Motorists might well be using comparison sites to find cheaper carinsurance policies, but they are not sure how the premium has been pared down to reduce the cost.

Many motorists assume that their "small print" in the terms and conditions will cover them for common driving practices, whereas when they have an accident they are dismayed to find that they are not.

An announcement by Ruth Kelly at the Department of Transport yesterday exposes the failure of the Pass Plus scheme which was supposed to help to support inexperienced drivers after they had taken their driving tests.

Instructors would take newly-qualified youngsters for extra lessons at night-time, on motorways, in town and rural situations and in hazardous weather conditions in return for Pass Plus drivers receiving an insurance premium discount to reflect their increased training.

Foreign lorries, whose drivers sit on the left hand side of the cab, can not see vehicles overtaking on their right hand side.

The Department of Transport issued 90,000 "Fresnel" lenses last December, a plastic attachment to the mirror which acts as a lens to increase visibility, to attempt to tackle the problem.

Car safety has lead to a one third reduction in car accidents since the mid-1990s, yet the accident rates for young, and inexperienced, motorists have not shown a similar drop.

Ruth Kelly, secretary for Transport, has announced new measures to increase the training which learner drivers have to undergo before qualifying for a full licence.

The transport research foundation has approved a major software upgradeto the computerised systems that manage traffic flow.

TRANSYT 13 is a graphic simulator which can calculate how all thejunctions and traffic controls, such as traffic lights, work together tokeep the traffic moving during rush-hours as well as other times.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) motoring trust has found that 21.

6 per cent of cars (or one in every five) submitted for a first MOT test fails.

Toyota is continuing its winning ways by scooping up more first places for its engine designs and efficiency.

The 1.

The No Internal Combustion Engine (NICE) car company, which specialises in selling electric vehicles, has welcomed the election of Boris Johnson as the new Mayor of London.

One of the mayoral policy commitments was that he would look again at the congestion charging penalties for petrol and diesel fuelled vehicles, but NICE is still optimistic that owners of the Mega City car should continue to pay nothing to enter the zone.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed, held from Friday July 11th to SundayJuly 13th 2008 in Chichester in West Sussex, has the theme Hawthorn toHamilton - Britain's love affair with World Motor Sport.

Mike Hawthorn drove a Ferrari to become Britain's first Formula 1 WorldChampion fifty years ago in 1958 and so Goodwood will attract fans ofmotor racing young and old.

The Luton Festival of Transport, organised by the Chiltern VehiclePreservation Group, will combine with an exhibition of the largestprivate collection of Vauxhall cars at the Vauxhall Heritage Centre'sannual open day on Sunday June 8th 2008.

A free bus service will shuttle between the two events.