Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Growing up fast!
It’s so weird. I mean, it was only like a few years ago that mum was always shouting at me that she wasn’t a taxi.
Now I’ve had my own licence for a few years, have been through a Peugeot 206, a Renault Clio, and am now the proud owner of a Vauxhall Vectra (my friends say this makes me square).
If that wasn’t weird enough – on top of actually driving my own car to my own job and being paid in real money, now a few of my friends have gone and had babies.
I often say to them, “C’mon, girls, you’re letting the team down! We’re meant to be the young ones! All the other people are the grown-ups, not us – we’re the kids!”
Still, at least I get to be a godmother, which is pretty cool – although, like I said to Natalia when she asked me if I’d take the job, I’d much rather be known as a godsister to little Keira (it suits me more, I think).
Anyway, I’m still getting my head around things like paying into my pension, paying for car insurance, and saving a deposit for a house. I could do without the added stress of pregnancy, children’s clothes, and the school and nursery run.
On the subject of the school run, What Car? recently discovered that it adds around £52 to the cost of petrol each year. But to be honest, I’m more worried about the 52 extra wrinkles each year you get being a parent.
I’m staying young!!!
Image © jencu via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Now I’ve had my own licence for a few years, have been through a Peugeot 206, a Renault Clio, and am now the proud owner of a Vauxhall Vectra (my friends say this makes me square).If that wasn’t weird enough – on top of actually driving my own car to my own job and being paid in real money, now a few of my friends have gone and had babies.
I often say to them, “C’mon, girls, you’re letting the team down! We’re meant to be the young ones! All the other people are the grown-ups, not us – we’re the kids!”
Still, at least I get to be a godmother, which is pretty cool – although, like I said to Natalia when she asked me if I’d take the job, I’d much rather be known as a godsister to little Keira (it suits me more, I think).
Anyway, I’m still getting my head around things like paying into my pension, paying for car insurance, and saving a deposit for a house. I could do without the added stress of pregnancy, children’s clothes, and the school and nursery run.
On the subject of the school run, What Car? recently discovered that it adds around £52 to the cost of petrol each year. But to be honest, I’m more worried about the 52 extra wrinkles each year you get being a parent.
I’m staying young!!!
Image © jencu via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, insurance, licence, petrol, Peugeot, Renault Clio, taxi, Vauxhall
Friday, September 14, 2012
Over-zealous young drivers in F1
It is not only on the general roads that young driver insurance tends to be a bit pricey.
In Formula One racing things are much the same – in this high octane world of races, chases, thrills and spills it is the older, more experienced and less gung-ho drivers that are cheapest to insure.But there is a more serious side to this – younger drivers in F1, so keen to make their mark and to show their fearlessness, are said to be more liable to take the kinds of risks that might lead to serious accidents.
It was during Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix that the young Romain Grosjean caused havoc as he shot dangerously out of the blocks in his Lotus car. He was found to be driving recklessly and will miss the Italian Grand Prix as a punishment.
Such antics do not go down well with other drivers, although most remember what it is to be younger and less reflective. "I'm not angry with Grosjean, he definitely didn't do it on purpose," said Fernando Alonso, one man who suffered because of Grosjean’s over-zealous start.
"It was a case of me being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I think that certain drivers should try and take fewer risks at the start. It's a bit of a tendency currently in the junior formulae, but it would be better if, right from the start of their career, they got used to respecting more strictly the rules relating to behaviour on track."
It’s also true that the more accidents drivers have, the higher their motor insurance premiums will be. And which team in its right mind would want to insure an accident-prone driver!
Image © UNIF1ED via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: accident, F1, Formula One, Grand Prix, insure, race, road, young driver insurance
Monday, September 10, 2012
Are you having to put fuel before family?
I am about to pull you into a confusing and ridiculous dreamscape – just go with it.
You’ve just driven your car down a long road, and suddenly your car begins to take over. You let go of the steering wheel, but it keeps trundling along. It seems to know where it’s going – and soon you are in a petrol station forecourt. One of the pumps unhooks itself and turns its little oily eyes towards you.
It says, “You’ll have to cancel that Sunday Roast, mate. This is going to cost you more than you thought.”
All of a sudden, your pockets, which were filled with money, are empty, and you leave the forecourt feeling annoyed.
Ok – when I click my fingers you will wake up.
Right, so, how do you feel? Did that dreamscape hold some parallel to your real life?
According to Hyundai, it should do. A surprising number of people have had to stop visiting their family as often because of fuel costs, with 60% of families missing out on gathering together for the Sunday Roast.
Don’t despair though – there are ways to save on the costs of motoring. One of them is by driving in a safe and economically friendly manner. Another, which might help low mileage motorists and young drivers receive a cheaper quote upon renewal, is by purchasing telematics car insurance.
Get a quote and see if that Sunday Roast is back on the cards!
Photo © www.theedinburghblog.co.uk via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, drive, family, forecourt, low mileage, money, petrol, pumps, quote, road, steering wheel, Sunday Roast, telematics, visit, young driver
Friday, September 7, 2012
Sports car v skateboard
If you were an expensive sports car with a shiny red paint job to make you look even more desirable – being beaten in a race by a lesser vehicle would probably be embarrassing.What if that vehicle was a skateboard? You’d probably be a deeper shade of red come the end of the contest.
Well, for one sports car this nightmare recently became a reality.
The Corvette C5, which is capable of doing 200mph, lost a drag race against the Gnarboard’s Trail Rider.
The Trail Rider is an electric skateboard, and whereas it probably wouldn’t have beaten the sports car in a race of a whole circuit, over a short, straight distance, it powered to the finish before its rival.
So – are you fed up with the cost of your car insurance? Maybe an electric board is the way to go.
The only thing is, we’re not sure if the U.S. company which makes them delivers to the UK, plus the board might not be road legal, and it’s probably not that nice to ride in the rain, and – sticking to your car is probably better in many ways.
Photo © jking89 via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Corvette C5, electric, Gnarboard, race, road legal, skateboard, sports car, Trail Rider, vehicle
Monday, September 3, 2012
The safest car
There are a lot of things to consider when buying a new car, such as its engine size, boot capacity, fuel type, and a whole host of other factors which might affect drivability and car insurance cost.
However, one thing some people might forget about when purchasing a new vehicle – whether it’s second-hand or fresh off the forecourt – is its safety score.Well, for people worried about the safety of their car, there’s one vehicle they can rely on to keep them very, very safe indeed.
That, according to the Euro NCAP tests, is the Volvo V40.
Reportedly, this vehicle achieved the highest ever recorded score. It was tested on adult and child occupant protection, safety assist, and pedestrian protection, and excelled in all!
The car is available at a starting price of £19,745. I’m going to start saving up!
Photo © NRMA New Cars via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: boot capacity, car, car insurance, cost, drivability, engine, Euro NCAP, forecourt, fuel, new, protection, safety, safety assist, second-hand, test, vehicle, Volvo V40
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wheel Clamp Man faces prosecution
Hoot! doesn’t know what to say about Wheel Clamp Man, the lycra jumpsuited and speedo-wearing “superhero” who takes an industrial strength saw to zealously clamped vehicles so that he can remove them.
For anyone who’s ever had their vehicle opportunistically clamped by a “clamping cowboy”, it would be easy to see how he might be viewed as some kind of hero. Stories abound of drivers having their cars clamped as they briefly pull up outside their own homes, during doctor emergency calls and even mid-heart attack with stricken drivers still actually behind the wheel.All the “superhero” asks in return for saving drivers the £88 release fee is a small donation to be given to a homeless charity.
But, in a strict interpretation of the law, police have described the man as “a menace” and have said that they “will deal with him”.
Yet, Wheel Clamp Man is not cowed. “I’m helping people out. I don’t feel I’m damaging property,” he said.
“The amount of money these companies make off innocent people is insane. Where does that money go? Not into car parks or safer streets. It goes into their pocket.”
Wheel Clamp Man describes himself as on a crusade for justice that was inspired by, he says, being unfairly clamped in the past.
But it seems he might need real-life superpowers if he is to avoid being prosecuted.
Image © Cristiano Betta via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, driver, law, police, vehicle, wheel, Wheel Clamp Man
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
App for avoiding a red light
Fed up of being caught by red lights?
Not only is it frustrating getting stuck behind a red – sometimes for several lights in a row – but stopping and starting all the time is uneconomical when it comes to fuel and can cause car wear and tear. A group of researchers in Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, are trying to solve this problem, and have come up with a clever mobile phone app.
It’s still being tested at the moment, and there are no reports as to whether it would eventually be released for sale in the UK, but here’s how it works.
Mounting a phone on a vehicle’s dashboard allows the device to take photos of any traffic lights being approached by car.
By sending several photos of the lights to a computer, which analyses the information, the mobile phone then receives an estimated speed at which the motorist should drive to avoid having to stop at a red light.
To avoid the road user having to pick up the handset, the information is not sent via text. Instead, one quick glance at the phone’s screen, without any need to remove it from its mount on the dash, should tell the driver what they need to know.
One would imagine that the app will not encourage motorists to speed in order to avoid the red. It is likely the app will signal that the driver should slow the car so by the time they reach the lights they have turned green again.
I’m guessing that there will also be a message on the screen at times which states something along the lines of ‘sorry – there’s no way you can miss this one – so don’t even try’.
Photo © dlofink via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: app, car, dashboard, fuel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, mobile phone, red light, speed, traffic light