News in brief

08th March 2007

YOU CAN now personalise your car horn – and not only with the honk of the Dukes of Hazzard’s General Lee. The latest www.horntones.com gadget stores digital music files to play on demand.

BUSES and lorries may no longer need to worry about low bridges. Not only are obstacles being logged on sat-nav (Inside Story, Issue 946), but a low bridge warning is coming, too. Bridgeclear wants its cab-mounted GPS kit fitted to all large vehicles.

NEW drivers only need to flaunt phone laws twice to get a ban. From the end of February, motorists caught using handsets earn three points and a £60 fine. But those with less than two years’ experience can have their licence revoked with six points.

CAR BRAKE discs are wearing out faster than ever due to the latest abrasive brake pads, according to component supplier Car Parts Direct. The firm has seen a 23 per cent rise in disc sales on models less than two years old, compared with 14 per cent for older cars.

THE first-ever eco car surgeries are being launched by fuel giant BP. Drivers of petrol vehicles can get a free 10-minute, while-they-wait check of CO2 emissions at Kwik-Fit MoT centres. To find your local outlet, visit the www.targetneutral.com website.