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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.

NHTSA funds development of alcohol-measuring start button

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded Takata-TruTouch some $2.25 million to continue to develop its In-Vehicle Alcohol Detection test, the company said. Takata, a safety and technology company, and TruTouch have created a vehicle start button with an integrated infrared sensor that can measure your blood-alcohol content. If the reading exceeds legal limits, the system can disable the starter.

Vauxhall Insignia interior: first pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 04 June 2008 16:04 Prepare for some confusion. A few months ago Vauxhall released the first official pictures of the new Insignia’s exterior. However, there were no interior photos, although some inevitably leaked onto the internet.