The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

Could we see a new use for dash cams? It has cost tax payers a staggering £14.5 million to clear rubbish from our roads over the last 3 years. According to the Highways Agency 364,000 bags of rubbish have been collected at an average cost of £40 per bag.

That’s 333 sacks of litter collected every day from the 4,300 miles of Strategic Road Network. This is rubbish simply tossed out of cars by thoughtless drivers and passengers. This cost could have gone some way towards repairing thousands of potholes that are a serious danger to motorists and cyclists.

The Canadians came up with an app that you could use to report illegal parking to the local authority and receive payment for reporting it after the driver was fined. We could do the same with litter louts, record them chucking litter out of their vehicle windows, forward to the police who then issue a fixed penaty and you receive part of that fine for carrying out your duty as a concerned member of the public.

Nice little earner and would help to keep our streets cleaner. If you are one of those culprits, keep a bag in the car and put your rubbish in it then dispose of properly when you get home. By Graham Hill

There should be an App for that! How many times have you seen something or done something that is a complete pain in the jacksy thinking – there should be an app for that on my phone. It would make life so much easier. I thought this at the end of last year when the new Dartford Crossing charge system was introduced.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

I agreed that introducing some other form of payment that no longer required the use of payment booths would speed up the flow of traffic, having spent what seemed like days in Dartford crossing tailbacks, but I have to say panic sets in when suddenly you are required to make the trip and know that you need to prepay the fee, pay within a day or be fined.

The same applies to congestion charges, you are happily following your sat nav directions, that incidentally doesn’t give you an option to avoid congestion charge zones, and suddenly you realise that you are ‘in the zone’ and you haven’t paid! Good Lord, time for a heart attack. To make life easier fleets are calling for a new scheme that is controlled by the DVLA as they hold all of the required information on cars and their keepers necessary to centralise a payments system.

They suggest that if drivers enter into the London congestion charge zone, and it’s only a matter of time before other towns and cities introduce this cash cow into their own central areas, or they have a toll to pay, that it is controlled centrally, thereby reducing time and admin on both sides.

Around 100,000 to 120,000 Dartford crossings are made every day with between 15,000 and 18,000 charges remaining unpaid. This costs the Highways Agency about £40,000 per day which equates to £3 million since the scheme started last November. Now whilst it’s not my nature to sob into my cup-a-soup over the losses sustained by the Highways Agency it made me think that there should be an app for that.

Set up all your details including credit card details in your phone and when you need to pay a toll or enter a congestion zone tap the app, tap the charge, eg. London Congestion Zone or Birmingham M6 Toll and Bob’s your cross dressing aunty – job done! I appreciate that you can set up an account for the congestion zone or the crossing but you are not in control.

Could you remember if you crossed the Thames at Dartford on the 15^th January? But with an App it could also send confirmation to your email address. I know I’m bloody brilliant! You would think in this day and age when we get Internet access via our car radio and even our watch, that it wouldn’t be a massive step to create an app that we actually need! By Graham Hill

Related articles

• Drivers to pay £100 for being in wrong lane (thetimes.co.uk)

If you are one of those that use the Dartford Tunnel/Bridge you will know that either side of the Thames can get a tad congested from time to time. This is annoying and can cause a wait of anything up to half an hour (my experience) but you know when the congestion is likely to occur so you try to avoid those times.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

Foreigners and truck drivers don’t seem to know these times so if you find yourself in one of these tailbacks or even whilst cruising at reasonable speed towards the toll booths you can find yourself flapping whilst trying to dig your change out of your pocket ready to throw into the bin located at the toll.

This isn’t helped when you have a juggernaut on one side of you and a foreign driver on the other side, all doing the same. But amazingly very few run into each other and the delays, as far as I’m concerned are minimal.

However, they could do one thing that would speed things along and that is to take those who have pay as you go Dart Tags fitted to their vehicles that enables them to simply drive through the toll without stopping to have a type of bus lane (Dart Tag Lane) reserved for them, about 2 miles before the crossing.

To segregate at the last minute, as happens at the moment) means that these people are sitting way back in the queue, adding to the congestion whilst the Dart Tag booths sit mainly unused until the Dart drivers peel off. Now that to me would be an excellent solution. Not so according to the Highways Agency who will be removing the booths from October 2014.

The booths will be replaced by a remote system similar to the congestion charge. As with the congestion charge anyone not paying the fee will receive a penalty charge. But the good news is that you can pay online, by text, at shops and by phone. A pre-pay option will also be available which, according to the Highways Agency, will save users up to a third of the fee.

Hmmm, this all sounds good if you are a regular user but it seems to me that instead of fumbling in your pocket for a few coins drivers will be busy calling and texting whilst driving or stopping short of the tunnel/bridge in order to prevent a penalty charge. I think we have some interesting times ahead on the M25! Or again, is it just me? By Graham Hill

Road markings are in a terrible state of repair. So says a report prepared by the Road Safety Markings Association (RSMA). Yep there is actually an association for road markings. They explain that nearly 50% of lane markings on major roads need replacing with only 16% of motorway lines considered to be excellent.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

The study was carried out over 2,500 miles of English roads which came to the conclusion that pot holes are not the only issues on our roads. The report suggested that 52% of markings on motorways, 42% on dual carriageways and 48% on single carriageways should either be replaced right now or scheduled as a matter of urgency.

National director of the RSMA, George Lee, said, ‘It’s shameful that half England’s road markings are so worn out.’ The worst road in England isn’t far from me, the M3 between Bagshot and Camberly in Surrey where they found 94% of white lines in need of work.

As usual the Department for Transport kicked out a spokesman who explained that the country’s roads were among the safest in the world, and that the Highways Agency took prompt action to repair markings as part of a planned maintenance strategy.

Apparently not Mr DfT spokesman or there would have been no need for the sodding report! Good grief, when will we ever see action rather than excuses? By Graham Hill

M65 Junction 5 - geograph.org.uk - 1187545 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I hope, like me, you understand the need to cone off road works on motorways for the safety of those who work on the roads. I don’t even mind the mile or so of cones, aimed at slowing down the drivers before the actual road works begin, having read some absolute horror stories of workers, killed or maimed by drivers trying to jump one extra place on the road before being forced over by one lane.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

Having had the misfortune of having a flat tyre on a motorway and being forced to stop on the hard shoulder whilst cars and trucks come pounding past, even at 70mph, made for one of the most frightening experiences in my many years of driving. So I understand the need for worker safety but when I start throwing toys out of the pram is when I am travelling along the long stretch of M25 restricted to 50mph followed by a long stretch of A23 at the end of the M23 restricted to 40mph when there is no bugger working. In fact I am often, at 3.00 in the morning, the only driver for miles but I still have to stick to the road work restrictions for fear that the average speed cameras report me for doing 10mph over the restricted speed.

Even when I’m convinced that the cameras aren’t able of taking pictures or measuring your average speed at night. Having suffered these constraints for a couple of years already I was very pleased to see that the Highways Agency were considering introducing variable speed limits on sections of motorways being worked upon.

English: Road works This is a road works at this location, in time for summer driving. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The new average speed limits would be assessed on a case by case basis but it is expected that limits could be raised at off peak times and times when no one was working on the restricted section of road. About bloody time! By Graham Hill

I was shocked to hear on Radio 5 Live that there is no-one responsible for advising drivers of high sided vehicles when it is safe or unsafe to drive in high winds.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

Drivers of trucks explained that during the recent high winds there was no agency responsible for stopping them from driving, in fact under pressure from their employers, drivers found themselves driving in highly dangerous conditions. Whilst employers said that they left it to the drivers to assess whether it was dangerous the drivers themselves admitted to driving in treacherous conditions for fear of losing their jobs.

They also admitted to being blown into the middle lane of motorways causing problems for car drivers. One driver explained that there was no legislation, nor were any warnings posted on the motorway warning Matrix signs warning of the dangers. As a result of this Auto Express decided to carry out an investigation to see who is responsible and why it doesn’t seem to be working.

They first spoke to the Highways Agency who denied responsibility and referred them to the Department for Transport for ‘any legislation that exists on this’. Passing the buck the DfT suggested that as this was health and safety in the workplace that it must surely be the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive.

They, in turn, said it wasn’t a matter for them, go to the DfT or the Department of Business Innovation and Skill (BIS). What? Having already tried the DfT without success they moved on to BIS who suggested that they try the DfT who could contact the Highways Agency or one of their partners. So there you have it – bloody useless.

So whilst the drivers of high sided vehicles dice with death make sure that when it is windy you don’t travel too close to the side of a truck or you might find yourself sharing the cab with the driver or more seriously involved in a very nasty accident. By Graham Hill

Related articles

• Truck drivers: ‘Wind is very dangerous when it comes to 18 wheelers’ (wkyt.com)

Highways Agency Traffic Officers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It would seem that the Government is being a little bit sly. There is a bit of a hole into which the Government is going to have to pour a ton of cash before too long. In fact there isn’t just one hole there are thousands of them and not just any hole but pot holes.

It is a real headache for the Government but it will have to be addressed if the whole of the roads infrastructure isn’t to come to a halt or it causes a major catastrophe. The Government seems to have a solution because many of the delays don’t seem to be the lack of funds but unworkable civil service rules.

So Stephen Hammond, Transport Minister, announced that the Highways Agency will become a publically owned corporation. This move will free it from red tape and ensure funding going forward.

As a publically owned company it can be scrutinised more effectively. It can also offer better incentives to staff. The move is part of £28bn funding for UK roads and accounts for 8 years of funding up to 2021 ensuring at least 6 years of financial certainty.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

In the past funding has been on an annual basis, not good for making plans into the future, so this will allow them to plan ahead. The funding will also be protected against future governments wanting to cut this allocation.

There are fears that this could ultimately lead to the further privatisation of the Highways Agency and eventually lead to toll roads and other road charges so we need to keep an eye on this one!

Oh and in order to sort out the pot holes £12bn of the funding is set aside for re-surfacing and maintenance, half of which will be spent on Motorways and A Roads. It sounds good but as always the proof is in the eating. By Graham Hill Car Finance

Related articles

• RAY MASSEY: How the Government is teeing up the Highways Agency for future privatisation… just not before the election (thisismoney.co.uk)

Image via Wikipedia

As I write this item we’re into the first day of the new registration and the first day of autumn, not that you’d notice after a terrible summer. But already I am reading about impending pot hole problems this winter, set to get worse after a Highways Agency rule change. The warning raised by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) highlighted the rules Read more »

Image via Wikipedia

The new Hindhead tunnel in Surrey will open in July to the applause of drivers and local conservationists alike. But this isn’t just any old tunnel it is, as the Highways Agency call it, their ‘flagship scheme’. Not only will it remove traffic from the Devil’s Punchbowl beauty spot and make the journey from London to Portsmouth quicker it is crammed with Read more »

The last Labour Government made a big thing about toll roads, this was going to be the way forward if we were to make the roads less congested but according to research by the Campaign for Better Transport the showpiece M6 toll road has failed to meet its targets. The report claims that the operator, Midlands Expressway is losing millions of pounds every year. The cost of £5 drops to £4.50 at weekends and Read more »