Sheffield MP Meg Munn has been awarded Brake and Direct Line’s Road Safety Parliamentarian of the month after asking the government to listen to public demand for regular eyesight testing.

During National Eye Health Week in June 2011 Meg secured a Parliamentary Debate on driver eyesight testing. Despite this success Meg was disappointed with the response as the Minister defended current arrangements, although the debate helped to raise awareness of the issue among MPs.

Meg has also asked Road Safety Minster Mike Penning several questions in Parliament. In September Meg asked if he would conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the replacement of the number-plate test with a comprehensive eye test by a qualified practitioner when taking their driving test and at 10 year intervals. The Minister responded by stating that the government has no plans to do so.

Meg believes that the cost of implementing regular, comprehensive eyesight tests would be minimal whereas the benefits would be great, providing reassurance that drivers meet minimum standards to drive safely and helping prevent crashes and casualties, which are devastating to families and a huge cost burden on emergency services and the NHS.

During Road Safety Week 2011, coordinated by Brake, Meg was involved in a media campaign urging drivers to consider whether their eyesight would meet the minimum requirements. This included an interview on BBC Radio Sheffield with coverage in the Sheffield Star and Sheffield Telegraph.

Meg intends to continue to lobby the government until she is happy that appropriate action is taken to ensure all drivers have the required standard of eyesight for driving on UK roads.

This is her advice for all motorists…

* Get your eyes tested at least every two years, even if you think your eyesight is perfect. Your eyesight can deteriorate without you noticing.
* If you notice deterioration, get tested straight away.
* This applies to all ages, but is especially important if you are over 50, when eyesight is more likely to deteriorate
* If you are taking medication or suffer from any medical conditions, check with your doctor or optometrist if it could affect your driving or vision.

If you need glasses or contact lenses:
* Never drive without them, and keep them clean. Keep a spare pair in your vehicle if you are prone to forget.
* Choose glasses with thin or no rims, which give you a greater field of vision.
* Choose glasses with anti-reflective coating, which can help reduce glare at night.
* If you wear glasses, keep a pair of prescription sunglasses in your vehicle.
* Avoid wearing tinted glasses at night-time or during bad weather.

FOXY Steph

Earlier this year we launched a female friendly accident assistance service for club members but I didn’t expect to be needing it myself.

That’s the thing about insurance and support services like FOXY Lady Drivers Club, breakdown recovery and/or accident assistance. Ideally you want to have them all, just in case, but you hope you won’t need them.

And the least understood of these is probably that of no fault accident management services yet they often provide a more caring and comprehensive accident support service than busy insurance companies who are inclined towards cost cutting to minimise claims costs for all. Which isn’t always fair, especially in circumstances like this.

My story is a simple one. Earlier this year I bought a BMW sports car for fun motoring. We called him Zoot – it’s a long story to do with ‘him’ being a Z model. Anyway I loved driving Zoot and expected to have him for many years to come…

Which is not now to be the case because last week, whilst having a short anniversary break in Kent, my husband and I were involved in an accident and Zoot is now ‘uneconomic to repair’…

My husband was driving along the A28 between Canterbury and Ashford when we saw a lady on the lefthand side of the road waiting to turn right, as it happens. I am sure she saw us and yet her car pulled out almost immediately in front of us with c20m to spare. We were probably doing c40-50mph and we were unable to avoid a collision. Both cars ended up on the opposite side of the road, without hitting any oncoming vehicles thank goodness.

Thank goodness too that nobody was killed or seriously injured. The lady in question was local and a grandmother; we know this because she was quickly joined by members of her family who had heard the crash. I think she might have suffered whiplash and her Ford was certainly badly damaged.

My husband was well enough to take photos which act as a stark reminder of events but also illustrate precisely what must have happened.

Whilst ambulance staff attended to us, the police completed the accident statements needed and my husband ended up sorting out the recovery of our car with a company the Police introduced.

My husband also contacted FOXY’s accident assistance service at this stage who were quick to organise a replacement car that arrived at our hotel the next morning. A valuation was carried out the next day and by Day 3 we’d received and agreed this. So far so good but this is now complicated because the other driver claims that we were indicating to turn left at her junction which is why she pulled out when she did…

I won’t comment about this here because if proof is needed (which it shouldn’t be when one is expected to drive safely) the car’s data will surely prove this. So this is where we are at. Stacey is our friendly and knowledgeable contact at our accident management service, and she is dealing with the hire car, valuation, our insurer and the progress of our claim. Very reassuring to have this support in such stressful circumstances…

So I’ll keep you posted.

Me? I’ve chipped my sternum (chest bone) from a combination of airbag and seat belt damage and have broken the base of my right thumb. Both involve painful and spectacular bruising so typing duties have had to be delegated and I’m off the road for a while…

Would I buy another BMW Zoot machine? You bet. The front of the car took the brunt of the impact but the cab remained intact and both doors opened. It could have been much, much worse.

But it was SO useful to have someone to phone for friendly support when we needed it most. Highly recommended and an important part of what FOXY is all about – for Club members and their family of course.

Find out more about FOXY Lady Drivers Club’s female friendly accident management service .

On behalf of all women drivers… FOXY Lady Drivers Club is supporting the PRO-MOTE campaign to keep the safer British MOT model in the face of a real EU threat.

The UK MOT industry is seriously threatened by a lesser EU alternative. Despite one in three cars failing their first MOT after just 3 years on our roads and most of us too busy to maintain our cars in between annual tests thereafter, the EU is attempting to impose a regime that tests our cars every other year, starting once they are 4 years old.

Instead of what is known as the UK 3-1-1 model the EU is attempting to sell us their 4-2-2 version yet their roads aren’t as safe as ours. That’s madness.

Which will mean many more unsafe cars on our roads, an increase in accidents as a result (there are illustrative statistics to prove this) and ’000s of jobs lost in the UK’s motor industry.

After banging on the drum and getting nowhere with protests made by FOXY Lady Drivers Club to our Sussex MP Nick Herbert (and tweets to Philip Hammond who was in charge but just about to change platforms) we now have a new Transport Secretary, Justine Greening. I don’t envy her having to get to grips with this and red herring issues thrown into the mix, like increasing the speed limit on motorways. Whilst VOSA is changing the existing UK MOT model to include other items…

This is the perfect scenario for this BAD CHANGE to come in through the UK’s back door whilst no-one is standing guard, so to speak. In which case, mark my words, the cost of this apathy will be lost British lives on our roads and MOT industry jobs.

Which is why FOXY Lady Drivers Club is supporting the new PRO-MOTE campaign alongside other road safety groups, motoring organisations and industry bodies.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION to show your support and pass it on as a priority.

Please don’t think that others will do the right thing for you. You have to do it for yourself. If not, and the EU MOT model is introduced, the cost could be a life or the job of somebody you know. Because nobody bothered to do the right thing. That includes YOU…

Go on, sign the petition now please!

FOXY Steph

By all means see what I wrote about this earlier when I was canvassing support about the UK MOT model in my blog at confused.com. And see why women need their own motoring club to add their voice here…

Supporting organisations include FOXY Lady Drivers Club, the RAC, the AA, Brake, Aviva, Halfords, Kwik Fit and the Retail Motor Industry Federation.

Just say no to the EU about MOTs

The EU is attempting to change our proven MOT regime and this WILL cost us lives and motor industry jobs if we let it.

I have posted about this subject before but I am now SERIOUSLY concerned that changes to our MOT system could get in through the UK’s back door as a result of our lethargy or simply as a result of our disbelief.

YES it CAN happen and if it does, it WILL affect road safety levels and cost us jobs in the UK motor industry if this change is allowed in via the Government’s back door.

Please read my campaigning blog at Confused.com about government plans to risk road safety.

After all, no-one really believed that the EU could tell UK insurers how to rate their car insurance risk when it comes to the gender of young men and women drivers. But this happened and will take effect in December 2012 without any noticeable sign of UK government protest, despite this flying in the face of statistical evidence (that women are the safer and therefore cheaper drivers to insure) and being totally unfair on females as a consequence.

In such instances the EU law is an ass and the UK government should have the guts to stand up and be counted where the harmonisation of bureaucracy to convenience EU officials is not in our country’s best interests. Rather than simply see it as a convenient cost saving sap for motorists…

And whilst women drivers are now to be expected to cough up to fill the coffers of UK car insurance companies (after a few lean years for them we are told) this proposed change about MOTs will cost us considerably more than just money. I’m talking about the cost of lives on our roads because our cars will be less safe if the EU gets its way here.

We must also realise that some 50,000 individuals are employed in the UK MOT industry so, potentially, half of these jobs could be at risk if the government approves a MOT regime every other year rather than every year as it stands at present.

Please read more about this via the Confused.com blog link and then join us at Facebook for progress news. Either FOXY Lady Drivers Club (for women drivers) or FOXY Choice (for trade members).

FOXY Steph

‘All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.’     Edmund Burke.
And ‘good women’ we would add!

Please see FOXY’s letter to our local MP protesting at proposals by HM Government to change our MoT testing regime.

Please add your support to our ‘FOXY says NO’ campaign at our FOXY Lady Drivers Club (if a female motorist) or FOXY Choice (if a motor industry business) Facebook pages.

 

6 May 2011

Rt Hon Nick Herbert MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Dear Mr Herbert

I run a motoring club for women drivers and, as you might expect, we put safety at the top of our agenda. I am therefore concerned to read of proposals announced by Ministers at the Department for Transport to reduce the frequency of MoT tests for road vehicles.

The current system requires our cars to be tested on an annual basis from the third anniversary of registration (3-1-1) and the DfT proposal is to make that every two years from the fourth anniversary of registration (4-2-2).

Under the current system, over a third of the vehicles presented for their first test (at three years old) fail it. How many more will be found unroadworthy by the time a fourth year has passed? And more importantly how many accidents will have been caused?

Research commissioned by the DfT in 2008, published under the title ‘MOT Scheme Evidence base’, concluded that such a change would result in more than 400 additional road deaths. This report was ‘Quality Checked’ by the Department for Business as well as the Cabinet Office at the time.

We must also consider the reduction in the number of MoT test stations and the unemployment this would undoubtedly create for no good reason.

The government makes much of the fact that cars are more reliable now than when the test was first introduced but no amount of improved safety and reliability features will make a car safe if it’s not adequately and regularly serviced and/or checked for road safety. Whilst the longer the gaps manufacturers allow between servicing dates might suggest safer and more reliable cars the first MoT failure statistics suggest otherwise.

In our experience, we find that many female motorists combine their MoT with an annual servicing. Were the MoT to be delayed to Year 4 and then to become a two yearly event this is likely to encourage them to postpone what we see as essential maintenance to the detriment of motoring safety.

As my constituency Member of Parliament, I would be grateful if you can give this matter your deepest consideration and make sure that Ministers and officials at the Department for Transport are aware of my opinion on behalf of the 12,000 UK female motorists in our Club.

Even better, I hope you will add and express your concern as well.

Yours sincerely

Steph

Steph Savill
FOXY Founder

I find it impossible to believe that the EU might muscle in this change to bring the UK in line with Europe despite such compelling road safety evidence and the loss of jobs this would produce.

Our government MUST think this one through again.

FOXY says ‘NO’ – please support us at Facebook (see earlier links) to make our voice louder, on behalf of UK women drivers and their families.

FOXY Steph

After a family tragedy killed one sister and seriously injured another, Michelle Luetchford from Ipswich has been awarded road safety charity Brake’s Volunteer of the Year Award 2010 for her fundraising efforts since.

In February 2009 Michelle’s sisters, Emma and Beccy, and their friend Kate, were hit when a car mounted the pavement. Emma and her friend Kate died at the scene, while Beccy was seriously injured.

Michelle began volunteering for Brake in November 2009 and since then has raised an impressive £8,000 for the charity through organising fundraising events. These included parachute jumps, climbing Britain’s highest mountain Ben Nevis last summer and organising a family treasure hunt and soul music night.

Julie Townsend, Campaigns Director at Brake, said “Michelle is a worthy award winner. Her dedication to raising awareness of the dangers of speeding is commendable and inspiring. I would urge everyone to listen to Michelle’s story and pledge to drive safely – including slowing down to 20mph in communities.”

Michelle added “Since joining Brake as a volunteer in November 2009 I have worked hard to raise awareness of the importance of road safety. I raise money in memory of my sister Emma and our friend Kate, and to support Beccy who has been seriously injured.  It is devastating to lose a family member and close friend in such an unnecessary and violent way. I’m proud to be supporting Brake’s work to stop other families going through this heartbreak, and to care for families who have been affected by a tragic death or injury on the roads.”

Well done Michelle; may your moving message reduce the unnecessary loss of lives on our roads and the pain such tragedies cause ordinary families like yours.

FOXY Steph

Join FOXY Lady Drivers Club for motoring services that help women run safer cars and support them at accident times.

We all know that worn tyres can cause accidents. Think about the trust we place on a bit of rubber when we floor the accelerator… and then remember when you last looked to see if your tyres are safe.

Fortunately women drivers who are members of FOXY Lady Drivers Club can have their tyres checked by a garage professional as part of their quarterly Car Fitness Check regime – no extra charge AND all participating garages have signed the female friendly FOXY Promise to ‘never overcharge, patronise or sell women things they don’t want to buy.’
So there’s peace of mind that you won’t suffer the sort of sales pressure at a FOXY garage that you might if you choose a rogue fastfit or garage by mistake.

But you still need to check your tyres more regularly than this; ideally once a month and, to quote the meerkat,  it’s simples to do.

Just insert a 20p coin into the main tread grooves of your car tyres – if the outer rim of the coin is covered by the tread, this indicates sufficient tread depth to be safe and legal. If the outer rim of the coin is visible, your tyres need attention.

And if the seven year olds in the TyreSafe photo can do it, then so can you.

It’s also a good idea to get into the habit of walking round your car every time before you get in it. You’ll then become used to looking for the likes of a slow puncture or tyre wall damage caused by kerb scuffs or worse.

simples for tyres

Current UK law requires a minimum of 1.6mm of tread across the central three quarters of the tyre, around its entire circumference. If your tyres aren’t legal you can be fined up to £2,500 and three penalty points for each illegal tyre.

In 2009/10, 2.3 million vehicles failed their annual MOT test where ‘tyres’ was one of the reasons for referral and 1.6 million of these were because the car’s tyres did not meet the 1.6mm requirements. I shall remember this stat because of the 1.6 numeric coincidence…

Additionally, the number of drivers prosecuted by courts in England and Wales during 2008 for driving on defective tyres totalled 4,300 convictions (up by 14%). And you would imagine the 2009 figures will reflect the same sort of recessionary pressures to save money on car maintenance (without thinking…).

So in case you have ever doubted it, it really does make safety and financial sense to be a FOXY Lady Driver because our car checks are free and carried out by measurably good and female friendly garages (fast fits and dealerships too).

Why not join the Club now? Or tell your friends and family. All it costs is £23 for a lifetime sub and £3 of that goes to a cancer charity.

Priceless surely when it comes to driver safety alone.

FOXY Steph

When it is fit for purpose (not today imho), Road Casualties Online is a new website designed to allow members of the public to perform their own analysis and examination of Reported Road Accident Statistics to reach their own road safety conclusions. I’d have thought this could be very helpful to Local Authorities in future.

I visited it today to see if I could find out how many road accidents were caused by dangerous cars. But I couldn’t (perhaps I need a bigger brain?) and the 2009 data isn’t there yet. So I looked at the DfT’s Road Casualties Great Britain report for 2009 recording fewer deaths on the road, fewer casualties and fewer pedestrians involved in accidents compared to 2008.

Still too many of course but the key findings were that:

• 4 out of 5 of the most frequently reported contributory factors involved driver/rider error/reaction.

• 36% of all fatal accidents involved loss of control.

• 5% of all accidents were put down to speed but these accidents involved 17% of all fatalities.

• 13% of accidents were described as ‘exceeding the speed limit’ and ‘travelling too fast for the conditions’ and accounted for 27% of all fatalities.

I have always wondered how many ‘cars in a dangerous condition’ (this is not a DfT statistical category) were the reason behind the ‘loss of control’ 36%. Clearly when you are looking at a fatality the car may well be a write off and nigh on impossible to inspect the condition of a tyre blow out, I’d have thought. But this category will certainly be influenced by speed, driver error/reaction and surely the condition of the vehicle; mainly to do with tyre neglect I’d have thought.

I wonder if the tyre safety and insurance companies can add to this research?

There are certainly moves afoot for insurance companies to refuse accident claims involving cars that are unfit; either because they haven’t been maintained or serviced properly. And whilst we know that the motorist will be held responsible, I wonder if anyone investigates whether a garage was involved or can be held accountable?

Am I being paranoid? In an industry that isn’t licensed and where mechanics don’t have to be qualified?

Perhaps but if the likes of Which? and BBC Watchdog can pinpoint so many supposedly good garages that aren’t spotting or fixing important safety related faults, then the potential for accidents, fatal or otherwise, must be considerably increased. Ipso facto.

FOXY Steph

Read FOXY Good Garage Guide here before choosing a local garage near you.

According to Sheilas Wheels women are calmer, safer and better drivers than men in the summer.

Yet another provocative headline designed to wind men up .

This because, apparently, men get more distracted and irritable than women in the heat. As the temperature starts to rise so does their temper and their testosterone, when the temptation of totty talent proves irresistible.

After all, men are not famous for their multi-tasking abilities…

Perhaps scantily clad females are equally to blame and should carry a health warning during summer months; something like ‘Look at me and you might crash.’

But what I’d really like to know is whether women aren’t the better drivers in the winter as well?

Could it be that the cold weather slows male drivers down?

In which case turn the air conditioning up to its maximum guys during the summer months and let’s see if it keeps us all safer on the roads no matter the season.

FOXY Steph

“A lot of guys think the larger a woman’s breasts are, the less intelligent she is.  I don’t think it works like that.  I think it’s the opposite.  I think the larger a woman’s breasts are, the less intelligent the men become.”
Anita Wise

A family of four have received almost £8000 compensation after a car accident left them suffering from multiple personal injuries. The family were in their Audi A4 in Leicester when the driver of a Vauxhall Vectra failed to give way and crashed into them. The collision was worse because the driver of the Vectra hit the accelerator pedal instead of the brake.

The driver of the Audi was taken to hospital suffering from severe back injuries, whiplash and shock. His wife, who was a front seat passenger, sustained injuries to her back and neck and their two children, aged 19 and 21, suffered whiplash. The driver remained in the A&E Department at Leicester Royal Infirmary for over five hours before being discharged and was unable to carry out his job as a quality control manager for six weeks as a result. His wife was also unable to return to work for three weeks and was put on painkillers for two weeks and required to take extra medicine to reduce muscle spasm.

After filing a compensation claim against the driver of the Vectra, the family won close to £8,000 in compensation although the driver of the Vectra initially denied liability but changed his statement after the case was taken to court. This included over £3,000 for the man’s loss of earnings, personal injuries and emotional damage, some £2000 for his wife’s injuries and loss of earnings plus over £1,300 for each of their children.

FOXY Steph

Find out about FOXY Lady Drivers Club‘s ‘no fault’ accident assistance service included in a FOXY Classic lifetime subscription.