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Mobile phones set to be biggest roads killer

MOBILE PHONES are likely to be the number one cause of fatal collisions on the UK’s roads by 2015. The number of drivers making calls, texting and using social media while driving has risen dramatically, which has led Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin to propose doubling the number of penalty points added to a driver’s licence if caught using a mobile phone while at the wheel. Figures from the Department for Transport show there were 378 accidents in 2012 that were directly attributed to mobile phone use, with 17 deaths recorded as a result.

OnStar and Verizon reveal camera-laden Buick

OnStar and Verizon are debuting a prototype Buick LaCrosse at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that offers a range of futuristic technologies. The spy-tech features include cameras that monitor activity around the car which can be viewed from a smartphone and a computer, and an impact-detection system that can replay a video clip of fender-benders. There also are enhanced voice commands to access Web sites, including YouTube, Twitter and Wikipedia, and an electronic owner's manual for the car that's streamed onto the dashboard.

Troller T4 4x4

Brazilian brand Troller has been channeling the Jeep Wrangler's utilitarian aesthetic since the mid-1990s, first with its Rf Sport model, and then, in 2001, with its T4 4x4. Ford of Brazil purchased Troller in 2007, and since then, its domestic design team has been working on a new generation T4 model that taps into the market's growing appetite for SUVs. It showed a concept, called the TR-X, at last year's Sao Paulo show, and has now unveiled a car that closer to the production model expected later this year.