- 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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Friday, September 14, 2012
Car envy
Human beings are inherently selfish – that’s my opinion anyway.
However nice a person is, their primal instinct to look after themselves and their family members can influence them more than morals and sometimes even the law.
Occasionally this is understandable even if it is wrong – however dangerous someone’s behaviour gets. For example, I read a news report once about a man who had broken the speed limit by a significant amount, in a desperate attempt to get his wife to hospital in time for medical professionals to deliver their premature baby.
If I remember correctly, police let him off lightly because they felt for him – considering that he had been aware no ambulance would reached them in time, and that he was a panicked first-time father.
Nevertheless, in most instances thinking about yourself first and others second is not appropriate behaviour – even if you don’t act on the feelings.
At this point, I would like to admit something. I hate someone along my street – purely because I desperately want their car.
I call it car envy, and I’m not proud of it. It makes be behave in a ridiculous way whenever I bump into them at neighbourhood events or in town. I can only be nice for a few minutes…then things go down hill. I keep hoping that my feelings are not noticeable to anyone other than myself.
I can imagine this poor person might be wondering what they’ve done to irritate me so much – but I know that I will only be able to stop my ludicrous and selfish behaviour when they get a different car.
I hope it happens soon – then I can buy their current one off of them. Goodness that car is beautiful…
Photo © Craig Loftus via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
However nice a person is, their primal instinct to look after themselves and their family members can influence them more than morals and sometimes even the law.
Occasionally this is understandable even if it is wrong – however dangerous someone’s behaviour gets. For example, I read a news report once about a man who had broken the speed limit by a significant amount, in a desperate attempt to get his wife to hospital in time for medical professionals to deliver their premature baby.
If I remember correctly, police let him off lightly because they felt for him – considering that he had been aware no ambulance would reached them in time, and that he was a panicked first-time father.
Nevertheless, in most instances thinking about yourself first and others second is not appropriate behaviour – even if you don’t act on the feelings.
At this point, I would like to admit something. I hate someone along my street – purely because I desperately want their car.
I call it car envy, and I’m not proud of it. It makes be behave in a ridiculous way whenever I bump into them at neighbourhood events or in town. I can only be nice for a few minutes…then things go down hill. I keep hoping that my feelings are not noticeable to anyone other than myself.
I can imagine this poor person might be wondering what they’ve done to irritate me so much – but I know that I will only be able to stop my ludicrous and selfish behaviour when they get a different car.
I hope it happens soon – then I can buy their current one off of them. Goodness that car is beautiful…
Photo © Craig Loftus via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: behaviour, car, dangerous, family, hospital, primal instinct, selfish, speed limit, street
Monday, September 10, 2012
Councils’ controlled parking issues
Have you been finding it harder to locate a parking space you don’t have to pay for these past few months?
We wouldn’t be surprised to hear that you had, because not only are there more cars being bought every day in the UK, but one in five councils have reduced the number of free street parking spaces available to motorists.
Furthermore, many have increased the number of parking attendants, so more people are being caught out and having to pay fines for overstaying or parking illegally.
Now, we don’t have a problem with people receiving fines for doing something they shouldn’t be doing, but what we’re not happy with is that drivers have fewer and fewer suitable parking bays available to them.
What are road users meant to do? Where can they park if there’s nowhere appropriate?
Since councils began taking over parking enforcement from the police in 2008, they seem to have gradually been making it more difficult for drivers to park.
Both the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation and the director of the RAC Foundation believe that councils need to reassess how they are dealing with controlled parking so that it is a benefit to residents instead of a nuisance.
We agree with them and hope to see some change soon.
Photo © Philip Taylor PT via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
We wouldn’t be surprised to hear that you had, because not only are there more cars being bought every day in the UK, but one in five councils have reduced the number of free street parking spaces available to motorists.Furthermore, many have increased the number of parking attendants, so more people are being caught out and having to pay fines for overstaying or parking illegally.
Now, we don’t have a problem with people receiving fines for doing something they shouldn’t be doing, but what we’re not happy with is that drivers have fewer and fewer suitable parking bays available to them.
What are road users meant to do? Where can they park if there’s nowhere appropriate?
Since councils began taking over parking enforcement from the police in 2008, they seem to have gradually been making it more difficult for drivers to park.
Both the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation and the director of the RAC Foundation believe that councils need to reassess how they are dealing with controlled parking so that it is a benefit to residents instead of a nuisance.
We agree with them and hope to see some change soon.
Photo © Philip Taylor PT via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: attendants, bays, car, councils, driver, enforcement, fines, free, illegal, Metropolitan Police Federation, motorist, parking, police, RAC Foundation, space, street parking
Friday, September 7, 2012
En-suite parking space
Ever wanted to park your car someplace where you can see it better from your lounge?
Have you ever had to say, “No, don’t close the curtains – I want to see my car a bit longer before I go to bed”, or, “My car is so beautiful I could give up TV and cinema and never for a second miss watching moving images.”?
The people lucky enough to be able to live in an apartment in Hamilton Parks in Singapore don’t have to worry about not being able to see their car at all times.
Even though the new apartment blocks are 30 stories in height, every single one of the expensive accommodations has its own parking space, separated from the living room by large panes of glass.
How is this possible? Well, there’s a lift at the bottom of the building which vehicle owners drive into, and then they have the car brought up to the correct level. Once there, the vehicle can be moved into their en-suite driveway.
They don’t just have any old cars parked up there either – they have really expensive supercars. Who needs art hung up on the walls when you have your beautiful sports cars permanently on show?
Very James Bond... I’m envious.
Photo © Design By Zouny via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Have you ever had to say, “No, don’t close the curtains – I want to see my car a bit longer before I go to bed”, or, “My car is so beautiful I could give up TV and cinema and never for a second miss watching moving images.”?The people lucky enough to be able to live in an apartment in Hamilton Parks in Singapore don’t have to worry about not being able to see their car at all times.
Even though the new apartment blocks are 30 stories in height, every single one of the expensive accommodations has its own parking space, separated from the living room by large panes of glass.
How is this possible? Well, there’s a lift at the bottom of the building which vehicle owners drive into, and then they have the car brought up to the correct level. Once there, the vehicle can be moved into their en-suite driveway.
They don’t just have any old cars parked up there either – they have really expensive supercars. Who needs art hung up on the walls when you have your beautiful sports cars permanently on show?
Very James Bond... I’m envious.
Photo © Design By Zouny via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: apartment, car, drive, en-suite, Hamilton Parks, living room, lounge, park, parking spaces, Singapore, supercar, vehicle
Monday, September 3, 2012
Leaving a warm car on cold days
It’s got much chillier all of the sudden, over the past week or so! I get cold quite easily, but it’s not only me who’s started to wear thicker clothes and wonder where summer went.
Thankfully, my car warms up quickly once it’s turned on, so on my way to work it’s really very pleasant – I feel toasty.
This, however, has a downside. Although it’s nice getting in after walking to it from my front door, getting out again to walk into the office is not as easy.
By the time I’ve got to work, my car has warmed me through to the core, and I feel like climbing over the front seats and curling up at the back for the rest of the day.
I can’t do that, unfortunately, so I open the door and I’m hit by a wall of cold air. It’s not pleasant, and, as the year draws closer to its end, it’s only going to get worse.
Why does my car have to be so cosy?
I think that in the future, cars should be fitted with an acclimatisation system, which would ever-so-gently cool the inside of the car to the temperature outside, so that leaving your vehicle wouldn’t be such a shock.
Photo © Keith Williamson via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Thankfully, my car warms up quickly once it’s turned on, so on my way to work it’s really very pleasant – I feel toasty.This, however, has a downside. Although it’s nice getting in after walking to it from my front door, getting out again to walk into the office is not as easy.
By the time I’ve got to work, my car has warmed me through to the core, and I feel like climbing over the front seats and curling up at the back for the rest of the day.
I can’t do that, unfortunately, so I open the door and I’m hit by a wall of cold air. It’s not pleasant, and, as the year draws closer to its end, it’s only going to get worse.
Why does my car have to be so cosy?
I think that in the future, cars should be fitted with an acclimatisation system, which would ever-so-gently cool the inside of the car to the temperature outside, so that leaving your vehicle wouldn’t be such a shock.
Photo © Keith Williamson via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: acclimatisation, car, chillier, cold, front seat, office, summer, temperature, toasty, vehicle, warm
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Swapping pompoms for podiums
As many of our regular readers already know, women drivers in motorsport is a topic close to the heart of CoverGirl car insurance.
For those of you new to these posts, we’ll recap our position: women drivers are statistically safer than men – they are physically and mentally just as capable of driving at high speeds – and, they deserve a chance to compete on a level footing with male racing drivers.
Sadly, though there are few opportunities for young women drivers to get into motorsport, few role models and a considerable amount of prejudice, both personal and institutional.
It’s great to hear Damon Hill, former F1 champion, getting behind the idea of women in motorsport. In fact, the revered champ says that it’s “inevitable” that a woman will one day win F1.
This is true. But in some senses it can only be so, once we begin to believe that it is indeed inevitable. As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
It’s not that women haven’t entered F1 before, although the last woman to take her place on the grid did so in 1976.
"Maybe it's just numbers, maybe not enough women have chosen that career path and eventually someone will and show they are every bit as good as the best guy out there," said Hill.
"It's a little bit hard in motorsport that women don't have their own category, but the women drivers I've spoken to don't want their own category - they want to show they can compete against the men.” – well, he’s right there, women drivers are every bit as good as men. And if the insurance statistics are anything to go by, there’d be fewer serious crashes too!
Women in motorsport is about more than a few blonde girls with fake tans, short skirts and giant pompoms.
Image © *shanghai*sparkles* via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
For those of you new to these posts, we’ll recap our position: women drivers are statistically safer than men – they are physically and mentally just as capable of driving at high speeds – and, they deserve a chance to compete on a level footing with male racing drivers.Sadly, though there are few opportunities for young women drivers to get into motorsport, few role models and a considerable amount of prejudice, both personal and institutional.
It’s great to hear Damon Hill, former F1 champion, getting behind the idea of women in motorsport. In fact, the revered champ says that it’s “inevitable” that a woman will one day win F1.
This is true. But in some senses it can only be so, once we begin to believe that it is indeed inevitable. As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
It’s not that women haven’t entered F1 before, although the last woman to take her place on the grid did so in 1976.
"Maybe it's just numbers, maybe not enough women have chosen that career path and eventually someone will and show they are every bit as good as the best guy out there," said Hill.
"It's a little bit hard in motorsport that women don't have their own category, but the women drivers I've spoken to don't want their own category - they want to show they can compete against the men.” – well, he’s right there, women drivers are every bit as good as men. And if the insurance statistics are anything to go by, there’d be fewer serious crashes too!
Women in motorsport is about more than a few blonde girls with fake tans, short skirts and giant pompoms.
Image © *shanghai*sparkles* via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car insurance, drivers, F1, motorsport, racing
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
When more spaces mean less space
In some UK town centres it can be quite difficult finding somewhere to park your car. I know I’ve had problems before when I’ve gone round and round for a while and then had to give up and search for roadside spaces down residential streets instead.
I don’t like parking up on a roadside next to someone’s home because I feel that I might be in the way. Obviously I don’t park in front of people’s driveways, but I always wonder if they look out of their window, see my vehicle sat there, and think ‘Now where’s Lucy going to park when she comes over today?’, or something similar.
Thankfully, many councils are trying to improve parking for motorists and are finding ways of increasing the number of bays available.
However, Leicester City Council recently showed everyone that creating new spaces isn’t as easy as you may have imagined.
Employing a contractor to paint new bays along a street, the council didn’t plan the work well enough and made a bit of a mess of it all.
Motorists found that when all the spaces were in use, there was only a gap a little under one metre left for drivers to fit through. Needless to say, you can’t fit a car through a gap of that size, and people were not pleased.
The mistake has since been rectified, and hopefully Leicester City Council will plan work better in the future…
I don’t like parking up on a roadside next to someone’s home because I feel that I might be in the way. Obviously I don’t park in front of people’s driveways, but I always wonder if they look out of their window, see my vehicle sat there, and think ‘Now where’s Lucy going to park when she comes over today?’, or something similar.
Thankfully, many councils are trying to improve parking for motorists and are finding ways of increasing the number of bays available.
However, Leicester City Council recently showed everyone that creating new spaces isn’t as easy as you may have imagined.
Employing a contractor to paint new bays along a street, the council didn’t plan the work well enough and made a bit of a mess of it all.
Motorists found that when all the spaces were in use, there was only a gap a little under one metre left for drivers to fit through. Needless to say, you can’t fit a car through a gap of that size, and people were not pleased.
The mistake has since been rectified, and hopefully Leicester City Council will plan work better in the future…
Photo © compujeramey via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: bay, car, driveway, Leicester City Council, motorist, parking, roadside, space, town centre, UK, vehicle
Friday, August 24, 2012
Speeding motorists becoming rarer
You know what really grinds my gears? – by which I mean, what annoys me, not what ruins the inner workings of my car. It’s speeding motorists who make me mad!
Sometimes you can’t tell if people are speeding – one or two miles above the limit are hard to spot – but when I see road users obviously flouting the rules I have to pull over somewhere safe and calm myself down.
I can’t understand why some drivers do it – it’s so dangerous and completely unnecessary!
Occasionally I see some people visibly speeding just to show off to strangers walking along the pavement. What’s the point?
Thankfully though, figures from the RAC Foundation and the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety show that motorists are not speeding as much as they used to.
For example, whereas 69% of drivers exceeded 30mph limits in 1998, in 2010 only 46% did. Furthermore, the number of road users breaking the 70mph limit on motorways used to be 57% in 2003, but fell to 49% in 2010.
I’m pleased, and I hope those figures continue to decrease.
Photo © ell brown via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, dangerous, drivers, gear, limit, motorists, Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, RAC Foundation, road, speeding