Safe Journey - Essential Tips For Family Car Safety

Most people these days have a car if their finances allow and it must be extremely difficult to cope with a young family if you don't. But, as our cars are so important for a smooth running family routine, it's important to ensure that your vehicle is roadworthy, and your driving is up to scratch.

There are lots of things you can do to keep your family safe while driving. Read on to discover what they are.

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Entertainment

It can be very distracting when you are trying to drive if your little ones are screaming or asking you lots of questions. That it why it's essential to keep them entertained, especially on long journeys.

There are quite a few ways you can do this, and some of it will depend on your views on entertainment, and some of it will be related to what your kids enjoy.

The first idea is an in-car DVD player. This works by hanging two mini screens over the back of the front two seats. Then the kids listen to the audio through headphones so they are quiet and happy, while you take car of the driving.

If you are not too keen on just plugging your child into a media system, then you can provide them with colouring books and reading materials instead. Just make sure that reading doesn't make them car sick!

Car Seats

One of the most essential items for child safety in vehicles is a car seat - and these are of course a legal requirement.

These not only help them to be boosted up so that they can see out of the window, but they perform an essential safety function as well.

Car seats allow your kids to sit in the best possible position to preserve their safety if there is any kind of accident. There are new EU rules on the car seat that have come out this year, so make sure you are up to date with them, by reading the information here.

Child Locks

Child locks are a fantastic way of ensuring your little ones' safety in the car. When you activate them, it makes sure that your children can't open the door from their side.

This works well if they are still very small and don't understand when it's safe to have an open door. It also stops any accidental door opening that could cause a safety problem.

Car Maintenance

Something that is imperative in car safety is making sure that your vehicle is well maintained. Having a valid MOT certificate is a legal requirement and you'll also need one of these to take out car insurance. Cars are complex machines these days so it's worth getting your car regularly checked and tuned up to avoid a hefty repair bill when your MOT inspection comes around.

Things like brake pads, oil and water levels need to be monitored as they can affect the safety of the car's handling. It is important you find a mechanic who is a specialist in the make and model of car that you have to help you maintain your vehicle. There are even search sites set up to help you find a specialist mechanic like whocanfixmycar.com. You can check it out by clicking the link.

Rules

It's also a good idea to have rules for behaviour when the kids are in the car. They need to be reminded that they shouldn’t poke their head through the gap in the front seats or try to take their seat belt off while the car is moving.

Sticking to the rules will keep them safe and ensure your attention isn't distracted from the road and other drivers.

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Tips For Protecting Your Car Against The Winter Weather

Running and maintaining a car is a costly business these days and as the weather gets colder and the nights become darker, it makes sense to consider ways to protect our cars from the elements and, if we don't have a garage, to increase the security of our vehicles.

Insurers would prefer us to keep our cars nicely locked up in a garage of course, but with land space at a premium and many houses and apartments being built without garages, lots of us are forced to keep our cars on a driveway or parked on the road - hopefully near to our home!

Here are some tips you may find useful to weatherproof your vehicle and increase its security during the winter months.

Consider a carport

If you don't have a garage but you do have some space on your property, installing a carport from a specialist provider such as 123v will give you the advantage of off road parking without the expense of building a garage - and the annoyance of having to fight for a parking space.

A carport is a covered structure which can either be free standing or attached to a wall and has a canopy which offers protection for your vehicle from extreme weather conditions and can be tailored to fit around any driveway area. These can prevent rain, frost and snow from collecting on your vehicle and allow you to leave your home on time - without spending time digging your car out of the snow!

Keep your car extra clean

Make sure you regularly wash your vehicle to get rid of any salt or grit.  You'll need to clean the underside of your car too.

Your lights will benefit from being kept sparkling too to ensure you can see and are seen on the road.

Keep your car waxed & sealed

You can protect your car against the elements by keeping it waxed and polished. Bad weather can make your car more susceptible to rust and oxidation. You can buy car waxes specially designed to protect your vehicle's surface from road salt and snow, for example, Turtle Wax Ice Liquid or Paste Wax. They recommend that you concentrate on the lower parts of your car - behind the wheels, quarter panels, and front grille where ice, snow and salt have the greatest effect.

Check fluids 

Make sure you check that your car's fluid levels are accurate.  Don't forget to replace or top up summer windshield wiper fluid with one suitable for winter that won't freeze when the temperature drops. Check your antifreeze and oil levels to prevent internal damage to your car.

It's also a good idea to keep your gas tank at least half full to help just in case you get stranded somewhere miles from a petrol station!

Check wheels & tyres 

If you're going to doing a lot of driving, you might want to invest in a set of winter tyres. These tyres, more commonly called cold weather tyres, are made from a softer material which means that they are soft enough to grip in temperatures below 7 degrees centigrade.  They also have different tread patterns which allow the tyre to bite into the snow better.

A car fitted with winter tyres should stop more quickly and be less prone to skidding in any weather conditions if the temperature drops below the 7 degrees mark.

Otherwise check your current tyres for wear and tear and ensure that they are inflated to the correct pressure.  You'll need to check this more frequently in winter as the cold will make your tyre pressure drop. You can also use a high quality tyre dressing to provide a barrier to the elements.

If you live in a rural area you may want to keep a set of tyre chains in your boot.

Check your windscreen wipers

The time to replace these and check for wear and tear is before the bad weather sets in.  Make sure you have a good stock of de-icer and an ice scraper to hand - although I'm sure we've all used a credit card for this purpose when pushed.

Inspect your battery

You can guarantee that you'll discover your battery is flat on the morning which it's vital you get somewhere on time!  Check your battery for signs of corrosion and invest in a battery charger.

Make sure you're properly prepared for winter journeys

It makes sense to go fully prepared.  As well as plenty of de-icer and your ice scraper, make sure you've got warning signs, snacks, water, blankets, torches and a shovel to dig yourself out!  

It's a good idea to check your breakdown cover is in place and that your policy will get you to where you want to go.  For example, some policies will only cover a home start - not much use if you're stranded on the M25.

A bit of investment in some extra care and maintenance of your car may help keep you safe this winter and your car on the road for longer.

Sources:  Hints & Things; Turtle Wax; Telegraph.co.uk

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Choosing The Best Child Car Seat For Your Little One

When you are planning your budget for the arrival of your new baby, one of the most important items to include, apart from the pram or pushchair, is the safest and most secure child car seat you can afford.

Flickr credit: Jon Pinder 

The car accident statistics make grim reading. Each year around 25 children between 0-11 years are killed while travelling in cars with approximately 250 sustaining a serious injury and around 6,000 being slightly injured.

Even if you don't have a car yourself, if you are planning to travel anywhere by car, the law says that children under 3 must be in a child car seat.

If you do have a car but you don't have room for a third child seat in the back of your car, children aged three or under can use the front seat but they must be in a child car seat.

The only exception to this rule is if it's in a licensed taxi or minicab and the rear seats are separated from the driver by a fixed partition and the child travels on the rear seats. If you ignore the law you are liable to a fine of £500.

I don't know about where you live, but here in Cardiff although we have some of the traditional black 'London' cabs, most taxis are saloon cars where there is certainly no partition.

In fact, UK law currently says that children must use a child car seat until they're 12 years old or 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) tall, whichever comes sooner.

In Ireland and in some European countries such as Germany and France, this height limit is higher at 150 cm (4 ft 11 in).

As children grow, the type of child car seat they can use changes until, eventually, they progress to what is known as a child booster seat.

For the first time parent, buying a child car seat can be quite daunting.  Not only are there loads of brands to choose from, but the car seats are classified in groups:-

Group 0+ - weight 13 kg, age birth to 12/15 months
Group 0/1 - weight 18 kg, age birth to 4 years
Group 1 - weight 9 - 18 kg, age 9 months to 4 years
Group 1,2,3 - weight 9-36 kg, age 9 months to 12 years
Group 2/3 - weight 15-36 kg, age 3 years to 12 years

So, to choose the right seat for your little one, you have to consider not only their age but their size too.

Then there is the choice between rear facing seats, where the baby obviously faces the back of the car seat and forward facing seats for older children.

Safety experts say that rear facing seats are safer than forward facing seats for children under 4 years old and advise that young children should be kept in rear facing seats for as long as possible. Despite this, generally, according to The British Medical Journal, many babies are switched from a rear facing to a forward facing seat at 9 kg or around 8 to 9 months.

Then there is a wealth of other safety factors and design features to consider for example, recline positions, the ease of adjusting the straps on the safety harness, compatibility with adult seat belts, washable cushions and a booster cushion for newborns who may be too tiny for even the starter car seat.

There are also loads of accessories to go with your car seat, from waterproof covers to toys you can attach to keep your little one occupied when on the road.

You can also buy pram systems where the child car seat can be attached to the pram frame so that you can lift baby straight of the car and onto the pram wheels without having to transfer them over from the car seat to the pram - no fun in pouring rain and a gale I can tell you!

There is so much to consider that your best bet is to find a child car seat retailer who offers the widest choice and helps you compare the different makes and models at a glance, such as Online4baby.com.

Online 4 Baby is the UK's cheapest online baby megastore and offers a wide range of discounted travel systems, prams, pushchairs, twins, car seats, baby cots, furniture and nursery equipment stockists of top brands including Graco, Cosatto, Baby Jogger, Mamas and Papas, Hauck at discounted prices.

In addition, the company has had over 255,000 positive reviews and is ranked the No. 1 top rated power seller in the UK for nursery products.

Whatever you choose, be sure that you are buying the best child car seat you can afford for your children and keep yourself appraised of the latest Government rules and regulations.

And don't be afraid to ask for advice. The best child car seat retailers won't hesitate to answer all your questions - and don't worry, you're sure to have quite a few.

I know we did!

A note on child backless booster seats - at present, children weighing as little as 15 kg (2 stone 5 lbs) can travel in backless booster seats but from the end of 2016 the rules about using these are changing. You can read about them here

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Tips For Travelling By Car Safely This Summer

Now that the half term holiday is approaching and many of us are about to hit the UK roads and motorways, it's worth thinking about how we can keep ourselves, and our children, safe whilst we drive.

We all know that our cars must have a current MOT and be adequately insured.  Even though we no longer need to display a tax disc, the Police are able to track untaxed vehicles on the road.

Fuel, oil and water levels need to be topped up before we set off and our tyres checked and inflated to the correct pressure.

It's best to top your fuel up before you hit the motorway to avoid any price hikes on fuel which frequently seem to hit the unorganised driver.

And it is a good idea to carry a well stocked first aid kit in the boot, as well as some bottled water and some (non-meltable) snacks.

Is your breakdown cover up to date and do you have the relevant contact numbers already entered in your phone in case you get stranded on the M25?

Travelling with little ones means we need to make sure we are up to speed with the rules and regulations about child car seats and ensure everyone is wearing their seat-belt.

If your kids suffer from car sickness, it's also worth taking a bowl, cloths and some soapy water, plus a change (or two!) of clothes for them.  You can bet that the day you don't have these things is the day you'll need them.

Before you go, check your SatNav is in good working order and is charged.  We recently found that ours wouldn't charge in-car and the dulcet tones of Stephen Fry cut out at a critical moment going round a roundabout.  Taking a good old-fashioned OS Map is a good back-up.

Make sure that you drive within the National Speed Limit for the road you are on - not only with this keep your licence point free but it will help you keep your petrol consumption down.

And, if you have had a lot to drink the night before, remember that you may still be over the limit the next morning.  Some prescription medications may also leave you drowsy and nowhere near as alert as you need to be.

Tiredness kills so make sure that you have regular, scheduled breaks, particularly when travelling with little ones, for toilet breaks, food and, in my case, coffee!  You might want to pack sandwiches though because the cost of feeding a family at the UK motorway service stations is often high.

It's also useful to carry a picnic rug or blanket to sit on, or for the kids to snooze under.

You'll want to take a selection of CDs for the kids.  Some kids are able to play on iPads and read in the back of the car but we've found this increases the risk of travel sickness.  Luckily we've finally outgrown the CBeebies classics so we don't sail down to Devon to the dulcet tones of Mr Tumble any more.

If you find driving a bit of a nerve-wracking experience, insurer LV recently published an excellent guide entitled "12 Road Safety Tips To Help You Feel more confident On The Road" which will help you to avoid looking like Matt LeBlanc driving round the Cenotaph.

For example, Chris Gilbert, a former Metropolitan Police driving inspector who taught Princes William and Harry to drive advises us to "drive more consciously" so that we anticipate situations rather than react.

I don't know about you but it can be tricky to drive consciously when you have two kids arguing in the back, the SatNav cuts out and the Husband is trying to give you conflicting directions.

But we should be as alert as we can to what is going on around us, rather than faffing about changing radio stations or trying to unearth the last Werther's Original from the glove compartment because Ieuan hates mints.

Another excellent piece of advice is to make sure there is an adequate gap between you and the car in front.

The advice is that you should keep at least a two-second gap between yourself and the car in front. You can count it from a road sign as the car ahead passes it.

Tailgating is probably one of the biggest annoyances experienced by drivers and I have found that women driving their kids seem to attract more than their fair share of tailgaters for some reason.

Other regularly mentioned annoyances from other motorists include:-

- leaving rear fog lights on when there's no fog and it's just raining

- those who drive everywhere with their lights on full beam and dazzle approaching drivers at night

- or drivers who don't put them on when it's dark and tipping down with rain

- drivers who abruptly change lanes at the last possible moment at motorway exits - sometimes leaving it too late and crossing the hatched area

- drivers who drive while using a hand-held mobile phone - incredibly this is still a frequent sight, as is drivers trying to text with one hand on the wheel.

What tips would you add to my list?  And what really irks you when you're on the road?

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Child Backless Booster Car Seats - New Rules From December 2016

Changes to the rules relating to the use of backless booster seats for children are coming into force at the end of 2016.

UK law currently states that children must use a child car seat until they're 12 years old or 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) tall, whichever comes sooner.

In Ireland and in some European countries such as Germany and France, this height limit is higher at 150 cm (4 ft 11 in).

Children under three must be in a child car seat.

If you don't have room for a third child seat in the back of your car, children aged three or under can use the front seat but they must be in a child car seat.

You can’t take children under three on an unexpected journey in a vehicle without a seat belt or the correct child car seat.

The only exception to this rule is if it's in a licensed taxi or minicab and the rear seats are separated from the driver by a fixed partition and the child travels on the rear seats.

If you ignore the law you are liable to a fine of £500.

At present, children weighing as little as 15 kg (2 stone 5 lbs) can travel in backless booster seats

Under the new rules, backless booster seats must only be used for children taller than 125 cm (4 ft 1 in) and weighing more than 22 kg (3 stone 6 lbs).

The rules about using these are changing

Many child car seat experts feel that this type of seat is unsafe for young children and you can easily see why.

The only security these seats offer is via the adult seat belt and there is no protection for your child if you are involved in a crash sideways on.

You can easily pull a booster seat back and forward even when your child is sitting on it and there is a risk of them sliding forward on the seat.

The problem is that backless booster seats (or booster cushions) can be bought relatively cheaply, costing anywhere from £10 - £30.

If you have more than one car, or share the responsibility for driving your children about with other family members (such as grandparents), the costs of multiple car seats can really stack up and it is easy to see why booster cushions are relied on.

They can be thrown in the boot or swopped from one car to another in a matter of minutes.

Car safety experts, however, would prefer us to use high-backed booster seats because they guide the adult seat belt across the child's body properly and in crash tests carried out by Which?, they were found to offer much more protection in a side-impact crash than a backless booster seat.

These changes to the child car seat regulations are expected to come into effect in December 2016 but will only apply to new products on the market.

If you plan to buy a booster seat next year, you will have to check the height / weight limit on the seat you buy to ensure that it complies with the new rules.

You can still use the booster seats you have already bought but, given the warnings by safety experts it is worth reviewing the child seats you use to check your family travel is as safe as possible - even if that means investing in new, and potentially safer, child car seats.

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Driving Home For Christmas? Do It Safely.

Driving home for Christmas was a special Christmas tradition when I was growing up.  We'd drive, each Christmas to Plymouth, to the homes of my grandparents and the journey used to be magical.

When you're young, the heady feeling of festive anticipation is so potent that it seems to colour ever activity, no matter how mundane, with glitter and sparkle.

The journey was made, through the years (in the late 60's through to the 80's) in a Mini Cooper, a Renault 4, a Renault 5 and a Ford Fiesta.  None of these had much boot space and my sister and I would be surrounded by blankets, presents and rationed toys desperately fighting off deep vein thrombosis and cramp in our nether regions.

To keep us quiet, dad would stock up on Wrigleys chewing gum (usually Double Mint - I'm not sure about Juicy Fruit to this day) and the discarded silver foil wrapped blobs would eventually seize the door panel ashtrays.  Yes, in those days, some family cars also doubled as mobile ashtrays.  

My mother had little room for her feet because she had a large bag full of foil wrapped sandwiches and thermoses of water and milk.  Not for us the mad excesses of service station food. No, staring out a steam and rain covered windscreen trying not to get ready salted crisps on the seat was more our family's style.

My sister and I loved spotting the fairy lights festooning houses, pubs and lorry cabs as we drove. Each junction had a significance and the highlight was descending the sloping dual carriageway on to the very scary Marsh Mills roundabout in Plymouth and from there across to Cattedown and my grandfather, Harry's house.

Widowed very early on, Grandad nevertheless always made sure that there was a Christmas tree lit up in the always cold 'front room' reserved for visitors and special occasions.  He'd buy in a jumbo tin of Quality Street, enough peanuts to pebble-dash a small semi, a Christmas cake and a Christmas Log covered in thick chocolate.

My father would pull up, decant us all and then spend a good ten minutes driving back and forth to get the car properly lined up against the kerb.  I think it's a Virgo thing.  Or a dad thing.

My Lovely Dad

In those days, of course, even joining the M4 from Cardiff was a novelty and there was a fraction of the traffic that there is today.  If you were unfortunate enough to break down though, you were in for a long wait.

Before we set off, my father would go through the ritual of checking the tyres and their pressure, topping up the oil and water and wiping over the lights - something he taught both my sister and I to do.  I often wonder how many of us take sensible precautions with our cars before we set off.

Do you do any or all of the following?

Make sure your lights are working

Get someone to stand behind the car and check the break and back lights for you.

Check your oil, water and screenwash

Don't just rely on the top ups you get when you have the car serviced!

Check your tyres

Are your tyres roadworthy and inflated at the correct pressure?

If you're not sure which ones you need, specialist tyre supplier Point-S have a handy online guide which tells you the tyres you need when you input the registration number of your vehicle.

You also might want to consider purchasing a set of winter tyres if the weather is particularly treacherous.

Check your wipers

Replace blades that aren't working.  Having good visibility on the motorway is crucial, especially in torrential rain.

Check your fuel levels

Don't forget the not all garages will be open over Christmas and the last thing you want to do is run out of petrol miles from the nearest station.

Be ready for ice

Make sure you have enough de-icer and an ice scraper.  It's a good idea to carry water, blankets, torches and warm clothes too.  You might also want to have some snacks to hand - although we have never managed to make a packet of 'travel sweets' last much further than the Severn Bridge.

I hope that if you are driving home for Christmas that you'll make sure your journey is safe and enjoyable by taking the important precautions listed.

I'd also make sure your breakdown cover is renewed and you have the breakdown telephone number in your mobile.

Then, all you'll need is a suitable Christmas sound track to sing along to while you drive.

Something about driving home for Christmas possibly .......


*collaborative post

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