Traffic Lights - Friend or Foe?

There was a very interesting BBC Newsnight this week which featured the humble traffic light. The show featured campaigner Martin Cassini who thinks roads would be safer and less congested if they were free of traffic lights.

Cassini contends that a world without traffic lights would mean less congestion and safer roads. He argues that traffic lights make us stop when it is safe to go, cost the UK £20 billion pounds a year through increased road congestion, extend journey times, and maximise emmissions from the stop start driving cycle.

Many people argue that the roads in Britiain are now more dangerous then ever, even with all the latest systems to reduce speed and manage driving habits. Cassini argues that we have a duty to try and test a traffic light free road system.

By turning streets into civilised shared spaces you would have a systen which is designed around human nature not the other way round. A road system currently in place in Norrkoping Sweden has dispensed with road markings, signs and traffic lights, with drivers now part of the urban context.

Pedestrians are allowed to stand in the middle of the road, and cross where they like. With the new system in place there have been the no accidents since the traffic lights were removed in September 2000!

No Claims Discount - 90 Second Guide

In this second 90 second guide we look at the car insurance term No Claims Discount (NCD). You may already have come across NCD, including associated terms such as no claims bonus, protected and named driver, among others.

If you are a first time driver you will possibly already be aware of the fact that motor insurers in the UK allow premium discounts for those policyholders with claims-free driving records.

The motor insurance market in the UK is fiercely competitive with insurers and providers competing for your business. Insurers will attempt to entice you by offering substantial (no claims) discounts for motorists with a claims-free record.

The actual level of discount varies according to the class of vehicle insured and driver profile. Motorists with over 4/5 years driving experience with no claims, can often claim a reduction of up-to 55-75% over the standard policy premium.

In general the maximum number of no claims bonus years you can claim is 5. Some insurance companies will deliver further discounts for up to 6/7/8 years claim free driving but this is rare.
Drivers can’t share a NCB earned on one car between two cars.

Drivers just starting out on their motoring journey can examine the deals from insurers offering accelerated policies. This is where the policyholder can earn no claims bonus in 10 months rather than 12.

RAC Wins 2007 JD Power Award

RAC have recently scooped the Number 1 Roadside Assistance Provider award in the annual survey undertaken by consumer research company, J.D. Power and Associates.

Motorists have ranked RAC Breakdown Cover top for roadside assistance for the second consecutive year. The results of the UK Roadside Assistance Study show that for roadside assistance, RAC ranks the highest for customer satisfaction.

The survey of over 3000 UK motorists showed that RAC received the highest ratings for all three factors driving customer satisfaction: timing (time taken for help to arrive and time taken at the scene), operator/dispatcher (including time taken to answer the phone, friendliness and reassurance) and mechanic/vehicle driver (includes appearance, courtesy and the ability to do what was needed).

The study also highlighted that the use of subcontractors by RAC is one of the lowest in the industry, which is a key element of satisfaction for the motorist.

Karen Atkins, Research Manager at JD Power comments: “RAC continues to lead the other providers in the industry for roadside assistance, coming out top of our motorist survey for the second year running.”

Neil Thompson, director of service delivery said, “We are delighted to maintain our lead in this award for a second year running, it is a huge achievement for all in our Rescue Service Delivery team.”

“We have also won the Patrol category every year since 2003, which is a great testament to the dedication and passion of our team.” “It’s great to see that our commitment to delivering exceptional service has been recognised by the people that really matter - our customers.”

Driving Safely over the Festive Season

The THINK! Christmas Drink Drive campaign was launched on Friday 30 November.

The campaign aims to convince all drivers, with a particular focus on young male drivers aged 17-29 years, that a drink drive conviction has the potential to ruin their life by highlighting a mixture of the legal and personal consequences:

• being caught & breathalysed by the police;
• 12 month driving ban;
• criminal record;
• hefty fine;
• lifestyle changes (i.e. potential loss of job, relationships or car).

The key message is ‘That pint could come between you and Christmas‘, which will also be used as a strapline in the advertising materials.

Drinking & Driving
Any person who is driving, attempting to drive, or in charge of a motor vehicle on the road, or in a public place (eg a pub car park or a garage forecourt), may be required by the police to provide a breath test, to ascertain whether they are over the prescribed limit of alcohol - 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath (or 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood).

The Police are entitled to randomly stop your car, but they can only insist on a breath test if they have reasonable cause to suspect you have committed a traffic offence, or have consumed alcohol (eg they can smell it on your breath), or they reasonably believe you have been involved in an accident (eg the description of your car matches that given by a witness).

You do not have a right to insist on supplying a sample of blood or urine instead. If you fail to supply a breath specimen at the station you will committed an offence, unless you have a reasonable excuse. Being too drunk or unfit to supply the necessary breath specimen is NOT a reasonable excuse.

A medical condition which prevents you from supplying enough breath for the machine to sample may be a sufficient excuse. If you have such a condition you must advise the police at the time.

Back to…… Budget Basics

Yesterday I stumbled on a product I knew nothing about, let alone knew even existed! Welcome to Budget Basics, part of the privately owned UK BGL Group.

Nearly all readers of the Homeapproved blog will be familiar with Budget Car Insurance. In fact the insurer is featured on our Top 5 Car Insurance Companies, as consistently returning some of the most competitive motor quotes in the UK.

Budget Basic was launched in March 2007. This innovative product is designed to capitalise on changes in the personal insurance market. It is the insurance equivalent of a no-frills airline. Designed specifically for use on price comparison sites, it offers significantly cheaper insurance for key customer segments who are highly price-driven.

That’s about it in a nutshell! You can learn more about this product from the main Budget insurance website.