During 2015, more Australians than ever went out to buy a new motor vehicle. They bought 1,155,408 new passenger cars, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and commercial vehicles. This was 3.8% more than in 2014 and it broke the record set in 2013.
SUVs were so popular, sales grew 15.9% and took up a whopping 35.4% of the market, up from 31.7% in 2014. In fact, Australians bought more SUVs than small cars, even though small cars were four of the top 10 bestsellers.
More people are riding bikes these days and, without dedicated bike tracks, have to share the roads with motor vehicles. This can be dangerous, as an average of 11 riders are killed and 1,500 seriously injured in NSW every year.
Minister for Roads, Duncan Gay, has introduced Minimum Passing Distance legislation from 1 March 2016 to help make NSW roads safer.
Thanks to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACC), motorists can find the cheapest petrol nearby in real time.
Many motorists will welcome this information, especially now oil prices are at an 11-year low. But petrol profit margins, around 15.1 cents a litre, are higher than ever. Petrol prices vary considerably between cities and regional centres and within cities too.
Motorists who renew registration online can get $15 national parks discount on two popular passes to NSW national parks.
The discount applies now. It runs from 20 December 2015 to December 2016 for one 12-month, annual All Park or Multi-Park Pass.
Next time you are stopped at an intersection and waiting for the lights to change, you may be approached by a windscreen washer wielding a squeegee. Yet, walking into the road to wash somebody’s windscreen is an offence everywhere in Australia – except in Canberra.
The days of carrying a licence in your wallet – or stuffed into your back pocket – are coming to an end. Following an election promise, the NSW government plans to make all forms of licence digital in the next few years.
Speed cameras and red light cameras are a fact of life in Australia. It’s hard to remember a time when you could go on a trip without seeing one. Currently speed and red light cameras in NSW raise around $532,000 a day from unsuspecting motorists.
Considering diesel cars have been the most affected by the global Volkswagen scandal, this particular type of fuel might not be right to buy. However, assuming other diesel cars in Australia are fine, there are many pros and cons for making the switch.
As you pack up the car for a holiday this Christmas, remember you are 20 times more likely to crash if you text while driving. It’s a sobering statistic – and statistics are based on the experiences of ordinary people. This is why double demerits are being extended to using mobiles.
For the first time, the NSW Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, is doubling demerit points for drivers who use their phones. It starts during the Christmas period from December 24 to January 3. Though it sounds tough, as Minister Gay says:
“If I saved your life, I’ve done you a favour.”
If you’ve been paying any attention to automotive news this year, you will know about the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Numerous news outlets have been reporting on the case, which involves millions of cars the world over – both diesel and petrol – and has not only caused former CEO and chair of Audi Martin Winterkorn to step down, but the company to report a loss for the first time in years.
We’ll get to the specifics of the story in a moment, and why you should pay attention, but first let’s put the whole thing into perspective.
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