Not a confident driver... stay at home when it snows!

Two hours of heavy snow fall, and the bad drivers come out in force!

Friday morning we had heavy snow in this part of the world, which started around 7:30am in the morning.  Police had warned people who didnt have to drive, to stay at home. What they really meant was "those who can't drive very well, please keep out the way of people who can!"

It had barely started settling on the roads and people were doing 5mph on a 60mph road.  Yes you should be careful, but there wasn't a chance of any slipping at this point.  30mph was safe and practical. As the snow starting settling heavily on the roads, drivers who were freaked out about the white stuff starting doing 2mph, and stopping on hills when their wheels slipped slightly - and then not being able to get going again.  This lead to lorrys and busses then getting stuck behind them, and the road network started shutting down. 

If these people could actually drive, and knew how to handle their cars - they'd be confident about going a little faster, and carrying on when the roads starting to get slippery - enough to keep going and power up the hills. 

Today i drove down a B road which hadnt been gritted, and was still quite icy. If you know how to drive, you can do 20mph, and still keep complete control of your car.  In front of me was someone in a 4 wheel drive, and they were doing 2 mph!!  Whats the point of you having a 4 wheel drive if you're going to do that?

Part of the driving test should be driving in icy conditions.  Those who fail to drive at least 10mph and keep the car on the road should not get their license. As we get more and more snowy weather in the UK, this serously needs to be considered.  No need to spend millions on new gritting trucks, just get the people who cant drive off the bloody road when it snows!

Personal Contract Hire - is it a good idea?

According to various websites PCH - Personal Contract Car Hire - is becoming very popular. This prompted me to have a bit of an investigate into it.

What is it PCH?
It's a finance solution where you pay a deposit up front, and then monthly payments for terms between 1 and 4 years.  It is basically an extended rental agreement, the car will never be yours. It's cheaper than other finance options, and you get to drive a brand new car of your choice.  There are also options to pay a little extra to cover servicing etc so you know how much everything will cost.  Road tax is also included. After the term, you give the car back and set up another PCH for another car.

Does it save you money?
This really depends on what your current arrangement is, and how much you use your car.  This option tends to save money compared to a standard finance package.  If you are not bothered whether the car will be yours, and you want to drive brand new cars all the time - then this is the option for you.  If you are used to buying used or new cars using savings, then this will potentially be a more expensive option.

An example PCH deal: 

An Aston Martin could be yours to drive for an initial £5,000 payment, plus £1500 per month (ex Vat)!  Now that has to be cheaper than buying one.. but, would you want to give it back after 4 years !!!?

Scaring drunk drivers off the road!

Last night around midnight the roads were quiet apart from a fair few Police cars out and about and some blatantly drunk drivers. Presumably that's what the police were out looking for - and good. People to take to the wheel, having had too much alcohol will at some point ending up killing someone and/or themselves. Why do people risk it these days when the chance of getting caught is so high?

One driver in front of me last night was weaving all over the place, and was obviously well over the limit, and drunk at the wheel. At that point there were no police cars about (typically). So i decided to do a bit of policing myself.  I accelerated quickly to get up behind the car in close proximity and started flashing the headlights as an undercover police car would do.  The outcome was that the drunk driver freaked out, and started braking and looking behind as though he had just been caught, and was going to lose his licence!  Acknowledging my job was done, i turned off. however hopefully this was enough to make the driver think twice next time and not get behind the wheel drunk!  Am i being over hopeful?

DON'T Drink and DRIVE!!!