- Car envy
- Councils’ controlled parking issues
- En-suite parking space
- Leaving a warm car on cold days
- Swapping pompoms for podiums
- When more spaces mean less space
- Speeding motorists becoming rarer
- Unlucky registration plates
- Distracted driving during the summer
- Gone driving
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OTHER INSURANCE SITES
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Friday, March 16, 2012
Does the Queen have to pay for car insurance?
Does the Queen have to pay for car insurance like rest of us women? I don’t know – does she know even? Does she have someone who sorts all these things out for her?
I can’t exactly imagine her sitting down at her computer and going through the various car insurance comparison websites – she is, after all, no ordinary woman driver.
One thing we can be sure of is that the Queen has had plenty of vehicles in her lifetime – expensive ones.
Now, as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations, we’re going to be allowed to see them. It should be pretty interesting, that’s if you can find the time to head to the Sussex Downs for summer's Goodwood Festival of Speed.
They’ll be plenty to see: limousines, working cars, personal cars, family cars, planes, horse-drawn vehicles, and even toy cars, presumably once the property of young William and Harry.
But does the Queen have to pay for car insurance? Does the Queen get to vote in a general election? Does the Queen have a passport? Does the Queen get a pension? Does she sign autographs? Does she cook her own meals?
I know the answers to none of these questions, but I’m going to work incredibly hard to get an MBE, if only so have the opportunity to ask. But even then, I still might not know.
I can’t exactly imagine her sitting down at her computer and going through the various car insurance comparison websites – she is, after all, no ordinary woman driver.
One thing we can be sure of is that the Queen has had plenty of vehicles in her lifetime – expensive ones.
Now, as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations, we’re going to be allowed to see them. It should be pretty interesting, that’s if you can find the time to head to the Sussex Downs for summer's Goodwood Festival of Speed.
They’ll be plenty to see: limousines, working cars, personal cars, family cars, planes, horse-drawn vehicles, and even toy cars, presumably once the property of young William and Harry.
But does the Queen have to pay for car insurance? Does the Queen get to vote in a general election? Does the Queen have a passport? Does the Queen get a pension? Does she sign autographs? Does she cook her own meals?
I know the answers to none of these questions, but I’m going to work incredibly hard to get an MBE, if only so have the opportunity to ask. But even then, I still might not know.
Photo © king_david_uk via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: autographs, car insurance, comparison websites, cook her own meals, does the queen get to vote in a general election, passport, pension, woman driver, women
Friday, February 10, 2012
New TV show focuses on female lorry drivers
Good news for those women who’ve always wanted to be a trucker because a group of determined women are aiming to make it big in the previously male-dominated profession of lorry driving.
Orion TV, a small television company based in Northumberland, has put together a show focusing on the lives of those two percent of women who work as lorryists.
The snappily titled ‘Mothertruckers’ follows the lives of three females as they drive their 44 tonne lorries whilst keeping femininity and family values intact.
Lucy Stubbs, one of the drivers featured, hoped that this documentary will show the profession in a whole new light.
“We’re hoping with us being on the telly it will encourage more women into the industry because there are only two percent of us out of the half a million truckers out there.
“We also wanted to highlight the issues for women truck drivers like the lack of facilities and the fact that some men can be funny about it.”
Mothertruckers airs on Channel 4, Thursdays at 10pm and will hopefully show that women are still better drivers, whatever the vehicle.
Orion TV, a small television company based in Northumberland, has put together a show focusing on the lives of those two percent of women who work as lorryists.The snappily titled ‘Mothertruckers’ follows the lives of three females as they drive their 44 tonne lorries whilst keeping femininity and family values intact.
Lucy Stubbs, one of the drivers featured, hoped that this documentary will show the profession in a whole new light.
“We’re hoping with us being on the telly it will encourage more women into the industry because there are only two percent of us out of the half a million truckers out there.
“We also wanted to highlight the issues for women truck drivers like the lack of facilities and the fact that some men can be funny about it.”
Mothertruckers airs on Channel 4, Thursdays at 10pm and will hopefully show that women are still better drivers, whatever the vehicle.
Photo © anemoneprojectors via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: drivers, lorry driver, traffic, vehicle, women
Monday, November 14, 2011
Losing weight and losing faith
Ask yourself again, “do you really want your husband or boyfriend to lose weight”? And, furthermore, if you are losing weight do you really know why you are losing weight?
I only ask these questions because a new piece of research has revealed that, just as surely as women get cheaper car insurance than men, a partner dieting or losing weight may well be a partner who is thinking about leaving a relationship or at the very least straying.
Sociologists in Heidelberg looked into all the factors surrounding weight loss, relationships and singledom and found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that couples don’t worry about piling on the pounds because, simply, they feel less pressure to look attractive.
A researcher commented, “Once the ink on the marriage contract dries up, they relax the control they had on their weight and appearance.
And it was no small study either – some 2,000 people between the ages of 16 and 55 took part.
Only a couple of months ago another study revealed that men who buy flash and fast cars are more likely to stray – so, if your partner’s just been investigating car insurance quotes for convertibles so that he expose his svelte new figure to the elements, you could be forgiven for wondering just what he’s planning. Then again, maybe he just wants to impress you, stranger things have happened.
I only ask these questions because a new piece of research has revealed that, just as surely as women get cheaper car insurance than men, a partner dieting or losing weight may well be a partner who is thinking about leaving a relationship or at the very least straying.Sociologists in Heidelberg looked into all the factors surrounding weight loss, relationships and singledom and found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that couples don’t worry about piling on the pounds because, simply, they feel less pressure to look attractive.
A researcher commented, “Once the ink on the marriage contract dries up, they relax the control they had on their weight and appearance.
And it was no small study either – some 2,000 people between the ages of 16 and 55 took part.
Only a couple of months ago another study revealed that men who buy flash and fast cars are more likely to stray – so, if your partner’s just been investigating car insurance quotes for convertibles so that he expose his svelte new figure to the elements, you could be forgiven for wondering just what he’s planning. Then again, maybe he just wants to impress you, stranger things have happened.
Photo © alancleaver_2000, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: cheaper car insurance, convertible, quote, women
Monday, October 17, 2011
Slow women drivers?
Even in this day and age we women still have to put up with jokes about our poor driving, but when they come from the mouth of a professional person like a lawyer it is particularly irritating and quite shocking.
Nick Freeman, a celebrity defence lawyer who deals with traffic and speeding offences recently said the following:
“Speed does not kill. Bad driving does, and that includes going too slowly and being in the wrong lane.
“Why can't these women be prosecuted? Oops, I mean why don't the police start to prosecute this kind of unlawful driving?”
Hilarious Mr Freeman.
The head of road safety at the AA however, stated, without entering into juvenile quips about male and female motorists’ skills, “A lot of bad driving does involve speed. We can't criticise people for being slow drivers.”
Andrew Howard, we thank you for your balanced outlook on road speeds.
Obviously, driving at 30mph on a motorway could be dangerous, but if anyone feels uncomfortable about driving at 70mph and would rather stay at 60mph in the left lane then that’s up to them I think.
Nick Freeman, a celebrity defence lawyer who deals with traffic and speeding offences recently said the following:“Speed does not kill. Bad driving does, and that includes going too slowly and being in the wrong lane.
“Why can't these women be prosecuted? Oops, I mean why don't the police start to prosecute this kind of unlawful driving?”
Hilarious Mr Freeman.
The head of road safety at the AA however, stated, without entering into juvenile quips about male and female motorists’ skills, “A lot of bad driving does involve speed. We can't criticise people for being slow drivers.”
Andrew Howard, we thank you for your balanced outlook on road speeds.
Obviously, driving at 30mph on a motorway could be dangerous, but if anyone feels uncomfortable about driving at 70mph and would rather stay at 60mph in the left lane then that’s up to them I think.
Photo © Vegansoldier via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: AA, dangerous, driving, lawyer, motorist, motorway, mph, road, slow, speeding, traffic, unlawful, women
Monday, August 1, 2011
A very expensive pile-up
As women, we like seeing members of our sex doing things that make us all look good.
Unfortunately there are some women that make us grate our teeth and bite our nails while inwardly we scream, “Why on earth did you do that? Now we all look stupid!”
One female driver, described by one online newspaper as a “hapless blond”, recently did something which warrants such a reaction.
She was driving her Bentley Azure (£250,000) near the very fancy Place du Casino in Monte Carlo when she caused a rather expensive pile-up.
A Mercedes S Class, Ferrari, Porsche 911 and Aston Marin Rapide were all involved in the crash – and it is estimated to have caused more than £40,000 of damage.
The woman was lucky not to have caused even more damage, since altogether the cars cost almost £700,000.
We do feel sorry for her, despite her silly mistake. The drivers of the other vehicles probably weren’t that pleasant about the incident.
Personally we at the duck2water office feel much happier driving in and around less expensive cars. That way if we’re involved in a minor accident, it’s not too much of a disaster financially.
Unfortunately there are some women that make us grate our teeth and bite our nails while inwardly we scream, “Why on earth did you do that? Now we all look stupid!”
She was driving her Bentley Azure (£250,000) near the very fancy Place du Casino in Monte Carlo when she caused a rather expensive pile-up.
A Mercedes S Class, Ferrari, Porsche 911 and Aston Marin Rapide were all involved in the crash – and it is estimated to have caused more than £40,000 of damage.
The woman was lucky not to have caused even more damage, since altogether the cars cost almost £700,000.
We do feel sorry for her, despite her silly mistake. The drivers of the other vehicles probably weren’t that pleasant about the incident.
Personally we at the duck2water office feel much happier driving in and around less expensive cars. That way if we’re involved in a minor accident, it’s not too much of a disaster financially.
Photo © Images_of_Money via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Aston Martin, Bentley, car, crash, female driver, Ferrari, Mercedes, pile-up, Porsche, women
Friday, July 22, 2011
Little car – big racing
If, like me, you love Citroen 2CVs, you should get yourself to Snetterton Race track in Norfolk for the annual Classic 2CV 24-hour race on the 27th and 28th August.
Ok, so 2CVs don’t readily spring to mind when you think about endurance racing, and you might think that spending that amount of time in the rickety tin box which forms the greater part of the endearing little French vehicle may be a bit tough on your bones, but, so the Classic 2CV Racing Club says, the humble car lends itself particularly well to the challenges posed by a 24 hour duel.
The organisers say that many driver/enthusiasts believe that endurance racing is more “civilised” than sprint racing and that the ethos is about preserving the cars rather than smashing and crashing into each other at the first corner.
I’ve never raced one, but they say the little vehicles are really fun to race and their lack of horsepower (most have a mere 49bhp) mean that it’s important to get the hang of sliding through corners so you don’t lose speed in braking.
If all this has whetted your appetite and you’re thinking that maybe you’d like to enter next year’s race, then here’s what you’ll need (apart from a Citroen 2CV of course):
So, is anyone up for making the CoverGirl 2CV Racing Team a reality – I would love to have a go!
Ok, so 2CVs don’t readily spring to mind when you think about endurance racing, and you might think that spending that amount of time in the rickety tin box which forms the greater part of the endearing little French vehicle may be a bit tough on your bones, but, so the Classic 2CV Racing Club says, the humble car lends itself particularly well to the challenges posed by a 24 hour duel.The organisers say that many driver/enthusiasts believe that endurance racing is more “civilised” than sprint racing and that the ethos is about preserving the cars rather than smashing and crashing into each other at the first corner.
I’ve never raced one, but they say the little vehicles are really fun to race and their lack of horsepower (most have a mere 49bhp) mean that it’s important to get the hang of sliding through corners so you don’t lose speed in braking.
If all this has whetted your appetite and you’re thinking that maybe you’d like to enter next year’s race, then here’s what you’ll need (apart from a Citroen 2CV of course):
- Three or four drivers (men or women) – depending on budget
- A team manager – to report driver changes among other tasks
- A refueller – wearing fire-retardant clothing
- A fireman, or fire marshal – to be ready with a fire extinguisher at pit stops
- Mechanics – to carry out repairs, top up fluids, change engines, etc.
So, is anyone up for making the CoverGirl 2CV Racing Team a reality – I would love to have a go!
Image © Martin Pettitt, via Flickr under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: 24-hour race, 2CV, drivers, women
Monday, April 11, 2011
Roof box essentials
According to Halfords, the motoring consumables retailer, there has been a recent 13% rise in the purchase of roof boxes in the UK.
Intrigued as to why that was, the company launched a roof box survey of 3,200 people.
The information gathered showed the biggest reason behind increased roof box buying in Britain, is simply that motorists carry around a greater number of possessions on their mini-breaks and holidays than they used to.
The average driver’s vehicle is loaded with 140 kilos more when going on a holiday than it was in 2006 – that amounts to around the same weight as two adults – or an extra 15 large, and completely filled, suitcases.
Seventy-one percent of those surveyed blamed their mothers for the increased amount of packed items. Obviously old habits die hard then girls...
The top five “must-have” items listed by women were:
Intrigued as to why that was, the company launched a roof box survey of 3,200 people.
The information gathered showed the biggest reason behind increased roof box buying in Britain, is simply that motorists carry around a greater number of possessions on their mini-breaks and holidays than they used to.
The average driver’s vehicle is loaded with 140 kilos more when going on a holiday than it was in 2006 – that amounts to around the same weight as two adults – or an extra 15 large, and completely filled, suitcases.
Seventy-one percent of those surveyed blamed their mothers for the increased amount of packed items. Obviously old habits die hard then girls...
The top five “must-have” items listed by women were:
- A hair-dryer;
- Hair-straighteners;
- Clothes (obviously);
- A mirror;
- Portable lights, such as torches or lanterns. Well, we might take things along with us that men find useless – but at least we didn’t have “rubber mallet” at number three of our list!
- Image by fredsir via Photobook
Labels: driver, roof box, vehicle, women