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Have you ever, lost or stood on your car key (I use the expression ‘key’ lightly). My brother in law once had his BMW key eaten by their dog, just before the car was due to be returned at the end of the lease.

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He wasn’t too worried until he saw the cost of the replacement. I was staggered to read a report from company, Recover Me, whose founding director, Robin Reames, revealed the cost of replacement keys on the UK’s top 10 selling models. He explained that finding out the cost of a replacement key is nigh on impossible until you need to replace it.

Hence the reason for revealing the costs, which average £206 per car. Of course the reason why the costs are going up and will continue to rise is the amount of information stored within the circuitry of the key. It’s like a mini black box. I remember taking my BMW 7 series in for a service a couple of years ago and the service agent asked for my key, not to drive the car but to see what needed to be done!

In order to make sure you take good care of your car keys here is a list of the top 10 selling cars with the cost of the replacement key alongside:

1. Ford Fiesta                          £220
2. Ford Focus                          £220
3. Vauxhall Corsa                  £135
4. Vauxhall Astra`                £130
5. VW Golf                               £190
6. Nissan Qashqai                £280
7. Fiat 500                              £230
8. BMW 3 Series                    £216
9. VW Polo                             £210
10. BMW 1 Series                    £233

Shocking or what, worth their weight in gold – literally!! By Graham Hill

After finally giving ‘drugalysers’ Home Office approval the police will begin roadside drug tests this year across England and Wales in order to crack down on drug driving.

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 future drivers won’t know whether they are to be given a drug test, be breathalysed or subjected to both when stopped by the police. The ‘drugalysers’ will analyse a saliva sample immediately for cannabis and cocaine. The downside is that the equipment cannot detect legal highs at the moment but future versions are expected to be able to detect a wide range of drugs, both legal and illegal.

At the moment if a police officer suspects that a driver is driving whilst under the influence of drugs they must arrest them, take them to the station in order to undergo time-consuming blood tests that must be carried out under medical supervision. Once in the police station the driver can argue that they are unable to give blood for medical reasons or religious beliefs.

All the time the drugs are leaving their system. The new equipment eliminates all this and provides an immediate reading. The kits will support the new drug offence coming into force in March but they are about to be used immediately by various police forces across the UK.

Policing Minister Mike Pennings said that most motorists have the same view about drug driving as they do about drink driving. He stated, ‘The Government is determined to drive the menace from our roads. Those who take the wheel while under the influence of drugs put their own lives at risk plus those of innocent motorists and their passengers.’ By Graham Hill

If you thank that is dopey, how about the 2,410 drivers who managed to lock a child in their cars resulting in a call out for the AA in 2014. A further 1,014 AA customers managed to lock their pets in their cars with a staggering 40,072 forgetting whether their vehicles ran on petrol or diesel and filled their cars with the wrong fuel. Jeepers!

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.

Oh and the 1,014 pets weren’t all dogs, they ranged from guinea pigs to snakes. Who would be an AA patrolman? According to the AA it’s not as simple as opening the door to allow the driver to get to their precious pet, they often escape cages and boxes and manage to squeeze into the back of the dashboard requiring the patrolman to dismantle it in order to rescue a pet that was in fact quite comfy where it was.

Who’d have thought you would need a tetanus jab in order to work for the AA? There were an amazing 3 million callouts in 2014. Top of the callout list was batteries at 427,586 followed by tyres at 373,746, lights 131,527, alternator at 106,587 and clutch failure at 103,229. Mondays are the busiest days for the AA with an extra 1,000 callouts over the daily average of 9,337.

Monday 24^th November was the busiest day last year with 14,501 callouts. Bloody interesting eh! The longest recovery was 615 miles from south London to Ross-shire. Amazing! By Graham Hill

Having a blog means that I get to hear some very dopey stories. The latest was a car that was delivered by transporter to a customer. As excited as he was about driving his new car something wasn’t right.

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.

He couldn’t put his finger on it but each time he walked towards the car a bell was ringing in his head but what was it? He walked all around the car trying to find a dent or something obviously wrong but could find nothing. After two days of driving the car he realised what it was, there was something wrong with the registration number.

He checked his agreement and realised that the car had been issued with a different number to his agreement. As it turned out there were two identical cars on the transporter, delivered on the same day to two different customers. Whether the dealer had issued the paperwork incorrectly or the delivery driver dropped the cars off to the wrong owners I couldn’t get to the bottom of, but as both cars were insured by the drivers on the other’s registration neither were insured to drive the car they were driving.

The fact is that they may never have known until the cars were returned or sold – how crazy is that? The other driver didn’t have a clue but apparently went loopy when he was told! And I don’t blame him!

The two drivers had their cars swapped and received a free first service. So when you have your car delivered check that the registration number agrees with your documents. By Graham Hill

It was 2 years ago when I announced that the Government was to instigate a detailed report into the cost of insurance. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) were to carry out the investigation and over the subsequent 2 years it seemed as though the results and recommendations would be hugely beneficial to motorists as information leaked out.

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 two areas of major concern were (and still are) the cost of replacement vehicles and the cost of repairs, both of which were completely out of control and adding fortunes to drivers’ premiums. But sadly common sense has flown out of the window and the CMA has made a U turn on both of these critical issues.

The original proposal was to place a cap on replacement car costs and a cap on repair charges, both of which the CMA supported and seemed were working on them. However, it now seems that neither are to be implemented because ‘any changes would require full-scale law alterations and savings would be minimal.’ I would add that this report has cost the Treasury £millions and for what?

I am confused as to how a cap on repair costs and a cap on charging for replacement cars would result in ‘full-scale law alterations.’ I could write the bloody changes myself in an afternoon and who would resist the proposals. This must surely call into question the integrity of those carrying out the investigation. And why did it take two years and several millions of pounds to come to that conclusion?

Even the Association of British Insurers (ABI), whom one would assume would defend the way in which its industry works has criticised the report for failing to tackle the excessive cost of replacement cars, saying that this failure would be ‘a bitter pill to swallow for honest motorists.’ This has simply handed those who provide replacement vehicles, such as accident management companies, an open chequebook to continue charging extortionate hire charges.

The ABI appear not to have commented on the capping of repair costs, which may be a more difficult problem to be solved, but it clearly costs more than it should and was another major issue to be addressed that was avoided. Unbelievably, I was not aware that agreements existed between the insurance comparison sites and their advertisers that the advertisers would not advertise cheaper rates elsewhere.

The fact is that I have found the cheapest rate in the past on a comparison site then approached the insurance company direct and achieved a better rate. So this move is hardly likely to make a lot of difference to premiums as many people stay on the comparison site once they have found the most suitable product. Consumers will now receive more information with regard to no claims bonus protection and the CMA has asked the Financial Conduct Authority to look into the way that insurers inform customers of policy add ons (smacks of PI).

Janet Conner, MD of AA Insurance suggested that the changes should save motorists about £20 a year but she questioned the way that the investigation was carried out and if it could have been better approached from a different angle.

Alasdair Smith, CMA deputy panel chairman defended the meagre proposals by saying, ‘These changes will benefit motorists who are currently paying higher premiums as a result of the problems we have found.’ You may have found them my friend but it would seem that you have done precious little to resolve them. Yet another example of jobs for the boys. By Graham Hill

Philips have issued a warning about counterfeit Xenon bulbs being sold as Philips originals but are actually ripoffs sold in what looks like Philips original packaging.

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.

They are dangerous, poor quality counterfeits that could end up blinding oncoming vehicles, provide poor road illumination and do not have precision mounts that can lead to the electrics burning out. The lamps are not homologated which means they wouldn’t pass a vehicle inspection.

They could even damage the car’s onboard computer system which could cost a fortune to repair or replace. Philips have warned sellers, both online and offline such as spares shops and garages that they will be subject to litigation if caught but have asked for the help of buyers. If you buy a Philips bulb you can check online to see if it is original and report it if it’s a fake.

If you want to check online go to www.philips.com/original If you fit a fake bulb that could be considered responsible for causing an accident you could find yourself in court, as could the supplier. Don’t take the risk. By Graham Hill

Direct Line, along with many other insurers, offer a like for like replacement in the event of a major accident resulting in a total write off or the car being stolen and unrecovered. It would seem that they offer this type of policy if the car is purchased new but what doesn’t seem to be so clear is the position if you buy an ex-demonstrator with no miles on the clock.

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.

Currently it may take you 6 months to get a Range Rover, however, David Mitchell of Sidcup couldn’t wait so he bought a car from a main dealer that was pre-registered (i.e. registered in the name of the dealership). Soon after buying the car it was stolen so knowing that he had paid full retail price (ie the price he would have paid for an unregistered car) he asked Direct Line to replace it like for like as per his policy.

They refused, claiming that he could only make a claim if he was the first registered keeper, which he wasn’t, it was the main dealer. Instead they offered him the market value which was £10,000 less than the £60,000 he paid for it. After complaining Direct Line stood firm and refused to either replace the car or pay out the full amount paid referring Mr Mitchell to the terms of his policy.

So be warned. Had he taken out ‘back to invoice’ GAP insurance he would have recovered the £10,000 difference. But, to be honest, I’m a little concerned about the policy he took out as some of these like for like replacement policies can be a couple of hundred pounds more expensive. Assuming he didn’t misinform Direct Line when completing his application, stating that he was the second registered owner of the vehicle, he may have a case for miss-selling.

He was sold a policy to include a level of cover that they weren’t prepared to pay out on. Something they knew when he took out the policy and something they clearly failed to highlight. There could also be a claim under the Unfair Terms In A Consumer Contract 1999 legislation. The car was technically new as it was unused, should it really matter if someone else’s name appeared in the registration document first?

Direct Line said that they assumed any buyer of a pre-registered car would be paying much less for the car than a new unregistered car but this doesn’t seem to have been mentioned in the contract. Yes he paid full price for the car but he would have paid the same if the car was unregistered before he took ownership.

Shame on you Direct Line, personally I would take them to court and guess what, if you had legal cover included in your policy you could go through an independent solicitor and they would charge Direct Line for him to take legal action against the Insurer. Don’t you just love it! Sadly Mr Mitchell isn’t a client of mine so he has had to rely upon the advice of journalists. By Graham Hill

Sadly we are coming to the end of what wasn’t a bad summer other than August that was complete rubbish! Nights are drawing in and whilst we are still enjoying some late sunshine we should be making plans for the winter months ahead.

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.

Fleet News has provided a few pointers and given us a few things to think about. Inevitably there will be a few days when it will be difficult, if not impossible, to either drive to work or use public transport (bit of wind, snow, leaves on the train line, volcanoes erupting, landslides etc.) so do you have a back up plan that enables you and/or staff to work from home in the case of an emergency?

Don’t forget if you employ staff you are responsible for their health and safety and could leave yourself exposed if you insist they come to work when the authorities or experts have advised against it. With regard to your car, have you considered swapping to winter tyres to reduce tyre wear and increase grip. Many of the national tyre fitters now offer a service whereby they will swap over tyres for you between summer and winter and store your summer tyres till spring.

Fleet News also suggest that you consider 4WD cars but I disagree. I don’t recall one day last winter when a 4WD car would have avoided taking any time off work and I have to say that unless you have taken a 4WD course the chances are that you will be no better off driving a 4WD car than a 2WD car. Oh and a little tip if you are stuck in snow, try letting a little air out of the drive tyres to increase grip or better still buy a set of snow chains and a spade to dig yourself out.

Make sure that your car has been serviced and there is enough anti freeze in your radiator and plenty in your windscreen wash. In fact make up some anti-freeze screen wash and keep it in a bottle in the boot, it is so easy to run out of screen wash on a trip and end up not being able to see out of the windscreen. Give yourself a few minutes to sit in the car with the engine running in order to warm up the heater.

If it is cold or raining and you drive straight off you will find the windscreen heavily misting up before it starts to demist making it impossible to see where you are going. Remember it is an offence to drive a car if you cannot see through the screen due to either dirt or mist. Oh and another tip, get yourself some Marigold rubber gloves and stick them in the boot.

Snow chain at the front wheel. Photographer: Devchonka. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The best type of gloves to wear when clearing snow or frost off the car or even to wear when fitting snow chains or digging out the snow. They are totally waterproof and surprisingly warm. I’ll add a few more tips into my next newsletter as the countdown to winter continues. There are lots more tips to come so make sure you read them and stay safe! By Graham Hill

Telematics is a fairly new word that started its life within the terminology used by fleet managers wishing to track drivers of their vans to ensure that drivers were not driving too many hours and using the most economic routes. It normally takes the form of a tracking device that records everything from time spent driving to the routes taken by the driver, fuel consumption and even the driving style of the driver.

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 process was intended to improve driver safety, improve efficiency and ensure that the driver was involved in as few accidents as possible. But these days the same technology has moved into the consumer market with insurance companies prepared to give discounts to drivers who fit telematics type systems to their cars providing greater discounts to those who drive least and most carefully.

But this has led to legal questions about what data is provided and how it is used. Basic tracking information used for health and safety or economic reasons may be all well and good but what about the times when the company vehicle is being used for personal use and if information is fed to your insurer when is the data likely to cross over into an infringement of personal privacy?

Marc Dautlich, head of information law and partner in the technology, media and telecoms team at international law firm Pinsent Masons, believes employers using such technology need to tread very carefully. It is also believed that Insurers and those collecting data on their behalf need to be equally cautious. Legal issues stem from data protection and employment law, as well as article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, under which an individual has a right to ‘respect for one’s private and family life, home and correspondence.’

Not only could telematics systems leave drivers vulnerable to the miss-use of data but as cars now have access to the likes of Google, Facebook, Emails and your mobile address book how is the information that may be stored in your car protected? I reported quite recently about the case of a celebrity’s wife selling her car and the new owner finding the previous owners phone list still stored in the car’s memory, including the home and mobile numbers of numerous famous people.

There are many advantages to having telematics fitted to your car, especially when proving a driver’s speed just prior to an accident but this could all fall apart if data is found to be miss-used by employers or insurance companies. Anyone using the data collected must make it clear to the driver what information will be collected, how it will be used and how long it will be kept for. By Graham Hill

Related articles

• Do You Really Want Your Insurer Monitoring Your Driving Habits? (cheapautoinsurance.org)

You may not have heard the name Marina Usaceva but a court ruling, following an accident in which she was involved, could change your attitude to what you do whilst driving.      Marina was considered responsible for a fatal accident in which the other driver involved died. She had been using a mobile phone but not at the time of the accident.

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.

Her barrister explained that there was a 6 minute difference between the time it was shown she was using the phone and when she had the accident. Described as ‘clear water’ and provided as mitigating evidence the plea was still ignored by the judge when he sentenced Marina to 6 years imprisonment.

Evidence showed that she had sent and received texts on two phones during the 20 minutes before the accident. In summing up before sentencing Judge Sean Enright said, ‘If you were not sending texts at the time, then you were fiddling with your phone and that is what caused the collision. Mobile phone use whilst driving is a plague on our society,’

This is a clear warning that the courts will consider the use of a mobile phone whilst driving as a contributing factor to an accident, even if not being used at the time of the accident. Labour Peer Lord Ahmed was jailed for 12 weeks after admitting to texting at the time he was involved in a fatal accident on the M1 in 2009. Since then the law has tightened and sentences greatly increased.

At the time the case was ground breaking because the judge didn’t link the texting directly to the accident but described the texting as ‘prolonged, deliberate, repeated and highly dangerous.’ So the warning, as repeated by Lucy Whitaker of legal firm Rothera Dowson, is that courts are now increasingly willing to consider the use of a mobile phone, prior to an accident, as a contributing factor.

As the law stands at the moment if a driver is found to be using a mobile phone whilst driving he will usually receive a fine of £100 and 3 points on his licence. Using a mobile when involved in an accident causing a serious injury or fatality would be considered to be driving without due care and attention with a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment along with disqualification and potential fine.

Beyond that, death by dangerous driving carries a maximum jail sentence of 14 years and a minimum disqualification of 2 years, a discretionary re-test and possible fine. Whilst there is still no suggestion that telephones should be switched off whilst driving, if you have an accident, even whilst using a hands free phone, this could still be considered by a judge to be an ‘unnecessary distraction’ and be treated the same as if you had been using a mobile phone without hands free.

As pointed out by Lucy Whitaker, ‘There is no real ‘safe time’ to use a phone, hand held or otherwise, whilst driving.’ Be warned that it is standard practice for police to confiscate mobile phones from drivers at the scene of very serious accidents as part of the information and evidence gathering process. Casually using mobile phones without consideration of the consequences is irresponsible so stop it now.

Driver in a Mitsubishi Galant using a hand held mobile phone violating New York State law. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the first 3 months of this year 380 people lost their lives in accidents attributed to the use of a mobile phone, up 13% over the same period in 2013. Campaigners warn that mobile phone use could become a bigger killer in 2015 than drink driving – a sobering thought! By Graham Hill

Related articles

• Driver who used two phones at the wheel jailed for killing man (telegraph.co.uk)