle remains safe:

• Store your vehicle in a locked space such as a garage or warehouse
• Install security lighting and cameras to deter thieves
• Engrave the vehicle’s registration number onto the exhaust to make it traceable.

The Transit Custom was received particularly well on the day of its public unveiling, with a general appreciation for its good looks- and more importantly for its continuation of Transit reliability and engineering. Ford customers also got a good feel for the other Ford vehicles on display, including the new Ford Ranger, which builds on the Ranger launched at last year’s show. With innovatively modern features, the updated FiestaVan ECOnetic impressed customers; its eco-conscious talents include an auto start-stop system, regenerative braking and significantly reduced fuel consumption and emissions.

With by far the largest pitch at the show, Ford dominated proceedings with its impressive display. It seems Ford is at the helm of the commercial vehicle world as Ford vans continue to develop.

Reduced running costs and a reduced carbon footprint are a mega bonus of the new Vivaro and Vauxhall has pulled out all the ‘green’ stops with this van, customers can benefit from a whole range of as standard and optional eco-friendly features.

Having listened to their customer base and implemented intelligent design developments, Vauxhall has produced a vehicle which incorporates obvious owner benefits. Steve Bryant, Vauxhall CV brand Manager: “Fuel economy and green credentials are top priorities for customers looking to reduce running costs and carbon footprint.”

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‘There are still far too many road users speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and not driving safely and we will continue policing our roads to ensure the public is protected.’

During the recent police operation named Drive For Safety, 800 motorists stopped were speeding, while 700 were not wearing a seatbelt.

Chief Superintendent Robertson stressed that it was everybody road-users responsibility to ensure the roads were safe and that laws were always adhered to.

What’s most interesting is the advice given on the back of these shocking discoveries – employers are in fact responsible and could be liable if a driver causes a road traffic incident whilst driving for business on an invalid licence.

Not to mention the fact that driving without the correct licence invalidates car insurance and therefore bumps up insurance premiums for everyone. Basically it isn’t worth it, so if you’re a driver check that your licence is correct and valid, and if you’re an employer be sure to CHECK- it’s so easy and could save you time money and hassle.

To ensure you get a great deal on your car insurance and aren’t hit by van insurance price hikes, compare van insurance quotes with The Van Insurer.

During the quote process, your vehicle’s specification, age and mileage are used to work out a bespoke price for your request. Ian Dutfield, Customer Services Director of Mercedes Benz Commercial Vehicles said;

‘When it comes to taking care of our customers’ vans, nobody knows their vehicles better than our approved, skilled and highly trained technicians. We hear sometimes about the misconception that work carried out by a specialist dealer can cost more but we’re completely transparent with our pricing and to prove it we’ve created the Mercedes Benz Online Van Service Advisor.

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In fact, claims are getting so out of hand, that they came in at a massive £2 billion last year. Geoff Wright, Head of Corporate Services at AAH Pharmaceuticals said people are too quick to expect massive payouts;

‘The no-win, no-fee brigade is still active and it needs driving out. We need people to understand there will not be thousands of pounds in payouts that people see today as a given.’

The situation is getting so extreme that fleet owners are calling for a standard assessment for whiplash to be implemented to prevent drivers from creating symptoms and adding to their claim. According to managers, drivers currently use various trigger words and phrases which they know will result in a financial payout.

The amount of personal injury claims made to the compensation recovery unit at the Department for Work and Pensions after road traffic accidents has risen by a huge 70% on figures released in 2010.

Unveiled at the recent Commercial Vehicle Show, the TomTom installs quickly and easily into any vehicle and can even work in conjunction with the online fleet management system, Webfleet. The unit has the ability to provide detailed reports of a vehicle’s positioning along with movement and driver behaviour. It can even report back on fuel consumption and levels as well as over-revving, so you can monitor and reduce your output wherever necessary.

Managing Director of TomTom Business Solutions, Thomas Schmidt says;

‘The latest Link device highlights our commitment to constant innovation providing easily implemented products which offer a significant boost to businesses’ bottom line. We believe every company that uses vehicles for business will become more profitable by putting the LINK510 at the heart of their vehicles.’

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Linda Paul, Director of Central Services for Thrifty Car and Van Rental said;

‘Everybody will be getting into the charitable spirit this year by taking part in dress down days and holding raffles. We hope to raise a significant amount of money which will make a huge difference to everyone involved with and benefiting from Hospiscare and the NSPCC.’

Hospiscare is delighted to have been chosen by Thrifty especially because, as a local charity, its profile isn’t as high as some other better known causes. Marc Astley, Hospiscare’s PR and Marketing Officer said;

‘Thrifty has been a wonderful partner and we are extremely grateful they have continued to support our charity. Not only have they raised lots of money, they have also supplied Hospiscare with a number of vehicles to help transport donated items to our chain of shops across Devon.’

Geraldine Harman, NSPCC’s Corporate Business Manager said their charity is equally as delighted to be receiving the much-needed support from Thrifty;

‘Without the support of companies such as Thrifty we simply wouldn’t be able to continue to run our services to help those children affected by abuse and neglect. We can’t wait to hear about the company’s fundraising events as we work closely with them throughout the year.’

Once a driver has been convicted of drug driving they will face a fine of up to £5000, a driving ban of at least 12 months and a custodial sentence of up to 6 months. Ellen Booth of Brake, the road safety charity, says the move couldn’t have come at a better time;

‘This is an incredibly important step forward in tackling drug driving which Brake welcomes wholeheartedly. Creating a new offence as well as approving roadside drug screening devices by the end of 2012 will make an enormous difference in preventing drug-driving crashes and also ensuring justice for families whose lives are turned upside down by selfish drug drivers.’

According to the statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), registrations fell by 19.8% last month, with a total 14,508 units recorded. The total figure for the year to date is down by 15.7%, translated to 17,196 units. There’s no discrimination as far as models and sectors go, with every van type being affected by the drop. The biggest decline however occurred in the pick-up and sub 2-litre versions, where registrations fell dramatically in the first four months of the year.

SMMT Chief Executive, Paul Everitt, believes that 2011 has affected the van market;

‘The relative strength of the 2011 van market continued to dent 2012 performance with the ‘up to 3.5t’ market dropping 19.8% in the month.’

Despite the trouble, Ford remains the market leader, taking 24% of all registrations in April with its ever-popular Transit. Volvo came next with 14% and Vauxhall 13.4%.

Iker Lazzari, Volkswagen Fleet’s National Contract Hire and Leasing Manager said;

‘Part of the reason for commissioning the survey was a realisation that we didn’t know what our partners thought of the services we provided. We recognise that our leasing partners are our customers and if we want to be the best we need to know where we can improve.

‘We’re sharpening our focus on what matters most to ensure we’re filling the requirements of the fleets and every Volkswagen fleet driver.’

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Mean Green is made up entirely of Volvo vehicle production components, including a VN cab and frame. Its drive comes from a Volvo D16 engine and a modified I-Shift gearbox.

Owned and driven by Swedish truck racer, Boije Overbrink, the truck is certainly the first of its kind and its owner is delighted with the results;

‘We are very pleased with Mean Green’s performance, especially at such high altitude. We knew Wendover would present challenges because it’s more than 1280m (4200ft) above sea level.’

‘The cheeky Nemo is perfect for city based operations. It’s small dimensions are ideal for squeezing into the tightest of spaces, making it an excellent choice for multi-drop drivers and it manages to retain excellent fuel economy figures.’

In terms of its spec, the Nemo is less then 4m long and it comes complete with a 660kg payload, not bad at all for a small van. Buyers also get the choice of a petrol or diesel engine and three different trim levels.

If you wanted to, you could also add Stop & Start and an EGS manual gearbox for an added supplement.

 Are you looking for Citroen insurance? Then look no further, because we guarantee to find your cheapest quote, regardless of which van you drive.

If you order or register your commercial Vauxhall van by 2nd July 2012,  you will be eligible to take advantage of the deal which as you may have guessed offers four add-ons which, if bought separately, wouldn’t be cheap! The offers include:

• 4 years 0% APR Representative – The 0% deal allows you to place a 20% deposit on the model of your choice before making regular payments for the agreed term at 0% APR for four years.
• 4 years free servicing – You will receive four years scheduled free servicing up to 80,000 miles including routine parts and labour (excluding wear and tear and other maintenance not included in the routine service schedule).
• 4 years warranty – A four year warranty up to 80,000 miles is included on Astravan and Combo and up to 120,000 on the Vivaro and New Movano.
• 4 years breakdown cover – Four years worth of breakdown cover is provided by the AA including Home Start, Relay Plus and European assistance.

In excess of 170,000 motorists a year are caught and convicted in England and Wale of using their phones while driving. According to a survey conducted by the AA of eight major insurers, half said they would raise the premium of the person involved in the incident by at least 20% while the other half simply wouldn’t provide an insurance quote at all.

AA Spokesman Ian Crowder said insurers feel that sending a text when driving is a pre-meditated decision and therefore should be punished;

‘Insurers are taking mobile phone offences very seriously. Their opinion is that a motorist might break a 30mph speed limit without noticing but nobody sends a text message, email or makes a phone call behind the wheel by accident. It might seem severe but when operating a mobile phone you don’t have both hands on the steering wheel, you aren’t looking fully at the road and you can’t change gears safely.’

According to the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM),budgets for the roads have, on average, been cut by as much as 15% while budgets for other essentials have only been reduced by up to 6%. In fact, when all of England’s council’s budgets were taken into consideration, over half had cut their road safety allowance by more than 10%.

Simon Best, the IAM’s Chief Executive said;

‘Cutting road safety so hard makes no sense. The average wage of a lollipop lady is £3000 a year while the cost of each road fatality is £1.6 million, so returns om each investment are huge.’

It seems councils can’t go a year without some kind of scandal or controversy. In 2011, they were heavily criticised for reducing their spending on winter road supplies of grit and salt.

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The Vivaro ecoFLEX is a bit of a multi-tasker and can be used as either a van or a nine-seater vehicle. It comes with a 90 litre fuel tank and has a combined cycle fuel consumption of 40.9 mpg; as a result, it is capable of covering over 800 miles on a full tank. How, I hear you ask, can a large vehicle possibly cover so much ground on just one tank of fuel? Apparently, it’s all down to the optimised gear ratios, improved thermal management and low rolling resistance tyres, all of which add up to an efficient level of fuel consumption.

If you wish to make your vehicle even more efficient (and let’s face it, why wouldn’t you?) you can add a speed limiter, handy for fleet operators.

Steve Bryant, Vauxhall’s Commercial Vehicle Brand Manager said the new van gives customers what they want;

‘The new Vivaro ecoFLEX Euro 5 gives our customers improved fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions. Fuel economy and green credentials are top priorities for our customers looking to reduce running costs and the carbon footprint of their vehicle or fleet.’

Are you looking for Vauxhall insurance? Then look no further, because we guarantee to find your cheapest quote, regardless of which van you drive.