The bus-lane bullies; Helping the homeless; Safe driving centre; Driven, by Rosemary

I AM sick and tired of people undertaking me by using a bus lane.

I thought we were over the idea that we can stray in there any time we feel like it.

We’re not supposed to travel in those lanes between certain times – if at all, in some cases.

Tell that to the latest undertaker – the Audi A6 diesel driver who nearly side-swiped me as I went to legitimately turn off from an inside lane.

This guy came bombing right up on my rear bumper.

And he had the nerve to flash and honk the horn in protest at my egress slowing him down. The cheek of the man.

Yet that was only the latest in several similar incidents over the past few weeks in and around the Dublin area.

It makes you wonder if the bus-lane mentality is changing again. I thought the old foolishness of ‘chancing it’ was long gone. Obviously not.

This Friday, Alan Bateson is going to sleep out to highlight the efforts to ‘Shine a Light’ on homelessness.

Alan, of Volkswagen Commercials, will be sleeping on cardboard, hoping the weather isn’t too bad, with just a sleeping bag and a cup of soup to counter the effects of late-autumn chill.

He says that, as he heads into his fifth year of the sleepout, he is “ready for whatever the weather has in store”.

But we’ll hope it’s not too inclement.

It is shocking to realise that there are more than 10,000 homeless people out there–– 3,000 of them children.

“This is 2,000 more than when I slept out last year. They’re children just like mine and yours,” Alan says.

He signed up for Shine a Light Night so he can play his part in helping Focus Ireland provide vital prevention services which help change people’s lives.

Alan is asking for our help and hopes people will sponsor him for the sleep-out.

He has committed to raise a minimum of €3,000 by Friday.

He had a little more than €1,500 already gathered at time of going to press, so there is still some way to make up.

You can make a difference by visiting https://shinealightbl.everydayhero.com/ie/ alan-bateson.

BMW is to stop making the i3 Range Extender model, according to reports. The reason is that its pure electric models are now capable of much longer ranges.

Best of luck to all concerned with the new Road Safety Experience Driver Training Centre of Excellence facility at Scotstown, Co Monaghan.

The new 2,000 sq ft centre and Fisher Foundation Motorsport Safety is designed to, among other things, educate drivers and improve their skills.

Sincerest best wishes to motoring royalty Rosemary Smith on the publication of her new book, Driven. What a wonderful example to us all.

I’m so sorry a bad flu prevented me from attending the launch of the book, but I’m certain it will be a huge hit.

Jaguar Land Rover is to shut its Solihull plant for two weeks as China trade tensions and import duty changes are being blamed for a drop in demand overseas.

The replacement for Skoda’s Rapid Spaceback will undergo a name change and be unveiled in December. Skoda has released a teaser image. It shows nothing much. Not sure these teasers mean much now. There was a time they did, but they are overused these days.