Holey-hell, Morpeth's B6343 is Britain's most potholed road

Recent cold winters could cost the Government a whopping £13 billion in pothole repairs, a survey from Labour has revealed.

The opposition party has also warned that the state of UK roads could get even worse – almost three quarters of the 111 local authorities surveyed have had their road maintenance budgets cut.

92% of the local authorities also reported having a severe backlog of urgent road repairs, but also said they didn’t have the budget to fix them all.

John Woodcock MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Minister, said: “These new figures reveal the worsening state of England’s roads as a result of the Government’s cuts – potholes have become a £13 billion problem under the Tories.

“Motorists and cyclists are already furious that Ministers have pretended to give councils extra money to repair potholes when all they’ve done is replace a fraction of the £432 million they had axed from road maintenance budgets.”

In further bad news for motorists, a survey by Potholes.co.uk, which monitors and logs the worst roads in the UK, has revealed the five worst roads in Britain.

1. B6343 near Morpeth, Northumberland
2. Fieldhead Lane near Holme, West Yorkshire
3. Long Mill Lane neat Plaxtol, Kent
4. Yattendon Road near Basildon, West Berkshire
5. Fyfield Road near Amport, Hampshire

The B6343 was so bad in fact, that Potholes named it the winner of its “most potholed road” award. Thousands of motorists all over the country nominated their hole-iest roads for consideration.

The Government recently injected £100 million of emergency funding into the budget for local authorities to set about repairing the worst roads, but motorists are still frustrated at the lack of repair work being done by local councils.

Warranty Direct, which ordered the survey, suggests that damaged roads could be costing motorists up to £1 billion every year.

MD Duncan McClure Fisher, commented: “We handle thousands of axle and suspension claims every year involving damage clearly sustained a result of the long-term deterioration of our roads.

“We welcomed the additional money in the Budget, but it needs to be a springboard in establishing a five or 10-year plan to revitalise our Third World local road network.”

Warning, the cyclist is about to make a run for it

We’d certainly like to get our hands on whatever the ladies and gents at Autoglass were sniffing when they thought of this.

The company is calling it the “windscreen of the future”, and it’s a prediction of what it expects windscreens in cars of the near future to be doing.

Features include: integrated on-screen GPS, hazard recognition and augmented reality controls.

What will the aftermarket make of this new development? And do you think it’ll become a reality? Let us know below.

Turtle Wax says it is “over the moon” after signing a promo deal with Paramount Pictures UK

The car care giant will cash in on the kudos of the new Transformers film “Dark of the moon”, set to hit screens in July.

The deal involves exclusive on-pack promotion for a range of car care products in the Turtle Wax catalogue, as well as some new launches at various Halfords stores.

Between May and August the specially branded products will be available both on Halfords’ website and in all of their 408 outlets.

The company says the deal is part of its ongoing communications strategy to improve awareness of the Turtle Wax brand.

Andrew Freeman, European marketing director, said: “This is the first time in the UK that we’ve taken the decision to create links with such a well-known film franchise.

“Recognising that the Transformers series has a massive following, a large proportion of which is made up of our key audience group, it seemed a positive partnership for us to develop alongside Halfords.”

And you can watch the trailer for the Transformers’ latest adventure below:

TomTom's Start 20 SatNav

Customers looking to get their first SatNav device can sometimes find the large range of products daunting. TomTom is hoping to give those customers an easier choice by launching its new TomTom Start 20 series.

The company says it has combined design, a larger screen size and a new operating system for its latest device.

TomTom has added two million kilometers of open road mapping to the Start 20’s already impressive lineup. Tourists will also find an increased number of POI’s (Points of Interest) added to the Start 20, almost twice as many as the previous model, in fact.

The “Help Me!” menu will also save drivers time should their journey take a turn for the worst, giving them local breakdown and emergency contact information.

Corinne Vigreux, managing director consumer at TomTom said: “New SatNav users can benefit from enhanced safety and comfort, all wrapped up in a very stylish, easy-to-use package. No other SatNav provider offers such good looks and intelligent features in a range that is predominantly aimed at first-time buyers.”

Proppa's new product: Steel Seal

A1 Motorstores has signed up to supply a product from niche website Proppa, which could help technicians avoid the complications of blown head gaskets.

The product, called SteelSeal, will be stocked in A1’s 270 nationwide stores.

Proppa says its product permanently seals blown head gaskets, warped heads and cracked engine blocks. It’s designed to be mixed with antifreeze and water, and then poured into the radiator of a cold engine.

This is another bold move by Proppa founder Adam Weaver, who was recently listed as one of the Midlands’ 42 best young entrepreneurs.

Weaver said: “SteelSeal is an amazing product and it’s great that such a major chain has picked up on its effectiveness.

“This is the first product to go into A1 from Proppa and the advantage of supplying to A1 is that they will act as a wholesaler and distributor, which provide us with the opportunity for volume sales.”

The campaign aims to boost small business fortunes

James Caan, best known for his appearances on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, has thrown his weight behind a campaign to tackle the problems of the UK’s indy garages and traders.

The campaign, named Get Britain Trading, aims to raise a better awareness in the corridors of power of the vital contribution that Britain’s smaller business firms and traders make to our economy.

It also aims to shed the business blues and spread a more positive message for independent traders.

The Forum of Private Businesses, which launched the campaign, is also using it as a stepping stone to highlight the many issues faced by smaller firms in the UK such as late payment and excessive red tape inhibiting growth.

Caan, who is a regular investor in small businesses with big potential, said: “I hope that Get Britain Trading will continue to raise awareness of the issues that small firms face and that the Government will take further action to enable small businesses to grow for the benefit of Britain’s economy.

“The entrepreneurial spirit in Britain has never been more alive than now. Despite having to struggle through the recent recession, we British remain innovative, commercially minded and motivated to be successful.”

Businesses can sign up to the Get Britain Trading pledge here.

The stabilizer's actuator component

Active roll control should be made available to a wider range of vehicles. That’s according to the BWI group, who’ve announced its new Active Stabilizer Bar System, a product which could do just that.

Originally developed to help large SUVs cope off-road, the technology helps vehicles increase ride quality to class-leading levels. The company says it’s worked hard to ensure the new system meets the weight targets and package constraints of today’s smaller vehicles, as well as still catering for sports cars and the small SUV market.

It says that its comprehensive diet programme has reduced the weight of the stabilizer bar system by almost 15 percent.

Oliver Raynauld, BWI Group’s manager said: “Our production experience has allowed us to scale down much of the original system for smaller vehicles that do not require the torque or extensive wheel travel of an off-roader or large SUV.”

Westfalia has launched its new Towbar Configuration and Diagnostics Tool to assist fitters with properly configuring towbar settings. The company says it’s more important than ever to have the right settings on modern vehicles.

The new tool uses software designed by SP Diagnostics to ensure the right settings are in place for each different towbar. The Auto Code tool taps into the modern electrical system fitted to most cars, which recognize when a trailer has been fitted, allowing the vehicle to change its driving characteristics accordingly. The Auto Code tool is designed to allow engineers to easily activate these features.

A spokesperson for SP Diagnostics said “Westfalia are renowned for high quality and well supported products, we want to ensure that their equipment continues to be the product of choice within the towing market and this tool helps support that.”

Adam Weaver is one of the midlands' top entrepreneurs

He’s been included on the Inside Media under 42 awards 2011, which highlights the top 42 businessmen and women under the age of 42.

In just 5 years, Adam Weaver has built up his online accessories store Proppa into a multi-million pound business.

Although he started out as a one-man-band, Weaver now employs a 25-strong workforce to help him cope with demand.

Today the company still holds true to its origins of providing niche parts for a full rang of vehicles, including off-road leisure vehicles such as quad bikes.

Weaver puts Proppa’s success down to the range of products he offers, citing necessity items rather than luxury goods.

Although he’s excited about the award, Weaver knows how difficult it can be for new businesses to make a success.

“There are some great fledgling businesses out there but too often they are failing through lack of support and guidance,” he said.

“I know from my own experience the support I need as a business, and I believe I can pass on the benefit of that experience to help the growth of new companies in the future.”

The new multifunction iPod unit

Saxon has launched a new audio system from SUB-ZERO ICE, complete with an iPod player and the standard FM radio.

It is hoping the system – the first CD-less iPhone/iPod compatible head unit to come from the brand – will compete alongside similar offerings from other manufacturers.

Saxon believes the new unit will allow retailers to stock a wider range of ICE products for customers at both ends of the price spectrum.

Danielle Kay, Saxon product manager, said: “Sub-Zero Ice underwent a massive brand revamp in 2009 and as such we have been working to introduce new product lines to complement the existing offer.

“The new multifunction audio system widens the opportunities for retailers to offer the latest in car entertainment technology at an affordable price.”