Nov 12, 2015
Right now, we’re all surrounded by reminders that winter is just around the corner; The Christmas TV adverts have started, and the seasonal drinks have appeared in the coffee chains. Morning frosts and news reports of “travel chaos” can surely not be far away?
Winter delivers some real challenges to UK motorists. So here we have some tips to help you get through the cold season without too many unexpected delays and unwanted surprises.
1. Driving properly in the rain
The Telegraph has produced a detailed guide to driving in the rain, in response to claims that we have “months of winter storms” on the way.
Such claims are so frequent, it’s hard to believe them until they come true. That said, recent weeks have delivered plenty of damp and drizzly weather. The guide mentioned above makes for a good read, but the key takeaway advice is to suitably adapt your driving style during wet weather, especially when it comes to being aware of increased stopping distances.
As you’ve no doubt noticed, plenty of people ignore this advice, so driving defensively is another wise strategy to minimise the chances of other people’s poor driving affecting you.
2. Correctly maintaining your car
Winter is really not the time to find yourself on the roadside awaiting a recovery truck. As such, it’s also not the time to neglect properly maintaining your car. Pay attention to oil levels and tyre pressures, and don’t ignore any irritating faults that could become more of an issue further down the line.
Most importantly, make sure you’ve actually got breakdown cover and that it hasn’t expired.
3. Driving in the snow
Driving in the snow requires similar precautions to driving in the rain. While there’s no certainty of snow over the winter, it’s quite possible, especially in more northern parts of the UK.
When the ground becomes covered with snow and ice, it’s worth taking seriously those warnings of “only travel if necessary.” If you can avoid a journey, give it some serious consideration, and if you must venture out, check the travel news and stick to well maintained major roads.
4. Dealing with the inevitable “travel chaos”
You can be certain that there will be news reports of travel chaos all over the festive season, and if there’s no flexibility in your schedule you may have no option but to get caught up in some of it.
Having said that, at the time of writing it’s only mid-November. Now’s the time to start thinking about your seasonal travel plans to see if you can make some intelligent decisions about when to undertake your major journeys. Christmas day falls on a Friday this year, so some people won’t have any option but to travel on a chaotic Christmas Eve. With that in mind, now may be the time to book some annual holiday to give you the freedom to travel on a different day. A little lateral thinking can help you avoid getting caught up in the inevitable tailbacks.
5. Being prepared
Now’s the time to make sure you have a spare tyre, throw some provisions and warm jumpers in the boot of your car, and always make sure you have charge in your phone. That way you’re prepared for whatever this coming winter throws at you!
IMAGE CREDIT: Geograph
Nov 9, 2015
It’s now been nearly two months since news of the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal broke. If you own a diesel Volkswagen vehicle, or indeed an Audi, Seat or Skoda (all of which are also implicated), you’re probably curious as to the recent developments.
As such, we’ve decided to compile some of the latest information for you. Although other things have taken over as headline news, there has still been a steady stream of media reports related to the scandal.
Will your VW be recalled?
The first issue to address is the big recall. 1.2 Million of the 11 Million cars affected by the VW scandal are located in the UK, and VW and its subsidiaries will begin to recall them for corrective action from early next year.
An interesting point, raised by The Telegraph last month, is that owners of affected vehicles won’t be legally obliged to take part in the recall. However, it would be foolish to ignore it, as your car will continue to be more polluting than it should be, and its resale value will potentially fall if the work hasn’t been done. On the flip side, reports suggest the vehicles could become slightly more expensive to run after the recall fix, to the tune of around £50 per year.
What’s happening to Volkswagen now?
VW, as a company, is in all sorts of trouble, facing legal action in multiple countries. According to a report in The Guardian, even VW’s investors are starting to launch lawsuits.
There’s even talk that VW’s senior management are scared to travel to the US in case they are arrested in relation to the scandal. According to a separate report in The Guardian, one VW employee has had their passport confiscated in the US.
VW’s share price has fallen by around 40% since the scandal broke, essentially almost halving the value of the company.
Is there a future?
Obviously Volkswagen is a huge global company, but it’s astonishing to have watched it fall so hard and fast. In the UK October’s sales figures painted a depressing picture. Across VW, Seat and Skoda, sales of new vehicles were down by an average of 15%, although Audi sales were unaffected.
We shall keep our ears to the ground for any further news, especially relating to the recall. If you own an affected car, getting it fixed so it kicks out fewer emissions should be a top priority.
IMAGE CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons
Nov 6, 2015
Helping you to find the cheapest fuel in your area has always been the point behind PetrolPrices, and we hope that over our ten years in operation you’ve saved some of your hard-earned cash. We’ve received a number of positive comments and testimonials over the years, which are always a pleasure to receive, but we want to do even more for you, the consumer.
As such, we don’t intend to stand still and rest on our laurels, so today we’re excited to reveal that PetrolPrices is changing; While our focus will remain on being your number one destination for locating the cheapest fuel, we are investing in significant site improvements to provide a comprehensive one-stop resource for smarter and more economical driving.
We intend to provide you with more useful information and statistics than ever before, something you’ll begin to notice over the coming months as we implement our changes.
PetrolPrices Values
As a business, PetrolPrices has always operated with our members interests firmly in mind. Now that we are undergoing a special transformation, we feel it’s important to remind you that this focus will not change. To reinforce that, we have created a set of values by which we will go forward and exist as a company, they are:
- Independence
- Clarity
- Transparency
- Integrity
Thanks to our ten-year heritage helping you and your fellow British motorists find the cheapest fuel prices, we are perfectly placed to build on this by creating tools that will enable smarter driving for all of our members.
When we say smarter driving, what we mean is that as well as finding the cheapest fuel, we will help you in many more ways, such as locating the best places to eat on your journey, advising you where the best/nearest toilet facilities are, suggesting ways to drive your car in the most fuel efficient way and helping you get the best motoring rewards.
The PetrolPrices Mobile App
Work is currently underway on creating a new, free to download PetrolPrices mobile app. Not only will this contain much more price information and updates, it will also include some very exciting new tools and services that you will be able to use use to enable smarter driving. As some members have pointed out, our existing app is showing its age, so you can be assured any existing issues will be addressed.
In order to provide you with a smarter driving experience, we will need to collect a little information about you as a motorist. This can be as simple as your car number plate or the area in which you live. This will enable us to provide free smarter driving services to our members.
We need YOUR Feedback!
We are also keen to draw on the collective intelligence of our members and ask YOU, via surveys, how we should lead the company, and get your feedback on the new products and services we look forward to providing you with in the near future.
If you’re a subscriber, you’ll find a survey in your inbox quite soon, along with the opportunity to win a rather exciting prize as a thank you for your participation. The survey will be announced here too.
In the meantime, if you have anything you would like to say about PetrolPrices, please use the comment section below, or feel free to send us a message via FaceBook or Twitter.
We have also set up a special email address specifically for feedback, comments, queries and ideas, which is as follows:
feedback@petrolprices.com
We will try our very best to respond to your email queries within 48 hours, and give the most detailed response possible.
We’re really sorry that we don’t currently provide a phone number for our business. If we did, the amount of time it would take to respond to your calls would mean we would not be able to develop the new PetrolPrices and make it as smart as possible for you, so please bear with us. For the same reasons, please do not send post; Although our address is listed on the website, we are a very small business and don’t have the capacity for postal response at present.
Looking to the Future
We’re very excited about this next chapter in the life of PetrolPrices and look forward to you joining us on the journey. The site has always been here for you, the consumer, so please do share your feedback so we can adapt our future offering around exactly what would help you the most as a motorist.
Best Wishes,
Jason David Lloyd – Managing Director, PetrolPrices.COM Ltd
Oct 29, 2015
The fall-out from the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal continues apace, and it’s now the European Commission coming over heavy criticism for their response to it.
According to an article in Business Reporter, a decision voted on by representatives from 28 EU countries will allow cars to produce far more pollution than is legally permitted.
It seems that as so many cars have been affected by the scandal, the EU countries have agreed to a proposal that will allow cars to produce more than double to legal limit of emissions. Furthermore, RDE (Real Driving Emissions) tests will only be fully in place by September 2017. Requirements will become more stringent from 2020.
A sad reality is that many cars currently on the roads, affected by the VW scandal and using devices that have skewed test results, are actually emitting more than 40 times the amount of nitrogen oxide pollutants than they should be. Client Earth, an environmental group, are quoted in the report as saying that the EU decision is a “shockingly cynical move,” and that they have “lower(ed) the bar” rather than truly clamping down on the problem. They go on to state that there is “no doubt (the) decision will cost lives.
The campaigning group hope that the European Parliament will overrule the decision. Time will tell on that particular issue, but we can’t help but wonder if there’s far more to unfold regarding this issue. Could it only be a matter of time before other manufacturers become implicated in emission cheating too? Let us know what you think in the comments.
IMAGE CREDIT: Wikipedia
Oct 19, 2015
Recent figures, collated by the RAC and revealed by The Telegraph, have shown that only around half as many people were prosecuted for using mobile phones at the wheel last year than were back in 2009.
If this seems nonsensical to you (as it did to us), you won’t be surprised that a separate study suggests that nowadays far more people illegally use their phones whilst in command of a vehicle. In fact, in a survey, 1.5% of “tens of thousands” of drivers admitted to doing so.
So how can it be that more people are engaging in this illegal practice while prosecution figures are going down so drastically? Well, it seems that a lack of police resources is to blame.
Stories of local police forces no longer actively pursuing certain offenses are very common nowadays. Some regions are no longer investigating burglaries and others have admitted turning a blind eye to cannabis growers – all because of government cuts and reduced resources.
In the case of traffic offenses, the number of police on the lookout has gone down by nearly 25% since 2010, amounting to 1279 fewer officers on the roads. Small wonder then that many people are getting away with using their phones at the wheel.
If you are one of the people who breaks the law in this way, please remember that using your phone whilst driving, aside from being dangerous, is considered by the public to be the “most hated driving habit.” If you are caught, you do still face a fine of around £100 and points on your license.
