Darren has owned several companies in the automotive, advertising and education industries. He has run driving theory educational websites since 2010.

What are the pros and cons of raising the UK national speed limit to 80mph?

Our current maximum speed limit is 70mph and has been for many years (since 1967). Cars have become increasingly more capable to safely handle speeds above this, and with new technology that can brake automatically, is it time to raise…

Posted in Advice

Exhaust pollution: what is in it?

In an ideal world, fuel will burn efficiently to produce just CO2 (carbon dioxide), H20 (water) and N2 (nitrogen), but in reality this never happens. Those three compounds are not toxic to humans and therefore the ever increasing strictness of…

Tagged with: fuel economy
Posted in Advice

Should you drive in flip-flops or sandals?

Summer is approaching and that means you’ll probably get the flip-flops out that you managed to use for two weeks last year. But is it advisable? Is it even legal? Well, yes, you are allowed by law to drive using…

Tagged with: protective clothing
Posted in Advice

What causes traffic jams?

How does a traffic jam form? You’re driving along and suddenly the cars in front of you brake for no apparent reason. You crawl along for a little while and then it speeds up again, only to slow down to a…

Tagged with: traffic jam
Posted in Advice

Will we need traffic lights in the future?

With 25% of all accidents and around 33% of fatal accidents occurring at junctions there’s opportunity to improve traffic flow to make it safer. Add to that the time wasted by people sitting stationary in the vehicles at a red light,…

Tagged with: junctions
Posted in Advice

Emergency vehicle paint markings and livery

Emergency vehicles in the UK use two main patterns to distinguish them from commercial and private vehicles: Battenburg markings and Sillitoe Tartan. Battenburg markings are named after the Battenberg cake (note the difference in spelling, though). They are alternating large…

Tagged with: police
Posted in Advice

How does motorbike stability control work?

While stability control has been mandated in all new cars in Europe since 2014, motorcyclists have had to wait, despite being far less stable than cars. Many motorbike models still don’t even have antilock brakes, let alone other technology that…

Tagged with: electronic stability control
Posted in Advice, Motorbike