Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Village of the damned bollards
Parents of children in Plymouth are up in arms about a planned traffic-calming scheme near their children’s school.
This may seem odd – after all, what parent wouldn’t want better road safety exercised near their children – however, they had their reasons. Simply cast your eye over the photo and you may see eye to eye with adults who called these strange child-shaped bollards “pretty scary” - saying they were like “something out of Doctor Who”.
Another creeped-out parent said, "In the middle of the night you'll see these weird-looking things.”
However, we think that these little polyurethane pupils may be just the ticket for slowing down motorists.
The very fact that they are painted to look like children, and appear a little out of place along the pavement, is probably guaranteed to make drivers lighten their tread on the accelerator. Plus, as the bollard maker explained, “If you see a child next to the road there is a natural reaction to slow the vehicle down.”
Yes, they do cost £350 each and “they might frighten the children”, but really, we think they’re ideal.
The bollard makers remain rightfully “proud” of their creations and we secretly hope to see their eerie rows near schools all over UK very soon.
Image by SteveR- via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: accelerator, bollards, cars, pavement, traffic, vehicle
Friday, June 24, 2011
Spiteful dads go “topless” to embrace irony
As representatives of conscientious and responsible young drivers it wouldn’t be like Hoot to forget to Father’s day.
So with the third weekend of June having just passed, we thought it fit to continue with our dad-related theme.
Yes, why is it that dads, just as they retire from being the free taxi service, so often decide that it’s the perfect time to, excuse the pun, convert to convertible driving?
Is it just to spite their offspring that they spend the whole of our childhood and adolescent years resisting any idea of buying a convertible that they then, just as we move out and have to start thinking about getting our own car and our own car insurance, suddenly decide that they’ll take a chunk out of our inheritance and splurge on a soft-top?
Ironically, more than one in ten dads who buy convertibles say that they do it to “recapture their lost youth” – to me it seems that all their doing is exposing their old age to the elements.
Another ironic twist is the desire cited by many to “feel the wind through their hair” – unfortunately for many the winds of time have already swept most of that hair away.
To complete our triptych of ironies, many dads say that they buy a convertible to “enjoy the good weather” – c’mon, we do live in Britain…
Image by culture.culte via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car insurance, convertible
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Muzza’s sporting the right car
Here at Hoot, we love our sport (well some of us do) and there’s a feast of it going on at the moment. Golf, tennis, athletics, motor racing – there’s something for everyone (unless it’s football only for you). Still, for all those die-hard footy fans it’s only a few months till the start of the brand new season – and yes we’re polishing up our Fantasy Football League teams as we speak.
In fact, a little bird tells me that Europa League qualifying matches kick-off at the end of June – so there’s no chance of becoming completely starved of the beautiful game.And meanwhile, there’s Wimbledon (thank goodness for the roof on centre court) to entertain us for two glorious weeks.
Apparently, the Great British tennis hope and young driver, Andy Murray, has recently got rid of his red Ferrari in favour of a slightly more conservative “gun-metal” Aston Martin because he said he felt like a “prat” when driving the Italian performance icon.
We feel he may have a point – Italian flash over British class – we know who wins every time.
We just hope Murray can be as prestigious as his choice of cars.
And guess what? He says he still drives his faithful little Volkswagen Polo, his first ever car, because it’s easier for city motoring.
A summer of sport and motoring – it’s Hoot heaven.
So, as we shout, “Come on Muzza” at our TV screens and watch forlornly as Vettel marches relentlessly on in the F1 season, there’s still some hope that our 2012 Olympic hopefuls will give us more to cheer about next summer. And yes, some of us were lucky enough to get tickets, but that’s a whole other blog.
Image © Marc Di Luzio via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Andy Murray, motor racing, Wimbledon, young driver
Friday, June 17, 2011
Dad’s taxi, operating since you were born
You may have been over the moon when you finally passed your practical driving test and got your own car – but your dad might secretly have been even happier than you.
A survey of fathers, undertaken by Halfords Autocentres, has discovered that dads drive their children a distance the equivalent of right around the world by the time they turn 18. Not only do they spend a large amount of their time playing taxi, but according to the research they would have to charge their children around £3,893 for the petrol.
And here’s the worst bit for many of these long-suffering dads – only one third of the youths say “thank you”.
So if your dad seemed enthusiastic about you taking lessons and passing your test and getting your own car – now you know why!
You may want to give him a lift somewhere for Father’s Day.
Image by Leonid Mamchenkov via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, drive, driving test, petrol, taxi
Belt up!
Some young drivers might be shocked to hear that as many as one in every 20 drivers in the UK does not wear a seatbelt behind the wheel.
The research, undertaken in an AA Streetwatch Survey using data collected in April and May of this year, also reported that one in every ten cars approaching junctions seemed to be travelling too fast and almost one quarter of vehicles observed had broken brake-lights. You might be concerned that these motorists are on the roads with you, but there’s apparently even more to be worried about.
Some drivers, despite the large amount of adverts and general warnings against it, were seen using hand-held mobile phones, and one third of motorists didn’t bother indicating at junctions or roundabouts.
Despite the very real risk of serious injury or death, and fines for people caught driving without belts on, the president of the AA stated, "In previous surveys that we've done, excuses came up - atrocious things like, 'Well, actually I might crease my shirt or my blouse; I'm only going down the road.’”
As the UK road safety minister said, "Those excuses just aren't good enough because even if you're pulling out of your driveway you can hit a van, hit another vehicle, and the consequences without wearing a seatbelt are actually quite dire.
"My message to [the drivers who don’t wear seatbelts] is simple - seatbelts save lives and not wearing one just isn't worth the risk"
Image by Criterion via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: AA, junctions, motorists, road safety, roundabouts, seatbelt, young driver
Friday, June 10, 2011
Clever cars
We are all familiar with the concept of our cars letting us know when there is a need for attention to the vehicle’s engine or electrical system, but what if cars could tell when something is wrong with the driver?
Ford Motors plans to give their cars “smarts”, which let the driver know if issues with allergies may be a problem, or if the car has detected the driver’s low glucose levels.
Ford recently announced plans to work with several health and medical companies to allow human health monitoring to take place within the car itself. The technology used is the Sync in-car information system which is the same technology that allows motorists to be aware of any issues under the hood of their vehicle, as well as the entertainment system, by way of a dashboard light or beeping noise.
Ford’s research manager stated this new technology could be an extremely valuable tool, in particular, for those with chronic illnesses as an aid to manage their time behind the wheel by monitoring their heart rate and other stress indicators.
Being made aware of these factors could help motorists to stay safe while they’re driving as they would be alerted to any health issues as they arise. For example, if they are insulin dependent the car could warn them that stopping to administer an insulin injection would be a good idea.
Personally we’re waiting for the car that indulges your whims.
“Driver, you appear to be hungry – why not have a burger and chips? The next available fast food restaurant is in two miles. Would you like to make this your next destination?”
“Yes, car, I do indeed.”
Image by brykmantra via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, driver, Ford, vehicle
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Flash cars and art
If you’re a young driver who likes flash cars you’re going to love the vehicle images created by Marc Cameron and photographer Mark Brown.
Titled the Light Graffiti Supercars Project, the duo’s work has created quite a stir in recent months with their images of iconic models created in refracted LED light.London-based artist Cameron says in the Telegraph, "We previously photographed in areas of the Cotswolds, but for this series of the Light Graffiti Cars we decided to shoot at iconic locations in the Big Smoke, with the cars featured having to be the most visually-stimulating, stunning rides of recent times."
The photographs include images of a Lamborghini Sesto Elemento in front of “The Gherkin”, a Range Rover Evoque outside the Houses of Parliament and, my particular favourite, a Mastretta MXT precariously crossing Tower Bridge.
To see the Telegraph’s gallery click here, and if you’ve got a picture of your flash car, then send it to us here at Hoot and we might feature it on the blog.
Image © davidsonscott15 via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Lamborghini, Mastretta MXT, Range Rover, young driver
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
What do kids know about road safety anymore?
Do you know your Green Cross Code? I asked my little sister about it the other day (she’s 12) and she said she didn’t know what it was.
Yet, I remember being taught it at primary school (the same school as her – I was a pupil six years earlier) and was even part of a Green Cross Road quiz team which made it to the regional round of a national road safety competition.
The reason it came into my mind was because, as a young driver who’s constantly on the look out for road hazards, I recently came across a group of kids who just ran into the road without looking and I was forced to slam on my brakes so I wouldn’t hit them.
Luckily, I was driving well under the speed limit and, as I watched them running along the pavement a few metres ahead of me, I had a sneaky suspicion that they weren’t going to “stop, look and listen” before attempting to cross the road.
I was right!
As I screeched to a halt and let out a massive “phew” because no car accident had occurred and my young driver car insurance would not be compromised, I thought to myself, “Just what are they teaching the kids in schools these days?”
Then I realised I sounded like my mum and decided to drive on peacefully, vowing to always look and listen out for all road users.
And for anyone who’s interested you can find out about the Green Cross Code by clicking here.
Yet, I remember being taught it at primary school (the same school as her – I was a pupil six years earlier) and was even part of a Green Cross Road quiz team which made it to the regional round of a national road safety competition.
The reason it came into my mind was because, as a young driver who’s constantly on the look out for road hazards, I recently came across a group of kids who just ran into the road without looking and I was forced to slam on my brakes so I wouldn’t hit them.Luckily, I was driving well under the speed limit and, as I watched them running along the pavement a few metres ahead of me, I had a sneaky suspicion that they weren’t going to “stop, look and listen” before attempting to cross the road.
I was right!
As I screeched to a halt and let out a massive “phew” because no car accident had occurred and my young driver car insurance would not be compromised, I thought to myself, “Just what are they teaching the kids in schools these days?”
Then I realised I sounded like my mum and decided to drive on peacefully, vowing to always look and listen out for all road users.
And for anyone who’s interested you can find out about the Green Cross Code by clicking here.
Image © fiskfisk via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car accident, Green Cross Code, road safety, young driver car insurance