Saturday, January 17, 2009

Washing the clean part of the car.

With winter in full swing, it always amazes me how many people jetwash the clean parts of their car, and ignore the bits which really need attention. Every sunday I sit behind someone at my local jetwash facility, watching as they hose down all the bodywork, lights, windows, wheels and other parts they can see, whilst failing to notice the salt-encrusted suspension, brake and underside components. Often they will drive away with salt-filled lumps of snow and ice still clinging to the bottom of the car. I don't know if it's that they don't understand, or just can't be bothered. So here's a tip if you drive in icy or snowy environments where the councils use salt, sand, grit and other car-devouring products on the roads : bend over and jetwash the wheel arches and underneath the sills. Wash under the exhaust and engine by aiming the jetwash under there from the front and rear of your car. Getting rid of that crud will help your car's underbelly live a much longer life.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

"Smart" parking meters to extract more money from motorists.

The most persecuted sector of the population in England - the motorist - is about to be fleeced once again for even more money, even more efficiently. England is considering adopting "Smart" parking meters from France which can sense the presence of a parked vehicle and automatically alert the police if you overstay your time. Worse still, they can automatically allocated fines to be sent through the post. In the French scheme, motorists are allowed 20 minutes free, then the fines / tickets / fleecing begins. In the UK scheme, you just know that grace period will be wiped out and it will be £ every 15 minutes.

No more traffic wardens is surely a good thing, but Big Brother parking meters - definitely not.

Big Brother Parking Meters