Paul Miller, manager, John Austin VW & Audi Specialists, has been taking a deeper look at car safety, with surprising results.

Road safety awareness has come a long way in recent times and whereas previously we may have bought a car because of its style, speed, functionality and perhaps even its pulling power,  now safety has become a major consideration when making that all important purchase. For this reason car manufacturers are constantly striving to improve their safety systems and come up with the latest innovations to get ahead of the pack.

Considering that it was a Volvo engineer who first invented the seat belt back in 1959 it is no wonder we’ve come to regard Volvo as synonymous with safety. For many years they have focused their marketing campaigns on the safety features of their cars and promoted themselves as making ‘the safest cars in the world’. However last year Toyota successfully took them to court and it was ruled that these claims were ‘misleading and lacked supporting evidence’. So have we been hoodwinked?

Let’s take a look at the evidence.  The most widely recognised safety testing is performed by Euro NCAP. They perform independent assessments of cars sold within Europe and award stars based on the safety of their performance in crash test situations.

In a press release Euro NCAP disclosed their top five overall achievers; Volvo didn’t put in an appearance until ‘joint 5^th place’ receiving only three out of a potential five stars. Volvo was preceded by VW Golf, Honda Insight Hybrid, Toyota Prius, Hyundai i20. So it does seem that the public perception of Volvo may be somewhat misguided.

The tests cover all aspects of a car’s safety performance from frontal impact and side impact to child, driver and pedestrian protection. They are considered exhaustive by most; however some believe that other more unusual factors also come into play.

Believe it or not there have been several studies carried out worldwide to try to establish the safest colour car to drive! So does colour play a part in how safe a car is? Well according to the various experiments conducted it absolutely does.

It is apparent time and time again that silver is safest. In almost every study silver cars come out as least likely to be involved in an accident.  The reason for this (here’s the science bit) is because silver has highly reflective qualities and is not a colour that occurs naturally in the environment.  It therefore easily attracts our attention and stands out against the black roads or at night time, reducing its chances of being involved in a collision. The same can be said of white and other light coloured vehicles. Darker colours such as black, dark blue and bottle green cars are all thought to be at a greatly increased risk of being involved in more serious accidents.

It does appear that there is more to consider when buying a car than air bags and NCAP stars, although perhaps the most important safety feature is the one ‘behind’ the wheel.

Useful links:
 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2469859/posts
 http://www.euroncap.com/Content-Web-Article/4a35be7b-bc49-4272-b628-b745829f70fd/euro-ncaps-top-five-achievers-of-2009.aspx
 http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4504-silver-cars-are-the-safest-on-the-road.html
 http://www.drivers.com/article/707/

We may go on about our famous British weather but the one thing it doesn’t give us is treacherous driving conditions, just a lot of puddles.  That was until late last year when the snow fell and kept falling and the country quickly ground to a halt.

So, strictly speaking, as winter is well and truly here, all UK drivers  are probably more than prepared to handle whatever the weather throws at us over the next few months.

Just in case the disappointment at England’s performance in the World Cup, or the excitement of winning against Australia at Twickenham in November has affected your short term memory, here are some tips to help you prepare for unexpected and dangerous driving conditions:

Cover the bases

• If the weather forecast is looking bad or just uncertain and you need to drive, then you must make sure you take some basic action before setting off.   First, fill up with petrol; if you get stuck you can keep the engine running and stay warm until help arrives or conditions become less severe.
• Having the right tyre pressure is vital whatever the weather, but in wintry conditions check the tread: the legal minimum is 1.6mm, but it’s better to have a deeper tread of at least 3mm, as it will be more effective at clearing water.
• If you haven’t put antifreeze in your car since the summer, now’s the time to start.

See and be seen

• The combination of icy conditions and grit on the roads can mean you’ll use more screen wash than normal, so keep it topped up and put a spare bottle in the boot.
• It would be sensible to have a can of de-icer and a plastic scraper in there too.  A second can of de-icer at home will help you deal with frozen locks quickly first thing in the morning.
• Windscreen wipers should also be checked now because worn ones won’t be effective against sleet and snow and you can’t drive blind.
• If it gets misty outside, keep dipped headlights on, if it gets foggy, then turn your fog lights on; you’ll be more visible and you’ll see more too.

Put the right equipment in the boot

• Take an old sleeping bag (which makes a great duvet), a hoodie and a pair of gloves; shove them in a dustbin liner, put the lot in the boot and forget about it. You may never need to use them over the winter period, but you’ve got the kit just in case.
• You probably already have a torch in the glove compartment, right?  If you haven’t, put one in now.
• Should the weather forecast indicate that snow is a possibility, it makes sense to keep a shovel and a couple of pieces of cardboard or old carpet in the boot too; it could help you or another motorist out of a tricky situation.

If you do set off on a journey, run out of petrol, a snow storm starts and you’ve forgotten to put warm clothing in the boot, at least you’ll be able to call for help, because you’ve kept your mobile phone fully charged.  Yes?

Winter driving conditions are never pleasant, but we can make ourselves safer by getting a grip.  And there’s no time like the present.

Here are some useful links:

www.highways.gov.uk

www.theaa.com

Everyone in the John Austin team loves cars; we take pride in our work but the one thing that really gets us is when we can’t take care of our customers’ cars as quickly as we’d like to. It disappoints us and it disappoints you. It’s not that we don’t have enough man power, we do; we just need extra space for ramps.

The good news is that the problem has just been resolved. A few weeks ago we moved into the unit right next door to the garage, and kept the original workshop too, which means we’ve doubled our space and can install two more ramps. Two more ramps will allow us to service and repair another 30 cars a week, so waiting times will be reduced as will the inconvenience of being without your own car.

We’re getting everything ready so we’ll be fully operational by the end of this month. Of course we wouldn’t dream of doing something like this without marking the occasion, but we also wanted to do something a little different. So, on Saturday 9 October at 10.00am we’re running a Pit Stop Workshop. This workshop will give our customers, their families and friends a hands-on opportunity to learn how to change a wheel (if they’ve got one), check tyre pressures and oil and water levels. The aim is to develop familiarity and reduce fear through active participation. Yes, anyone coming along will have a chance to literally change a wheel or put air into a tyre if they want to. If they don’t, they can watch. It’s all god experience. Year 12 and 13 students, who are just starting driving lessons, are also being invited to get involved.

Basic car maintenance seems to be a forgotten art these, so it’s quite easy for simple problems to take on sinister proportions or be ignored altogether. This workshop is designed to give you the skills to help yourself, because one day you might need to.

When the workshop’s finished, we can all go next door to The Food Company for a little coffee and cake, compliments of John Austin. If you’d like to come along to the Pit Stop Workshop, just email Sharon on: to reserve your place, or call 07811 439269.