Figures released by the Department for Transport have shown that casualties on

Despite the positive figures, though, the

Top of the table was

The report points to improved speed management as the key factor, stating that on average a 1% reduction in the mean speed of traffic leads to a 4% reduction in deaths. The

Professor Richard Allsop, Chairman of the Road Safety PIN which produced the report, said: “The PIN rankings show that some countries are good in one area, others in another.

Government plans to revise the MOT will mean cars will only have to be checked once every two years.

As in Europe, the first test will take place when a car is four years old.

Currently new cars are tested after three years and then annually but a review by the Treasury has suggested that motorists could save £465 million every year by adopting the EU regulations.

Led by Lord Davidson, the review is part of a bid by Gordon Brown to cut back on bureaucracy 

Britain’s regulations were found to be among the strictest in Europe, with the exceptions only of Hungary and Latvia, and Ministers believe modern technology allows for less regular testing. 

Although individual motorists would save money by only paying the £50 test fee every two years, critics fear the implications for road safety.

Nearly 30% of cars fail the annual test and safety campaigners say the plans could mean over half the vehicles on the roads are not roadworthy.

As the extension of the London congestion charge zone is extended tomorrow, Honda expect this to push sales of greener hybrid cars in the capital.

Sales already show the percentage of hybrid cars in London rose over 2005-2006 from 1% to 2%.

Honda are predicting that an additional 6,500 hybrid fuel models will be sold in London alone over the next 2 years.

Although many people think of hybrid cars as essentially exotic, Honda has now sold over 185,000 worldwide.

Of its UK sales, a third are purchased from people living in London and the South East of England - and Honda believe that congestion charges on traditional pertrol and diesel cars are the reason for this.

It’s not just consumers who are buying them - the Metropolitan police has already ordered 177 hybrid fuel Honda Civics, and national corporations are ushering them in.

In the meantime, Honda are building a sports car to extend its market reach beyond the traditional saloon style.