Why We Should Be Happy To Pay Through The Nose For Petrol
Ten years ago, petrol cost, on average, 77.9 pence per litre, although it was occasionally even less than that.
Now the price of one of the country’s most desirable commodities has risen to over GBP1.30 p/l in some parts of the country, and with the unease in the Middle East unlikely to bring the price of oil crashing down any time soon, motorists are having to get clever in order to save money.
Motoring is an expensive business these days: increasingly there is a feeling in the air that, for some members of society (the author included) a car is a luxury, not a necessity, and one that has to sit by the wayside until wallets get fatter.
Insurance prices have also skyrocketed, apparently due to the rise of personal injury claims and fraudulent activity.
So there really is no other alternative. We all have to drive less.
For some, the pleasure of opening their car’s throttle up during a rip-snorting excursion on sun-kissed country roads is as good as it gets. Driving can be a pleasure: of that there is no doubt.
But as the nation tightens its belt (and other things as well, perhaps) such pleasure cruises may have to give way to more essential, pedestrian driving.
As salaries are stretched further, Britain’s drivers are employing the calm, considered style that many would argue they should have used in the first place in order to make those petrol fumes go further.
Here is a brief summary of some essential fuel-saving tips:
Remove unnecessary weight: That eighty-piece toolkit in the boot can sit in the garage until it’s needed. As can the kids. Tell them to get the train to the safari park.
Ensure tyres are properly inflated: there is often a sticker in the car’s handbook to inform drivers of the correct pressures. The higher the pressure, the more efficient the car will be, but overdoing it tends to be rather dangerous (not to mention expensive, when the rubber needs to be replaced after a paltry 5000 miles). Not recommended.
Turn the engine off in traffic jams: Some common sense needs to be applied here, of course: killing the power every time a red light illuminates and constantly having to restart it will cause engine wear and road rage in equal measure. It is better idea to try and forecast the road ahead. If a three-hour queue looks likely, then it’s probably safe enough to cut the ignition.
Use the accelerator economically: sitting revving the engine at traffic lights is not exactly the behaviour of the economy-minded motorist, nor is waiting until the rev-counter needle is bouncing off the red line before you change gear. Most drivers don’t realise that the car’s speed will still increase briskly enough if the throttle pedal is kept at a constant level. And that does not mean pinned to the floor.
Drive at constant speed: obviously this depends on the conditions: cruising down the M6 at 30mph will probably result in a ticking-off from the police and a spectacular accident, as will bombing through a built up area at a constant 50mph. Stick to the speed limits for each area, read the road and avoid being glued to the bumper of the car in front, and both fuel economy and a more relaxing drive should result.
It seems a vicious circle: the more inflation increases, the less people buy petrol and the more expensive it becomes. Because petrol price is one of the criteria that influence the Consumer Price Index, inflation may again increase, and we’re back to the start again.
But the fact is, with drivers making fewer journeys, car accidents will decrease, insurance premiums should (hopefully) fall, and the roads will be a safer place for everyone. Never mind the positive impact on the environment. It’s easy to take the Top Gear view of life and pretend nothing’s wrong, but the fact is that there is. Dearer petrol = less deaths.
And that’s why we should be grateful.
Dearer petrol = less accidents and fewer personal injury claims
The Ridiculousness Of The Anti-Health And Safety Bandwagon
There are two sides to every story. In the case of some, one set of arguments seems to gain prominence more easily than their counter equivalents.
In the case of health and safety, (often annoyingly dubbed ‘elf ‘n’ safety’ for some reason, as though it is either only reinforced by mythical creatures or spoken of by Cockneys), it is not fashionable to stick up for those who wish to protect themselves and their fellows from personal injury, as though they are some sort of wet fish.
A quick Google search of the term ‘health and safety’ will either yield boring press releases or hysterical tabloid stories. One that caught my eye today was an article involving a Liverpool school, Malvern Primary, that has taken it upon itself to ban leather footballs in playgrounds. The school’s staff have written to parents advising them that football will only be permitted with light, sponge balls from now on.
Naturally, this engendered fury from the paper’s online readership. Comments such as ‘back in my day we used to leap out of trees in front of trains and play sports with maces and wrecking balls, and it hasn’t done me a jot of harm’ were complimented by further ramblings along the lines of ‘Bring back National Service. We’re breeding a bunch of nancy boys in this country. Heaven knows what would happen if we were involved in another World War.’
These ravings were duly green-arrowed to the top of the comments pile (yes, this story appeared in the Daily Mail) and any voices urging people to get some sense of perspective were thrown to the bottom in a flurry of red thumbs-down.
While, yes, rampant restrictions (often carried as a knee-jerk to phantom rules and unsanctioned by official bodies) can often be ridiculous, sometimes H&S can play a very valid role in the wellbeing of society.
One thing can often be confusing is the clamour of naysayers who criticise the government every time an imminent law or even a throwaway comment threatens people’s emotional, physical or economic wellbeing, but as soon as moves are made to stop people being maimed or killed, they all get on their high horses and start bemoaning that we live in a ‘nanny state’ and that ‘we’re all being wrapped in cotton wool.’
It’s a strange nation, Britain.
The truth is, in a tiny playground with children ranging in age from four to eleven years old, somebody is going to get hurt if budding Steven Gerrards (a past pupil of the school in which this change has been implemented) keep blasting five hundred gram leather missiles about the place at full pelt.
And you can guarantee that if something did go wrong and small children were indeed hurt, those behind the angry correspondence would swiftly about-turn.
If health and safety hasn’t made it as far as your workplace, make a personal injury claim if you’ve been hurt
Were Renault Right To Allow Kubica To Go Rallying?
Formula One driver Robert Kubica is continuing to make good progress after the final round of surgery to repair the injuries sustained in a high-speed rally crash nearly two weeks ago.
The Polish star remains in intensive care in Santa Corona Hospital in Italy following his crash on the Ronde di Andorra on February 6th, in which he was competing for recreational rather than professional purposes.
Kubica lost control of his Skoda Fabia (whether through driver error or mechanical problems is unclear) and slammed into a crash barrier, which detached and skewered the driver’s side of the cabin, entering via the footwell and breaking bones in Kubica’s right arm and leg, as well as almost severing his right hand.
The accident came with just weeks to go before the start of the Formula One season in Bahrain on March 13th (although this may be in doubt in light of the civil unrest in the island state) and the 26-year-old has come in for some criticism of his decision to indulge in what is seen as an unnecessary activity when he should have devoting his attentions to preparing for the 2011 campaign.
Among the more vocal critics were BBC commentator Martin Brundle and triple world champion Niki Lauda, who are of the opinion that Kubica should have put the interests of his Lotus Renault employers before those of his own.
Lauda told SpeedTV: “It makes no sense for him to put his job and his life at risk like this. Was it unreasonable? Of course it was.
“He has to ensure that he can do his job, and his job is F1. Only he is to blame for what happened to him. Did he have to be doing this? No!”
Brundle told the BBC: “I think it’s pretty crazy that he was doing that rally in between key Formula 1 tests which are happening over this four-week period.
“When you look at the course and the trees and the walls and the drops and the barriers, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me that he was out doing that.”
On the other hand, Kubica’s fellow drivers have rallied (no pun intended) round him, defending his decision.
Double world champ and current Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso is a close friend of Kubica’s, having known him since the pair’s karting days over 15 years ago.
He argues that rallying is a worthwhile way to keep your reactions tuned and to channel the excess adrenaline that any F1 driver worth his salt will constantly crave.
Kubica himself, for his part, says: “I drive better in Formula One because I have taken part in many rallies.
“The rallies help you in concentration, considering that in Formula One there are very few tests. Rallies have allowed me to work on certain areas that I can improve on. It is important in a season where you have 20 Grands Prix.”
The fact remains that racing drivers having an inherently dangerous job. Formula One safety has come on leaps and bounds in the past two decades, with the last fatality in the sport being that of Ayrton Senna during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, and the last serious injury being suffered by Felipe Massa in 2009, from which he has now fully recovered.
Compared to rallying, it’s like a children’s playground. Rallying is arguably the most dangerous form of motorsport there is. Whereas modern, purpose-built F1 circuits are safe to the point of sterility, with massive run-off areas and deformable safety barriers, rallies are run through forests and up mountains, where the closest approximation of a safety barrier is often a line of trees on the edge of a precipice.
Some would argue that rallying goes some way to replacing the need for the danger that was a staple of F1 during years gone by, but as now been diluted, and that the only people the drivers endanger if they participate are themselves.
Whatever your opinion might be, it is academic. Kubica is likely to miss the entire season and his replacement at Renault is his former team-mate Nick Heidfeld, one of the most underrated drivers of the last twenty years. Whether he will deliver the stellar performances that F1 fans are used to seeing from Kubica is open to question.
Renault team boss Eric Boullier has gone on the record to insist that he believes drivers should be free to pursue activities outside F1. While this is an admirable departure from the corporate-driven opinions of most of his peers, it may be a decision that he comes to regret.
Have you been injured in a car crash like Robert Kubica? If it was not your fault, you could claim compensation.
Is Summer a Safer Time to Drive?
Spring is in the air, it seems. It never gets tiring to realise that the nights are getting shorter, the temperature is rising and you can still see your hand in front of your face after 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
As the weather (hopefully) becomes warmer and fewer raindrops fall, the roads, physically speaking, will become safer. But this does not mean that accident rates will decrease. In fact, they may head in the opposite direction.
Many drivers become more negligent and complacent when the roads are grippier and visibility is better. The forethought and prescience they may have exercised over the winter period goes out the window and they’re back to driving like they’re Michael Schumacher.
The inherently greater safety of the conditions is offset by the correspondingly lower levels of caution exercised by the driver.
There also remains the threat of drivers being drunk. Longer hours of daylight mean more time to attend barbecues and parties and more time to imbibe alcohol.
Also, because it remains daylight for later, more people will also be on the road for a greater part of the day, increasing the risk of a collision between vehicles.
Therefore vigilance, as ever, is required at all times.
Don’t speed: the temptation is always there, especially if drivers think they are more likely to get away with it in the drier conditions. Don’t do it! There are more likely to be farm vehicles and farm animals around the next B-road corner, not to mention more bikers, pedestrians and cyclists.
It is not speed itself that kills: it is the lack of time to make a decision and take avoiding action that causes the accidents and associated injuries.
Don’t drink and drive: Even one drink has an effect even if it will not necessarily carry any legal implications. So what’s the point of having it? Stick to the soft drinks. Is it worth living with the consequences of half an hour’s fun for your entire life?
Make sure your car is road legal: so that it is physically safer as well as just being certified fit for the road. If its brakes or tyres are worn or defective you stand a much greater chance of being involved in an accident.
Also, if you have had winter tyres fitted, it may soon be time to change them back!
In addition, remember that if your car is not roadworthy any insurance claim you may need to make in the event of an accident could be affected.
Claim for your car crash injury if you’ve been hurt in a non-fault accident
Could Car Crash Deaths Become A Thing Of The Past?
Sobering statistics: for every new car manufactured today, another will crash.
1.2 million people die all over the world in car crashes every year, but an article in the BBC magazine speculates that accidents could eventually become a thing of the past.
Occasionally accidents can be caused by external factors such as mechanical failure and acts of God, but the vast majority of them are simply due to human error.
Even the most talented drivers make mistakes: F1 superstar Robert Kubica’s racing career is now in permanent jeopardy after he crashed his rally car into a church wall while competing in Italy yesterday morning, severing part of his right hand and sustaining several serious bone fractures in his right arm and leg.
The single biggest contributory factor is excess speed, but failure to adapt one’s driving to the conditions and to heed hazards also play their part in causing car crash injury.
Swedish manufacturer Volvo, long reputed as the pioneers of many modern safety features, told the BBC that they believe they can prevent cars from ever crashing again, by equipping models with auto brakes which detect the proximity of another vehicle and halt the car accordingly.
But critics have argued that such systems will merely increase reliance on technology and lead to complacency on the roads, pointing out examples such as motorists who have ended up in rivers after following their sat-nav’s advice as opposed to using common sense.
There is, they say, no bigger cause of accidents than simple failure to drive carefully, safely and selflessly.
They also point out, from a more practical point of view, that braking at the first sign of danger is not necessarily the safest method of crash avoidance. Swerving or accelerating out of danger’s way may be more appropriate, depending on the circumstances.
Other pioneering techniques, explored by the Horizon programme last night, include a windscreen that enhances features of the road during poor visibility and a virtual crash test dummy that will help scientists to better understand the forces that each cell of the body can withstand.
But perhaps the most remarkable development is that of the ‘robot doctor,’ currently in development at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
The tiny robot, featuring an image of surgeon Dr Antonio Marttos, can be remotely operated by the consultant as he relays vital information to the team at the accident scene. This aims to exploit the so-called Golden Hour, the 60 minutes or so after the initial trauma during which rapid diagnoses and actions are critical.
Make a car crash claim if you are injured in a road accident, and you could be awarded compensation