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Call for reform over road repair funding

FUNDING patterns mean most road maintenance is being carried out in "less-efficient, cold and wet" times, a report from a Government spending watchdog has said. The current pattern of funding, combined with the need to spend money within the financial year, means that most maintenance work goes on between September and March, said the report from the National Audit Office (NAO). It went on: "Although this is less disruptive for road users, it is less efficient than carrying out the work at other times of year because materials can be more difficult to handle in cold and wet conditions, and daylight hours are shorter." The report went on: "As a result of the additional funding for emergency repairs, which is made available at the end of the financial year, almost all highways authorities need extra capacity from the market at the same time, which makes it less likely that they will get value for money." The NAO report said there was a "lack of predictability" over road spending adding that historically, local highway authorities spent more revenue on maintenance, but were now carrying out fewer routine activities such as clearing gullies which are essential to preventing water seeping into roads' sub-structure.

Active safety features: What your next car needs to have

Car safety used to mean double buckling your seatbelt when you squeezed three people into the front row. Now, with electronic stability control (ESC), cross-traffic alerts and adaptive headlights, it's a bit more difficult to sort through all of the available options. Of course you want to choose the safest car you can for yourself and your family.

2014 Mercedes-Benz S-class arrives

Mercedes-Benz has pulled the wraps off of the 2014 S-class at a media presentation in Hamburg, Germany, revealing a technological tour de force that the firm hopes will continue the plush sedan’s traditional dominance at the top of the global luxury car market. Set to arrive in North American showrooms in September, the Mercedes-Benz flagship is charged with the task of replacing not one but two different model lines. On the one hand, it has been developed to fill the role of the previous generation S-class on sale since 2007.