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That’s the way that Thatcham research have described one particular car. This car, which has been available for many years in the UK, has never had an occupant fatality recorded. The research body analysed police-provided Government accident statistics, cross-matching them against insurance data.

The car was the Volvo XC90 and when checked Thatcham could find no record of anyone dying in an XC90 from 2004 when records began to 2017. Over 54,000 of the SUV’s have been sold since its launch in 2002. So want a safe car get a Volvo XC90! By Graham Hill

A few years ago I returned to my Mercedes having been away for the day at a conference only to find that the car had been keyed. I actually felt relieved that I’d been driving prestige cars for many years and this was the first time my car had been vandalised.

It didn’t stop me from parking at the corner of the road for three nights running in the hope that I would catch the cretins doing it again – very silly I know but I was furious! So I was quite surprised to read that the most vandalised car in the UK is the Smart Car. Churchill insurance analysed insurance claims and found that Smart ForTwo and Smart ForFour were the most vandalised cars.

Analysis showed one in one hundred cars being vandalised, to put this into perspective next on the list was the Mini at one in one thousand cars. Small Alfa Romeo, BMW and Mazda car owners have complained about their cars being deliberately damaged. After analysing claims between 2013 and 2017 they found that there was a vandalism claim every 22 minutes.

Most claims were for cosmetic damage with 15% blamed on scratches and similar incidents. 12% of claims were for damage to bumpers with another 12% dings in doors. Steve Barrett, head of car insurance at Churchill said, ‘We advise victims to report vandalism to police, even when the damage is minor.’ We don’t know what the problem is with Smart cars, in 2009 several were pushed into Amsterdam’s canals and 2014 several were turned upside down in San Francisco.

Bloody typical, just as we have a great deal on them! By Graham Hill

Do you wash your own car or do you have it washed by a hand wash team now inhabiting one of the many filling station forecourts closed down over the past 10 years?

If you use the hand car wash option I warned some time ago about the use of some very strong chemicals with high acid content being used to clean alloy wheels and potentially damage or destroy them.

Some have sprayed the concoction onto paintwork that is heavily soiled with street muck, tree sap, or large packages plopped onto our cars by our feathered friends. At best fading the paint and at worst scabbing the paint. In my case I have been using the same team for 7 or 8 years and whilst they all come from abroad they always use good quality products and do an excellent job.

However, as this isn’t always the case a group of MP’s are looking into these hand car washes amid concerns that the staff are being trapped into ‘Bonded Labour’ and that some of the cleaning chemicals used are hazardous to the staff and to the environment.

The enquiry is being led by Mary Creagh, chair of the Environment Audit Committee who said on the BBC ‘We have environmental, employment and slavery concerns.’ The Car Wash Advisory Service – yep there is one, says that there are up to 20,000 hand car washes in the UK, with roughly 8,000 ‘bad boys.’

Whilst the investigation is being carried out always use a car wash you feel you can trust and if you are concerned about the cleaning chemicals being used – ask. Make sure that if you see the container it shows that the solution doesn’t contain dangerous or hazardous chemicals and is environmentally friendly. By Graham Hill

We all know that one of the most common car insurance fiddles is the widely publicised Cash for Crash whiplash claim. Simply a car races past you, swerves in front and brakes hard. You brake and still run into the back of the car. As you ran into the car in front you are considered at fault whilst all 5 people in the car at the time claim for whiplash and each receive several thousands of pounds in costs and compensation.

With the introduction of the Civil Liabilities Act (at Bill stage at the moment) compensation for whiplash claims will drop from the current maximum of £1,850 to £425. The new Act will make it illegal to submit a whiplash claim without medical evidence. Together it is felt that this will discourage this scurrilous activity and in turn save the Insurance Industry £1 billion each year.

This is the equivalent to £35 per motorist. The Ministry of Justice says that despite the UK having some of the safest roads in Europe the number of whiplash claims has increased by 50% in the past 10 years. They blame a predatory industry that encourages motorists to submit exaggerated or fraudulent claims driving up insurance premiums for all.

Justice secretary, David Gauke, said, ‘This legislation will ensure that whiplash claims are no longer an easy payday. The Bill will seek to set fixed amounts of compensation for whiplash claims and halt the practice of setting claims without medical evidence.’

Whilst some insurers, including Liverpool Victoria and Aviva have pledged to pass on any savings to motorists I have my doubts. And how will we know? Will they send a note to all clients advising of a drop in their premiums? I doubt it. My concern is that the £425 ceiling is too low when applied to a genuine case. Genuine cases of whiplash should be treated fairly with those affected being suitably recompensed. I know people who have suffered whiplash with the problem remaining forever. It can be very painful and debilitating. £425 hardly seems fair to me simply because a few crooks make false claims. By Graham Hill

When Apple updates the operating system on their iPhones in the autumn of this year to IOS 11 it will include a mode that will prevent alerts from coming through to their iPhone whilst driving.

The ‘Do Not Disturb Whilst Driving’ feature is activated when connected to a car via Bluetooth or cable. It will silence all notifications and blank the screen. The feature will also respond to all messages coming through with a text message that says that the person is currently driving and is unavailable.

Passengers who are also connected to the car can opt to disable the feature by confirming that they are not behind the wheel. Drivers will be able to send messages in an emergency by saying the word ‘Urgent’ and can tailor the replies to different contacts.

The new feature, whilst it doesn’t stop those who are not Bluetooth connected from holding the phone to their ear or texting whilst driving, it is certainly a step in the right direction. Others in the industry have given the revision a thumbs up.

Pete Willians, spokesman for the BePhoneSmart campaign said, ‘We’re pleased that at last millions of drivers who use an iPhone are about to be able to put an end to intrusive notifications while they are behind the wheel.’ I agree. By Graham Hill

Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham Research, explains that the safety star rating isn’t quite as it seems or as people perceive it to be. Over the 20 years that they’ve been testing cars they’ve tested nearly 700 models and awarded ratings to 94%. Of those half have been rated 5 stars.

Over the years the tests have been refined and updated to take account of new technology and legislation. But not all 5 star ratings are equal and comparable. Not because of when the test was carried out, although clearly that has a bearing, but the ratings are awarded within the class of car. It is therefore not possible to compare ratings between say a small family car like a Fiesta and a large luxury SUV such as a BMW X5.

The test procedures are revised every couple of years, responding to new safety technologies. For example when Autonomous Emergency Braking was introduced the tests were altered to accommodate it. It was introduced in 2008 and by 2014 it became part of the star rating test. Although it is only this year that it becomes a pre-requisite of the 5 star rating.

Matthew went on to explain that the car mass (weight) plays a part as a bigger heavier car would be expected to be safer than a small car if involved in an accident. So the ratings are relative within the group. The Fiesta and the X5 could both be considered safe within their class even though they have major differences.

Crash safety science is complicated so they’re looking to make it more comparable. In the meantime, the recommendation is to seek out cars with 5 star ratings.

Now I have to say that I was shocked when I read this. I always believed that if you bought a car with a 5 star rating I believed it to be one of the safest cars on the road but what it really meant was that it was one of the safest cars on the road – within class. But what is ‘the class’? Would a Ford Focus, that cost a similar amount to say a Tiguan 4WD, be in the same class?

As I understand it the stars that are awarded are therefore relative to other cars ‘in their class’. But if a manufacturer introduces some new safety technology as standard on their car and they already have 5 Stars – where do they go from there? Six stars? If a Vauxhall Astra already has 5 Stars then Ford, who also have 5 stars awarded to their Focus, make their car even safer, how would you as a buyer be able to draw the distinction? Especially is safety is your deciding factor.

All very worrying! By Graham Hill

In a survey carried out by the AA of over 21,000 motorists, an astonishing 85% expressed fear for their safety and that of others when driving on our poorly maintained roads. 92% were concerned about the damage to their cars whilst more than half (52%) had sustained damage over the last few years as a result of roads being allowed to deteriorate.

Simon Benson, director of motoring services at AA Cars, said: “With many local councils lacking the funds to adequately repair roads, the country’s highway system is deteriorating – which in turn puts drivers at risk and makes pothole-related damage to cars increasingly likely. He pointed out, “Clearly, drivers are well aware of this problem, as we can see by their distinct lack of confidence in the state of British roads”.

He went on to share a few gems of advice. Firstly, keep your tyres properly inflated. Underinflated tyres can suffer greater damage if they hit a pothole. Slow down if you approach a pothole. Some people confuse their car with a hovercraft and believe that a pothole approached at speed will allow you to skim over it – you won’t. Take similar care when approaching what appears to be a puddle in the road – it could be a pothole.

Also beware of cyclists. They may see a pothole at the last minute and swerve to avoid it, if the conditions are known to be bad allow plenty of space when overtaking a push bike. The report also revealed that 75% of motorists are becoming aware of longer journey times as drivers slow down for potholes.

Finally, it calculated that 4.6 million motorists are now reluctant to use their cars for local journeys and 3.7 million are reluctant to use their cars on longer journeys for fear that they may damage their cars. In summing up the report revealed that nearly three quarters of motorists (72%) felt that their road fund licence wasn’t used properly and more of what they pay should be used to maintain the roads. I totally agree, the infrastructure in this relatively small island is a disgrace. By Graham Hill

I’ve mentioned this in that past but surprisingly few people are aware of its existence and what it does. So just a reminder if you are buying or leasing a new diesel car or have recently taken delivery of one – quite simply it’s an additive.

It sits in a large at the back of the car, normally around 12 litres in size, and is squirted in small amounts, when the engine is running, into the exhaust gas causing a chemical reaction turning NOx gas into its constituent parts, Nitrogen and Oxygen.

Adblue is a trade name, created by its manufacturer to bring down NOx emissions in some cars that couldn’t meet the Euro 6 emissions tests. It isn’t always clear if your car uses Adblue, some include Blue in their name whilst VW uses SCR in the model name.

For most people, driving low mileage, the tank won’t need topping up between services but if you need to, following a warning light illuminating on the screen, some garages have Adbue on the pumps, costing around 60 pence per litre. Or you can buy it in Halfords or your main dealer for more.

Some cars have the top up away from the fuel filler to ensure that you don’t put Adblue in the fuel tank and vice versa. You need to check your handbook as some fillers can be well hidden, even in the spare wheel well. If you are unsure it might be wiser to call into the main dealer or Halfords who I believe offer to top it up for free if you buy the Adblue from them of course.

Warning:  The AA attended about 20,000 Adblue callouts last year, often because the car ran out of Adblue. A warning light will glow on the dashboard when you have about 3 litres left or about 1,200 miles. If you run out whilst driving, the car will continue but if you turn the engine off with no Adblue left in the tank it won’t restart. So if you need Adblue and you find somewhere to top it up – don’t turn the engine off just in case they’ve run out also. By Graham Hill