Tag Archives: motoring stress

motoring

Confusing parking signs in Worthing

Here’s a good example of a baffling parking sign in Worthing. It’s in a residential road alongside the hospital and says
P Mon-Sat
10 – 11am
& 2pm – 3pm
Permit holders only H

I find the positioning of the letter P confusing. To me it says visually that you CAN park between the 2 hours specified Mon – Sat. Which implies you can’t at other times?​

But it might mean that only Permit Holders can park during these hours. Or only outside these hours?

And why is the H (as in hospital) relevant?

The point is, do I park here or not? I arrived at 2.30pm and was planning to park for about an hour. I don’t have all day to work this out and yet if I get this wrong I could be looking at a big fine.

In short, this is an unnecessarily stressful encounter.

Expert Parking Advice Needed

Luckily on this occasion I see an approaching Parking Warden.

“What does this sign mean?” I ask.

“It means what it says” he replies.

“Please explain it to me” I asked patiently, determined not to lose it.

“Read the sign” he said unhelpfully, walking on and leaving me speechless.

The more I looked at the sign, the less sure I became and because I didn’t trust the grumpy Warden not to return and book me if I made the wrong call I moved my car to Waitrose’s car park, was late for/shortened my hospital visit and did some food shopping instead.

It can’t just be me. Why do signs have to be this complicated? I wasn’t convinced the Warden understood this one either? Does it mean Councils earn more by baffling us into dubious parking then fining us?

Or was I expected to pay more to park, briefly and less conveniently, in the often overcrowded hospital car park?

By all means post any misleading signs near you at FOXY’s Facebook Page or at Twitter @FOXYTweets and we’ll see if we can get them some much needed attention there.

FOXY
info@foxyladydrivers.com
Twitter @FOXYTweets.

motoring

How to keep sane on bank holiday journeys

With the current popularity of staycations combined with the usual plethora of summer roadworks, it’s little wonder some of our journeys can turn from the planned delightful jaunt through English countryside or ‘quick nip up the M6’ into something resembling a scene from National Lampoon.

Car journeys and children

Here at FOXY, we’re fans of the advice for motoring mums on the netmums.com website especially as some of us consider ourselves experts on the game ‘Just a Minute’ while on long trips!

Our blog last year also had some different ideas for entertaining children on car journeys just in case some of you are only just growing your hair back from your last motoring expedition with your offspring.

One FOXY member swears by making sure her husband tapes copious quizzes so they can play them on their frequent journeys up and down the country, saying that time flies by once they start their competition to see who’s brainiest. Happily no signs of divorce just yet!

Car journeys and animals

And we mustn’t forget our furry friends. According to the RSPCA, when it’s 22ºC/72ºF outside, the temperature inside a car can soar to 47ºC/117ºF within an hour. Unlike us, dogs pant to help keep themselves cool. If you have to leave them in a hot stuffy car, maybe for a comfort break or a meal, they can’t cool down; and leaving a window open or putting up a windscreen sunshield won’t keep your car cool enough.

The RSPCA says that under the Animal Welfare Act, we all have a legal duty to care for our animals and, if we put them at risk, we could face prosecution. See more at www.rspca.org.uk. FOXY says: be very aware of hot dogs on any trips, not just long ones.

Meanwhile, on a brighter note – we’d love to hear your funniest car journey stories, so why not LIKE us on our Facebook page and share them there.

But whatever you do, enjoy the last bank holiday weekend of the summer! Let’s hope it’s a good one…

FOXY

motoring, road safety

How Did I Get Here?

A Guest Post from Caroline Holmes of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

Do you ever arrive at work and realise you can’t remember anything about your drive there?

Driving on auto pilot is a dangerous thing, but there are plenty of things you can do to make your daily commute safer.

Keep the car maintained. You may be driving with the low sun in your eyes, so make sure your windscreen washer fluid is topped up and that your windscreen and windows are clean. Check and adjust your tyre pressure regularly, and keep an eye on tread depth – this must be at least 1.6 millimetres – and their condition. You should also keep the oil at the right level and check all of your lights work.

The biggest problem with commuting is that everyone travels at the same time. People get frustrated and tired and will be inclined to behave unpredictably – watch out for people changing lanes suddenly as they try and get ahead of the traffic. Be wary and anticipate the actions of road users around you.

Stay calm. Being stuck in traffic and late for work is stressful, so allow a lot more time than you’re likely to need for the journey. I recently spent two hours on the M4 and covered only three miles. If you’re going to be late and need to let a colleague know, pull over into a safe place not obstructing other traffic, switch the engine off and make the call before carrying on.

Avoid rushing the rest of the journey to make up time. Better late than never, especially where your life’s concerned. And please, don’t be tempted to use your smartphone to check your work emails while you drive.

Check the weather forecast before you travel, especially when making a long journey. Heavy rain always slows traffic down, and in very severe weather conditions you need to consider if it’s safe to travel. When you are on the road, listen out for traffic updates on the radio in case your route is affected, but never look for updates on your mobile phone or satnav while on the move. The Highways Agency has a useful app with up to date traffic information for incidents on its roads, but remember you are breaking the law if you access it on a hand-held device, while moving. Knowing an alternative route in case of an accident or road closures is also useful.

Does your insurance cover you? Many policies will include commuting, but make sure they do, and if you start a job which involves commuting further remember to increase the mileage on your insurance premium. If you are expected to drive for work, you need to make sure your insurer covers you for business mileage too. If you have an accident driving for work, you won’t be covered if you don’t have this.

Many employers will have driver risk assessment schemes in place, and company insurance, but they are not legally obliged to do so, so don’t leave this to chance.

Caroline Holmes

www.iamdriveandsurvive.co.uk