What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
- GingerTom

The advice about "Green Cards" is wrong. Check your policy wording. Most UK policies give automatic free comprehensive cover within the EU for up to a specified time like 60 or 90 days per policy year. This will be different of course once we leave the EU.

Edited by GingerTom on 10/08/2019 at 09:18

- glidermania
Never ceases to amaze me grandparents who have to 'change cars' because they occasionally trog the grandsprogs around with them.
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 10-08-2019 Part 1 - Hugh Watt
Never ceases to amaze me grandparents who have to 'change cars' because they occasionally trog the grandsprogs around with them.

+1. People do like to rationalise the need to splash out on a new car...

French Correlation - IrishNeil

French correction

Part of HJ's response included this opinion - "Be warned that the national 80kmh speed limit in France is rigidly enforced as a money-maker for local government departments."

Sadly the increase in road deaths in France has been partly attributed to vandalism of speed cameras.

The correlation with speed/collision/driver error/death are well known, HJ's opinion misses this crucial point.

Camera's reduce speed, reduced speed saves lives.

Edited by IrishNeil on 11/08/2019 at 16:39

French Correlation - Hugh Watt

The correlation with speed/collision/driver error/death are well known, HJ's opinion misses this crucial point.

On the latest DoT annual statistics, "travelling too fast for the conditions" was a contributory factor in 4% of vehicle accidents - dwarfed by factors involving driver inattention or misjudgment. Tricky thing, correlation.

French Correlation - IrishNeil

The correlation with speed/collision/driver error/death are well known, HJ's opinion misses this crucial point.

On the latest DoT annual statistics, "travelling too fast for the conditions" was a contributory factor in 4% of vehicle accidents - dwarfed by factors involving driver inattention or misjudgment. Tricky thing, correlation.

It certainly is tricky, I've read similar statistics from EU/North American sources about these correlations and have seen 1st hand the devastation from vehicular speed on the human body.

Insulation & distraction are current contributory factors in collisions alongside speed and environmental conditions.

Our primary senses for 'hearing seeing smelling tasting' are increasingly insulated or getting distracted &, consequentially reducing our ability to interpret environment.

Signs and penalties are well known antecedents to alter behaviour, something HJ bypassed in his reply earlier.

French Correlation - Engineer Andy

Camera's reduce speed, reduced speed saves lives.

Not always - sometimes they actually causes accidents. On many occasions on the local dual carriageway near my home town, drivers sharply brake from 70 to 60mph because they think it's only legal to do 60 on such roads, when it's fine (conditions permitting) to do 70, the national speed limit on such roads (like motorways). As a result, more than a few shunts have occurred because people drive too close and the driver behind cannot avoid the braking vehicle in front.

I've also heard of this happening on single lane roads, plus people being reckless by significantly speeding up BETWEEN speed cameras and planting on the anchors (at vastly higher speeds than is legal) when they reach the cameras, sometimes after pulling back over to the 'slow lane', whereby the driver of the car behind has nowhere to go but into the back of the car in front when it brakes sharply.

Made worse if the 'overtaking' driver is not familiar with the area, and if you are being tailgated by another driver, even if you both are driving below the speed limit. I've had several near-misses because of the reckless driving of others in such circumstances.

People driving carelessly, recklessly for the conditions and traffic is what causes accidents - excessive speed can make them far worse, but again it depends more on HOW the vehicles are being driven and the road conditions/circumstances at the time.

A fixed lower limit (like 50mph) may be way too low in a good number of circumstances (e.g. good weather, empty road), but way too high in really bad weather in the rush hour, yet a vehicle being driven safely in the former would get nicked driving at 55 (say), one driving at 48 in the latter would not but would be at serious risk of an accident.

- jchinuk
Re : Signalling intentions If a microwave oven does not screen the signal from your keys, your car getting nicked is not your biggest problem. That would be the radiation hazard in the kitchen!
- dylann
HJ is always going on about short trips in a diesel leading up to emission problems.
Perhaps I am lucky but I have had three Volvo S and V 40s in the last seven years and have never had any problem. Presumably regeneration takes place but I am never aware of it.
Another of HJ's 'things' is left foot braking. Two of the Volvos were autos and I have always right foot braked. It does not make sense. I just pivot my foot onto the brake pedal. To left foot brake I would have to lift my foot off the floor onto the pedal. I wonder how many people have been put off buying an auto by HJ's 'expert' advice.
- Rodger Morgan
Reference the Audi Q5 without folding mirrors. Try autologics.co.uk based in Knutsford. I live in South Wales and Simon retro fitted a reversing camera to my Mercedes SL400 and no-one would ever know it was not factory fitted. A perfect job and my local dealer was so amazed the salesman is going to recommend them as the dealers do not fo those retro jobs. Autologics concentptrste on Mercedes, BMW and Audi makes and retro fit a wide range of items include mirrors. They travel all over the country to you. Mine took Simon l ss than two hours to fit. A “proper job”.