According to CFC Solutions, a leading fleet software provider, many car and van drivers are still unaware that the photo card driving licence must be renewed every ten years from point of issue. The photo card licence was first issued in 1998 so Vansdirect ask all van drivers to check their licence now to avoid an unnecessary penalty. The date can be found on the front of the card labelled "4b."

Article from Fleet News, 14 January 2010

Ford has defended the Transit Connect’s record after the BBC revealed it had the highest MoT failure rate for cars and vans.

Once again, van drivers have been named the safest drivers on our roads according to new research - something that Vansdirect has never doubted!  According to supermarket giant Tesco, van drivers make fewer claims on their motor insurance in comparison to other groups of motorists.

The Ford Transit van has been crowned the most commonly stolen vehicle by the Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS).  The top ten will not make happy reading for the boys and girls at Ford, with the brand appearing no less than 5 times.  Indeed, the popular Ford Fiesta car steals second.

According to van giant Vauxhall, the prejudice and stigma surrounding the "white van" is slowly fading away.  A new survey carried out on behalf of Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles, revealed that 81% said white vans were safe to drive due to the

The Department for Transport (DfT) are looking for up to 720 van drivers willing to take part in a new study.  Particpant van drivers will be offered free training by the Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving (SAFED) programme, regarding the benefits of safe and fuel-efficient driving. 

The study will monitor the performance of each van driver for 12 months following completion fo the free training.  In doing so, the DfT hope to discover when refresher training is needed by drivers and when it would be most effective.

The AA and Trafficmaster have published figures suggesting that congestion has declined by a massive 31% since the beginning of the credit crunch.  The report details that this marked reduction in directly linked to the increase in unemployment during the economic crisis.  Indeed, according to the report, nearly a quarter of those not working lost their jobs over the past 12 months.  So marked is the difference in traffic levels, that the report suggests that rush hour is becoming a thing o

As of today, van drivers can expect to pay an extra 2 pence per litre at the pumps today as a result of an increase in fuel duty - the third increase in fuel duty in only nine months.  According to the Times Online, "the inclusion of VAT takes the rise to 2.3p, while the price of a litre of unleaded remains high at about 105p, up from around 85p at the start of 2009" (1 September 2009).  This will not be the last increase with VAT reverting back to 17.5% from 1 January 2010.

VANSDIRECTNEWS.COM

Just in case you are not aware, Vansdirect.co.uk has a sister news site called Vansdirectnews.

Vansdirect.co.uk has just secured a great deal on the Peugeot Bipper - a small van designed for city use.  To mark the launch of this deal on the Vansdirect.co.uk we thought we'd bring you the Parker's Guide review:

Peugeot Bipper (08 on)

Summary 4 Stars