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As I am sure you are aware, we have authored a few articles over the last few weeks on the weather and discussed some useful driving advice in these times of perilous motor conditions! But not all drivers out there appear to be taking heed of the safety warnings and advice that have been plastered all over the news in recent weeks!

According to sources form the Daily Mail (source) police were gobsmacked as they witnessed an elderly motorist driving through the snow with only a small peephole to look out from! Her vehicle was so covered in snow it resembled a frosted topped desert!

The motorist was spotted and pulled over by police driving in hazardous icy conditions with a thick layer of snow and ice covering the majority of the windscreen of her blue Nissan; attending traffic officers kindly provided the elderly lady, whom had nipped out to purchase some food, with an ice scraper! Nearby pedestrians were stunned as they watched her struggle to see out of the small peephole in the windscreen, and the images taken by Devon Police are now being used to remind drivers to use common sense and clear their vehicles of snow and ice before travelling.
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We all like a good drink every now and then – and we all know the increasing safety concerns over Britain’s drinking habits that have hit the news over the last few years. And alcohol can often play a major part of a claim for compensation.

In fact, the BBC has authored a few articles recently on the issue. According to one report (source), the Conservative Party has called for a complete revamp on alcohol labelling. The centre-right party have stated that confusion is evident from the use of the term “units” on labelling; they are calling for more specific descriptions in line with most of Europe in an effort to encourage safer drinking.

The Tories (Conservatives) have suggested labelling should detail “centilitres of pure alcohol” and perhaps have a more specific breakdown of the contents, including calorie intake information. Reportedly research has shown only just over half of alcoholic beverages labels adopt the voluntary code of units contained within the drink; despite industry moves to improve compliance. The proposals come as part of the Conservatives new public health strategy, amid claims that the rising levels of alcohol abuse now include the figure that 1 in 10 people are classed as hazardous drinkers; a startling statistic!
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I have authored a couple of articles on the MOD and the seemingly problem-filled compensation schemes in place for our injured war heroes – and Defence Chiefs have once again appeared on the wrong side of the news with a crazy compensation payout that you might not even believe!

According to sources from The Sun (source), a poultry farmer has been paid £42,000 in compensation because his chickens have “laid less eggs” due to noise from the Red Arrows scaring them! In fact, the MOD has paid out around £7.6 million in damages to people for noise related complaints… So why on are our brave injured soldiers receiving just a fraction of that sum?

According to the report, the Ministry of Defence spent the massive sum over a period of four years due to noise complaints from the Staffordshire poultry farmer, which came to light from a Freedom of Information request from The Sun. In fact there is more; see if you can match these sums to the victim:
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Asbestos; a potentially hazardous silicate when its fibres are inhaled by humans, has been in and out of the press so many times over the past decades with court cases for compensation and stories of the illnesses it can lead to. According to BBC sources (source) UK insurance companies have been attempting to invalidate Scotland’s asbestos compensation act!

After a 22 day hearing at Court of Session, Lord Emslie ruled to reject the insurance companies bid to actually invalidate the law which gives victims the right to claim for the compensation they are entitled to!

The act allows sufferers of pleural plaques (which is not classed as a disease and has no symptoms, but does signify an increased risk of developing mesothelioma from the asbestos exposure) to claim for compensation, with insurers stating that it benefits a small number of people who have suffered no harm and is therefore a “disproportionate and excessive burden on insurers running into hundreds of millions, if not billions, of pounds”.
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We have more on negligent drivers and near serious accidents on Britain’s roads – which all come during our big freeze which I am not going to write about, as I am sure you are all quite tired of the same press coverage on the issue, and my many recent articles on the subject!

Ashley Cole and a Swiss millionaire – two people I recently wrote about in my articles related to speeding offences. Well how do these new names grab you – Harriet Harman and Jermaine Defoe. One is the Labour Party Deputy Leader and the other is a well known striker for Spurs. Both have been recently convicted of driving offences:

According to The Sun (source) Harriet Harman has pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention – she has been fined £350 and ordered to pay £75 worth of costs, and a victim surcharge of £15. She has also received three points on her driver’s license. Not the heaviest of penalties; my only hope are these fines don’t turn up on her next MP  expense claim form!
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So the arctic conditions are continuing and the freezing temperatures have frozen the snow layered grounds causing what I am going to describe as ridiculously slippery conditions! Just this morning walking to my car (no more than 40 metres) was an epic battle as maintaining my footing and the pathway was difficult at best. The ice was around an inch thick alone, and not fun to walk (or should I say, skate) on.

So, what’s the best thing to do if you must use your vehicle? The BBC has very handily provided some solid advice for motorists on how to prepare for a journey out in to the snow:
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Yes yes, I know, a number of my recent articles have been on the weather! But let’s face it, it’s the big thing at the moment and as of yesterday it just got 10 times worse here as the snow pretty much disrupted everything from businesses to schools to the mass transit system!

And I know what you may be thinking; another article on the weather – that old chestnut! But it just seems to be getting worse and worse, and the floods of weather related new claims are coming in! But it is important to know when you can and can’t claim, particularly when the weather is a major contributory factor…

Just before Christmas, our Principle Solicitor Mr. Aman Johal was requested by Sky News to comment on claiming for injuries people are sustaining due to the weather, in light of accident and emergencies reporting significant increased admissions for fractures resulting from people falling on ice! The Sky News article (source) reported that some A+E’s had to open extra operating theatres to cope with the increase.
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Speed limits are there for a reason – to keep us all safe on the roads! And it’s no secret that many road traffic accidents occur because of the speed limit being broken. So are there any excuses for people ignoring these important life saving limits? Well, unless you’re a member of the emergency services, there certainly is not!

According to BBC reports, England football star Ashley Cole is being prosecuted for speeding in his Lamborghini after he was caught by police travelling at 104mph in a 50 zone when he was caught by a laser speed camera in November last year (source).  

The Chelsea left-back, who did not appear in court, has stated to officers that he was being harassed by paparazzi when he decided to go twice over the speed limit on the A3 in Kingston. Now I can’t imagine it’s easy to be constantly followed by the press looking for a story, but it’s certainly no excuse for dangerous driving risking the lives of other road users and the local public. When Cole was stopped he informed police he was aware it was a 50 zone and claimed to have been travelling at 80mph to get away from the harassment of the paparazzi.
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I hope everybody had a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! And I hope you all took the advice to stay safe over the festive period; particularly with the seemingly continuing severe weather many parts of the UK are still experiencing.

The dream of a white Christmas came true for many this year, which was a welcome sight despite the severe weather we have faced over the last month. On a similar note, according to one amazing BBC report, one group of new year celebrators were trapped in the UK’s highest pub (statistically, above sea level) for a further two nights after they were snowed in on New Years Eve! (source).

And on the subject again of the weather, news reports are advising that the weather warnings are continuing and we are possibly set to see some bad weather well in to January, with the warnings to motorists still being issued as temperatures could be set to drop as low as 15 degrees Celsius (source). According to Sky News reports, seven people were fatally injured as a result of the horrific weather in the UK in December. So the advice to stay safe and take extra care on the roads is still required!
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I certainly am! In fact, the snow that arrived over the past week was a welcome festive gift for many (all be it a little early!). That was until a little snow turned in to a huge “blizzard” of sorts for many parts of the country, causing commuters havoc and holiday-makers a nightmare!

For many parts of the country we are now at that horrible icy state; where the snow has mostly melted and all that remains is a sheet of dangerous glassy ice lining the pavements and some roads. But over the last week we have seen news flash after news flash of the chaos the weather has caused.
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