What should you be carrying in your car that would be really useful when things go wrong? We can’t always prevent breakdowns or accidents, but we can be prepared by having these things on hand:
Make sure that you have your licence, registration, insurance papers, car manual and roadside assistance information on hand.
A hands free kit for your phone – or pull over.
A multi-tool for those times when you need a screwdriver, a pair of pliers of a pair of scissors.
A first-aid kit will help you to deal effectively with any minor injuries or accidents.
LED flares and reflective triangles will help during a breakdown at night, when it is vitally important for other motorists to be able to see you.
A torch and spare batteries will help you to see things at night – don’t rely only on your phone.
Keep a travel map of Australia in your car, for those times when technology fails you.
Food and water – things like nuts, muesli bars, jerky and dried fruit will travel well and will last for a while.
Always keep a spare phone charger and power bank in your car – and even a spare basic phone fully charged, would be a great backup should your primary phone fail.
Do all of the regular drivers of your car know how to change a tyre? If not – they need to learn. Obviously, a spare tyre, in good condition and inflated to the correct tyre pressure is an essential to carry in your car, together with a tyre changing kit. Tyre inflators and sealers are also useful should you get a puncture.
Jumper cables can get you going again if you experience a flat battery.
Coolant and water – if you are going on a long journey and your car overheats, you will be glad that you packed these.
Put an umbrella in your car, to make sure that you are covered for those unexpected rainstorms.
A set of spare clothes can be useful, in addition to a jacket or jersey in the back of the car. I always travel with a roll of toilet paper in the glove compartment – useful for all sorts of things apart from the obvious.
A spare towel in your boot is another useful addition – for drying off after getting wet, to helping to mop up any unexpected spills inside the car.
Finally – put some cash in your glove compartment. This will help if you get stranded somewhere that there are no ATMs, or your card stops working or gets lost.
The term carjacking is commonly understood as vehicle theft involving threat, violence or intimidation. Currently, there isn’t a standard way of recording carjacking incidents in Australia, and carjacking seems to reflect in a relatively small percentage of vehicle thefts in Australia.
Carjacking motivations could be to sell the vehicle, to acquire a means of transportation or even to commit another crime such as armed robbery.
Carjackers operate in a number of different ways, all of which typically involve the use of a weapon and the threat of violence:
According to the available statistics, the incidence of carjacking as opposed to car theft is low, although Crime Statistics Agency data shows that nearly 200 incidents were reported in Victoria alone between April 2015 and March 2016. In Australia there were around 51 525 car thefts in 2015 and 56000 in 2016.
It is thought that modern security systems in cars are to blame for the increasing incidence of carjacking – as the theft of parked, locked cars is becoming more difficult. Carjacking is an easy alternative.
Prevention is all about being aware of your surroundings and alert at all times while using your car – especially when parked, or waiting at an intersection, traffic lights or in heavy traffic.
Always park in well-lit areas, where there are other people or traffic. Take note of any CCTV camera locations, people standing around nearby – and always have your car keys ready in your hand when you return to your vehicle. Check inside your car, including the back seat before you get into your car. Lock the doors as soon as you are in your car, and start the engine right away.
Drive with your doors locked and the windows closed, and don’t have valuables visible on car seats.
Keep your tank filled – you really don’t want to get stranded in a strange or unsafe location.
According to the statistics, parking areas, work places, roads, driveways and service stations are the riskiest carjacking situations in descending order of risk.
If you are in the unfortunate situation of a carjack – keep your hands visible and exit the car quickly. If you have children inside the car – inform the carjacker clearly – most carjackers want the car, not your children, and don’t want to be involved in a kidnapping crime.
In town, drive smoothly avoiding repeated accelerating then braking . Don’t stay in too low a gear – change up as soon as practical. If you drive an automatic, ease up on the accelerator as soon as you reach your required speed. Try not to drive in peak hour traffic.
Fact: Constant stopping and starting will use fuel faster – therefore repeated bursts of acceleration and driving in heavy traffic will use more fuel than otherwise.
On the freeway, reduce speed and use cruise control if you have this. Use your air conditioner sparingly, and keep your windows closed.
Fact: Yes, the faster you travel the more fuel you will use. A far as the airconditioner is concerned – unless you have it on full blast for extended periods of time, this won’t make such a significant difference.
Check your tyre pressure weekly, when the tyres are cold. Setting your tyre pressure slightly higher than stated in the vehicle handbook will help with fuel economy and safer handling.
Fact: Under Inflated tyres create more drag, making the engine work harder and increasing the amount of fuel used.
You should ensure that your car is serviced regularly to help to save on fuel consumption. Keeping your car correctly tuned, filters in good condition, fuel and ignition systems in good working order and regularly changing the engine oil will all help to avoid excess fuel usage.
The quality of the petrol that you use will impact the distance that you will travel on a tank. If you use a cheaper grade fuel than recommended by the manufacturer, you will probably end up having to fill up sooner and the car will run less efficiently than designed. Remember that ethanol burns more quickly than petrol, so blended fuels like E10 will provide less overall range.
Fact: Keeping your car serviced regularly, with fresh oil and spark plugs when necessary and using the recommended fuel will ensure that your car is not only safe to drive but will save you money in the long run.
If you are able to do so, reduce the amount of load in your car. Things like golf clubs, toolboxes and the like all add unnecessary weight which will increase fuel consumption. External attachments such as roof racks increase wind resistance and therefore fuel use – remove them when not in use.
Fact: Removing excess weight in your car can mean less fuel consumption, depending on the extent of the excess weight.
Buying a car privately can be a scary thing! That’s why we always recommend using a car broker – Have you considered purchasing a car without one? Here are a few things to be wary of to keep yourself safe during the process.
It is a good idea to be wary of buying a car that you have not seen. There are instances of fake adverts appearing on genuine car sales websites, online classifieds and online auction sites, where second hand vehicles are offered at prices much lower than market value. As the old saying goes – if it seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t.
If you are past this first hurdle, put together a list of questions that you can ask the seller – listen to the answers given and if there is any hesitation relating to a question that the seller would normally be able to answer easily – maybe the seller and the car being sold are not genuine. In this case, rather walk away.
It is very important that you should not provide the seller with any personal information at this stage of the proceedings. The seller should not at this stage need a copy of your driver’s licence or any banking information, or any other personal identification information.
So you are at the point that you would like to inspect the vehicle. Do not ask the seller to bring the vehicle to your home or office – rather arrange to meet at a neutral location, and if possible, take someone with you. Before you go, check that your insurance covers test drives, in case of an accident. A seller should not be asking you for any kind of deposit before you are ready to make an offer on the vehicle.
If you have test driven the vehicle, and you are thinking about making an offer, work out the optimum and highest amounts that you would be prepared to pay, before you start negotiating. You therefore need to do some research and know the market value of the car before you make any offer. Redbook.com.au will provide you with vehicle information as well as price guides and valuations. Another thing to check is the legal status of the vehicle. A Carfacts report is a good buy – it will quickly tell you if the vehicle has been stolen or written off, whether there id any finance owing on it, or it is suspected that the odometer has been rolled back.
When you have negotiated a price and now must pay the seller, use a payment method that will provide you with a proof of payment.
Looking for a simpler way to buy a car? Contact us today! Professional car brokers on hand to take the hassle out of buying and selling your car.
Car exhaust is a really unpleasant mixture of gases, compounds and chemicals. We all breathe this in to a greater or lesser extent depending on our daily activities, so it might be a good idea to find out what is actually in exhaust fumes, and the effects that breathing this in could have on our health. Many of us exercise near high levels of pollution from car exhaust, without thinking about the risks that we run by doing so.
Most vehicles need oil and gas to power their engines, with mechanical and chemical reactions occurring to run the vehicle. Combustion of the fuel releases a mixture of gases and suspended particles which are referred to as exhaust gas.
Car exhaust contains a mix of gases like sulphur dioxide and ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide as well as compounds such as benzene and toluene in addition to thousands of chemicals.
Carbon monoxide is the commonest single cause of poisoning in industry as well as in the home- as it is colourless, tasteless and odourless, and it binds to the haemoglobin in our blood, causing suffocation in large enough quantities.
The other compounds and chemicals in exhaust gas can cause heart disease, lung disease and cancer. There is no safe level of these pollutants – even small amounts at concentrations lower than recommended air quality standards can cause illness.
In addition to the gases and chemicals, car exhaust also contains small particles which are less than 0.1 micrometre in size, which easily get into the smallest sacs in the lungs and are just as easily absorbed into your circulatory system. Note that diesel fuel emissions are the worst from a health perspective – diesel exhaust is regarded by the World health Organisation as a Group 1 carcinogen – carcinogenic to humans.
Just breathing exhaust fumes in, is dangerous to your health – but when you exercise your breathing rate increases. Moderate exercise near a source of car exhaust can result in you absorbing as much as five times as much fine particulate matter than if you were at rest.
Most at risk will be the frail or elderly, and people with conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease.
So – protect your health by limiting the amount of exposure that you have to car exhaust fumes, and if you exercise on busy roads, rather choose quieter roads, a park or other recreation area, early in the morning before the build up of traffic. Later in the day there are more pollutants, and the heat causes pollutants like ozone to form.
It is convenient to take your car into the city – but with Australian cities becoming more and more congested, parking is an issue. For some advice on the best way to navigate this issue in the easiest way possible, read on.
Firstly – take some time to become familiar with the parking signs. Some of these can be really complex, with some parking zones different regulations for different times of the day. Look out for special instructions such as “rear to kerb”.
Plan your trip – find out whether there is a parking garage in the vicinity of where you need to go, and whether they offer a discounted rate for advance booking. If you travel in to the city on a daily/regular basis, look out for further discounts available for weekly or monthly use. Some parking garages will take credit cards which saves time on locating the pay station when you are ready to leave. Some parking garages will offer discounted rates for parking during off-peak periods, and some street parking spots become free parking from 6pm daily.
An alternative to a paid car park is a shopping centre – often they will allow for parking at a reasonable cost.
When you park, take note of the exact location – seems a bit obvious, but most of us have spent some time looking for a “lost” car – whether it be inside a parking garage or on the street. Having taken note of where you have parked, don’t forget to note when your paid time will expire. Setting an alarm on your phone which will allow you enough time to return to your car before the metre expires is a great idea.
Another good idea is to take a few photos of your car once you have parked it, so that you have a reference as to the condition in which you left it – should something happen to the vehicle while you are away.
Look at options to utilise available public transport in conjunction with the convenience of using your car – perhaps parking on the outskirts of the city in a more affordable parking garage or unmetered area, which is close to a bus, or train or tram.
When you have been driving for years, it’s easy to switch to “auto pilot” and tune out everything around you, and before you know it – you have arrived at your destination. However, it’s not a good idea to fall into bad habits on the road. We have identified a few common bad habits that drivers easily fall into – have a look and see whether you have some negative habits that you need to address.
Before you get into your car, walk around the vehicle and check that all is OK – tyres inflated, lights working, mirrors intact. Inside your car, adjust your seat, steering wheel and mirrors before you set off.
How do you hold the steering wheel? Using one hand to drink coffee, twiddle with the controls on the dashboard, with one hand loosely on the steering wheel is dangerous. If you do hold on with both hands – you are doing well – but there may be room for improvement. Always try to keep your thumbs on the outside of the steering wheel, with your hand at ten and two o-clock, for the best control.
Do you naturally drive fast in wet weather? Even if you know the road like the back of your hand, weather conditions may make it unsafe to travel even at the speed limit. Slippery roads, poor visibility all mean that you should reduce your speed to account for the poor driving conditions. Keep your headlights on in poor weather conditions -this will help to make your vehicle visible to others.
Do you put off filling your vehicle with fuel until it is near empty? It’s just too much bother to make that trip to the filling station – “I’ll do it next time”? It is really not a good idea to let your tank run that low – there could be sediment in the tank that could get into the fuel line and cause blockages, and in addition, you may run out of fuel altogether if your fuel gauge is not accurate. Being stranded and far from help is no joke – especially when it could have been easily prevented with a bit of forward planning.
Make sure that you have a well-equipped emergency kit in your car – and replace any items as they may be used.
Turning the music up to too high a volume can be quite dangerous. You may not be able to hear things happening around you – and with little advance warning you may need to react very quickly.
Don’t use you mobile phone while you are driving – even reading a message on your phone is terribly dangerous as you take your eyes off the road even for a second.
Stay safe on the roads by developing good driving habits!
If you have a family, especially with younger children, their safety in any vehicle that you drive will need to be of paramount importance. Here are a few things that you will need to consider.
How many baby chairs or children’s seats can be accommodated in the back seat of the vehicle – enough for the number of children in your family? Also – look at the amount of room available in the back of the car – you don’t want to land up with your legs folded under the dash because there isn’t enough space for the child seats. Also look at the seat anchor points provided – where are they? If the anchor point is on the boot lip, it will use boot space – whereas if the anchor point is on the back of the rear seat, it won’t.
Something that we don’t always think of is that the configuration of the rear window can affect the amount of sunlight shining on the child – if the rear window is sloping (as in a hatchback), the baby or child will be in direct sunlight if they are rear-facing. If you can’t do anything about this, think about whether there are rear air-conditioning vents in the vehicle, and also whether to equip the rear of the vehicle with after-market sunshades that can be attached to the rear windows.
Look at the amount of boot space available, and make sure that you will be able to fit the pram in as well as everything else that you will normally want to carry in the boot – shopping, for example. Make sure that the pram will go into the boot easily.
Test the rear doors to make sure that they will open widely enough to put in and remove the baby carrier/car seat in and out of the vehicle without undue difficulty.
You want a car that will be as safe as possible. The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) is a car safety performance assessment programme based in Australia and founded in 1993. ANCAP specialises in the crash testing of automobiles sold in Australia and the publishing of these results for the benefit of consumers. ANCAP provides consumers with transparent advice and information on the level of occupant and pedestrian protection provided by different vehicle models in the most common types of crashes, as well as their ability—through technology—to avoid a crash.
The ANCAP assessment splits safety systems into 3 types:
Check the ANCAP safety rating, and select only five-star rated vehicles.
As you can see, there are some choices that you can make which can make your driving life easier, as well as safer both for you and for your family.