NYC carriages about to go extinct?

If you love taking horse-drawn carriage rides in New York City, you best hurry -- they might be replaced with new horseless carriages by next year. At the New York auto show Florida-based car restoration firm The Creative Workshop introduced an eight-passenger electric horseless carriage designed to replace today's horse-drawn carriages. The company says its car blends “early 20th-century style, nostalgia and romance with 21st century eco-technology, comfort and safety,” calling the Horseless eCarriage the first brass-era-type car in more than 100 years.

Child car smoking ban moves closer

A BAN ON SMOKING in cars with children present has moved a step closer after peers inflicted a defeat on the Government in the House of Lords. Campaigners welcomed the result of the Lords vote, claiming a ban would protect half-a-million children who were exposed to second-hand smoke in cars every week. Although the successful Labour amendment to the Children and Families Bill does not directly ban smoking in cars with children in them, it backs the principle of making it an offence.

M25 speed cameras not switched on

Most speed cameras on the M25 have not worked for five years, according to a report in the Sunday People newspaper. Of the 117-mile stretch of London’s orbital motorway, only 3.2 miles between Junctions 2 and 3 in Kent is covered by working cameras. On Bing: see pictures of speed cameras Cars most likely to be caught speeding in the UK The cameras, which sit behind overhead gantries imposing lower speed limits during congested times, haven’t been switched on since they were installed in 2009.