Which Common Driving Mistakes Cause the Most Damage to Your Vehicle?

Even without having to deal with the added cost of repairing damage, running your car is pretty expensive. Finance, insurance, fuel, road tax and MOTs all add up to take a heavy toll on your bank account, so having to fork out a little extra to fund repairs is the last thing you’ll need. Unfortunately, many drivers have bad habits that make damage likely to occur. Many of these damaging driving mistakes are avoidable, but too many drivers don’t know about the impact their driving behaviour can have. Here are just some of the most common bad driving habits to…

The Dangers of Tyre-Related Breakdowns on New Smart Motorways

The fear of suffering a blowout is a very real and very worrying aspect of driving any vehicle, but there are particular times when the dangers are heightened. One such instance is when you’re driving on a new smart motorway. But what are smart motorways, and why are they so dangerous to have a tyre-related breakdown on? What are smart motorways? Smart motorways are the newest motorway design to hit British shores. They use technology to actively manage the flow of traffic by monitoring it and adjusting speed limits and signs accordingly. A crucial element of smart motorways, and the…

Government Crackdown on Speeding: New Rules & Fines

At the end of April, new rules and fines on speeding came into effect. These tough new measures may seem draconian to some, but they are absolutely essential to maintaining safe standards on our roads. In 2015, for instance, 244 people were killed in speeding-related incidents on British roads, with 23% of all fatal collisions involving speeding. So, what are the new penalties? Changes to Speeding Fine Bands The update to legislation splits the seriousness of speeding offences into three distinct bands: Band A – The lowest speeding level, this refers to anything over the limit, technically. That means, from…

How Does the New ‘Toxin Tax’ Affect You?

Following further defeats for the Government in the High Court in November, plans to charge drivers of diesel vehicles entering major cities and towns across the UK are coming to the fore. Evidence indicates that 50,000 early deaths a year are caused by diesel pollutants in densely populated areas, and the ruling ensures that measures will now be taken to combat this issue. Unfortunately for diesel vehicle owners, legislators are now considering a so-called ‘Toxin Tax’ to help combat the exceedingly high levels of pollution in over 30 cities and towns across the UK. The ‘Toxin Tax’ Explained The high…

Faulty TPMS’ Result in MOT Failures Trebling

In the past year, the rate at which faulty Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) were responsible for MOT failures has trebled. Unfortunately, this doesn’t just mean that a lot of people have had to fork out for another MOT test and any repairs; it has also had serious implications for the road safety of all, too. TPMS: What Is It? Your vehicle’s Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is responsible for, as its name suggests, monitoring the pressure of all of your tyres. When the pressure drops below acceptable levels in even only one of your tyres, a warning light alerts…

TyreSafe Launches New Home Safe Campaign

In March 2017, the UK tyre safety charity TyreSafe launched a brand new awareness campaign aimed at promoting tyre safety among those driving with children. Their drive was borne out of worrying figures relating to poorly maintained tyres – a recent TyreSafe survey found that more than one in four carers could be driving with illegal or poorly maintained tyres. A Grave Risk for Children While ill-maintained tyres put any road user at risk, children are even more at risk than the rest of us for obvious reasons. If tyre tread depth is below standard or the tyre pressure is…

How Will the New Car Tax Changes in April Affect You?

This coming April, vehicle excise duty (VED), better known as road or car tax, is changing. If you weren’t aware of these impending amendments to this basic tax, not to worry! In our second article of the month we’ll be addressing what changes are coming so you can hit the ground running. Tax Bands Under the current system, a great many vehicles don’t have to pay any vehicle tax at all. Diesel and low-emission petrol engines incur no charges, but once the changes come into force on April 1st only electric and zero-emission engines will enjoy this privilege. Overall, the…

Goodyear Celebrates 30 Years of the All-Season Tyre

The temperature at the minute seems to not know whether it wants to go up or down, with frost setting in one day and temperatures soaring to their autumn average the next. The problem with vastly varying temperatures is that regular tyres can struggle to maintain grip when the temperature plummets. Enter Goodyear’s All-Season tyre range, currently celebrating 30 years in production! These tyres are the perfect solution to the highs and lows of the British winter, as they don’t fail to maintain grip on the road under temperatures of 7℃. Over the decades they have gained increasingly greater popularity,…

Happy Motoring: Winter Checklist for Cars

The winter months can bring with them treacherous driving conditions that’ll put any driver’s skills to the test. However, a lot of the problems facing drivers are avoidable, so long as you ensure your car is in optimum working condition. In the first of this month’s articles, you can find just some of the checks you can carry out on your car to ensure it’s ready for the harsh winter weather. Check Your Battery If you run into some serious bother, your battery might be the only thing that stands between the warm safety of your car and the freezing…

Braking Distances: The Importance of Fully Working Brakes

In order to drive a vehicle safely, you need your brakes to be in full working order. Fortunately, there are relatively simple ways to ensure that your brakes are working properly, including knowing exactly what your braking distances should be. In the second of this month’s articles, we’ll be highlighting just what that involves. What Are Braking Distances? Braking distances refer to the distance it takes your vehicle to come to a complete stop from varying speeds once the brake is applied. For instance, if your car is travelling at 30mph, it should come to a full stop within 14…