22.05.10
This is the New Chamber car blog, a free, blog for all things automotive. Driving lessons, new cars, car shows, road safety, road traffic law, and much, much more. Bear with me as I try to keep the blog up to date. We have currently closed comments so as to avoid comment spam. Sorry if that is frustrating, but nobody likes a list of worthless comments for the sake of self promotion!
27.05.10
Every day, almost without fail, there are stories in the press about another family has lost a mother, sister, father, brother, grandparent, etc. There are warning triangles up all over the place, junctions, bends, and the like, but the exact same locations are repeatedly the scenes of further accidents and road deaths. Why are we not learning? I think we are just not taking responsibility for our actions as drivers. Road safety is seen as being the responsibility of local councils and the Government as opposed to the individuals themselves.
10.06.10
Just seen a dodgy advert for a modified car show at Santa Pod (but I guess a lot of this type of show will attract questionable clothing or less!) but other than that, I aim to go at some point! Santa Pod is home of European Drag Racing - a sport with a lot of speed and the unmistakable (I'm told) smell of gas (fuel I mean). A slightly scary aspect it the authentic danger involved, I am almost certain that a few years ago there was someone killed at one of their meetings when a fiece of debris flew off a crashed car. Sure, there must be a significant amount of safety proceedures in place, but, as the example shows, there are certainly no guarantees!
11.06.10
1. Stop calling them 'safety cameras' and start calling them 'speed cameras'. That way there would be less debate about whether this one or that one were really helping 'safety'. Instead, there would be a bit more emphasis on breaking the law.
2. Hide them. This comes down to the 'safety debate' again. :If they are for safety then why is there more interest in people being caught as opposed to there being a visible deterrent?:.
3. Increase the penalty. If 10mph could be the difference between life and death for a child, then why does it only mean a 30 quid fine?
30.11.10
For driving lessons it is massively important to get the best at the best price. Not least because your future safety, the safety of your passengers and those around you will depend on it! As far as prices go, even a pound or 2 could be quite significant when you multiply it out over the full number of lessons that you will require. The average number of lessons reported to be required to pass your driving test are around 60 if you do not have some extra practice in another car. 60 x 2 quid could buy you quite a lot of CDs clothes, etc. Do your homework. I have a friend who saved a bucketload of cash by only shopping around with a few driving instructors.
12.06.10
I am sure you have seen the advertisements on the television about what the chances are of a child surviving if hit by a car travelling at 20mph as opposed to a car travelling at 30mph. Needless to say, the child that is hit at 20 has a massively higher chance of surviving the collision than the child hit at 30. But if these are the figures, why do the government not reduce the speed limits to 20mph in every built up area as opposed to just a few? The answer is undoubtedly 'public outcry'. If all speed limits were reduced, there would be an awful lot of moaning about it! It is as simple as that. What are the chances of it being changed? I would say that there is more chance of a being hit by a car at 30mph.
09.09.10
Because you are here on the blog, I assume that driving almost anywhere is going to be your idea of a break! There is, however more to life than driving (somebody told me!) so therefore the end location of your drive is important too! Me and the family are going on a short break to Dublin in a few days via a hotel deal I found on take a short break site (which belongs to a friend of mine) entitled under Dublin short breaks lets hope that it is all that I hope it will be.. for his sake! It is not all that cheap going to Dublin but driving my new Honda Civic should at least keep the journey enjoyable (between the are we there yet questions!).
13.10.10
While browsing the UK business forums I saw a very interesting article about some company called SEO Consult and how they are claimed to be the best at what they do. I found this especially intersting because I have many friends who promote or need to promote their websites and have therefore heard much about optimisation and some of the things to be wary about. It makes very interesting reading and raises some very interesting points. Just seen a bit of interesting reading in SEO Consult reviews on the ReviewCenter too... mmm.