DRIVING costs are being slashed - with MOTs capped at £54 until 2015 and new road signs being installed to alert motorists where the cheapest fuel is.

The Coalition Government has today announced a raft of measures to bring down car costs in a bid to sway voters ahead of the next general election.

It includes freezing statutory MOT prices at £54.85, meaning independent garages cannot legally charge a higher rate for the test.

Next year a new trial will also take place where selected motorway routes get electronic signs comparing fuel prices at all the nearby forecourts like in France.

The Department for Transport has revealed to your Worcester News that the M5 in Worcestershire is expected to be included for the signs, as long as the pilot is well received.

The MOT freeze means a planned increase of £4 has been scrapped, saving around £50 million nationwide.

Independent garages in Worcester say they are not opposed to the Government’s stance, despite the fact it could hit their pockets.

Bill Tansell, from Airora Tansells in Diglis Road, which has been trading since 1919, said: “It sounds like what the Government is doing is basically freezing the price.

“It would not bother us at all because we think £54 is a very reasonable fee to charge.”

From January a selection of motorways will be selected for new signs, listing all the upcoming garages and what they charge.

The Government says it intends to then roll out it out to the vast majority of routes across the country, including Worcestershire’s M5.

A spokesman from the Department for Transport said: “The pilot will be small scale, but the intention is to then put them up across the network so drivers can clearly identify where they want to stop.”

A crackdown on whiplash injury fraud is also part of the driver-friendly package.

Independent medical panels will be created across the regions which will be tasked probing suspected bogus compensation claims.

The panels will be expected to get advice from professionals and will have the power to make final rulings over claims from the public.

Worcester MP Robin Walker said: “Providing better information on motorway fuel prices is a welcome step but I would still like to see more action on the enormous differentials in price that we see from one area to the next.

“It is also right for the Government to do what it can on the price of the MOT test as this is another cost on motorists which is directly set by the Government.”

As your Worcester News revealed on Saturday, fuel prices in Worcester have dipped to their lowest levels for years.

Today seven garages within a 10 mile radius of the city are charging 130.9p or lower for petrol, with Sainsbury’s in Blackpole the cheapest at 128.9p per litre.

Earlier this year prices were hitting 137.9p at some forecourts around the county.