Posts filed under 'cars'
Shell and its tanker drivers have finally come to an agreement over pay and Shell have agreed to a 14% pay rise over two years according to BBC news. This should take a little bit of strain off of us drivers as Shell garages should now be back to normal with full supplies at least for the next two years.
However, there is still the very real issue of petrol prices which now stand at 118p a litre across many garages. A debt charity called Elizabeth Finn Care helps professionals who have fallen on hard times and give financial support to those that are struggling including those with long-term physical or mental illness and family breakdown. Rebecca Ward from the charity says that “The rise in the amount we have paid out in the past month is entirely to do with the increase in cost of fuel”.
Unfortunately we aren’t able to influence this but there are ways in which we can make our petrol go that bit further.
The Telegraph and car insurer swiftcover.com have come up with their top tips for driving more economically.
The top tips include:
Lightening the load - The more weight your car carries the harder it has to work, so lose any unnecessary weight. For example, remove roof racks that aren’t being used and make sure that the car doesn’t contain too much clutter.
Pressure - driving on under-inflated tyres requires more engine power so keep you tyres at their recommended pressure level.
Smooth driving - according to Swiftcover, driving smoothly and intelligently can save up to 30% on fuel consumption.
Be speed efficient - the most fuel efficient speed for driving is 55-65mph so try not to exceed this.
One of the top tips is - if you don’t need to drive then don’t! For short distances it may be worth forgetting about the car and walking instead. Not only will you save on fuel consumption but you will also feel better for the exercise. Also, driving less miles can have a positive effect on your car insurance premium so that could reduce your costs even further.
June 18th, 2008
Do you have any guilty secrets when driving? Do you do anything when you drive that you know you shouldn’t be doing?
I think one good indicator as to whether you are doing something you shouldn’t is how you react when you see a police car coming. For example do you quickly put your mobile phone or sandwich down in a panic?
Did you know that in 2007 a new edition of The Highway Code was published containing 29 new codes. It now includes rules on adjusting your satellite navigation system and eating and talking when driving. Although sucking a sweet may be ok, it is how you get the sweet in to your mouth that is the problem. Similarly with talking. Talking is fine but having a full blown argument can be very dangerous
According to Easier Motoring our top 10 guilty secrets include eating at the wheel, chatting on the mobile, damaging another car and not owning up to it, reading a newspaper or magazine and checking out good-looking drivers. Apparently 8% of people will even go as far as using a ‘Dr on call’ sign when they are not doctors.
The research carried out by the organisers of The British International Motor Show also showed that we know relatively little about the basics of maintaining a car. 43% of people interviewed don’t know how to change a tyre, a third don’t know where the dipstick is and a quarter don’t even know how to check the tyre pressure. I guess that it is so easy now to call out one of the breakdown services that people don’t need to worry about getting their hands dirty.
Do you know how to maintain your car? We would love to hear your views on this and about your driving confessions. Send us a comment for publishing on our blog.
May 28th, 2008
We all resent having to buy car insurance and spend our time hunting around for the best deals, but what do we look for when choosing which car insurer to use and exactly what are we covered for?
I think that a lot of people take into account the reputation of the insurance company but the vast majority of people make a decision based on price first and foremost. But do we really know what the price actually gives us.
Recent research carried out on behalf of swiftcover.com found that we are all very confused about what is and isn’t covered. Here are some common misunderstandings when it comes to car insurance:
Some people think that their insurance policy automatically covers them for driving other people’s cars but in reality you are not always covered and if you are it is normally for third party cover only;
Have you ever put petrol in a diesel car? I know a friend who did this, twice. Luckily the car was fine but they may not have been covered under their car insurance policy. 10% of people from the research wrongly assumed it would be covered;
Apparently 36% of drivers smoke whilst driving and a staggering 65% of us eat. If you ever have an accident whilst smoking, drinking or eating you could be caught for negligence even if you weren’t to blame.
I found quite a funny article called The 10 most dangerous foods to eat while driving. It’s number one offender was ‘coffee’. Not technically a food but a real distraction due to its dripability. People tend to be more prone to accidents when trying to clear up coffee that has dripped on to clothes, especially on the way to work. Foods that made the top 10 included Tacos and chilli (why would you?), hamburgers, fried chicken and chocolate (don’t even try eating a flake when driving).
So make sure that you read the policy details before you buy to make sure that everything you need for your car insurance is included and when you have bought your insurance, don’t eat and drive.
May 21st, 2008
The rising price of fuel seems to have given car producers a kick up the backside as they are all now eager to exploit this and launch new electric cars. Nissan announced this week that they plan to have electric cars available for sale in America and Japan by 2010.
Hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius are already well established in the UK now. The Prius was first introduced to the Japanese market in 1997 and was the first mass produced hybrid vehicle. In 2001 it was launched in Europe and has become a popular car to those more environmentally friendly drivers. As well as being kinder to the environment, hybrid cars are cheaper to tax and receive dicounted car insurance with most insurance companies. The three major problems that I can see with hybrid cars is that they aren’t all that eye catching, they are expensive for the car that you get and of course they still use petrol.
A solution to these problems appears to lie in a new electric car, the Tesla Roadster. The man behind this is Elon Musk, who founded PayPal in 1999 and sold it to eBay for $1.5 billion at the age of 31. The Tesla Roadster does 0-60 in just under four seconds, enough to rival any sports car and it looks great too, not surprising as it has been based on the Lotus Elise. It is in huge demand in the states with movie stars like George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon being among the first to order the £45,000 car.
It is powered by 6,831 lithium-ion batteries - reported by Sky News as being the equivalent of almost 7,000 mobile phone batteries. It’s battery has a lifespan of 100,000 miles it can do up to 200 miles at a time and takes just 3 hours to charge up. This is considerably better than the lead-acid batteries which have been used previously in eco-cars which have a lifespan of only 3 years, cost £1,300 to replace and take 8 hours to fully charge. From the reviews that I have read it is wonderfully quiet, great to handle and, at 1p a mile, it is very economical too.
And the designers haven’t just stopped there. As well as being kinder on the environment when being driven, all its component parts can be recycled or reconditioned - how clever is that!
I can honestly see this design taking off in the future. At £45,000 it is still expensive for the average person but if the government backs the mass manufacture I am sure that this price will gradually come down as technologies advance. I for one would love to be doing my bit for the environment but in style.
May 16th, 2008
Swiftcover.com is offering a £25 discount on your car insurance and everyone is eligible.
With petrol prices, house prices and food prices all out of our control it is nice to be able to control one element of our spending. Car Insurance. It is one of those necessary legal purchases that we all hate to make but it is a God send to have if you have the misfortune of being involved in an accident.
At least with Swiftcover and a hefty £25 off your car insurance it helps make the blow a little less painful. All you have to do is get a Swiftcover car insurance quote (which can be done in less then 60 seconds - I’ve just done it for myself) and enter the special reference VMD25MY at the bottom of the quote details page. The £25 discount will be instant.
I just had a quote for £192 on a 5 year old Volkswagan Golf which is far cheaper then other quotes I tried.
Give it a try and let us know how competitive they are for you…
April 23rd, 2008
The Telegraph has reported that men behave like Cavemen when behind the wheel.
Personally I’m a bit fed up with drivers who think that they own the road. Speed limits are there for a reason, particularly in certain built up areas, and whilst I admit that I don’t stick exactly to the speed limit, I try not to exceed it too badly. It really annoys me when other drivers feel the need to drive within 2 inches of my rear bumper trying to either make me drive faster or move out of their way. People have absolutely no patience or manners on the roads.
In a report for the Commons transport committee, Professor Geoffrey Beattie of Manchester University puts this down to our men’s caveman routes. He concluded: “Our 21st-century skulls contain essentially ’stone-age’ brains and this can help to explain the differences between the sexes in terms of their risk-proneness while driving.” He said: “Stone-age man did not drive. But the legacy of his hunting, aggressive and risk-taking past - qualities that enabled him to survive and mate, thereby passing on his genes to future generations - are still evident in the way in which he typically drives his car.”
However, I am not sure that it is just men that drive like Cavemen. I am constantly shocked to see some women driving like complete maniacs on our roads and often being verbally abusive. And it is often the younger drivers that feel that they own the road and have more to prove. Unfortunately it is this behaviour that leads to many tragic accidents on our roads today.
April 22nd, 2008
I read an article on The London Stock Exchange website which identifies the rising cost of car insurance as a contributing factor to people not being able to afford to run a car any longer.
A poll carried out by MoneyExpert.com says that 25% of motorists who completed the poll are using their cars less as a result of increased costs. 8% of these people said increased car insurance premiums was the main reason. However, a substantial 76% said that it was the rising petrol prices that effected how much they use their car.
These people won’t be happy to hear that petrol prices could hit £1.50 per litre by late summer according to a report in The Guardian. The increase is due to the price of a barrel of crude oil hitting almost $114 and the sharp fall in the value of the dollar.
Gordon Brown in visiting the United States at the moment to discuss the Credit Crunch and has called on Opec to increase production in a bid to drive costs down. It looks like it is a simple supply and demand situation. However Opec appears to be standing firm.
So with all these costs rising it looks like we all need to tighten our belts a little. Spring is officially here so now would be a good time to Spring Cleaning your finances. Make sure you are getting the best deals for your loans, car insurance, mortgages and shop around for the cheapest petrol prices.
April 17th, 2008
The thought of ever having to take my driving test again would fill me with dread. Although I was actually very confident about my driving ability, the mere fact that I was sitting a test made me really nervous and I failed my first exam. Thankfully I passed second time so only had to go through to nightmare twice. But retaking it at 17 was bad enough so I would hate to think what state I would be in if I had to take it in my old age. And for that reason I hope that I never have to.
Having said that a 93 year old driver called Jack Higgs is swaying my decision somewhat. Mr Higgs lives next door to a Porshe showroom and he managed to somehow lose control of his Ford Fiesta and accidentally hit two Porshes causing £60,000 worth of damage.
He can’t explain how he lost control of his car (whilst reversing) with it somehow ending up on it’s roof with poor Mr Higgs handing upside down. Mr Higgs now says “But that’s it - the end of my driving career, I’m never driving again.”
So maybe there is a good reason to retest when we reach our old age after all our reactions and attention must be much slower.
Maybe when I am old our public transport will be the envy of the world and I won’t mind using public transport to get around, but then again maybe I can catch a ride on that flying pig!!!
April 17th, 2008
Something that I was shocked to read about today was that some of the best selling cars in Britain can be broken in to in under three seconds, according to The consumer group Which?.
Although some car crime is premeditated, the vast majority of car crime is opportunistic carried out due to possessions being left on show.
Back in February 2007 thefts of satellite navigation devices from cars had soared by 35 percent in a 12 month period. The smash-and-grab culture was hitting Britain. People were finding their car windows being smashed and contents removed when their car was parked outside their homes and, in some more worrying instances, when they were waiting at traffic lights. I now lock my car doors if I am driving alone so that my bag can’t be stolen or my car carjacked.
As the majority of car crime is opportunistic there are things that we can do as car owners to try and prevent our car being broken in to or stolen.
You can have a car alarm or immobiliser installed and use steering locks as a visible deterrent to car thieves. And one of the most important things that we all can do is to keep all belongings out of sight. Leaving bags, laptops, money, jewelry, satellite navigation systems etc on view is like a written invitation.
It is also essential that you remember to remove any suction pads or cradle supports off the windscreen or dashboard as these will give thieves a clear indication that certain equipment is used in the car.
We can do our best to try and beat the thieves but sometimes all our best efforts will be in vain. So the next best thing we can do is make sure that our car insurance covers us against car theft. Swiftcover now offers their car insurance customers the optional additional benefit of Gadget Cover. You can insure your personal electrical items, e.g. mobile phones, satellite navigation, Ipods, digital cameras, if stolen from the car or if damaged accidentally whilst with the car.
March 18th, 2008
Over a year ago Swiftcover were openly supporting Peter Roberts’, a member of the Association of British Drivers, petition to scrap the vehicle tracking and road pricing policy that was being proposed. Nearly two million people felt strongly enough to sign an online petition at Downing Street. The good news is that in Ruth Kelly’s announcement on road charging on the 4th March there was no mention on this policy so the petition appears to have had the desired effect.
But there is still the very real, troubling and frustrating problem of congestion on our roads. So what have Ruth Kelly and her team come up with? Well the solution appears to lie in the United States. Ruth Kelly announced that drivers are going to be given the option of paying to use a faster lane and thus avoiding the traffic congestion in the other lanes. The plan is to either use the hard shoulder at peak commuter times or add more lanes to our motorways. The cost of building the extra lanes would be considerable, disruptive and take a long time so the use of the hard shoulder is the cheaper and quicker option. Ruth Kelly described this solution as “a nifty over-taking manoeuvre past stationary traffic”. The Times reports that in America they have similar lanes which are dubbed ‘Lexus Lanes’ as they are perceived to only be affordable to the wealthier driver.
According to BBC News, sensors will detect the traffic build up which will then trigger signs telling the drivers to slow down and use the extra lane. The natural concern would be emergency services getting through to accidents so emergency refuges would be set up at 500m intervals.
The other solution is to have car sharing lanes. The Daily Mail reports that special cameras will be installed which can monitor the number of people travelling in a vehicle. If someone is travelling on their own in their car, they will have to pay to use a lane that is reserved for vehicles with two or more occupants.
Miss Kelly defended her new policy, “There is a compelling argument for car-share or charged lanes, which have been used for some time in the U.S. In order to get maximum benefit, access to car-share lanes is limited to vehicles carrying passengers, or single drivers willing to pay a toll. I intend to explore the possibility for taking a similar approach here where we are adding new capacity”.
March 5th, 2008
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