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Recent discussions regarding the use of winter tyres in the UK following our harsh winter has spurred on many to provide more advice suggesting that winter tyres may not be necessary if drivers simply treated tyres with a little more respect. Simple maintenance such as the regular checking of pressures would be a start. The National Tyre Distributors Association have followed up with the following points when replacing tyres:

• Tyre size markings across an axle must be identical.
•  Tyre construction across an axle must be the same
• The load index must be equal or be higher than the manufacturer approved tyre for the vehicle
• It is recommended that the speed rating is either equal or greater than the original approved tyre.
• Mud and snow – winter tyres should ideally be fitted in complete sets and should not be mixed with other tyre types across an axle.
• It is recommended that when fitting two new tyres, they are fitted to the rear axle unless rear tyres are a different size to the fronts or the vehicle manufacturer’s handbook states otherwise.
• There may be special dimensional requirements preventing the mixing of tyres such as 4WD vehicles. 

I know I have provided this information before but do you know what the markings mean on a tyre? Lets take a tyre that reads 195/65 R 15 91 H. Here’s what the markings mean: 

195 : The width of the tyre in mm, also called the section width.
65 : The aspect ratio is the ratio between the sidewall height (side of the tyre) and the width of the tyre. It is expressed as a percentage.
R : The type of construction (R for radial).
15 : The internal diameter of the rim in inches.
91 : A tyre’s load rating is identified by a number and corresponds to the maximum load the tyre can withstand at maximum pressure.
H : Speed rating (also known as Performance Index). Indicates the maximum speed at which the tyre can bear a load corresponding to its load rating 

For more information on the tyre markings visit any of the major tyre fitter websites. By Graham Hill

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North Lincolnshire Council may be setting the trend for other authorities by imposing a £20 fine on any driver caught sitting in his car with the engine running. The intention is to stop roadside ‘idlers’ and improve air quality by doing so. Councillor Len Foster explained that officers would use their common sense when issuing notices but hoped that the threat of a fine would be enough to stop drivers from idling their engines. The council will use civil enforcement officers who have more powers than traffic wardens. By Graham Hill

Kwik Fit have revealed the puncture capital of the UK, yep, it’s true they have actually carried out a survey and found that London is the capital, not only of the country but also for punctures. Amazing or what? In fact drivers in London are twice as likely to get a puncture than drivers in the East Midlands. 4 in 10 drivers in London had a puncture last year compared to 2 in 10 in the East Midlands. Nationally the Read more »

Online garage finder Motor Codes have been running a competition to find the UK’s number one garage providing the highest quality of service. Motor Codes polled 9,000 people to end up with a final 10 that only included 2 franchised dealers, Arnold Clark Renault of Paisley, Renfrewshire and SERE Motors of Lisburn, N Ireland. All other finalists were independents. The overall winner was family run Kinghams of Croydon. Other finalists were: 

• A1 Motorcare, Cardiff, Wales
• ABP Motorsport, Crewe, North West
• Anglo Continental Cars, Milton Keynes, Midlands
• Arnold Clark Renault, Paisley, Scotland
• Clive Woolford Motors, Tewkesbury, South West
• Fred Henderson, Durham, North East
• Kings of Witcham, Ely, East
• Prestige Services, Wakefield, Yorkshire
• SERE Motors, Lisburn, Northern Ireland  

Motor Codes runs a garage finder site where they say you can find trusted garages who all operated under a Government backed code of practice. Find them at: http://www.motorcodes.co.uk/ By Graham Hill

I know I seem obsessed with potholes at the moment but they are such a pain and costing motorists a fortune. The Germans came up with a solution in the village of Niederzimmern near Leipzig. They sold their potholes for 50 Euros which the council filled with asphalt and a metal plaque which carries the owner’s name or a tribute to a loved one. Of course not wishing to miss an opportunity the Brits are planning Read more »

Mobile phone use, whilst driving, has increased to levels reached before legislation was introduced in 2003, according to observers working for the Department for Transport. I don’t mean hands free I mean using a handheld phone. The observations were made between 2008 and 2009 and show an increase of 27%. The worst offenders are van and lorry drivers. Observations were made at various sites in the south of Read more »

The Government is finally starting to realise the importance of street lighting in fighting crime. The Transport minister, Sadiq Khan (Who? I thought it was Lord Adonis, oh no he’s Secretary of State for Transport, so who is Paul Clarke, ah he’s Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, hang on that’s the same title that Chris Mole goes by – confused? No wonder they seem to get sod all done) has just announced Read more »

It wasn’t that long ago when you could return a car at the end of a lease in pretty average condition and the leasing company would overlook anything other than serious damage. These days they send out specialist inspectors to check over the car and seem to charge for anything that doesn’t conform to showroom condition, in one case they counted the number of stone chips on the bonnet and argued that there were Read more »

As long ago as October last year I reported that Nottingham City Council was the first to consider charging for at work car parking (see my blog). Well they have now completed their deliberations and decided that they will go ahead with the levy which will now come into force from April 2012. Companies providing more than 10 parking spaces will be charged from Read more »

 Contract hire is still by far the most popular method used to finance vehicles according to members of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association. Contract hire of cars has remained pretty static over the last 5 years, consistently hovering around 1.3 million mark. LCV’s (vans) have dropped slightly over the years from 180,000 to 176,000. Contract purchase and personal contract purchase have both dipped over the last year. So it seems that businesses and consumers continue to understand the benefits of contract hire, long may it continue. By Graham Hill