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Showing posts from February, 2016

Reasons your car will break down this month

Cars break down all the time it is an unfortunate fact of life for those who drive. You may be one of the lucky ones who have never had to deal with a breakdown, but here are the top reasons why cars will be breaking down in 2016. Filling up with the wrong petrol or just no fuel at all Year on year this always appears on the list of reasons why people break down. If you don’t know if your car is petrol or diesel check the car manual! If however you do end up filling up at the wrong pump and you realise before you drive off then call your breakdown provider and get it drained before you switch on the engine because it could so some serious damage. Also – try to never drive below a quarter of a tank of petrol because running out of petrol is right up there with filling up with the wrong one. Getting a puncture You should check your tyres often especially if you drive quite a lot. Look for a tear in the wheel itself and look at the tyre pressure as well. All of these can lead to the tyre

Essential skills that drivers should really have

You hear a horrible popping noise and the car starts to veer. You have popped a tyre and if you are anything like me your first thought will be ‘but I don’t know how to change a tyre on my own.’ This is normally followed by a panicked phone call to whoever handles my breakdown cover! But what are the essential skills that really every driver should have? Changing a tyre When you purchase a car you should have either a spare tyre in the boot or a tyre repair kit. You should also keep a kit that has a wrench, a jack and a block. Auto Trader have a great graphic on how to change a tyre which you can find here: http://bit.ly/1nMMkJ6 Jumping a battery It happens. It can be something like leaving your heater on or your lights (all of which drain the battery). As long as you have the right cables and someone else’s car to piggy back off it should not be too much hassle to get back on the road.  Make sure that you follow the instructions on the cables to the letter as you get a literal shock.

Crash for cash scams

2015 saw one of the biggest crash for cash scams in Britain take place in Blackwood Wales. More than 80 people were convicted of insurance fraud, costing the insurance industry nearly £1 million. A family had staged accidents for other relatives and friends enabling them to make bogus insurance claims, which saw air-bags removed from the cars to make it seem like a crash had really happened. Luckily it did not take place on public roads but at a repair garage. This is not something to be taken lightly. Just because someone thinks they are staging an accident in a safe environment it doesn't mean they or anyone else are safe. All it would take is one wrong move and it could become a fatality or a serious injury – all because they wanted pay-outs. There are also people who will cause accidents in a crash for cash scams on the main roads, so when you are driving you need to be alert as they target vulnerable drivers such as the elderly, who may not argue back when someone is saying th

Laws that all drivers should know

The legal drink drive limit I for one believe that if you intend to drive then you should not drink at all as alcohol has different effects on different people. However, not everyone knows what the actual limit is. It is hard to say what it is in units or amount of drink because it is measured in the breath and the blood. If someone is caught with over 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, or 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres. Know your limits drivers. If you feel tipsy, put the keys away and call a taxi. Middle lane hogging In 2015 a van driver became the first person to be prosecuted for hogging the middle lane. It is actually against the law to do so and you could end up with a fine and three points on your license if you are prosecuted. Car tax With the scrapping of the paper tax disc came a new law. Did you know it is illegal to sell a vehicle with its car tax? When a car is sold, the tax has to be cancelled and the new owner has to tax the car from scr