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I live just outside Brighton, a newly formed city that I rarely visit during the summer because of the traffic and the inability to park, but I had cause to pop down there last week and ended up parking in Hove Actually and walking back into Brighton. It was a pleasant walk but as I was passing cars parked at the side of the road I started to notice that people had left nickable items on clear display inside the car.

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I saw all sorts from laptops to tablets, mobile phones, sat navs, piles of shopping spread across the back seat and several bags of all sizes, from handbags to sports bags, left on display on the front passenger’s seat or on the back seat. It made me think because I had only just read a report by Mike Waters of Arval who, in my opinion, stated the bloody obvious when he explained what people should do to prevent car thefts.

He was commenting on the number of prestige cars that were being stolen on a regular basis and what measures you should take in order to avoid your car being stolen. Having witnessed what I saw I thought that maybe I should share this nugget as some readers (not you of course) could be dopey enough not to understand the basic rules of protecting your car.

The first rule is of course to leave nothing on display. Anything of value should be left at home and if that isn’t practical lock it in the boot. You may not be too concerned about the loose change left in the centre console for use in car parks but that £2 contributes towards a can of Special Brew to some.

They are 2 quid better off and you are £75 worth of glass insurance excess the worse off.  Mr Waters says, ‘Always lock your vehicle and close the windows and sunroof. I have to say this seems obvious but how often do you or people you see leave their car on a garage forecourt whilst they pay for their fuel with windows open and the car unlocked?

There are thieves who target garage forecourts to either steal cars or their contents. Keep car keys out of sight, never put them down and even at home make sure they cannot be seen from the outside through a window or letter box. It is easier to break into a house and steal the keys than break into the car and have to hotwire it to get it started. Secure your number plates with tamperproof or clutch head screws.

Not sure about that one. False plates with a bit of double sided on the back can be stuck to the old number plate in seconds. Another suggestion that I don’t necessarily agree with, lock your car in a garage and lock both the car and the garage. I have found, and reported in the past, that if you show that your car is parked in a garage overnight when applying for insurance it can be more expensive than parked in the street. It can be easier to steal a car if the thief can carry out the theft whilst the car is in a garage rather than out in the street.

When away from home, try to park in a well lit, open location, or a police approved ‘ParkMark’ car park. I would add – in sight of a CCTV camera. Finally fit a tracking device to your vehicle and have the car registration number etched on all windows. By Graham Hill

Road rage is on the increase and is having more of an effect than simply a momentary explosion of anger. A road rage incident can affect both parties to the point of casting a black cloud over their day and negatively affect their mood. It can also, in more extreme cases, lead to more serious verbal or physical violence resulting in injury or worse.

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.

On TV we tend to only see the results of severe road rage when someone is killed but every day road rage occurs on our roads leaving both parties seriously stressed. Black Box Insurer, Ingenie, carried out a survey in which 70% of respondents said they had been involved in road rage over the last 12 months.

65% said that they were not the ones that instigated the road rage although 85% admitted to showing the signs of road rage on occasions. Dr Lisa Dorn of Cranford University is a Driver Behaviour Expert and believes that more should be done in this area. When psychologist, Dr Dorn, started studying this area there were 6,000 – 7,000 deaths each year but whilst this has now dropped to 1,700 this is still too high.

Road safety has greatly improved with the development of technology, both inside and outside cars, road signage has improved and roads are better engineered, all of which has improved the accident and death rate. According to Dr Dorn ‘The way in which you need to continue to improve road safety is by educating drivers.’ According to the good doctor drivers take risks that have nothing to do with their skills or knowledge, they take them because of their emotional condition, the situation they are in.

There are the sensation seekers who are looking for a ‘buzz’. They can often find it through driving. For this character an open country road with lots of bends and hills on a sunny day would be a great temptation which would lead to some very erratic and dangerous driving. These conditions would act as a trigger for those seeking an exciting experience that could often lead to road rage in them if they are stopped during this experience by a tractor or slow driver in their way.

The other type of person most likely to become embroiled in road rage is the angry person. Being angry, for non driving reasons, can result in aggressive behaviour behind the wheel. Dr Dorn says, ‘Put that into a traffic situation and you have a driver who frequently experiences frustration and may intimidate other road users. The focus is not on the road but tunnelled towards letting off steam.’

If accidents are to be avoided and bad feelings resulting from road rage to be eliminated drivers’ attitudes must be changed but there is no ‘silver bullet’ that will resolve this psychological problem. Having said that Dr Dorn points out that, ‘There is a psychology tradition to behavioural change and dealing with different personalities and a methodology that is fairly well researched.’

She points out that there is a need for drivers to develop the ability to self reflect on their personal driving style. Pass your test and you never have to do anything ever again, you are a safe and competent driver. But there are many times during your lifetime of driving when something happens to heighten the risk to your driving performance. For example, being pregnant, being sleep deprived, stress at work, divorce, loss of a loved one, financial worries, all could have a major effect on your alertness and driving.

There are laws and regulations that govern the roadworthy condition of the car but what about the condition of the driver? It might seem crazy (and it does to me) but she is suggesting that just as you unlock the car, put your seatbelt on and start the engine without thinking you should also ask yourself, ‘How is my driving going to be affected today?’

A moment of focus on your driving rather than your need for a buzz or the problem that is pre-occupying your mind may help with your attitude towards your driving. Other suggestions are, be aware of anyone trying to pass by tailgating you, keep an eye in the rear view mirror and find a safe place to move over and let them pass. Focus on the present moment and your driving, not your destination. Hold your hand up by way of an apology to a fellow motorist if you make an error whilst driving, it’s surprising how that small gesture can take the immediate heat out of a potential road rage situation.

Avoid making eye contact with an aggressive driver in a confrontational situation. Dr Dorn also suggests that everyone should take responsibility for their driving and consider their mental condition to be as important to their safety as putting on a seatbelt. My opinion is make sure you buy a car with air conditioning and make sure that it is working, staying physically cool whilst driving is as important as staying mentally cool. By Graham Hill

For those that think that the days of scams in the motor industry are a thing of the past – think on! In the piece sent out last Friday I explained that I would happily buy an ex lease or ex daily rental car but avoid an ex demonstrator like the plague!

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.

Someone who probably agrees with me is John Quinn who bought an ex demonstrator Range Rover Vogue. As most of the Range Rovers dropping off the end of the production line at Land Rover are destined for the Middle East, China or Russia there was a long waiting list so as John couldn’t wait he paid the full retail price of a new car for a demonstrator.

The car was 6 months old with 3,000 miles on the clock when he bought it. The Range Rover was then sold on to a private buyer who complained to John that the heated and electric seats weren’t working. The car was returned by John to the supplying main dealer for them to fix the problem under the warranty.

However, they found that the seats had been swapped by the dealer with those fitted in a Vogue SE to satisfy a customer. They then found that the wiring of the seats in the SE was not compatible with a Vogue so the electrics would never work and as the seats were changed it invalidated the warranty on the seats.

The dealer refused to pay for the repair and Land Rover passed it straight back to the dealer – and rightly so. A big thing was made over the price that John had paid and he wouldn’t have paid full price if he had known that the seats would no longer function. First of all the price is totally irrelevant other than to maybe add a little weight to John’s argument but it isn’t material.

What is material is what he bought. Did he buy the car he was told he was buying? The change of seats was explained to John but it wasn’t mentioned that they weren’t working and never would. When buying a used car you buy it as seen so whilst a car may have an LX badge on the boot and say that it is an LX in the registration document it doesn’t have to conform to LX spec. as I’ve mentioned in the past.

This would change of course if the dealer selling you the car confirmed that the car matched the original manufacturers spec of the car. If the dealer knew the seats weren’t working they had an obligation to tell the buyer so he has a chance here as they ‘withheld material information about the car that could influence the buying decision’.

However, they have argued that they weren’t aware that the electrics weren’t working and common sense tells you if you know that the seats have been changed you would check that the electrics work OK – if it was likely to affect your buying decision. The argument continues between himself, the dealer and the manufacturer but yet again it raises some interesting questions, which, in this case, looks as though will only be resolved in court.

But the bottom line is that when you buy an ex demonstrator it could have been driven harder than a hire car and you are buying a used car that could hide all sorts of scary things that you should be, but often aren’t, made aware of. Buy or lease a new car from a reputable dealer or broker and you remove much of the risk.

Don’t go for the cheapest because you may be subject to a scam, the ex demonstrator that has been clocked by the dealer supplying a lease car via a dodgy broker (bucket shop). The new car that was intended for the daily rental market in ‘sub spec’ condition sold to a leasing company as a full spec brand new car. You know the rest as I bang on about it enough. By Graham Hill

Years ago, a well-known comedian, Jasper Carrott, had a routine that included a part where he read out reasons given to an insurance company by drivers trying to explain the cause of their car accident. They all sounded ridiculous but apparently quite genuine and very funny.

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 was reminded of this routine whilst reading the causes given to the Highways Agency why people had stopped on the hard shoulder of a motorway. I should point out that it is illegal to stop on a hard shoulder unless there is an emergency. It is also illegal to drive down the lane of a motorway if a red X is displayed above it, something that is appearing more frequently as the Highways Agency open up hard shoulders for drivers to drive along at various times of the day.

Between July and September last year there were 2,062 instances of drivers braking the law by stopping on hard shoulders for reasons other than an actual emergencies. According to the Highways Agency, drivers that ignore the law could face a fine and points on their licence if they break either law.

The Central Motorway Police Group sent out over 700 letters to motorists misusing hard shoulders between September 2013 and April 2014 resulting in just 20% repeat offences. They seemed to be quite happy with that! Why aren’t they banning the drivers for 5 years for a repeat offence, ridiculous?

HA1-000949 (Photo credit: Highways Agency)

Anyway, here are the ten most dopey reasons given by drivers as to why they stopped on the hard shoulder:

• One motorist pulled over because they saw fire” on their dashboard display, it later turned out it was the name of the Adele track they were listening to.
• One motorist parked up and fell asleep on the M6.
• People stopping to read a map or check their sat-navs.
• Traffic officers stopped with two cars on the hard shoulder – the owners were half way through the selling and buying process for one of the cars.
• One driver realised their car insurance policy was up for renewal – they were ringing around for quotes to renew.
• A group of motorcyclists parked on the hard shoulder on the M1 to review their route and have a drink.
• Taxi drivers waiting on the hard shoulder around Heathrow airport for their client’s flights to arrive.
• A mobile phone operator, stopping at regular intervals in their private car carrying out signal tests on the hard shoulder.
• A driver who stopped to pick flowers.
• Have you broken down Sir? No, came the reply, we are taking pictures of our new born grandchild (in their open top sports car) as it is a lovely day.

Sadly not in the same league as Jasper Carrott, who is making a comeback by the way, but all pretty dopey and potentially dangerous! By Graham Hill

It would seem that more and more Brits are hiring cars whilst on holiday. So as we come up to the serious holiday season it is quite timely for me to give you a bit of advice that could save you a lot of money if you are one of them. In a survey carried out by the Post Office it revealed that more than half of British holidaymakers hiring cars in Europe could face a huge hidden rental bill.

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 survey revealed that 56% of UK holidaymakers aren’t protecting themselves from accidents or theft with excess waiver insurance (EWI). Three quarters don’t bother with cover for glass, tyre or undercarriage damage. On average this extra insurance, payable on arrival, is about 12% of the cost of the excess but drivers are either not aware or ignore this insurance and run the risk of being hundreds of pounds out of pocket.

And don’t think the excess is the same as your domestic car insurance policy if you have an accident whilst in say Spain or Portugal of say £250, oooh no! The average accidental excess in Spain is £839 and in Portugal is £903 but the EWI and tyre and glass cover is just £99.10 and £87.55 respectively for 7 days cover.

Oh, and if you venture off the main roads in Greece, Spain or many other holiday countries you could hit a pothole that makes our potholes look like dimples causing all manner of expensive damage to wheels, suspension, brakes, undercarriage etc. Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said, ‘It’s a false economy to cut costs by sticking to the basic cost when booking car rental online.

English: An old AVIS Car Rental advert on a side of a building. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What’s more don’t leave it till you get to your holiday destination to find out what the hire car will really cost. Calculate all the costs by doing your homework in advance to find out the realistic price of car rental and holiday motoring.’ Good advice there from Mr Brown. Happy holiday! By Graham Hill

Related articles

• The great car hire rip off in Europe: £1,000 excess charges and insurance that DOUBLES the price of car rental (dailymail.co.uk)
• Holidaymakers warned about car hire costs: It’s cheapest in Cyprus at £295 week (while in Majorca it’s a whopping £514) (dailymail.co.uk)

I know we seem to be a nation of moaners in this country when it comes to weather conditions but there are few other countries in the world where they have a huge expanse of water on one side and the equivalent to a duck pond the other. Walk north for a few miles and you are stepping onto a glacier but take a few steps in the opposite direction and you’re negotiating sand dunes.

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.

And it doesn’t stop at ground level, racing around above us, when it feels like it, is the notoriously unpredictable jet stream. Add it all together and we end up with cars, the majority of which still don’t have air conditioning as standard because ‘it’s never that hot for that long’, and heating systems that don’t seem to have changed much since my dad’s Ford Consul.

But when it comes to adapting to weather conditions there is something we need to do, which the Government has the power to change and that is British Summertime. Not because of the inconvenience of re-setting your watch, phone, tablet, computer, laptop, electric toothbrush and all things electric twice every year but it is also dangerous.

Pedestrians have long made the argument against the annual change but statistics regarding car accidents are continue to add weight to the argument that we need to revert to GMT all year round. Typical of us Brits, we invent time by way of Greenwich Mean Time, the standard against which time around the world is measured, then we quite randomly add on the odd hour, then remove it a few months later for reasons that are now lost in the mists of time (I’m sure someone will enlighten me).

But this is all getting serious, as I witnessed myself a couple of days ago. At this time of year, when the skies are clearer and the sun at its most powerful, it reaches eye level during the rush hour. This, according to the AA has led to a quadrupling of head on crashes with lorries, believed to be caused by the long shadows cast by lorries, made even more dangerous when cars are turning.

Glare (Photo credit: theevilmightyf)

As a result the AA has come up with some suggestion to help prevent accidents:

• Always keep the windscreen clear both inside and out. I always keep a glass cleaner spray and kitchen roll in the boot to clean the outside, especially useful towards the end of the summer when bugs splatter themselves on your windscreen.
• If blinded slow down immediately. It is tempting to carry on regardless to let the glare pass but by then it may be too late.
• If driving at sunset, anticipate the effects of glare on you and other drivers. Drivers heading west or through terrain where the sun may appear suddenly need to expect to travel more slowly than usual.

I really do think we should be taking another look at the need to adjust our time twice every year. By Graham Hill

Related articles

• Dazzling road safety danger exposed (telegraph.co.uk)

Many years ago, when my namesake was racing cars I watched a demonstration by one of the F1 drivers showing how to avoid a skid by rapidly tapping the brake pedal. The driver applied and released the brakes in quick succession which gave greater control as the tyres moved round increasing the grip and avoiding a skid.

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.

It is the principal that developed into what has now been used for many years called ABS. Thousands of lives have been saved as a result of the fitting of ABS to all cars but now Thatcham have called for the latest brake development to be added to ABS and ESP as standard requirements on all new cars.

The new system known as Autonomous Electronic Braking (AEB) is already available or fitted to 23% of all new cars but Thatcham feels that more should be done by the Government to encourage the fitting of this technology by offering a £500 incentive to drivers that have it fitted.

Thatcham claims that the device would save 1,220 lives over 10 years and reduce casualties by 136,000. So what is AEB? It detects vehicles in front and applies the brakes in an emergency in time to prevent a front to end accident. In the more sophisticated systems the ‘radar’ can detect pedestrians and cyclists as well as solid vehicles.

At the moment if the system is fitted to a company car this will increase the driver’s benefit in kind tax and class 1A National Insurance Contributions, this is wrong according to Thatcham as the device is as much for the benefit of those outside the vehicle as inside.

Thatcham have shown that with AEB third party injury claims drop by 18%, whilst studies in the USA have put the reduction at 26%. Amazingly in Switzerland and Sweden front to rear crashes would drop by 31% and 48% respectively.

Whilst I have seen various claims relating to the benefits of AEB it is clear that this technology, if fitted, could save lives so I’m behind Thatcham and hope that they can convince the Government to do something to encourage the fitting of this life saving technology.

It might also help to prevent some of the crash for cash insurance claims so maybe the insurance companies should contribute something. Just a thought!

Related articles

• New AEB brakes ‘safer’ for cars (bbc.co.uk)

As you know I like a funny story and this one made me smile. A young lad of just 17 years his age had a rather sporty looking Corsa which he had fitted with a Carrot telematics box, as required by his insurance company, in order to bring down the cost of insurance. The black box measures his driving style, speed, acceleration and smoothness and adjusts his insurance cost accordingly.

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.

Unfortunately the young lad was devastated to find that his pride and joy had been stolen from outside his place of work in Oldham. However, the black box is also fitted with GPS which pinpointed the location of the car which the police managed to locate a couple of hours later and to the driver’s delight the car was in perfect condition other than a broken window.

However, his concern next turned to his black box, knowing that the car was probably stolen by joyriders and could have seriously damaged his driving score, escalating his insurance through the roof. Having contacted Carrot they found that during the two and a bit hours during which the car had been stolen the thief scored a perfect 10, the first time since this young driver had taken out his insurance.

The even better news was that Carrot allowed him to keep the score which will contribute to his overall score for the year. Brilliant news but I have news for you mate – it was probably your dad who nicked the car! It also suggests that if you are a young driver with one of these black boxes fitted, let your mum or dad drive your car occasionally, it could dramatically improve your score and reduce your insurance costs. By Graham Hill

You know how much I despair of the consumer credit legislation in the UK but I equally despair of the legal system in this country and not just because of the EU interference in the way we administer our own citizens. I read copious amounts of text in order to come up with interesting items for my newsletter and my blog.

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.

Some of what I read is funny and some very sad with some combining sadness with total injustice. For example there was a lady in Leicestershire who had an accident whilst on a mobile phone and driving at the same time. Sadly she collided with another car and two children were killed.

In my book, as a dad of three kids, that comes close to making the case for bringing back capital punishment. But our ridiculous legal system only found her guilty of careless driving resulting in an 18 month ban and a £3,000 fine. But it gets worse. As the lady was driving on company business there was a health and safety issue, surely her employer should be held liable for the actions of the employee who was taking a call whilst driving.

Apparently not so according to Leicester police who decided not to prosecute because ‘The call received by the driver was of a social nature and not work related, and therefore it did not fall within the Health and Safety at Work Act.’ How appalling is that? I would also suggest that the police take a more careful look at the act because it is my belief that whilst at work the law would cover personal calls.

The fact is that it is a disgusting end to an appalling crime. At the other end of the spectrum if you accelerate through a puddle and splash pedestrians or mount a pavement you could receive an on the spot fine of £100 and 3 points on your licence (this can be reduced by taking a safe driving course).

Since August of last year when the new laws, which include lane hogging and tailgating, were introduced 5,472 drivers have been caught. But just when you think that the new laws could be preventing accidents through better awareness and fines it comes to light that 5 forces, Northumbria, Dyfed-Powys, Durham, South Wales and Cleveland are not stopping inconsiderate drivers at all because they don’t have the facilities to offer the education courses. Is it me or are we seeing the fabric of this country deteriorating? Something really does need to be done. By Graham Hill

Related articles

• States With The Harshest Penalties For Texting And Driving (cheapcarinsurance.net)

I have never had a particularly high opinion of insurance companies, not helped by the refusal of Zurich, probably the most crooked insurance company that I have ever encountered, not paying out on a perfectly valid claim when I accidentally spilled a bottle of Lucozade into my laptop computer.

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 conveniently retained no copy of the original conversation that I had with the claims person, then produced a scrappy piece of handwritten paper considered to be a ‘transcript’ of our conversation which was a complete fabrication and actually a disgrace and fraudulent in itself.

This didn’t compare well to the transcript provided by Saga of the conversations I had when I took out my policy. The transcript was independently created, word by word, by an outside agency and the script went on for many pages. I was accused of fraud in the most ridiculous of fashions. I complained to the Financial Ombudsman service.

In the first instance an adjudicator reviews the case and gives an interim decision. This is not legally binding but gives an indication as to what the Ombudsman would conclude. On two separate occasions the adjudicator found in my favour and twice the crooked Zurich refused to accept the obvious conclusion reached by the adjudicator.

Finally after two and a half years, yes I said two and a half years the Financial Ombudsman was able to review my case and immediately found in my favour, instructing Zurich to remove all references to fraud or any other references to ill doing on my part from all files. To pay for the replacement of my damaged laptop and compensation along with interest.

Whilst, in my opinion, Zurich are the worst insurance company on the planet, they are probably not alone. A recent report showed that the average car insurance policy runs for 18,000 words taking the average driver over an hour to read. Whilst insurers would claim that they are making sure they cover all eventualities, the cynics, me included, would simply say that they are including as many reasons as possible in order to decline an insurance claim.

According to Fairer Finance, the creators of the report, Endsleigh had the biggest policy containing 37,674 words, more than George Orwell’s classic, Animal Farm. Sheila’s Wheels were next with 32,860 words followed by Esure at 32,631 words. LV was by far the lowest at 6,901 words with next best being Nationwide at 9,302 words.

Fairer Finance are running a campaign to remove unnecessary small print in insurance policies. In order to make the point they analysed over 40 insurance policies, coming up with the average number of words. I agree with them, finance documents have already been scrutinised to keep them simple so applying the same rules to insurance policies is way overdue.

73 percent of people admit to not reading their insurance documents whilst only 17 percent admit to reading and understanding their policies. The conclusion reached by Fairer Finance was that paper is being wasted and raises the question why one company can have a policy of just 7,000 words whilst another uses 5 times as many words to say the same thing.

The Plain English Campaign said that the findings which revealed that some policies were longer than a major novel is a disgrace. A spokesman went on to say, ‘It is difficult to see that this is anything other than a cynical ploy, designed to confuse and frustrate the customer.’

I would go further and say that the longer the policy the more likely they have included obstacles to meeting  legitimate claims. Avoid them and also avoid Zurich who are incompetent crooks. Let’s see what they have to say when they read this, I still have all the evidence – give it your best shot you idiots! Oh and this isn’t the end – this is just the beginning!

That’s why I respectfully accepted the findings of the Ombudsman but refused the proposals as the compensation after 2 and a half years was insufficient. If you have had a claim with Zurich refused please let me know, whether it is car related or not. By Graham Hill

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• Car insurer small print can be longer than Animal Farm, study shows (theguardian.com)