How do you avoid accidents? By not being there when they happen...

Every day in the UK, 23 young people, under the age of 25, are killed or seriously injured in vehicles. Most of these collisions are caused by bad driving. Not the vehicle, the road, or the conditions.

Driving is the biggest single killer of young people in the UK. Advanced Driving Courses and Tests were designed to contribute to road safety, and the facts demonstrate that nearly 70% of drivers who receive Further and Advanced Driver coaching show significantly safer skills in a number of key areas.

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Reverse your fuel bills

Did you know you can save up to ?2 of fuel per week by simply reversing your car into a parking space, so you drive away forwards? As well as positioning your vehicle into a safer position to pull away, there are many benefits to both your vehicle, and your pocket.

New data from the IAM Motoring Trust shows it takes an average five year old car a minute and a half for the engine to warm up and the most efficient way to warm it up is by driving it. Reversing out of a space when the car’s engine is cold uses around 20 to 25 times more petrol in the first few seconds than it does when warm. If you do this 10 to 12 times a week that adds up to a cost of about ?100 a year, not to mention the increased wear on the car’s engine.

Reverse parking is also usually safer and is advised in The Highway Code. Reversing into somewhere you can see (a parking bay) rather than reversing out into somewhere you can’t see (often a line of moving traffic) is much safer. It is also easier to control a car going forwards than backwards when it is first started, and attempting a potentially high risk manoeuvre such as reversing when you have just entered a car and are not concentrating fully, is more dangerous.

From a security point of view, reversing close to an object such as a wall can make it more difficult for thieves to gain access and, if you need to leave a parking space quickly for personal security reasons, driving forward provides you with better acceleration and improved vision.

Many drivers find it helpful to lower the left (nearside) mirror to provide a guide to your lateral position. Another option, where all the parking spaces run in parallel rows, is to line your car up with the space in front and reverse back in a straight line. This should automatically position you in the centre of the space – but do remember to look where you are going!

This article has been reproduced with the permission of the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists)

Drink Drive endorsement is an 11 year black mark

As summer warms up and the thirst for an alcoholic drink increases, the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) has reminded drivers of the perils of accidentally drinking and driving.

An 11 year licence endorsement is just one of the many consequences of a drink offence, although this isn’t widely known.    There is no foolproof way to check your Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit before you get behind the wheel, so the IAM’s message to motorists is: if you’re going to drink, don’t drive.  And if you are going to drive, don’t drink.

Previous surveys have shown a staggering 50 per cent of Britain’s 32 million motorists have owned up to driving after drinking alcohol.

“Just one” is often followed by another, especially if people are buying rounds of drinks. And a generous round-buyer may get you a large wine or a double measure of spirits without you realising. This may be a well-meaning gesture, but it could put you over the limit.

Your ability to drive can be affected by even a modest amount of alcohol, at any time of year. Even if you are actually within the limit, alcohol still affects your judgement.

If you’re driving abroad on a summer holiday, alcohol limits vary for each individual country, with some countries even having a zero alcohol limit. But the general rule to be safe no matter where you are driving remains: don’t drink and drive.

Why not offer to be the (non-drinking) designated driver?   You’ll save money and you’ll be popular with everyone else you’re giving a lift home to.

If you drive at twice the legal limit, you are 30 times more likely crash, and a long sleep or a large cup of coffee after drinking the night before may not be the quick fix you expected to allow you to safely get behind the wheel.

There could be sufficient alcohol in your system to still push you over the legal limit for many hours after you have stopped drinking. So remember to leave at least twelve hours between the “bottle” and the “throttle”.

This article has been reproduced with the permission of the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists)

Save Pounds at the Pump

As soaring fuel prices continue to hit the headlines, motorists cannot fail to be interested in ways to get the most miles out of every tank of petrol.

Regardless of your choice of vehicle, there are techniques you can use to save fuel and at the same time minimise your impact on the environment. These techniques are part of the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) course, which has delivered eco-benefits through fuel efficiency methods since the IAM was established in 1956.

Ask yourself: “Do I really need to drive?”: Short journeys that are generally less than two miles cause the most pollution and are inefficient in terms of fuel consumption. A straining cold engine will produce 60 per cent more pollution than a warm one. Walk or cycle where possible instead.

Plan your route: Take the most direct route and go at off-peak times if possible to save fuel and time. Sitting in congestion means you are often doing zero miles per litre. Consider car sharing, Park and Ride schemes or public transport.

Have your vehicle serviced regularly: Inefficient, under-serviced engines can reduce fuel economy by 10 per cent or more. Catalytic converters are environmentally friendly – but only if they are properly maintained.

Check your tyres: Correct tyre pressures reduce wear and helps fuel economy. Under-inflated tyres need replacing more often (itself an environmental problem) as well as being dangerous. Make a point of checking them at least once a week.

Obey the speed limits: Try to ‘feather’ the throttle when you reach your cruising speed. Doing 56mph uses 25 per cent less fuel than 70mph and a smoother driving style can bring significant fuel saving.

Reduce the drag factor: Remove roof racks and carriers when they’re not in use as well as unnecessary boot luggage and heavy accessories.

Driving with the window open and using air conditioning increases drag and lowers fuel economy, so use the vent settings instead.

Buy green fuel: And use less of it. If you get stuck in traffic, switch off the engine. Find out if you can buy low sulphur diesel (city diesel) or cleaner petrol (low sulphur/aromatics) locally.

Use “accelerator” sense: Save fuel by planning ahead and reading the traffic in advance to gently join a queue rather than braking suddenly as you hit traffic.

Reverse when you park: The engine will be cold and at its most fuel inefficient when you start it. If you can drive away without having to reverse when the engine is cold, you will save fuel and have better
visibility.

Watch your levels: If you fill your fuel tank up to the brim, you may be carrying around additional fuel which in turn means that you have more weight on board than is necessary and this will itself reduce fuel efficiency.

This article has been reproduced with the permission of the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists)

Screen Test

There’s no doubt that modern cars are structurally far superior to models widely available in years gone by. One of the recent trends in structural safety has had a possible downside in terms of driver vision – the growth of the A pillar.

The A pillar is the engineering term for the area dividing the windscreen and the windows. In recent years the A pillars have become sturdier in a bid to improve the structure of the car as a whole.

In response, car designers have made them thicker. But the A pillar has created a blind spot which campaigners have pointed out obstructs the vision of thousands of drivers.

A study commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) from the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) found that, while the A pillar can obscure vision, there is rarely only one factor that contributes to an accident.

The study therefore found that there was not enough evidence to suggest that changes to current legislation regarding A pillar design would be of benefit. That means the onus is on drivers to cater for possible A pillar restriction. So what should we do?

More than 90 per cent of the information from the car’s external environment is viewed by the driver through the windscreen and windows. So, firstly, you should be aware of the potential restriction the A pillar may cause in your ability to scan the road ahead.

It is vital to check that nothing is hidden from view by the A pillar before making a manoeuvre. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are easy to “lose” in the space behind a pillar. Make sure you take time to look around the pillar, not just take a quick “snap-shot” look which could allow a cyclist to be hidden from view.

As you are driving in a straight line in approach to a junction, look further ahead, and scan to the left and right on your approach. That way you will see things through the windscreens before they become “lost” behind the pillars.

Remember – good, all round vision is vital. The onus is on you, as the driver, to see what is there.

More information about the DfT study Click here <http://www.dft.gov.uk/rmd/project.asp?intProjectID=11835>

This article has been reproduced with the permission of the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists)