Saturday, April 19th, 2008
News that a car insurance company has decided to penalise drivers with points on their licence from a hand-held mobile phone offence is an excellent development, according to road safety experts at the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists).
It raises some interesting issues, too: does three points on your licence because you committed a hand-held mobile phone offence make you more dangerous as a risk than three points for a “routine” speeding offence?
The answer, according to Allianz, is definitely yes. They describe the hand-held phone offence as a “dangerous and needless act”.
So now those who persist with this dangerous hand-held habit will suffer the triple whammy: a fine, points on their licence, and an increase in the insurance premium when they renew.
It is now more than a year since the tougher penalties for hand-held mobile phone use were introduced. The Department for Transport (DfT) has said 185,000 drivers were caught using hand held phones in 2007.
But the offence continues: according to Allianz, ten per cent of motorists admitted in a survey to using their mobile without a hands-free kit while they were behind the wheel.
The tougher penalty is now a doubled fine, from £30 to £60, with three penalty points.
There has never been a better time to invest in a Bluetooth hands-free kit, which are widely available at less than £30. Put bluntly, that’s less than half the cost of the fine if you are caught.
By making sure that your Bluetooth hands-free kit is always in the car and charged you will be able to keep your phone on while driving, without running the risk of committing a hand-held offence. However, there is an important caveat here. Even when you have the hands-free habit, use it with care. Remember, even hands-free conversations are a major distraction, putting you and other road users at risk.
But with a Bluetooth on, you can make a point of telling callers that you are driving, and find somewhere legal, safe and convenient to pull over and continue your conversation.
This article has been reproduced with the permission of the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists)
Posted in Motoring & Driving Tips
Saturday, April 19th, 2008
It is not uncommon to come across drivers who go out of their way to avoid certain roundabouts. Even experienced drivers consider them to be “high risk” locations, and feel uncomfortable with them, no matter what size the roundabout is.
The single most common mistake at a roundabout is only looking to your right as you approach, because that is where you expect traffic to come from. But what about the car ahead of you - can that driver see something that you can’t?
It is better to gather as much information as you can - start to check to your right, straight ahead, to your left, and all your mirrors as you approach the roundabout. By carrying out your observations in this sweeping/scanning motion, you are more likely to pick up if the car in front decides not to go for some reason.
The classic rear end shunt, caused by the driver ahead not going when you think he’s going, can thus be avoided. Help yourself further by keeping a good gap between you and the vehicle waiting to get on, so if he changes his mind half way you have room to stop without compromising yourself.
Drivers often approach the roundabout with the plan to continue unless they have to stop because of other traffic. The problem here is that you may notice another car just as you get close to the roundabout, but you are more likely to speed up, opting to “take a chance” because it is difficult to change your mind at the last moment.
A slightly different, but very much more effective mental outlook is to approach the roundabout thinking “plan to stop but look to go”.
As you scan, remember you are looking for gaps, as well as vehicles.
And once you are on the roundabout, remember not everybody will position themselves correctly to get off: you could find somebody sweeping cross you to get to their exit. Remember that the lorry or bus needs lots of room, and try not to be actually alongside it.
On a mini roundabout, if you are approach at the same time as an oncoming vehicle, clearly indicate you intention and then do a visual check - try to catch the driver’s eye and send a message to avoid the ambiguous situation when nobody is quite sure who should go first.
This article has been reproduced with the permission of the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists)
Posted in Motoring & Driving Tips
