Tag Archives: motoring

road safety

Could this be winter?

With winter weather likely to strike this weekend, the best advice is to stay at home and keep warm.

Or dust off the toboggan if the snow is as good as in the photo of course…

Why take needless risks on our roads we say.

But we all know there are times we have to venture out in our cars, even in snowy conditions, so the IAM’s common-sense advice from their website is well worth reading in advance and passing on to any one else who you may have to drive as well in bad weather.

+ Make sure your windows are clear and that you have all-round visibility before you set off.

+ Take the time to thoroughly clear your roof and windows of snow.

+ When driving in snow, get your speed right – not too fast that you risk losing control, but not so slow that you risk losing momentum when you need it.

+ Start gently from a stationary position, avoiding high revs. Stay in a higher gear for better control and, if it is slippery, in a manual car move off in a higher gear rather than automatically using first.

+ If you find yourself in a skid, don’t automatically reach for the brake as this could make things worse. Take your foot off the pedals and steer where you can; only use the brake if you cannot steer out of trouble.

+ Double or even triple your normal stopping distance from the vehicle in front so you are not just relying on your brakes to be able to stop. It simply may not happen!

+ When it comes to planning winter trips try to stick to busier roads as they are more likely to have been gritted whereas minor roads, country lanes and housing estates may not have been.

+ Bends are a particular problem in slippery conditions – slow down well before you get to the bend, so that by the time you turn the steering wheel you have lost enough speed to stay in control.

+ On a downhill slope, reduce your speed before you start the descent, and do not let it build up again – it’s much easier to keep it low than to try and slow down once you find conditions are slippery.

But, if the worst does happen:

+ Keep track of where you are. If you do have to call for assistance, you’ll want to tell the breakdown or emergency services your location so they can find you.

+ If you have to leave your vehicle to phone for assistance, find a safe place to stand away from the traffic flow because the next driver could lose control in the same place.

+ On motorways and dual carriageways it is always better to leave your vehicle and stand a short distance behind and to the safe side of it. Don’t stand in front of it given the choice.

Probably needless to say, if you HAVE to venture out in the cold make sure you’re dressed for the occasion with warm and waterproof boots, a hat and gloves, a shovel, blankets, food and drink as well as the compulsory breakdown recovery details, some money and a topped up mobile phone.

You won’t need any of this of course if you simply head off tobogganing so be sure to enjoy the snow if and when it comes to you and before it loses its picturesque fluffy white appeal…

FOXY

women's car insurance

No need for young women drivers to despair about car insurance

Call me suspicious but when there’s bad news to be announced it’s usually leaked out under cover of a bigger story.

And what could be a bigger story than Christmas?

The bad news is that the UK Gender Directive arrived on 21 December and it will undoubtedly price many young women drivers off the road as a result.

Some call it D-Day – the D standing for despair presumably, as felt by many young females when they receive their renewal insurance notifications from now on.

I’m not talking so much about rich families because, in most cases, their parents will simply cough up. I’m talking about those that aren’t well off but who scrimped and saved to fund their own driving lessons, test and first car. And all of them young women who are statistically less likely to speed or take risks than their male counterparts…

Was it so unreasonable for them to expect their insurance premiums to reduce not double and more as looks to be the case in future?

The irony is that this gender discrimination has been inflicted on us by the European Court of Justice [sic] and a German Mum of six. Shame on you Juliane Kokott – when we needed you to stick up for your gender you put your career first. Who needs enemies when we can’t even rely on our own sex for support.

The future for car insurance for women

By the New Year we’ll have the new FOXY Lady Insurance website to help. Not just about car insurance it’ll also identify the best deals out there, seen through female eyes. What makes FOXY different is that we’re the UK’s only dedicated female brand for motorists and we’re totally independent. We’ll also be inviting female feedback about insurance services and insurers so we can share this to benefit others. And finally we’ll be promoting insurance agents and brokers who share our wish to provide female friendly insurance services to women in future. At times of change and potential unfairness it’s reassuring to rely on personal service from someone who uderstands.

Because, contrary to Juliane’s principles, equality doesn’t always mean that both genders are the same or that we want to be treated the same when it comes to customer service. So FOXY’ll tackle this service gap so women can rely on us to represent their best interests.

This will be my final blog to vent about this subject. It is clearly EU madness, FOXY was too late to the party to make a difference (this has been in the pipeline for over a decade whereas FOXY arrived in 2005) and it’s now time to move on. Amen.

The FOXY way forward

If, having read this far, you share my indignation, there are three things you could do to help young women, with a view to the future.

1 Please LIKE our FOXY Lady Insurance Page at Facebook.

2 Tell any young female motorists to contact FOXY Lady Insurance if their renewal quote rises unfairly. We’ll try to beat it by introducing them to a FOXY Lady Approved insurance adviser who’ll listen, understand and be well informed about their situation.

3 Bookmark our new website and return to it in the New Year (and tell others to do the same).

Thank you for listening…

FOXY

FOXY

The Twelve Days Of FOXY Christmas

As the Christmas season approaches fast, here are some alternative FOXY lyrics for that well known festive ditty – The Twelve Days Of Christmas.

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … a lifetime subscription to FOXY Lady Drivers Club

On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … two free seasonal car checks

On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … three different types of female-friendly garages

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … four winter tyres

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … five-star treatment at my local car dealership

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … six money-saving discount offers

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … seven gender tips for getting a good car insurance deal

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … eight FOXY ways to avoid a car breakdown

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … nine winter motoring tips (from the Club’s friendly helpdesk)

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … an invitation for my employer to set up an Employee Benefit Scheme and invite ten members of staff to join FOXY Lady Drivers Club (including men too)

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … eleven practical motoring tips to share with novice drivers

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me … Yippee! A brand new car!

Now where did I put that FOXY Club membership everyone?!

Merry Christmas everyone.

FOXY

PS: The good thing about a FOXY gift at Christmas (and a generous true love who cares of course) is that you can then rely on a well informed motoring friend in future who’ll always put your best interests to the fore.

women

High Profiler MumsClub Business Award

I’m thrilled to have been nominated for a Business Mum’s Award by MumsClub.

And judging by their wonderful photo, someone must have told them I’m sleeping on the job at present.

I’ve never known it to be SO busy what with juggling our own motoring Club, the FOXY Choice garage network and a couple of other ‘projects’ that are under wraps for the time being…

Like the MumsClub Business Award winners, all will be revealed but if you wanted to (and read this in time), you can vote for me in the MumsClub High Profilers category here.

And at least I can then tick that off my alarmingly long list of things to do.

FOXY