Daily Motor News – Thursday 26 September

Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2023

Since 1979, there has been a general downward trend in the number of people killed on roads in Great Britain with a flatter trend in the decade since 2010. In 2023, road casualties showed a decline from 2022, representing a return to the trends seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Full story

REACTION: IAM RoadSmart’s response to the latest road traffic casualty figures

Commenting on the 2023 road traffic casualty statistics published today by the Department for Transport, IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy and Standards Nicholas Lyes said: “While it is welcome to see an overall reduction in fatalities on our roads over the last year, the fact remains that 1,624 people were still killed on the road network in 2023. These are preventable deaths and significant work is required to meaningfully tackle the number of road casualties across the country. Full story

Personal Injury Discount Rates in Scotland & Northern Ireland

The personal injury discount rates (PIDR) in Scotland and Northern Ireland have been updated following the determination by the Government Actuary, completed on 24 September.

The PIDR is used to determine lump sum damages awards to people who suffer serious and long-term personal injury. Full story

Annual increases in quoted car insurance premiums slow to 9.8%

Price rises for car insurance are continuing to slow, but motorists still face an annual rise of 9.8% in average quoted premiums, according to the latest Consumer Intelligence Car Insurance Price Index.

However, most of the increase occurred between August last year and December, with average quoted premiums remaining unchanged over the past three months. Full story

White Paper: Consumer Duty Board reporting

The Chartered Insurance Institute has today published a White Paper that seeks to support firms’ compliance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s reporting requirements under the Consumer Duty. 

Every regulated firm is required to produce a Board report, at least annually, to record its progress in achieving the customer outcomes set out by the FCA. With the rules having come into effect in July 2023, the first Board reports were due by 31 July 2024. Full story

BSI publishes a new specification to improve road condition monitoring

A new standard, designed to improve how data on the condition of the UK’s road network is collected and reported, helping authorities to better manage the condition of roads and ultimately reduce any impact and disruption for drivers and passengers, has been published by BSI. Full story

Canoo launches commercial operations and activation centre in UK

Canoo Inc, a high-tech advanced mobility company, has announced the company’s official launch into the United Kingdom market by establishing Canoo Technologies UK Limited, a new legal entity in the UK, marking a significant milestone in the company’s global expansion strategy. Canoo has selected Bicester Motion, an iconic automotive campus, as a key location that reflects the company’s spirit of innovation and commitment to sustainability. Full story

Volkswagen’s labour clash spotlights Europe’s car factory conundrum

Volkswagen’s showdown with powerful labour leaders over how to tackle spiralling costs at underused German factories has triggered intense soul-searching about the root causes of the carmaker’s problems.

Complex governance structures, misjudged investments in EVs, poor management decisions, sliding revenues from China and Germany’s crippling bureaucracy have all variously been blamed for the challenges facing the world’s second-biggest automaker. Full story

US: A new federal bill would protect car owners’ right to repair — and it could help to slow rising insurance prices

The rapid development of vehicle technology has led to safer and more efficient cars, but it has also made vehicle repairs more complex. What might have been a simple fix two decades ago now likely involves electrical work, calibration and specialized labor. And when repair shops lack the vehicle information needed for a fix, they often have to pay for it or send you to a pricier shop, passing along these higher costs to drivers and insurers. Full story

US: Shippers scramble for workarounds ahead of looming US East Coast port strike

U.S. companies that rely on East and Gulf Coast seaports have been importing early, shifting goods to the West Coast, and even putting cargo on pricey flights to hedge against a threatened Oct. 1 strike that could jam supply chains and reignite inflation ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

“This is just another headache after everything else we’ve been dealing with,” said Kenneth Sanchez, CEO of Chesapeake Specialty Products, which sends goods like metallic abrasives and foundry sand additives used to make engine blocks and transmissions to customers around the world. Full story