i2 the driving force ' Thursday, August 12th,' 2004 ■
m Boom in detection devices in bid to avoid the traps T
* '
he bid to beat speed traps and preserve driving licence points status is seeing more and more drivers turn to radar detectors. So much so, that one recent survey showed radar detection system sales to be up by 122%
in this year alone. Rigid road rules have seen many drivers
caught out - even when they believed they were driving safely, at only a couple of miles
^--‘over the speed limit. A poll by motoring accessory firm Car Parts
Direct found 82% of speed camera victims thought they were driving safely at the time of their conviction, while 65% thought their speed ing ticket w a s totally unjustified and felt cheatr
ed. In 1991, the then-new Road Traffic Act
allowed the use of speed cameras to gain pros ecutions in Britain for the first time. An outcry at their introduction from leading
UK motoring organisations and the national media w a s quickly quelled by assurances that they would be sited only at accident blackspots. While road deaths and accidents have fallen
at some locations as a result of the speed cam eras, the national, long-term picture isn't so good. The expected massive reduction in road deaths hasn't really happened, and one leading safety organisation, the Association of British Drivers, says all speed cameras have achieved is to move the whole enforcement system awa y from the education of dangerous drivers and towards the arbitrary penalisation of safe and responsible citizens.
Those same safe and responsible motoring cit
izens are becoming more and more proactive in a bid to avoid tripping the camera trops. Hence the boom in detection devices, and the setting up of websites detailing just where the static
cameras are sited. Officialdom's response to this is the mush
rooming of "safety camera partnerships", employ mobile units to cotch drivers out, and the development of hand-held laser devices that allow police to target, and trap, motorists from
up to a mile away. This speed-trap merry-go-round
ot
affairs will only see more and more sophisticat ed detection devices appear on the market as the beleaguered British motorist battles to beat the increasing barrage of camera traps.
Maintenance may be a
matter ef life and death W
HETHER you’re hit ting the motorway for a weekend away or spend ing a month driving round the
south of France, it may be a holi day to remember for all the wrong
reasons if your car breaks down. Almost half of all women don’t know
how to do basic maintenance chocks on their cars and 58% can’t check their oil, water or tyres without help, according to new s ta tis t ics from Halifax Car
/'-''Insurance. However, 92% of male drivers ques
tioned said they could confidently undertake these tasks. So why are women failing to got to
grips with what’s imder the bonnet? According to Tim Shallcross, from the
AA, it’s only natural that women aren’t as interested in cars as men. “If you ask men about make-up you
get a similar reaction,” he says. “Women don’t sit in the pub and talk
- about how'much horsepower their car has and they don’t buy magazines with cars on the front.” But he believes that if more women knew how easy the basic checks were, it
■' ’ could save their lives as well as a few hundred pounds. “More and more women drive so it
would be in their interests to learn how to do these checks,” he says. “The things you need to look at under the boimet are a different colour, or they have the sym bol of a book on them, meaning look at the manual. “Remember FLOWER (fuel, levels, oil, water, electricity, rubber) and do the ’ simple checks.”
TYRES O Driving on tyres that are in poor condition or incorrectly inflated is very dangerous so you should check them every fortnight when they are cold.
i; -f • Petrol stations usually have a tyre gauge and air pump you can use free of charge. • With a gauge, you can check tyre
pressure. If your manual says your tyres should be inflated to 2.2 bars, for exam ple, and your gauge reads less than that, you need more air. • The legal minimum tread depth is
1.6mm. Most tyres have Tread Wear Indicators - small ridges in the base of the main tyre grooves, positioned at reg ular intervals. These v^l not be easy to see if the tyre has adequate tread, but if you can see them, your tyre needs changing.
Cl" • Engines can be seriously damaged if they do not get the right amount of oil
OIL CH EC K TH O S E T Y R E S : Driving on tyres that are in poor condition or incorrectly inflated is very dangerous
so check the level at least once a fort night. • The car must be parked on level
ground and the engine should have been switched off for some time to obtain an accurate reading. • Your manual will show you where
to find the dipstick. Take it out and wipe it clean, using a lint-free cloth. • Push (or screw) it back in as far as
it will go. Take it out again. • Read the level. I t should never fall
below the minimum mark or exceed the maximum mark. • If the level is too low, consult your
manual on which tjrpe of oil to use and how to top it up.
WATER • You only need to check the water
(or coolant) level every month although a warning light may appear on your dashboard if it gets too low. • The coolant is usually in a plastic
bottle inked to the radiator by a pipe. • The level, when cold, should be
between the minimum and maximum marks on the side of the bottle. • Unscrew the cap to top up the
level. Make sure you do it when the engine is cold and before it reaches the minimum mark.
• Look out for leaks under the car, or TOP TIPS
steam or smoke coming from the engine. Pay attention to dashboard warning lights. • Many fluids have a unique odoim.
If you smell something unusual, you may have a leak. • Take note of any noises you hear
to tell your mechanic about, such as when they happen and how fast you’re going.
THE CONSEQUENCES Apart from wrecking your car, failing
to carry out your basic checks could leave you with a criminal record, or invalidate your insurance.
maintenance of cars is The Road Vehi cles (Construction and Use) Regula tions 1986. Some of the main offences are outlined in the Highway Code:. For example, it is illegal not to keep your lights, indicators, reflectors, and num ber plates clean and clear or your wind screens and windows clean and free from obstructions to vision. Always familiarise yourself with the
THELAW The law which governs the use and
law of the relevant country if you are driving abroad. '
VEHICLE INSURANCE Most insurance policies actually
state that motorists are responsible for keeping their car in a roadworthy con dition.” If you fail to do this and you have an
accident, or need repairs, some insurers may not pay out, so make sure you take reasonable steps to keep your car well- maintained and have a regular MOT.
THE DRIVING TEST The Driving Standards Agency
(DSA) introduced basic questions on vehicle safety in September 2003.
Two questions are asked at the start
of the practical driving test on topics such as tyres, brakes, fluids, lights, reflectors, indicators and horns. If a candidate gets both questions
wrong it counts as one driving fault, with 16 faults constituting a fail. The DSA’s Chief Driving Examiner,
Robin Cummins, says: “Anyone who has found they are out of screen wash just when they need it during a motor way journey will tell you how danger ous driving can be if your vehicle isn’t prepared. “It makes common sense to ensure
that new drivers and riders have a basic grounding in how to make these simple safety checks.”
V , , a '/!- . . . m i : 4,^1 ’ 1
say that both traffic jams and speed camera partnerships are crippling
T
Britain’s commerce. The RAC Foundation wants urgent road
improvements to stop congestion holding back business in the UK, with jams costing
the country at least £15 billion per year. And road safety campaign Safe Speed says
that safety camera partnerships are also putting the brakes in Britain’s trade routes. In a survey of British Chambers of Com
merce members, more than three-quarters (76%) of them reported having increased operating costs as a result of transport fail ings, says the RAC Foundation. Edmund King, executive director of the
RAC Foundation, says: “The survey clearly shows that transport problems have become a major issue for businesses.” He adds: “The RAC Foundation is also
concerned at the dire and growing conges tion on our roads, and so has identified a list of urgently-needed improvements to the strategic road network. “At a cost of around £2bn a year over 10
years, the programme would provide very good value for money. Road users currently pay £44 billion per year, of which less than £6 billion is spent on roads. “These improvements could all be paid for
out of half of one year’s motoring taxation.” The Foundation has concentrated on the
strategic network - motorways and trunk roads - because, even though it accounts for only about 4% of the network, it carries around 35% of traffic, including more than half of all road freight movements. Safe Speed says that, while heavy goods
vehicles are legally subject to a national speed limit of just 40mph on single carriage way roads, including B roads and unclassi fied roads, it has been widely, sensibly and safely ignored by lorry drivers and the polica “But,” says Paul Smith, founder of Safe
Speed, “Now we have so-called ‘safety cam era partnerships’ enforcing this bizarre and unnecessary speed limit with zeal in some areas. “Heavy goods vehicle drivers, who natu
rally require their licences to earn a living, are ready to respond, and reduce speed to 40 m.p.h. - even though their limited top speed of 56 m.p.h. may be safe and appropriate. “This makes HGVs act as rolling road
blocks, and causes significant frustration for following drivers, many of whom are entitled to travel at 60 m.p.h. on the same routes.” Paul says Safe Speed is receiving plenty of correspondence from lorry drivers concerned about new dangers created by observance of this speed limit. One professional lorry driver, Alan Dodd,
told Safe Speed: “For years, traffic police have, in the interests of road safety, advised HGV drivers to travel up to 50 m.p.h. to avoid creating a mobile traffic jam behind them. “This sensible approach usually deterred
impatient and frustrated drivers from attempting dangerous overtaking.” Paul Smith says: “There are many long-
haul routes on single carriageway roads where it is safe and appropriate for HG'Vs to travel at their limited top speed of 56 m.p.h. “Forcing these drivers to travel,at 40
m.p.h. has a very substantial'economic cost, but, worse than that, we believe that overall danger is increased as drivers of vehicles entitled to go faster become frustrated.” “Frustration is well-known as a cause of
accidents, and any policy that increases frus tration is potentially extremely dangerous,” concludes Smith.
Farrimond Walker 'i \
1 \ \
N OW O N L Y
WF DISCOUNT PRICE! | p E^d jsiT ! I FROM ONLY
W e e k ly Eq u iv a len t
WF DISCOUNT OFFER! F R O M O N L Y
£31 PER WEEK! Iw £2000! SAVE OVER Save against Q 1.1L new car Bst price
WF DISCOUNT PRICE! 1 £ 3® 4 'q q J N OW O N L Y
r I •>• '-••4' i J ~
h e wheels of industry are slowly grinding to a halt — that’s the verdict from two leading motoring organisations, who
PrestonsQroup.Com t© 01282 720742
Prestons MINI 012'82 72074
www.hillendale.co.uk T
Hlllendale Tel: 01282723731
Citroen C2 I t took the Saxo a number of years to develop For ultimate economy, the 1.4-litre HDi models by a 1.6-litre 16v engine and retailing at £11,195,
h e Citroen Saxo is a tough act to follow, marked for the 02. A 61 b.h.p. 1.1-litre opens pro- Accounting lor over a third of the compa- ceedings at prices from £7,595, although the mid- ny’s UK sales, it appealed to a huge range range 75 b.h.p. 1.4-litre petrol, with the SensoDrive of buyers.
gearbox, also looks good value, priced from £9,195. MPV people carrier that bears his name. P
this following and its successor, the C2, will have a (from £8,695) will be the first port of call, while tough task to instantly pick up the reins. Certain- the 110 b.h.p. VTR version marks the top of the ly, Citroen is fighting hard to ensure that it does range, sitting above the lightweight GT. Powered just that.
The newcomer’s task is made a little easier by the VTR will give ground to the forthcoming 130 the fact that the larger C3 and the Pluriel models b.h.p. VTS model. For the time being, however.
overlap the Saxo’s old stamping grou nds. Still, i t helps th a t the C2 repli cates the same value proposition as its predecessor, insofar as it offers an afford able alternative to those unwilling to sacrifice style for the sake of a tight bud get. Although it shares its chassis, drive trains and a number of body and interior parts with
An affordable alternative to those V
S thSl^S mSy unwillinfl to sacrifice style for budget
performance enthu siasts will view the VTR as the C2 to have. With 10 b.h.p. more than its Saxo predecessor, and a whole bunch more standard equipment, the, £995 premium being asked for the lates t VTR model over the old version looks reasonable value. The GT is essentially the same as a VTR, but for £500 less it strips out some excess weight and the sequential
a scaled-down version of Citroen’s spherical super- gearbox to provide a more hard-edged appeal, mini. The styling marks a different direction with The five-speed manual transmission from the C3 a C3-style bulbous nose allied to a far edgier, angu- is the default choice on most of the engines, but lar back end. Although to some it might look like many C2s are also available with the SensoDrive the results of two design studies fused at the door gearbox that Citroen claims is rally style. This pillars, it is certainly distinctiva The side windows four-speed sequential gearbox boasts advanced adopt a staggered line, while the rear haunches electronics that attempt to learn different driving blister out in a purposeful fashion.
styles, while a flick of the lever allows the driver to
Four engines - all borrowed from the C3 - will make manual changes without the need for a constitute the first batch of power plants ear- clutch pedal.
I f Wa I ke r Fa r ri m o nd T h e W A N T A ' 5 4 ' P L A T E F O R S E P T ? . . . Y O U C A N O R D E R Y O U R S N O W !
1 8 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 IVEAWAYI
T h e C i t r o e n C 2 T h e C i t r o e n C 3 T h e X s a r a P i c a s s o 1 . 6 L X
ANAMAZli^ 24% OFF!
N e l s o n , J u n e 1 2 Iv io oMR*?’
www.walkerfarrimond.co.uk 0 1 2 8 2 6 “1 1 0 - 1 1
oerannumV O tm e n O l l L Ca s h P f i o e t o o oM-w,v . o » « i b a d cOf f e r £ 2050^00jrWFOe^^tCOT^_ S l0 0fa^ U ^ tS d)?0^ 2^ & U^
led 5.s4.6, C02 Emission 147-205g/km, It Nil, Balance To flnance £S49S.OO payaW
5.1-87 Extra Urban 3.6-S.3, Combined 4.1-6.6, C02 Emisson 5.S-i.6,
158g/km. atroen Q Range Fuel Consumption: L/lOOkm, Urban (cold) 5.1-9.3, Extra Urban 3.8-S.4, Combined 4.2-6.8, CD2 Emission 110-161g/iaii. Citroen Xsara Picasso Range Fuei Consumption: (Weektyequivalentof £31.70), followed by a fl . .
as Mlbws, InlUai payment of £164.48 folloy^ by U monttily p
jnt of £4502.00. Total amount payable ”'0 ,^ 5 .0 0 .S a v e against new car list price.
0.7%-f CredltcxBmpie(b3sedoo6000mlles^'Yp|r^A| Privately Owned — Long Established— Forward Thinking— Walker Farrimond
.Thursday,August 12th, 2004 th© d r iV in g v fO F C© '1 3 Citroen Picasso
ABLO Picasso was a man known for his deemed to be quite sufficient. All of th ^ e perfom originality on canvas. Perhaps then, he reasonably, especially (in the case of the HDi would have appreciated the Citroen mini- units) at the pumps (expect over 50 m.p.g. m nor- mal use from both). The diesels account for the
tracted by considerations like extra seats or wild that neither of the thirstier petrol engines offers and wacky styling. The result -
at least — is arguably the most original car of its even refinement. The 1.6-litre HDI unit is vep^ kind yet produced.
With the Picasso, Citroen has refused to be dis- majority of Picasso sales, mainly due to the fact in interior terms anything much better in terms of performance or impressive, with 110 b.h.p., being faster than the
You realise this as soon as you sit behind the larger capacity 2.0-litre diesel, but still managing
wheel and look - into nothing. There are no dials - better fuel consumption. It is po^ible to average just a digital display to your left in the centre of the dash board, part of which can be turned off to avoid distraction at night. You realise it on discovering tha t the gear lever sprouts from the dashboard, leaving the floor clear for you to walk through to the back seats. You realise it when you open the boot to
Result in interior terms is arguably
nearly 58 m.p.g. and travel 760 miles on a single tank. On the road, the
ride is intentionally biased towards com fort, but cornering is well controlled. Prices are between and
£13,295
•find a fold-out trol ley that avoids the need for you to
most original oar of its kind produced
£16,895, depending on your choice of petrol or diesel engine and LX, Desire or Exclusive trim. All variants have dual front and side airbags, anti lock brakes, remote
decant the weekly shop in the supermarket car park, control central locking, immobiliser, a CD player Somebody at Citroen has thought long and hard and power front mirrors and windows. Desire ver-
about what families really want. Research suggests sions add ABS more airbags and body coloured that hardly any buyers in this sector have more bumpers while Exclusive gives you 15 in. alloys and than three children, so five seats were deemed per- automatic headlamps among other things, fectly adequate. Roadburning performance was I t is not hard to see cars like this almost corn- found to be equally unnecessary, so the five main- pletely replacing conventional family hatchbacks stream Xsara hatchback engines (1.6,1.8 and 2.0- litre petrol units plus a 90 b.h.p. HDI diesel) and, the latest addition, a 110 b.h.p. 1.6HDI are
- which could cause an interesting dilemma across the motor industry. Perhaps the designers have been too clever for their own good.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41
