Ships operated by the world’s largest luxury cruise operator emitted nearly 10 TIMES more sulphur oxide (SOx) around Europe’s coastline than all 260 million European cars in 2017.

Carnival Corporation, which operates 47 cruise ships, is the worst offender, followed by Roya Caribbean Cruises, the second largest operator, which emits SOx levels four times worse than the European car fleet.

This report by Transport & Environment revealed that Spain, Italy and Greece are the countries most at risk, followed by France and Norway. As major tourist destinations, these countries are exposed to dangerous levels of SOx air pollution from cruise liners, but less stringent marine sulphur fuel standards allow ships to burn the most sulphurous fuel along their coasts.

Closer to home, Southampton is named as the fifth most cruise ship-polluted European port, behind Barcelona, Palma Mallorca, Venice and Civitavecchia.

Some of the figures are startling. In Marseille, for example, the Transport & Environment report found that 57 cruise ships emitted as much nitrogen oxide (NOx) as one-quarter of the city’s 340,000 passenger cars in 2017.

In Norway, Denmark, Greece, Croatia and Malta, a handful of cruise ships are responsible for more NOx than the majority of their domestic car fleets.

Europe should implement a zero-emissions port standard, says the report, along with extending the emission control areas currently in place only in the North and Baltic Seas and the English Channel. 

‘This is unacceptable’

Faig Abbasov, shipping policy manager at Transport & Environment, said: “Luxury cruise ships are floating cities powered by some of the dirtiest fuel possible. Cities are rightly banning dirty diesel cars but they’re giving a free pass to cruise companies that spew out toxic fumes that do immeasurable harm both to those on board and on nearby shores. This is unacceptable.“

“There are enough mature technologies to clean up cruise ships. Shore-side electricity can help cut in-port emissions, batteries are a solution for shorter distances and hydrogen technology can power even the biggest cruise ships. The cruise sector [is] apparently not willing to make the shift voluntarily, so we need governments to step in and mandate zero emissions standards.”

The Carnival Corporation brand portfolio includes Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard, AIDA Cruises, Costa and P&O Cruises. It also operates 25 ships under its own brand and carried over 4.7 million guests in 2016 – the most of any individual cruise brand.

In 2016, Princess Cruises agreed to pay a $40 million penalty for illegally dumping oil-contaminated waste into the sea and attempts by employees to cover it up.

But the operator continued to pollute the seas, including the discharging of plastic into waters in the Bahamas. On Monday, Carnival and Princess were ordered to pay an additional $20 million penalty, reports the New York Times.

The company said: “Carnival Corporation remains committed to environmental excellence and protecting the environment in which we live, work and travel. Our aspiration is to leave the places we touch even better than when we first arrived.”

A poll by car supermarket Motorpoint found that 86 percent of motorists want penalties for those using their phone behind the wheel increased.

At present, you can expect at a minimum £200 on-the-spot fine and six points on your licence if caught. This – more severe – punishment was introduced in March 2017.

New drivers face an instant ban if they’re caught using a phone while driving.

Further penalties are possible if the case is taken to court or if there are related offences. You can get a maximum fine of £1,000 and a driving ban if the case goes to court.

The issue has hit the headlines again thanks to former England footballer David Beckham. He was recently banned for six months and fined £750 for using his mobile phone while drivers in London. He joins more 8,000 motorists each year with a similar conviction.

“The dangers of using your mobile phone while driving are well-documented, but even though the penalties for doing so have been toughened up in recent years, they don’t seem to be proving a sufficient deterrent based on recent statistics – even with the widespread availability of integrated hands free technology in most cars,” said Mark Carpenter, MD of Motorpoint.

“It’s clear from the results of our new poll that other road users would like to see more powers given to the authorities to ensure the message gets through to drivers that holding your mobile phone while behind the wheel is simply no longer acceptable in 2019 and anyone who continues to do so can expect to receive even harsher punishments.”

The Jaguar XE SV Project 8 is the most extreme iteration of XE on sale – but for some, it seems the performance four-door might be just a little too on the wild side.

For such shy and retiring types, Jaguar has launched a limited run of ‘discreet’ Project 8, with a smaller rear wing, more subtle colour options – and no garish body graphics.

Out goes the adjustable carbonfibre rear spoiler and in comes a fixed Gurney-type device – balanced by a fixed front splitter instead of the full-fat adjustable one.

Only 15 Jaguar Project 8 Touring will be built, making them the rarest of all the £149,995 race-honed performance saloons. Each will come in four-seat configuration, with a choice of four colours:

• Valencia Orange
• Velocity Blue
• Corris Grey Satin
• British Racing Green

Jaguar calls it a more “covert design that belies the… track-honed performance capabilities”. These include production sedan lap records for the regular car (pictured below) at the Nürburgring, Dubai Autodrome and Laguna Seca.

And although it’s more discreet-looking, the Project 8 Touring (again, pictured below) is still fast: it does 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and only an electronic limiter stops it going at more than 186mph.

Jamal Hameedi, engineering director at Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations, said: “Project 8 has received outstanding critical acclaim since its launch, demonstrating the Special Vehicle Operations team’s ability to create a compact Jaguar sedan with supercar-rivalling performance.

“Touring specification extends the appeal of Project 8 to performance car enthusiasts and collectors who prefer a more discreet appearance, without compromising its driver-focused on-road dynamics.”

Jaguar Project 8: the full-fat version

Drivers paid out £12.4 million last year for failing to declare cars that are off the road and uninsured as SORN (Statutory Off-Road Notification). More than 73,400 also went to court for keeping a vehicle incorrectly registered.

The cost of a fixed penalty notice is £100. The average cost per person for drivers going to court was £205. If SORN is not filed for a car, then the law says it must be taxed and insured.

Drivers are finding themselves in hot water when they do not SORN their cars, even when not using them on the road. This all adds up to a 78 percent rise in offenders and fines compared with five years ago.

More than 169,000 motorists were held to account for insurance-related infringements last year, to the tune of £52 million in fines, according to Kwik Fit. That’s up 26 percent on 2013’s 134,000 figure, and around £20 million.

Many are simply unaware, but there is a significant proportion who are deliberately breaking the law. In total, 95,000 of the cases were against motorists driving a vehicle without insurance.

In terms of where is the worst for insurance crime, Sussex has seen a dramatic increase between 2013 and 2018. A figure of 2,319 cases in 2013 rose massively to 18,495 in 2018. Meanwhile, North Yorkshire is 42 percent down, from 1,337 in 2013 to 777 in 2018.

“Many drivers may assume that the offence of not meeting insurance requirements is due to making unapproved modifications or not maintaining their car properly, but in the majority of offences this is not the case,” said Roger Griggs, communications director at Kwik Fit.

”Drivers who decide not to use their car and take it car off road temporarily, for whatever reason, must ensure that they register a SORN with the DVLA.

“It is also vital to note that SORNs need to be renewed each year to ensure drivers keep within regulations. Registering a SORN is free, and as we have seen from our analysis, failing to do so can prove very costly.”

Motorists are calling for new legislation to deal with the rising number of cyclists on the roads, with some calling for bicycles to be fitted with licence plates.

68 percent of motorists surveyed by InsuretheGap.com said that they want bicycles and electric bikes to have a registration number, a view that is likely to sit uncomfortably with the 1.7 million people who cycle every day.

The internet is awash with ‘car driver vs cyclist’ dash- and head-cam videos, with motorists believing that a licence plate would make the cyclist more identifiable.

More than half (53 percent) of the 2,000 people surveyed said that cyclists should also be required to hold a licence, while 44 percent want them to pay Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). Given the fact that bicycles produce zero emissions, the price of VED would be… nothing, right? Just checking.

Furthermore, 59 percent of motorists think that all cycles and electric bikes should be required to pass an annual safety inspection, along the same lines as the MOT test.

Around 25 million people either own or have access to a bicycle in the UK, with around four percent of commutes in England completed on two wheels. 

It’s during the morning and evening commutes when ‘car vs bike’ flashpoints tend to occur, when stress levels are high and the roads are most congested.

The survey revealed that 60 percent of motorists believe there are too many cyclists on main roads, with 45 percent saying bicycles should be banned from A-roads. Two-fifths think that cyclists should be banned from narrow roads.

For its part, Cycling UK believes that “the behaviour and attitudes of some road users, sub-standard highway layout and motor traffic volume and speed all conspire to make cycling feel and look more dangerous than it actually is.”

Creating tension

Ben Wooltorton, CEO of InsuretheGap, said: “The explosion in bike usage in recent years is good news for the environment and should also help to ease congestion in urban areas if managed correctly.

“However, our survey picked up a definite feeling among motorists that they are often held to higher standards than their fellow road users when it comes to adherence to the Highway Code”.

“Roads, particularly in towns, are increasingly being used as ‘shared spaces’ and it’s important that legislation, infrastructure planning and funding take into account the views, requirements and safety of all road users, otherwise this tension between different groups is almost inevitable.

“Our survey also particularly highlighted that motorists are concerned about road funding, safety and also insurance, which isn’t currently compulsory for cyclists, unlike most other road users.”