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NHTSA unveils new safety ratings; BMW and Hyundai first to get five stars

The 2011 BMW 5-series and the Hyundai Sonata were the first two cars to achieve five-star ratings under NHTSA's revised safety ratings announced on Tuesday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will rate a total of 24 cars, 20 SUVs, nine pickups and two vans for the 2011 model year. The federal agency has significantly modified its rating process and will now grade side-pole testing and crash-prevention technologies such as lane-departure warning and electronic stability control.

Government sets drug-drive limits

Plans to introduce a drug-drive limit have edged closer as limits for 16 different drugs have been approved. Eight prescription and eight illicit drugs have been added to the regulations which will be introduced this autumn, meaning it’ll be an offence to be over the prescribed limits. Police ‘spitalyser’ to catch drug-drivers Young people in drug-driving shock Police will be clamping down on people who drive after taking drugs such as cannabis with a limit of 2 micrograms per litre (mcg/l), cocaine (10mcg/l) and ecstasy (10mcg/l) – while people who take prescription drugs like morphine (80mcg/l) and diazepam (550mcg/l) will also have to be careful not to break the limit.

Chancellor to ‘freeze fuel duty’ until 2015?

The chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, has announced that fuel duty will be frozen until 2015 – if the savings can be found to pay for it. The announcement came during a speech at the Conservative party conference, in which George Osborne said: “Provided we can find the savings to pay for it, I want to freeze fuel duty for the rest of this parliament.” The 2p-a-litre rise planned by the Labour government for September 2014 would be cancelled, continuing a freeze that has lasted two-and-a-half years already. But this is conditional on the treasury finding the funds to cover it.