Firstly (as advised by the AA), it should be said that if you know there’s likely to be ice on the roads and your journey isn’t important, stay at home. Choosing to drive on an icy road means that you’re choosing to take a ton or so of self propelled metal onto the public highway with no sure way of stopping or controlling it. It’s not always possible to avoid driving in icy conditions but if you can, you should.

If driving in icy or snowy conditions drivers should:

• Remember it takes longer to stop in icy conditions than on a dry road. Drive slowly and allow extra room between your vehicle and the vehicle in front
• Use the highest gear possible to avoid wheel spin
• Manoeuvre gently, avoid harsh braking and acceleration
• To brake on ice or snow without locking your wheels, get into a low gear earlier than normal, allow your speed to fall and use the brake pedal gently
• Remember that heavy snowfall and rain reduce visibility. Use dipped headlights and decrease speed
• Watch out for black ice, especially in sheltered areas on roads

In the event of a minor skid do the following:

• If you start to skid, release the brake pedal fully and stay off the brake
• Turn the steering wheel in the same direction as the skid and ease off the accelerator at the same time
• Avoid over correction with too much steering

If driving in stormy conditions drivers should:

• Watch out for falling/fallen debris on the road and vehicles veering across the road
• Control of a vehicle may be affected by strong cross winds. High sided vehicles and motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable to strong winds
• Allow extra distance between you and the vehicle in front (i.e. don’t tailgate), especially when driving behind heavy goods vehicles
• Allow extra space between you and vulnerable road users such as cyclists and motorcyclists
• Use dipped headlights at all times of poor visibility
• Check tyres to ensure minimum tread depth of 1.6mm and correct tyre pressureHidden dangers at zero degrees

Hidden dangers at zero degrees:

• Black ice. Normally, you can’t see black ice. However, if the pavement looks shiny and black instead of grey-white, be suspicious.
• Shaded areas.
• Bridges and overpasses. Ice tends to form on them before it does elsewhere.
• Intersections. Car exhaust and packed snow cause intersections to ice up quickly.

Turn off your cruise controlWhen the road is slippery, turn off your cruise control system. Snow, ice, slush or even rain can cause wheel-spin and loss of control.The only way to stop this wheel-spin and maintain control is to immediately reduce power. However, an activated cruise control system will continue to apply power, keeping the wheels spinning. By the time you disengage the cruise control, you may have lost control.

Vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are advised to be seen, wear bright clothing with reflective armbands, or a reflective belt or carry a torch.

Apparently in 2010 the EU COULD allow vehicle manufacturers to restrict access for independent garages to get at the information and tools they need to diagnose and/or repair the latest cars and sophisticated on-board technology. The outcome of this would mean the motorist going to a franchised dealership for such services and, as things stand, typically paying more for labour costs than they are likely to in an independent garage.

Naive perhaps (why would the EU want to do this?) if the industry I know best tells me that this is a real risk, then I shall (on behalf of FOXY and UK female consumers of course) support the independent garages’ ‘Right to Repair’ campaign because the consumer must always be the winner, and increased competition is what makes this happen.

In short, leading independent garages must be able to compete fairly with leading franchised garages because the eventual outcome of increased competition is in the best interest of all motorists.p>

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Up until October 24th this year, 2,452 provisional drivers have appeared in court for the offence.

The number of cases is lower than in 2006 when 4,490 cases for this offence came before the courts, or around 370 a month. The Courts Services has no data on how many of these cases resulted in a conviction.

Last week, Motors reported that Kildare District Court’s Judge Murrough Connellan planned to disqualify provisional-licence holders who appeared before him charged with driving unaccompanied or without L-plates.

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Eggs
What to expect in the morning:
It?s a morning not unlike any other. You shower, dress and get ready for work — then you step outside to the horror of all horrors: your baby smattered with eggs from nose to tail. Scrambled immediately comes to mind and the whiff of cooked eggs may make you nauseous for years to come? but don?t panic. Walk back inside, pick up the phone and call work — you?ll need a day off for this one.

READ ARTICLE: Shaving Foam, Mini-Pumpkins, Wet Toilet Paper, Silly String,

progressive.com have put together a fantastic list with a couple of useful tips to help everyone bring home treats — not tragedies:

IAM has provided the following tips for individual drivers to help keep safe on Irish roads:

Ø Always drive at a speed that you can stop safely in the distance seen to be clear

Ø Try to create space around your vehicle. As a minimum keep a two second gap between you and the vehicle in front – Remember the 2 Second Rule

Ø If you are tired, take a 15 to 20 minute nap while you are parked somewhere safe, legal and convenient which can really give you a boost, especially if you combine it with a high caffeine drink when you wake up

Ø As a rule of thumb, the more paint there is on the road surface (i.e. road markings), the more potential danger there is

Ø To try and reduce the effect of stress on your driving, leave plenty of time for the journey

Ø Always drive as if your life depended on it – because it does

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• Engine: Including Block, Heads, Pistons & Valves

• Cooling System: Including Radiator, Thermostat, Water Pump, Heater & Hoses

• Charging System: Including Alternator, Regulator & Battery

• Ignition System: Includes Spark Plugs, Distributor, Ignition Wires & Coil

• Automatic Transmissions: Understand the concepts behind what goes on inside these technological marvels and what goes into repairing them when they fail.

• Brakes: Including Disk & Drum Brakes, Master Cylinder, Power Booster & Anti-lock Brakes

• Wheel Alignment: With explanations of Caster, Camber, Toe-in along with other angles that are important to know about.

• Hybrid Power Systems: A detailed look at these new propulsion systems to determine how they are able to get exceptional fuel economy and equally impressive control over tailpipe emissions.

• Dashboard Gauges: A look at the gauges on your instrument panel and how to read them.

• Air Conditioner: Including Compressor, Condenser, Evaporator & Receiver Dryer

• Electrical Systems: Excellent courses on Electrical Fundamentals, Circuits, Controls and Electronics

• Fuel System: Includes Carburetor, Fuel Injection, Fuel Pump & Fuel Filter

• Emissions System: Including Catalytic converter, Air Pump, Oxygen Sensor, Computer & PCV Valve

• Battery: A look at how they work and what can go wrong with them.

• Starting System: Including the Battery, Starter, Ignition Switch & Neutral Safety Switch.

• On Board Diagnostics: How Today’s Cars Diagnose Themselves

• The Timing Belt: What They Do, What Happens when they Fail

• My car won’t start, what should I do? Common no-start problems and what to do about them

by Patrick James

Vegetable oil cars? They already exist! And we’re not talking about biodiesel here, we’re talking about driving a car that runs on a vegetable oil diesel fuel alternative.

Sure, you’ve heard about biodiesel, but what about vegetable oil cars? No need for transesterification or any other vegetable oil diesel conversion, these cars run on plain old veggie oil.”

Source: Gas Mileage Tips READ ARTICLE:

by Patrick James

“While we all normally pay attention to major health problems that can affect our driving skills, we pay less attention to the host of mundane illnesses that affect many drivers and can increase the risk of having a crash.

A cold, a headache, tiredness, stress, indigestion, a stiff neck, a bad back, stiff joints, the list is endless.

Hay fever sufferers at the wheel for example, may pose a risk to themselves and other road users at this time of year. A sudden burst of sneezing can often cause a driver to lose concentration and vision for a considerable distance. This means that if a hay fever sufferer has a bout of eight or nine sneezes when travelling at 120 km on a motorway, vision could be lost for up to half a mile.”

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SOURCE: Institute of Advanced Motorists

Advice for motorists considering driving through a flooded section of road:

• Don’t go in if it’s obviously too deep or if you are unsure of the depth: consider an alternative route or wait for a larger vehicle to go through so that you can assess the water depth.

• If you have to drive through water try to drive in the highest section of the road which is usually the centre of the road. If another vehicle is travelling in the opposite direction, wait for it to pass before setting off yourself.

• Drive slowly in 1st gear using clutch control while at the same time keeping the revs up. This will prevent you creating a bow wave or water entering the exhaust pipe, which could result in the engine stalling.

• Keep going once you have started (providing of course that it is safe), make sure you have a clear run, but be extra careful if there are pedestrian around to avoid splashing them.

• After you come out, dry brakes gently before you need them, Check your mirror first to make sure it is safe behind and then lightly apply the brake with your left foot while using your right foot to continue to drive along for a few seconds. However you need to remember that your left foot is not as sensitive as your right foot (it normally only operates the clutch) so be careful not to over-brake.

by Patrick James.