Latest news with #driving
CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
Driver whose licence was suspended by court order Monday morning caught on Hwy. 417 that afternoon
OPP say the driver of this vehicle thought he could drive home despite receiving a court-orderd driving suspension earlier in the day. July 21, 2025. (OPP/X)
Telegraph
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Telegraph
The best countries to drive in, according to our long-serving motoring writer
Will you be driving for a holiday, or driving to a holiday? Having driven through much of Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Antipodes over a long career testing cars, I need to make this important distinction as well as ask some questions. Such as what sort of car you will be driving. Believe me, if you try to tackle the old Italian road-race routes, the Futa or Raticosa passes con entusiasmo in a roly-poly family car, your passengers will be green about the gills soon after the first corner… Similarly, you'll need to rise early if you want to get up the vaunted Transfăgărășan Pass in Romania to avoid the Baden-Baden Sunshine Tours coaches, packs of Lycra-clad cyclists and leisure motorcyclists. But remember that, since this 56-mile vanity project of infamous former ruler Nicolae Ceaușescu, which took a decade to build and cost the lives of hundreds of military builders, goes from nowhere to nowhere, you'll encounter that whole circus on the way down. Irrespective of what time you set out. If it's thrills you are after, believe me, they occur in the strangest of places. Luxembourg, for example, the mini-Ardennes; the twisting, open-curved roads of the Éislek area have hosted the launches of performance cars from the Ford Escort Cosworth to Ferraris. These are truly great roads, beautifully surfaced, with terrific rolling countryside and if the hospitality isn't the world's cheapest it certainly hits the spot. Or try the Nürburgring. No, not the 13 miles and 154 corners of Germany's famous old Nordschleife racing circuit nicknamed 'Green Hell' by Jackie Stewart and open to anyone with the required €30-€35 (£26-£30), but the roads around it. These wind pleasingly through the Mosel region as you and your passenger stare up at the near-vertical sides of the valley wondering how on earth the winemakers harvest their grapes, before stopping to sample their work – or go to Restaurant Pistenklause and vicariously live through tall tales of a fast lap of the aforementioned fabled racing circuit over a stone-cooked steak. You can travel through similar vertical wine-growing in the Portuguese Douro valley, although the roads are narrow and heavily congested, as various car makers have found when hosting launches in this picturesque region. Japan and South Korea? Congested, although a tour of the DMZ border between North and South Korea is invigorating; just don't stop for too long. Tokyo's traffic jams are legendary, but at night the secretive Wangan racers come out and have a ball, although you need to be in the know to catch these displays of Japan's underground car culture. China is frankly bizarre, with mobs of cyclists and electric scooterists to keep you on your mettle. The new concrete motorways have excellent surfaces, but the air pollution can obscure the lane ahead, which often contains a slow-moving truck or even a pony and trap. For winter driving fun, head to the Scandinavian countries. The fjords of Norway are simply amazing, with winding roads around them and great views, all created (according to Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) by the planet designer Slartibartfast. Be warned, however; Norway, Sweden and Finland have heavily policed roads with simply eye-popping fines. The same goes for Iceland, largely deserted and with great views, but you need to enjoy a 56mph maximum velocity. If you want to go fast, try some ice lake driving where, as Finnish rally driving legend Rauno Aaltonen once told me: 'My father would send me to the shop in our family estate car and could never understand why when I returned the car's radiator was boiling while it was minus 20C outside…' Heavy-handed speed enforcement is also true of France these days, where the Gendarmerie seems to regard the issuing of fines as part of our punishment for Le Brexit. All the same, the coastal roads of Brittany and the Atlantic coast are spellbinding as long as you travel before the start of French national holidays. Coast roads are the perfect motoring experience wherever they are, from the 124-mile South African Garden Route along the Western Cape between Mossel Bay and Storms River, the Namibian Skeleton Coast (often obscured by fog and don't, just don't, run out of fuel – the clue is in the name), the Causeway Coastal Route in Northern Ireland (which includes the Giant's Causeway), the Pacific Coast Highway in California, the pea-shingled Argentinian highway to Tierra del Fuego, or the French Corniche travelling west out of Nice on the Côte d'Azur. My money is on the Route Napoléon in the Alpes Maritimes, where the roads are quieter and you can find yourself diving down the old Monte Carlo Rally stages such as the Col de Vence, the Col de Turini, La Turbie or perhaps the other-worldly Mont Ventoux. All are heaven on earth if you really enjoy driving. For those looking for one of the best coastal roads with food to match, however, I'd plump for Spain and the road northwards out of Barcelona to Tarragona and its Costa Daurada. The roads are well surfaced and curvaceous while there are some great restaurants tucked into the rocky bays. The Alps can provide the most stunning scenery, but you need the timing of a great comic. Find yourself behind the Elvis Tribute Monkey Bike display team or similar hazard on the upper reaches of the Stelvio Pass in high summer and you'll rue the day you ever decided to tackle it. The Pyrenees between France and Spain are equally as challenging, just not as imposing or as busy. The Basque Country has its own charm, from where you can pop down to Spain and try the famous Rioja wines. For those in search of adventure and more testing driving routes, dip a toe into the Sahara, though not too far. Start with Marrakech and work your way south. There's a ferry from the bottom of Spain to its own 'Gibraltar' in Morocco, then cross the border and drive for miles along the coast road to end up in the bazaars and the Majorelle blues of Marrakech, before taking in adventure driving aplenty in the Atlas Mountains. Land Rover has used the Atlas range for several launches in the past. For me, northern France and Belgium still have some of the finest seafood, quietest roads and most hospitable eateries. You can detour to see the Champagne caves at Epernay and sample the goods, but the less pretentious Route du Cidre in Normandy has the distinction of being the scene of Ford's most expensive-ever launch, for the first-generation Focus in 1999. It's often best to shun the oft-travelled routes such as the Italian regions of Tuscany or Umbria and instead travel to the hills above Cuneo and Alba in the north-west, where on the sunny sides they grow the grapes for the famous Barolo wine and on the shady side the equally delicious Barbaresco. My favourite countries to drive in 5. Canada Can be congested in the season and snowy in the winter, but if you're into your endless plains, the massive tidal surges in the Bay of Fundy, the Yukon Highway 5 (Dempster Highway), it's all here. Great hospitality, good road surfaces and gorgeous colours in the autumn. 4. France Whether it's La Route des Crêtes through the Vosges mountains, the Col de la Bonette through the Alps or the coastal roads in Normandy or Brittany, France seldom fails to deliver on the views, the well-manicured road surfaces and the fine repasts. 3. Scotland From the North Coast 500 in its northern extremities, or just pootling around the lower parts, Scotland has it all; deserted moorland, winding roads, a James Bond connection, great food and a warm welcome. Just a shame you're often seeing it from behind a Dutch motorhome… 2. Italy A perennial favourite with Telegraph readers, with good reason. The north has the Alps, the passes and the congested but lovely lakeside roads. The centre has Emilia-Romagna, one of the greatest launch pads for some of the most scenic roads and the gateway to Florence, Siena and Rome, then on to the south for parched roads and great seafood. 1. United States of America A country founded on wheels, the USA remains one of the great driving countries. Whether it's the Cherohala Skyway, 43 miles of driving heaven from Tennessee meadows to a mile-high peak in South Carolina, or the 2,448-mile Route 66 which, as Chuck Berry sang, 'winds from Chicago to LA, more than 2,000 miles all the way; get your kicks on Route 66.' And even if you aren't into the whole petrolhead mythology, few could fail to be unmoved by the genius of Highway One, the Pacific Coast Highway (my tip, do it from north to south because, in left-hand drive America, you'll get the best views this way). Get used to burgers, enjoy the accents and try to go for the less travelled paths such as the 'Big Sky' states of Montana or Dakota.
Top Gear
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
BMW 2 Series Coupe Driving, Engines & Performance
Driving What is it like to drive? In the M240i xDrive, the big six-cylinder's refinement strikes you first. During the warm-up miles, it's all about a demure hum and sweet harmonics. But fire it towards the red-line and it does serious work with plenty of bite and enough bark to make you realise why this format of engine has a special place in history. There's 369bhp – enough of a power increase over the old 240i to overcome the inertia of 4WD. It gets from a standstill to 62mph in 4.3 seconds. Advertisement - Page continues below OK, it's not a perfect motor. Whisper it, but turbo lag makes an appearance below 3,000rpm. But you have to seek it out by manually holding high gear ratios. Otherwise the eight-speed auto 'box will hide the matter by smoothly shifting down. What's the M240i like around a corner? The main sensation is of huge grip. The steering is conservatively geared, and very mild understeer begins proceedings. Steering feel is too subtle for a sports car. At road speeds in the M240i xDrive you'll not overwhelm the traction unless the corner's tight or the road wet, as we discovered on a recent test in cold, wet winter Wales. But there's a sense of the power squeezing rearward, the back half of the car shouldering the effort, and absolutely shoving you out of a bend. Is it as planted and poised as a Porsche 718 Cayman? No, it's not. Because this isn't really a purpose-built sports car, but a BMW 3 Series that's been hacked at with axes. But it's much, much better than it would've been if BMW had cheaped out and based this on the front-wheel drive 2 Series Active Tourer and Gran Coupe platform. Advertisement - Page continues below And the ride? Even this is pretty civilised, at least on the M240i xDrive's £550 adaptive dampers. No particular sense of short-wheelbase pitch. The whole thing is quiet and smooth in the daily grind. Have you driven either of the four-cylinders? BMW says: "Rear-wheel drive and a six-cylinder in-line engine are unique in the segment." Don't take that at face value. You can have a straight-six 2 Series Coupe, and you can have one with RWD, but they won't be the same car. The only pure RWD ones are the four-cylinders. As the 220i weighs 200kg less than the M240i xDrive, you'd expect it to be the lithe, pointy pick of the bunch. Sadly, the engine is just a bit too meek to justify the enormous power bulge on the bonnet and to get the 2 Series moving with gusto. It does 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds, and it feels that long. Overtakes need to be planned, not simply executed. The 230i could be considered a neat little Golf GTI rival for those that miss three-door hot hatches and fancy the switch to rear drive. Its four-pot makes a useful 242bhp and 295lb ft of torque, and it drops the 0-62mph time down to 5.9 seconds while upping the top speed to a limited, Autobahn-friendly 155mph. The 220i runs out of puff at 146mph. It's the sense of speed that's better in the 230i, though. You still don't get a huge amount of feel through that chunky steering wheel and the brake pedal is a little woolly, but the engine punches above its weight and combines well with the eight-speed auto for fast responses and strong pace. What a shame there's no manual gearbox option, though. Might as well ask about fuel economy... The 220i hits a creditable 41.5mpg in the official tests and 149g/km, while the 230i drops to 39.8mpg and 157g/km. However, it's worth noting that we saw 40.5mpg in the latter on a 315-mile drive that was mostly motorway but also included some sprightly country road driving. Impressive. The M240i xDrive, meanwhile, manages 32.1mpg and 198g/km on the WLTP tests. Highlights from the range the fastest M240i xDrive 2dr Step Auto [Tech/Pro Pack] 0-62 4.3s CO2 BHP 368.8 MPG Price £51,510 the cheapest 220i M Sport 2dr Step Auto 0-62 7.5s CO2 BHP 181 MPG Price £38,475
BBC News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
'Deaf learner drivers need more support'
Deaf campaigners have called on the government to help make learning to drive more inclusive, as figures reveal there are no British Sign Language (BSL) qualified driving examiners anywhere across figures showed in 2023-2024 that 38.71% of profoundly deaf learners passed their practical test first time, compared with almost 50% of those who could Ahmed, from Birmingham, who is deaf, passed his test in 2019, but said communication could be major barrier when benefited from a scheme run by the charity Deaf World, an organisation that supports young deaf people in the West Midlands. Its road safety project 1st Gear helps learners get up to 25 hours of driving experience under the guidance of qualified BSL Ahmed followed that up by booking extra driving lessons with a standard instructor, but he said it had not always been a smooth ride. "It really is [difficult]. The driving instructors are hearing, so the main barrier we face is communication," he said."If I want to learn in-depth knowledge or specific areas of driving, I'm limited to basic gestures. So it really is quite frustrating."'There is a lot of deaf people who don't have their driving licence, they feel quite isolated because of that."Mr Ahmed now works for Deaf World as a youth officer, supporting the work of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People said learning to drive could be crucial for many of those it worked Devine from the charity said: "Deaf people are the same as everyone else. They want to go out and do things that they enjoy and want to be involved. "For deaf people, the biggest barrier is lack of access. It's society that disables a person." For the theory test, the DVSA makes BSL interpreters available for candidates to book. And in recent weeks, a BSL translation tool has been introduced to the booking website in what it said was a government permanently deaf adults have low literacy levels, as reading is based on spoken language, meaning they rely almost entirely on DVSA said extra support had been provided in 1,128,178 theory tests taken between April 2024 and March 2025,Of this, 1,832 were taken with BSL on-screen and 363 were taken with a BSL practical test is more of a challenge. At the moment, many learners rely on an interpreter who they are allowed to bring with them in the vehicle as well as the examiner, but communication can still be difficult. For Mr Ahmed, learning to drive has allowed him to meet his friends and take part in cricket sessions."In my free time I can come here [to the cricket nets], that's why being able to drive is so important," he said."The deaf community experience an increased percentage of isolation, with deaf people more likely to stay at home. "It's helped me by giving me options of places to go - without being able to drive, it would be so much more difficult. "The idea of public transport is not enough for the deaf community."In a statement, the DVSA said anyone who met the required standard could pass the driving test regardless of disability and it encouraged people to disclose their needs so reasonable adjustments could be DVSA added that if a candidate needed to pay a fee for an interpreter in the practical test, it would reimburse the cost. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
The Bolton drivers brought before court for being on their phones
These drivers from Bolton were brought before court for using their phones. Motorists in the town were caught by police on the public highway while on their mobiles. According to the government website, it is illegal to hold and use a phone, sat nav, tablet, or any device that can send or receive data, while driving or riding a motorcycle. This means you must not use a device in your hand for any reason, whether online or offline. Here are five Bolton motorists who were caught using their phones. Marton Horvath, 40, was caught while driving a Citroen C3 in Chorley Old Road on October 18 last year. Horvath, of Halliwell Road, was sentenced at Tameside Magistrates' Court on July 15. He was disqualified from driving for two months, reduced from six months due to mitigating circumstances - a longer disqualification would cause "exceptional hardship" to his diabetic son in terms of attending hospital. Horvath was also fined £60 and ordered to pay £60 costs and a £24 surcharge. Read more: Shocking images released in warning to drivers about life-changing consequences Read more: Drug addict in 'wicked act' that kept victim prisoner for weeks in town centre flat Read more: Ex-Great Britain rugby league player 'used sheer size to rape woman', trial hears Keiran Edwards, 35, was caught using a mobile phone while driving a Scania HGV on the M6 southbound near Knutsford on December 15 last year. Edwards, of Alderton Drive, Westhoughton, was brought before Chester Magistrates' Court on June 4. He was disqualified from driving for six months, fined £738, ordered to pay £110 costs and a £295 surcharge. Gul Basit, 33, drove a Toyota Prius while on a phone in Kinmel Bay, near Rhyl in North Wales, on August 12 last year. Basit, of Burwell Close, Great Lever, was sentenced at Wrexham Magistrates' Court on June 27. He was given six points, fined £183, ordered to pay £130 costs and a £73 surcharge. Zabir Kapadia, aged 51, drove a BMW XM while on a phone in Moss Bank Way on October 12. Kapadia, of Blackburn Road, Astley Bridge, was brought before Tameside Magistrates' Court on May 20. He was given six points, a £169 fine, £90 in costs and a £68 surcharge as punishment. Kapadia avoided prison due to his mitigating circumstances, needing to drive for his job to collect stock. Daniel Lewis, 38, was caught driving a Land Rover Discovery in Bolton Road, Walkden, while on a phone on August 29 last year. Lewis, of Bentley Court, Farnworth, was sentenced at Manchester Magistrates' Court on May 9 this year. He was fined £440, ordered to pay a surcharge of £176 and costs of £120, and disqualified for six months.
