Relatives of older drivers urged to help them ‘hang up their keys’

OLDER DRIVERS whose driving style may have changed or are less able behind the wheel should be aided by relatives in deciding when to hang up their keys, according to an industry expert. Professor Andrew Parks, a chief scientist at the Transport Research Laboratory, warns in a new video interview that older drivers can be very defensive about their driving standards and react badly to any criticism of it. "I know this from my own experience, as I was recently on a car journey driven by my father, the first for 10 years,” he explaned.

Poll: Would you buy a Hyundai i20?

Last week we asked you if you'd be interested in a Nissan Micra, which is built in Mexico and is available in Canada and dozens of other countries, but not in the U.S. A substantial majority of our readers, 77 percent, voted that they would be interested in buying the $9,100 Micra if it was sold in America, a slightly lower percentage than for most of our past foreign-vehicle polls (which were all quite different, it should be noted). The Micra essentially offers the same engine and almost the same amount of interior space as the Nissan Versa Note at 2/3 the price of a stateside Note, which is already considered to be about as spartan as it gets despite a $14,780 price tag.

Renault Megane stars at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

In the great scheme of things, a facelift for the Renault Megane is hardly the most exciting news to come out of the Frankfurt Motor Show, but then this is 'Germany's show' and the Megane is a decidedly French car. But with the arrival of the new Clio and the Captur, the Megane was looking a little out of place in the Renault stable. So the facelift simply brings the Megane into line.