Friday, August 17, 2012
Don’t get distracted by pedestrians
Do you find that in the summer you can’t stop looking at pedestrians?You’re not alone – but you should really try and avoid getting distracted by scantily-clad people and focus your attentions on the road.
Apparently, according to a car insurance company survey, 60% of men and 12% of women have taken their eyes off the road in order to…admire the view.
Amazingly, 21% of motorists even admitted that billboard models cause them to become distracted from the road too!
A large number of traffic accidents are caused every year by road users who were not giving the road their full attention – so it’s important that we drivers learn some self-control.
It would seem that’s not as easy for some as it is for others though. Reportedly, 17% of male motorists knew that this behaviour was dangerous but couldn’t help looking anyway.
Come on drivers – let’s try harder! There’s plenty of time to people watch when you’re not behind the wheel.
Photo © Crystian Cruz via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car insurance, dangerous, distracted, driver, motorist, pedestrians, road, summer, traffic accident, wheel
Monday, August 13, 2012
A purposeless road trip
“Are we there yet?”
Apparently, in many cases the answer will be “No” for the duration of the trip.
According to a study by a provider of car insurance and Populus, out of more than 20,000 motorists, 55% have gone for a drive – just to have a drive.
Getting behind the wheel solely to commune with the road is not uncommon – 10% of the people surveyed did it every week.
I’ll have to admit, I’ve never got into my car when I didn’t have a destination in mind. For one thing, I wouldn’t know where to go, and for another thing, fuel is too expensive to be driving without a goal.
Yet, ignoring the expense of filling up the tank, I think having a lack of scenic routes has a big part to play in my lack of aimless motoring.
I believe my point is proven by the statistics. In Northern Ireland, Scotland and North East England, more than 60% of people have just gone for a drive – whereas only 47% of Londoners have bothered taking such a purposeless trip.
I know that driving past impressive natural scenery would be much more likely to get me into my car than pavements and office blocks. Still, I suppose not having a green and pleasant land on my doorstep is saving me money.
Photo © Nature Pictured by ForestWander via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car insurance, destination, drive, driving, fuel, motorist, Populus, route, trip, wheel
Monday, July 30, 2012
Nostalgically filling up on petrol
I’ve always thought it would be fun to go back in time to the 1970’s. Oh, the colourful flared trousers, the flower power; the classic bands!
You could go and see Jaws at the cinema with people who had never seen it and found the special effects realistic and terrifying. How about Star Wars? Grease?Somehow we can all get nostalgic over a time period we might not have even experienced first-hand.
Well, now you can experience a small part of it. Dress up in some 70s gear, drive down to a Shell service station, and get your fuel tank filled up by a petrol pump attendant.
After four decades of absence from the forecourt, attendants can now be found at 300 of Shell’s UK service stations.
Reportedly elderly drivers are really enjoying the extra help, as are some disabled motorists who can now get assistance to cross the concrete to pay for their fuel at the shop.
One attendant in Westcliff, Essex, states, “Obviously not everyone wants us to help but we have had really good feedback.”
Well, I have my tie-dye top on and I’m heading out to fill up right now!
Photo © zigazou76 via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: 1970s, drive, flared trousers, flower power, forecourt, fuel tank, Grease, Jaws, motorist, petrol pump attendant, service station, Shell, Star Wars
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Tyre labelling
This week tyre firms began labelling their stock.
Thirty-five million tyres are sold in the UK annually, and now this new labelling system should help drivers make the right decisions safety-wise and price-wise when it comes to purchasing new ones.
From now on, tyres will show potential buyers their fuel efficiency, safety and external noise level ratings in an easy-to-read diagram similar to white-good efficiency rating stickers. The chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) states, “There are more than 150 million tyres currently on UK roads, so any information to help motorists understand crucial safety and performance characteristics is valuable, particularly given the safety improvements and fuel efficiency savings that can be gained from choosing the right tyre.
"Before this tyre label, customers only had price and brand to distinguish between more than 300 different types of tyres; now motorists have a set of comparable factors to make buying decisions easier."
Putting more knowledge into motorists’ hands might be a step forwards towards safer roads, and lower carbon footprint.
It might also mean that some well-known companies which were perhaps riding off their brand name, will have to go back to the drawing board with their tyres and try harder to make them quieter, safer, and more efficient.
Sometimes ignorance is bliss, but in this case knowledge is power.
Photo © Dominic’s pics via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: fuel efficiency, labelling, motorist, noise level, safety, SMMT, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, tyre
Friday, June 22, 2012
Bird poo wars
Bird poo.
It’s the bane of many a motorist’s driving days and can cause damage to paintwork as well as looking unpleasant.Recent research conducted by Halfords, however, might help road users fight against it. According to the company, red cars are targeted more than any other colour vehicle, and green cars are targeted the least.
Although there’s no real scientific basis for the results, the firm ran the study in several different cities and numbers never lie.
After red cars it was the blue vehicles which were pelted with poop the most. Next came black vehicles, then white, and finally silver was in the running just before green.
With this knowledge, perhaps drivers who hate to do war with bird, ehem, leavings, will purchase green cars, or buy a green cover for their vehicle to keep it safe.
Alternatively, they could try to avoid parking under trees or lamp-posts, but that can be difficult sometimes.
Good luck to all!
Photo © wwwesb via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: bird poo, colour, driving, Halfords, motorist, paintwork, parking, road users
Monday, April 23, 2012
Road markings cause bafflement down south
Is a car illegally parked if it encroaches slightly onto a set of clearly defined double yellow lines? That's the question hot on the lips of motorists in the area of Poole in Dorset.
The answer, according to the rule de minimis is that it depends. Apparently the law does not concern itself with issues where a very slight infringement has been made.Where this would leave a driver who parked along the 26 inch long double yellow lines of Poole's Clarendon Road is highly debatable.
What is clear is that this would never have become an issue if the council had not decided to paint double yellow lines in the spaces left vacant by the town's motorists.
In a bid to clarify the matter Poole Council's Senior Engineer said, “Obviously lining contractors often find that there are cars parking in places where they need to paint lines and they paint as much as they can and then return to finish the gaps.”
Perhaps it would have been better for all involved had the workers been granted the right to temporarily restrict access to the road.
However, as the cyclists who've had the pleasure of navigating an eight foot long Exeter cycle lane would testify, the southern council representatives don't seem to mind causing a bit of confusion every now and then.
Photo © dumbledad via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, cycle lane, double yellow line, illegally parked, motorist, parking, Poole
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Ferrari driver played a part in the preservation of hedgehogs
A hedgehog in the German area of Lower Saxony may have thought that its days of nesting and nocturnal hunting had come to an end when it looked up to see a Ferrari Testarosta heading in its direction.
However, in a startling turn of events the motorist quickly swerved into a road barrier, allowing the bristly critter safe access to the other side.Fortunately neither the spiky animal or affluent motorist were left with any injuries after the incident. However, the Ferrari was badly damaged and the driver was left having to make a car insurance claim of around £30,000.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the general lack of cross-species communication there has been no offer of thanks from the hedgehog. However, we can imagine that it was particularly happy upon seeing its friends and family later in the day.
As for the driver, he must surely deserve a place – alongside the train driver who saved a Scottish Swan and the bus driver who saved an owl – in the animal kingdom's hall of fame.
Perhaps he'll be offered a helping paw by Sonic, Knuckles or maybe even Shadow if he finds himself in trouble again?
Photo © callocx via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: barrier, car insurance claim, driver, Ferrari Testarosta, hedgehog, motorist, road
Monday, April 2, 2012
Driver-inflicted windscreen damage
Imagine the scenario, you're idly cruising along a scenic countryside lane when out of nowhere a suicidal duck comes hurtling towards your car windscreen. Such a scenario may be enough to deter some people from ever taking to the road again.
Rather worryingly the windscreen repair specialists Autoglass have reported that such events occur with some regularity. Indeed, during the last year alone the motoring public have made calls about snowball and pheasant-related damage.
One may well wonder how the call centre staff managed to keep the smirks from their faces when being told about the man who parked in front of a golfer’s tee, or the apparently evil intentions of the most adorable feathered critters.
They must also have struggled to resist a laugh at the expense of the motorist who managed to cause damage by scraping their windscreen with a Susan Boyle CD. Apparently such tales are only to be expected as part of working life at an auto repair company.
The Autoglass Managing Director said, “The UK's potholed and congested roads don't make things easy for motorists, but sometimes it seems vehicle and glass damage is self inflected or the result of freak occurrences.”
Photo © dan taylor via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: auto repair, car, countryside lane, damage, duck, motoring, motorist, parked, road, windscreen
Monday, March 12, 2012
Littering motorists grind our gears
No one at the Hoot offices enjoys seeing litter on the ground, so we’re welcoming the news that soon there may be a fining system coming into effect for drivers who drop rubbish out of their car onto the road.
As difficult as it might be for the car-proud among us, it is important that we keep the UK’s highways clean by keeping the rubbish we’ve made in our cars until we arrive at our destination and can throw litter away in a bin. By the end of the month, authorities in London will be able to fine littering motorists up to £100 for their offence, and we’ve got our fingers crossed (like the Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman) that authorities all over Britain will soon be able to fine drivers who litter too.
It isn’t fair that some road users think it’s alright to make a mess of our roads and have councils and other authorities clean it up, usually at a cost to all tax payers.
The Highways Agency has said that if all of the rubbish thrown on UK roads annually was collected and put into bin bags – 700,000 of them would be filled.
So, it you never litter the roads we applaud you – and if you do, don’t.
Photo © riverofgod via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: bin, clean, councils, drivers, fine, highways, Highways Agency, litter, littering, motorist, offence, road, rubbish
Monday, February 27, 2012
Ompton man’s dummy camera
Whether you’re in your car or walking along the pavement, it’s easy to get angry at speeding motorists who put other people’s lives at risk with their dangerous driving.
One 50-year-old man living in Ompton, Nottinghamshire, has got so frustrated by road users travelling through the village at high speeds that he has installed his own dummy speed camera. The speed limit through the village used to be 60mph, which was then reduced to 40mph. However, the locals have been campaigning for it to be reduced once again to 30mph.
The maker of the dummy speed camera states that he built it after the council failed to put up a camera itself or further lower the speed limit.
It cost him £250 to make using scrap metal, and he believes it’s just the thing to cut down on the number of people driving too fast, however, he states, “I’ve been told if someone causes an accident by obeying the legal speed limit through the village, then it’s my fault.”
The highways district manager has told the man that if anyone claimed that they had crashed due to the presence of the dummy camera, he would be liable for civil action.
Well, we applaud this man for trying to make his village a safer place, however dubious the methods may be, his intentions are good, and we hope that all the villagers see a reduction in the number of speeding motorists as a result.
Photo © Pug50 via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, dangerous driving, dummy speed camera, motorist, Nottinghamshire, Ompton, road users, speeding, village
Monday, February 13, 2012
Snow parking
Usually ice and snow give motorists problems because they have to try and navigate slippery roads, and deal with road closures too.
However, some drivers in Chiswick, West London, had some rather different problems with snow and ice.
A large snowball was taking up a parking bay for much too long – without paying we might add – and was quite rightly given a parking ticket for it.
Now, when I say ‘large’ you may imagine something about the size of a football. No – this was a 4-foot high monster snowball – and someone wasn’t very happy that it was taking up precious road-side space.
A spokesperson for Hounslow County Council stated, “It's good to see people support our efforts to keep our roads clear for traffic. However, removing a penalty charge notice from a vehicle, unless you are the driver, is an offence.
“This could lead to the driver unfairly missing out on the chance to pay early at the lower rate through no fault of their own.”
Hopefully the person who was meant to get the ticket did receive it before their fine was increased.
We wonder whether the snowball vacated the space after being penalized for its offence, or whether it is still sat resolutely on the tarmac attracting odd looks from passers-by.
Disclaimer: Attached photo is not of offending snowball. Photo was posed by model.
Photo © chatirygirl via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Chiswick, fine, ice, London, motorist, offence, parking bay, parking ticket, road, road-side, snow, tarmac
Monday, December 5, 2011
A Marmity mess
Whether you hate Marmite or you love it – no one likes having to take a detour because there’s been a Marmite spill all over the road.
However, recently some poor motorists who had been travelling along the M1 had to take alternative routes when a lorry crashed and spilled sticky goop all over the highway.
Ok – it wasn’t actually Marmite – it was waste brewers yeast – but it was first reported to be Marmite and as a Marmite hater I personally can’t see the difference between the disgusting brown spread and waste yeast encrusted with tarmac anyway.
The motorway had to be closed in both directions between junctions 32 and 33, the lorry driver was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries, and The Environment Agency was called to help clean up and check that waterways hadn’t been polluted.
What a mess! It proves how evil Marmite is once and for all!
Ok, yes, it wasn’t Marmite…
Photo © Jacob Rickard via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: detour, highway, junction, lorry, M1, Marmite, motorist, motorway, road, tarmac, yeast
Monday, November 14, 2011
A mini roundabout conundrum
Have you ever approached a mini roundabout at exactly the same time as the motorists on the other available exits and found that everyone comes to a standstill?
The first time I experienced this oddity I was, thankfully, having a driving lesson, so my instructor could guide me through the conundrum which lay before me.
I was giving way to my right, and the car on my right was giving way to the car on their right who was giving way to me. And of course I wasn’t moving because I was busy being a good driver and giving way to my right.
“Someone’s got to go”, driving instructor explained, “otherwise we’ll all be sat here forever waiting for each other.”
Eventually the motorist to my right decided to make the first move and eventually everything was back to normal and traffic was flowing again.
But it made me realise how a lot of the things you learn about driving, you only really learn once you’ve passed your practical driving test and gained some more experience of the road.
That’s why it’s so important that some insurers make cheaper insurance quotes available to young drivers, because if they can’t afford the cover they might not get back onto the roads until much later on in their lives and by that point they’ll have missed out on years of useful motoring experience.
Photo © bravediggs via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: cover, driving instructor, insurance quote, mini roundabout, motorist, practical driving test, traffic
Friday, November 11, 2011
Changing someone’s flat tyre could save your life
The well-know sayings ‘one good deed deserves another’ and ‘what goes around comes around’, couldn’t be more fittingly used than as two morals of this true story.
A 61-year-old Canadian man in America was driving his pick-up truck down the Interstate 94 when he noticed that two women were stranded at the side of the road unable to change the flat tyre on their car, so he pulled over to help them.One of the women states, “We were so grateful. Nowadays, nobody ever really stops to offer their help. It's kind of scary sometimes, because you really don't know what you're getting into.”
Having changed the tyre he went on his way – and usually that’s where the story would have finished.
However, a matter of minutes after setting off again the man began to have a heart attack and his wife, who was in the truck with him, stopped the vehicle and tried to flag down another motorist for help.
And who happened to stop but the two women her husband had helped a few miles down the road.
One of the women, a certified nursing assistant gave the man CPR until a state trooper and two Dunn County deputies took over and a helicopter ambulance arrived.
Thanks to the man’s good deed, the nursing assistant was able to give him the CPR which helped him survive until the emergency services turned up.
As the Patrol Sergeant stated, “It's an interesting turn of fate.”
Photo © Tiger Girl via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: CPR, flat tyre, heart attack, miles, motorist, pick-up truck, road
Monday, October 24, 2011
Sat-nav blindness
Sat-navs can be really useful for people who haven’t taken a certain route before and feel more confident if they have some guidance.
The problems begin when motorists rely too heavily on their GPS system and begin following it blindly to the ends of the Earth. The truth is, voice on the machine may sound authoritative, whether it’s Yoda or the basic man or woman’s voice, but it is still a machine and doesn’t have a brain.
No offence meant to sat-navs, they’re a great piece of technology, but if they hasn’t been updated for a while they could take you down a road that’s blocked off, or across a junction that doesn’t exist anymore, or tell you that through the new shopping centre is the best course of action.
One lorry driver recently got his vehicle wedged between two buildings at the end of a narrow lane that his sat-nav had told him to go down.
A car probably would have gone through – but this man must have forgotten that the GPS doesn’t know what vehicle you’re in.
A landlord near the narrow lane stated, “It was a very stupid thing to do and the locals thought he was a bit of an idiot for doing it.”
He caused damage to the properties on either side and the lorry was finally freed in a six hour operation the next day.
Next time he might try to judge the situation for himself before blindly doing as the sat-nav tells him…as should we all.
Photo © Mavroudis Kostas via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: GPS, guidance, junction, lorry, motorist, narrow lane, road, route, sat-nav, technology, vehicle
Thursday, May 19, 2011
A buzzar problem
If you think petrol prices, car maintenance, road tax and insurance premiums are a problem – one motorist forgot about them all for a while when she came outside to find that a large swarm of bees had landed on her car and the little creatures were making themselves comfortable.
The woman driver, from Somerset, explained, “My neighbour knocked on my door to tell me a swarm had landed. I could hardly believe it – it was an incredible sight.
“I have no idea why they picked my car. There was no food for them here, but they seemed to be attracted by the fuel cap at the back of the vehicle.”Bees are occasionally seen clinging to vehicles and other strange objects, much to the surprise of passers-by and the owners, during their spring reproductive cycles. Sometimes they are looking for a sheltered place to make a hive.
The woman waited to see if they’d buzz off (sorry), but eventually after two hours she called a bee-keeper to move them on.
If you go to your car one day to find a swarm of bees attached to it – don’t try to move them yourself. Wait to see if they leave without help and then, if they don’t, call a bee-keeper who can safely remove them for you.
That way, you have your car back, and the bees can go on to find a safer place to settle.
Image by kaibara87 via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, insurance, maintenance, motorist, petrol prices, premiums, road tax