These are the most recent media releases from the Dog and Lemon Guide.
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Adults who knowingly supply alcohol to underage drinkers should be heavily penalised if those underage drinkers cause serious harm while drunk, according to a leading road safety campaigner.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide, was commenting after the government announced that it is considering making it unlawful for adults to give alcohol to young people at private functions without their parents' consent.
Matthew-Wilson says:
Industry Minister Kim Carr is deluding both himself and his voters over the future of Holden, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says: “Senator Carr has expressed confidence that Holden’s Australian assembly operations will continue, without really explaining how.”
“To build cars profitably in the 21st century, you need to have a very large local market and/or a very large export market and/or very low costs. Holden has none of these.”
Holden’s future as a carmaker is still grim, despite today’s announcement that the bankrupt General Motors won’t be closing its Australian Holden plants, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“Holden has said its Australian assembly operations will continue, without really explaining how.”
It’s dangerous and wasteful to allow heavier trucks on New Zealand roads, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Commenting after the government announced that it would allow trucks of up to 53 tonnes on public roads, Dog & Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said:
“This is insane. Not only is this incredibly wasteful of energy, it’s also a serious risk to other motorists. One in five trucks were found to have brake faults in 2007, and the larger the truck, the harder it is to stop.”
Despite their ‘green’ image, electric cars are often less efficient and more polluting than the petrol cars they replace, according to a major report released today.The 168-page report, titled The Emperor’s New Car, is described as a ‘long-overdue reality check’ by its author, car expert Clive Matthew-Wilson. The report was prepared in consultation with several internationally-recognised energy experts.Matthew-Wilson, who edits the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide, says:
All major roads in New Zealand should have regular ‘keep left’ signs in multiple languages, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“Tourists regularly have serious accidents because they get confused over which side of the road to drive on. The obvious thing to do is to remind them regularly in their native language.”
Matthew-Wilson says the signs should be placed every few kilometres and should also encourage drivers to let faster vehicles pass.
Claims by the police that new rules have lowered the road toll are probably wishful thinking, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“Aside from the ban on using cellphones while driving, which is widely ignored, the police aren’t really doing anything they weren’t doing before.”
“ A more plausible explanation is that the highest risk group, which is young working-class males who live at the edge of the law – are less likely to be employed, therefore they are driving less, therefore they are a less of risk to themselves and others.”
Motorists should stay off the road around New Year’s Day, says the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“The Christmas period, including New Year’s Day, is always a high accident period. This year New Year’s Day falls on a full moon. Assuming that the studies linking antisocial behaviour and the full moon are correct, it would be a wise idea not to be on the road around New Year’s Day.”
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/173920.php
Matthew-Wilson adds:
All vehicles on the road should have their lights on over Christmas, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide. Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“A car with its headlights on is easier to spot than a car with its headlights off. It’s that simple.”
Matthew-Wilson pointed to World Health Organisation statistics showing that vehicles using daytime running lights have a crash rate 10-15% lower than those that do not.
The government needs to empower Maori communities to educate and train their own people to safely operate cars, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide. Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
