New Year Resolutions For Driving: 2015 Edition
New Year Resolutions are a bit of a cliché, really. Most of them are made in a fit of hangover-induced repentance on January 1st itself or are far too optimistic. Most of them also get broken come the beginning of February, too. However, there’s something about that fresh-looking calendar or diary that simply begs for a new beginning and new goals. A chance to break bad habits and to acquire some good ones. And we can all do with that every so often. So here, for 2015, are a handful of resolutions for drivers. Join me in adopting as many of the following as you fancy.
- Drive more fuel-efficiently. Ideally, this should include purchasing a new vehicle that has stop/start function for waiting at traffic lights and possibly a hybrid motor into the bargain. However, as the family budget doesn’t permit this, I’d better drive my Volvo S70 as frugally as possibly. This will involve not being heavy footed, finding the best revs for the situation and not idling for ages.
- Keep up my clean driving record. I have never had a speeding ticket or been done for driving under the influence. I’ll admit that this actually means that I haven’t been caught, as that speedo needle seems to creep up above the limit when I’m keeping my eyes on the road ahead. However, as the cops seem to think that every car should have cruise control and exactly the right tyres inflated to exactly the right pressure (this affects what appears on your speedo – seriously!), I’d better tighten up. If you don’t have a clean driving record, then why not make 2015 your year for getting no speeding tickets?
- Keep my car clean from rubbish. I am not one of those ladies with filthy cars where you have to sweep half a dozen old magazines and a packet of chips off the passenger seat before you get in. However, all cars that get used as Mum’s Taxi (or Dad’s Taxi) have a tendency to accumulate food wrappers, stray bits of paper, odd socks (so that’s where they all get to!), books and other debris. I probably won’t go to the extremes of vacuuming and scenting the interior of the car on a weekly basis, but keeping it free from rubbish is pretty important. They say that you can get better fuel economy by not carrying too heavy a load in your car, and all those sports shoes and paperbacks do add up.
- Do more of my own car repairs and maintenance. This is going to involve beating my other half to the job, as he loves tinkering with cars and gives me the “I’ll do that for you, darling,” routine. However, there may come a day when I need to do something when he’s away on business and I’m going to have to do it myself. Oil, water, wiper fluid, oil and air filters… they’re not hard to do, after all! Passing these skills onto my teenage kids will be a sub-clause of this resolution. Basic car maintenance is one of those skills that nobody should leave home without, like cooking and being able to do your own laundry.
That should do it. There are no apologies for not coming up with a list of ten resolutions. Nobody should take on a list of ten resolutions in one year, for driving or anything else.
2015: What's On Offer?
It would be remiss of me to open this without an acknowledgement of the terrible fire situation occurring (as I write) in South Australia and Victoria. There’s been stock loss, properties destroyed, vintage cars burnt and, terribly, an animal hostel razed with horrendous loss. Our thoughts are with the families and owners.
A bit of news that came out of late 2014 that already has affected car buyers was the Free Trade Agreement signed off between Australia and Japan. Subaru immediately took advantage of this, by reducing their prices across their range, with savings up to a few thousand dollars being made available. At the time of writing, there was no word if Toyota were planning on doing the same.
BTCC Memorable Drives: Cleland vs Bailey [Knockhill 1993]
Smokin’ Jo Winklehock dominated the BTCC in 1993. Image Credit: thecheckeredflag.co.uk
Welcome back one and all to ‘BTCC Memorable Drives’. My opening salvo into the memorable history of the Touring Cars took a delectable selection of moments and laid them out for your eyes to see. As this mini series moves on however, it is time to take a deeper look into some of these special moments, as chosen by you. The first of these is a moment that had passed me by for the many years I have spent watching the season reviews of years gone by. Let me take you back to 1993 and to Scottish soils; the scene of a weekend long battle royale.
And Another One's Gone, Another One's Gone, Another One Bites The Dust.
Yep, just like that, 2014 has bit the dust and 2015 is mere hours away (as I write). Hope you had a wonderful, safe and enjoyable Christmas and a car trouble free one. Regrettably, the car I was driving, one that is heavily spruiked on tv, had systemic electrical issues, precluding the intended usage and definitely taking the fun part out of a three day sojourn to the south coast region of NSW.
As expected, there was a police presence on the roads but not nearly as big as expected; when I say roads, these are the main roads between Sydney to Canberra to Cooma to beyond. As expected, there were numerous acts of low driving standards which contribute to the reasons why our roads aren’t as safe as they should be. From my driver’s seat, they’re habits which infer a laziness in driving and therefore, a lack of consideration for the driver committing them and for anyone else on the road.
Level 2, 9 Help Street