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Crackdown on 'distracted' drivers

A CRACKDOWN on distracted drivers caught one motorist having a shave using a razor and a water bottle and a woman doing her make-up in the rear view mirror while on a motorway. The five-day police operation across the motorways of Hampshire and the Thames Valley resulted in 198 motorists being prosecuted for driving offences - most of them driving whilst distracted. Other offences spotted were a lorry driver brushing his teeth, two van drivers reading newspapers while they drove, one person reading a map on the steering wheel and two drivers using iPads (one on the steering wheel) as they travelled along.

Toyota's quake-hit Yaris plant offline for at least another month

Toyota's quake-hammered Miyagi assembly plant, which makes the Yaris small car for export to the United States, is expected to be offline for at least another month. Workers have completed repairs at the factory and restored electricity, but the facility cannot get supplies of natural gas, a person familiar with the situation said. The assessment underscores the long road facing Toyota and other Japanese automakers in bringing plants back into full operation following the deadly quake, which killed more than 11,000 people, ruptured gas lines, shutdown electric grids and snarled logistics across half the country.

News watch October 2010: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Friday 29 October 2010• Spyker has announced third-quarter losses have increased since its takeover of Saab. Spyker lost £35 million in 2010, compared to £3.6 million last year (BBC News)• GM will repay $2.1 billion of the Obama government's preferred stocks.