The number of accidents caused by drivers using social networking sites while behind the wheel is on the up, it has been claimed.

Car insurance provider Swinton has suggested that claims against such drivers have risen 12 per cent in the past year, with most of these incidents being caused by not paying attention in slow-moving traffic.

Steve Chelton, insurer development manager at Swinton car insurance, said: "As technology advances, we are seeing more and more drivers using smart phones and other devices while behind the wheel – and this is leading to more accidents on our roads. Even in slow moving traffic, writing or reading a message is a major distraction."

Using a smartphone behind the wheel results in a £60 fine and three points on the offender’s driving licence.

Last month, research by psychologists at the University of Utah found that even using a hands-free mobile device in the car is risky.

They suggested that even the distraction of talking could cause some drivers to have slower reaction times.

Ford is expanding its global electric vehicle market to Europe and will have introduced five new all-electric and hybrid models by 2013.

It will be launching two full-electric zero-emissions vehicles first. A Ford Transit Connect Electric will be on the market in 2011 and a Focus Electric model will be available from 2012.

In 2013, three other vehicles, two petrol hybrid and one plug-in hybrid, will join the low-carbon fleet.

The Focus Electric, which will be launched in the US next year, will be based upon a next-generation Focus model and will be part of the company’s C-car platform.

Ford is currently developing a whole range of environmentally-focussed features for its vehicles, including advanced electric power steering, weight reduction and aerodynamic improvements in its models as well as bio-fuel capable vehicles, hybrids and plug-in hybrids.

Longer-term advancements from the brand include the creation of a new EcoBoost global engine family with turbocharging and direct injection technology.

By 2012, the European Union hopes all new cars on the road will be producing carbon emissions of less than 120g/km.

New hybrid and all-electric vehicles from Ford will help achieve this target in Europe.

Advice on how to drive safely and comfortably while pregnant has been issued to mothers-to-be by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

The law requires everybody to wear seatbelts. Wearing a seatbelt during pregnancy will not cause any harm to the baby and, if involved in a crash, the risk of injury is reduced by 70 per cent.

To make driving both safe and comfortable, pregnant women are advised to wear the lap strap below the bump, as low down as possible.

The seat of the car can be pushed back, as long as the mirrors on the car are adjusted accordingly, and the driver needs to make sure she can reach the brake and accelerator pedals.

After-market pedal extenders are available to ensure the pedals can be reached and the leading road safety charity advises that being an extra three inches away from the steering wheel can make a big difference in a crash.

President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, supported the advice from IAM, which is committed to helping save lives on the roads.

He added that "pregnant women should use three-point seatbelts above and below the bump, not over it".

Britain is set to be at the epicentre of hybrid car production, it has been reported.

Toyota and Honda have already announced their UK-based production plants will be manufacturing hybrids for Europe.

Honda has been producing hybrid cars since last year, with its environmentally-friendly Insight going on the market then.

Nissan is expected to look to the UK for its hybrid production too, with UK managing director Trevor Mann telling the Daily Telegraph that the company has "an understanding of where we want to go" with electric vehicle production.

He also told the newspaper that he was "hopeful" that production of Nissan’s all-electric car, the Leaf, would take place at the UK’s largest car plant in Sunderland.

The UK government is keen for motorists to start purchasing ultra-low carbon cars in the near future.

A new incentive for buyers, the Plugged-in Car Grant, will be available from next January.

They can receive £5,000, the equivalent of around 25 per cent of the car value, off ultra-low carbon models.

TRACKER, the UK’s leading stolen vehicle tracking and recovery systems specialist, is preparing to launch a product to combat vehicle theft caused by GPS Jammers.

Criminal gangs are acquiring the jammers in China and bringing them over to the UK, targeting and stealing expensive cars, the specialist warned.

GPS and tracking systems are now common place in the UK and they are vulnerable to a technique called jamming, which blocks the signal between the satellite and receiver on the GPS.

Named TRACKER Locate, the technology will be the most advanced tracking device available on the market.

If there is any attempt to jam the signal or tamper with the GPS unit, TRACKER Locate will raise an alert so the police and owner are informed of the theft immediately.

The device then uses VHF technology to find the exact location of the stolen vehicle.

TRACKER, in conjunction with the police, has recovered more than £400 million worth of stolen vehicles since its inception in 1993.

Managing director of the company, Stephen Doran, said he does not believe a "single technology system is robust enough" to combat jamming, which is why the company’s new device combines the use of GSM, GPS and VHF technology.

Toyota sales have fallen this year due to the recall of faulty vehicles, it has been reported.

Despite private buyers increasing sales of the brand by 65 per cent in February 2010 compared with last year, its market share fell from 5.5 per cent to five per cent.

Sales by the Japanese manufacturer since the start of the year have fallen by five per cent compared with the same period last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Toyota has been forced to recall some eight million cars worldwide, including 190,000 in the UK, due to faults including problems with the brake and accelerator pedals on some models.

Honda, one of Toyota’s rivals, saw sales decrease too in the UK. Compared with the first two months of last year, sales are down 13 per cent this year for the manufacturer.

The government scrappage scheme is still bolstering new car sales, accounting for around 20 per cent of them overall.

Benefits from the scheme should still be seen after it ends this month, the SMMT said.

Almost 80 per cent of car dealers are feeling more confident about profit margins thanks to the government scrappage scheme, a dealer attitude survey has shown.

The scheme brought "welcome relief" to car dealers, who also reported being more satisfied about the relationship they have with their manufacturer, according to results from the National Franchised Dealers Association Dealer Attitude survey conducted by the Retail Motor Industry (RMI).

Some 75 per cent of dealer networks reported feeling increased satisfaction over their profit return, which is largely due to the success of the scrappage scheme.

New car sales in the UK were flagging, before the government-funded scheme was implemented, due to reduced demand from motorists.

In January, car production in the UK increased by 64.8 per cent on last year’s figures, which was due to rising demand from consumers, thanks to the effect of the scheme.

Sue Robinson, RMI director, said that despite the uncertainty still surrounding the economy, dealers who were surveyed "seemed reasonably positive about their businesses in the next six months".

Peugeot sales increased by a massive 70.8 per cent in February 2010 compared with the previous year’s figures.

The brand has attributed this rise, in its bicentenary year, largely to the success of the scrappage scheme.

Lead-selling cars in the Peugeot range are the 107, 207 and 308, which seem to reflect the growing trend of motorists moving towards smaller, more efficient cars.

The rise in sales was also boosted by early sales of its award winning 3008 crossover model, voted What? Car Car of the Year 2010, and the 5008 MPV.

Peugeot also increased its market share to 5.56 per cent, significantly higher than those of rival manufacturers such as Nissan.

The manufacturer believes the combination of its quality, desirability, economy and low emissions have helped the brand fare well this year and that the scrappage scheme has just provided an extra boost to sales.

March sees the end of the government-funded scheme, which has been in force since May last year, and was implemented to provide a short-term solution to flagging new car sales.

Europcar has pre-ordered 500 electric cars from Renault to be in major European cities from the latter part of 2011.

Already committed to protecting the environment, the rental car company is Renault’s principal short-term rental partner in Europe.

The partnership agreement was signed recently at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in order to promote zero-emission mobility.

Renault will be launching a three-car Z.E. range, including a family four-door saloon and a small city car, next year.

The cars all feature three different ways of recharging them. They can use standard charging, which takes six to eight hours, fast charging takes around 20 to 30 minutes and quick-drop charging, which is intended to top-up the battery.

All the cars will be fitted with an intelligent system that not only advises the driver of how low the battery is but will also give information about the nearest recharging or battery exchange stations, which will be around the UK from January 2011 thanks to the government Plugged-in Places scheme.

Renault aims to be the market leader in terms of innovative electric car technology, and this deal with Europcar is a further boost towards reaching its target.

Volvo saw an increase in registrations and its market share this February compared with February 2009.

February 2010 registrations rose 90 per cent over last year, with 1,378 in the month.

Last year, the brand recorded a 1.33 per cent market share, which has increased to a 2.01 per cent share this year.

All models in the Volvo range have performed significantly better in registrations than last year with the XC90 seven-seat SUV noting a registration increase of 202 per cent compared with 2009 and an even higher rise from the S80 model with a 278 per cent increase.

Volvo expects to continue this positive trend in sales when it launches its all-new S60 model in showrooms this summer.

The brand has an entire range of economical, more environmentally-friendly models called DRIVe cars.

These are designed to reduce carbon emissions from the cars, bringing all of the DRIVe diesel-powered cars below the target guideline amount of 120g/km that the European Union hopes to achieve by 2012.