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Misogynists Among Motorists
Private Fleet are in the midst of undertaking a Consumer Attitudes Survey.
It is early days yet, but we’ve already uncovered some fascinating facts and opinions.
Misogynists Among Motorists
One question asked respondents a fairly open opinion on their likes and dislikes. Nearly 80 percent of our respondents so far are male (so ladies, we want your entries too), but of these, nearly twenty percent listed female motorists as their major dislike!
Of particular dislike is the young female P plater.
All comments are given anonymously yet there is a clear trend evident with comments such as
“ Young female drivers seem to drive too fast”
Or
“Young women speed to excess, with scant regard for others”
Or
“Young female drivers, often on P plates tend to be the worst (most aggressive, risk taking, impatient).”
But young females are not the only target of female criticism. Curiously more than one respondent had noted ‘Asian women driving Volvos” as their pet hate.
So does this mean that the Australian motorist is not just a women hater but racist, too? Well, we hope not as it’s early days, and we need a significant sample to confirm these early suspicions, but we’ll keep you posted.
So what other major concerns have been noted to date?
Keeping Left.
A regular criticism is of those drivers who habitually ignore the ‘Keep Left’ signs, hogging the right hand lanes or even the centre lanes of motorways when the inner lanes are vacant, particularly when driving at less than the legal limit.
A typical comment is:-
“Drivers in Australia are a disgrace, including the trucking industry. In Europe and UK the driving is orderly, trucks STAY in the inside lane except when overtaking, then return to the inside lane and you never see them on the outside lane. Cars only overtake on the outside (never on the inside) and do not hog the outside lane. In fact if they see a car approaching in the rear view mirror they move over straight away “
Tailgating
Another frequent comment and criticism is the way cars keep too close to the car in front of them, particularly when being driven by young people.
“ I hate tailgaters” is a common sentiment among respondents.
Other dishonourable mentions go to excess speed, too many speed restrictions/road signs, impatient drivers, elderly drivers and more.
As we said, it’s early days for the survey, which covers other factors, too. So if you haven’t yet completed the survey, why don’t you do so now?
It will only take a minute or two (average completion time is 1m 20 secs), and it will be a valuable contribution towards understanding driver sentiments and motivations.
What Drives Your Car?
Today’s motorist is spoilt for choice. Front or rear wheel drive, constant or on-demand four wheel drive, dual range etc.etc., are all available from many makers.
It all started with rear wheels being the ones that transmitted the power to the road. Then Citroen, always a lateral thinker, introduced a front wheel drive car in the 1930’s. Four wheel drive cars do, in fact, date back even further – to 1899! But they weren’t really recognized until the Jeep of the Second World War, and from then on this multiple choice became commonplace.
So, if you buy a new car today we can be thoroughly confused by choice, and that means we need to be informed, so let’s look at what the differences are and what could be best for you.
Two Wheel Drive – Front or Rear.
The vast majority of cars are driven by two wheels only, and that should be more than adequate for the vast majority of uses.
But there is still a choice – the front two wheels driving the car, or the rear two wheels doing likewise.
Most cars now are front wheel drive- and for good reasons. They cost less to make, save space in the passenger cabin (there’s no need to provide room for a hefty drive shaft to go from the front engine to the rear wheels) and they offer weight savings, which give marginally more economical (but crucial to marketing) fuel consumption.
They also handle better – or, at least, more predictably, with less likelihood of wheel spin and loss of traction. This is less important today as most cars come equipped with some form of traction control.
There are some drawbacks, however. When you test drive a front wheel drive car you need to test it under hard acceleration to see if it suffers from ‘torque steer’, which is where the car is less likely to respond to your steering input under heavy acceleration. This was an early problem, but, again, traction control has had a curative effect.
You’ll also notice a difference under hard cornering, but you need to be driving pretty enthusiastically to notice this difference!
The more traditional rear wheel drive still rules the roost with the larger saloons, where the front end engine weight can reduce the driver control of front wheel drive cars. It’s also favoured by sports car driving types who like to control cornering with the steering wheel. If you are towing a lot then rear wheel is also preferable to front wheel (but both are eclipsed here by four wheel drive).
Four Wheel Drive and All Wheel Drive
So what’s the difference between four wheel and all wheel drive? Officially nothing. History tells us they mean the same thing, but some manufacturers have tried to create a difference for marketing reasons.
In their eyes four wheel drive vehicles are those that are driven by all four wheels, often with an ability to switch to two wheels or low range four wheel drive, whereas all wheel drive vehicles are seen as those that are constant four wheel drive. But just to complicate things, others say that all wheel drive is reserved for those vehicles- mainly military, that have more than four all driven wheels!
But then other countries will define four wheel and all wheel drive differences differently again!.
So we’ll ignore the different definitions and look at the different types.
Permanent Four Wheel Drive
Some passenger cars have permanent four wheel drive, such as Subaru and Audi Quattro. All four wheels are being powered all the time, irrespective of conditions.
They have a big advantage in difficult road conditions such as rain, snow and ice as they are less susceptible to wheel spin and loss of control. That’s because power, and therefore too much power (which causes wheelspin), is spread amongst four wheels, not just two. This provides quicker, smoother and safer acceleration and braking, though again, with modern traction control and anti slip sensors, the advantages over two wheel drive cars are reduced. On the other hand, they are more expensive to make, are more complicated, and suffer somewhat in the fuel consumption stakes.
On Demand Four Wheel Drive.
The old idea of ‘on demand” was when the driver wanted to switch from 2 wheel drive to 4 wheel drive he’d press a switch- and often that would mean getting out of the car and changing a couple of lock nuts on the front wheels. Things have progressed since then, to a point now, where, with some vehicles, the computer takes complete control. Sensors can detect the ‘slip potential’ and bring in extra drive to wheels not currently employed, so that slip or skidding is avoided. This means that the vehicle can automatically switch from 2 to 4 wheel drive as driving conditions change. Generally 4 wheel drive is less fuel efficient, so such a switching feature helps improve fuel consumption.
Four Wheel Drive and Low Range
Here we’re talking about the more specialist ‘off road’ vehicles that are specifically designed for challenging terrains. Most are also quite capable of normal tarmac travel, but, if you want to go off the highway, these are the vehicle most suited. Again they can be constant all wheel drive, and then be equipped with ‘low range’ which is an additional gearbox that allows the vehicle to tackle extreme conditions that you won’t be confronted with on main road travel.
Traction Advances
The benefits and drawbacks of all of these traction systems are now being muddied by the advances in traction control and corner sensors. Some more sophisticated systems are already moving power from corner to corner, side to side and front to back to ensure both maximum grip and maximum economy, and it will only be a matter of time before these systems, currently the domain of expensive all (or four) wheels drives filter down the line.
Top Ten Phone Apps
“Hey! Give me my phone- I want to park my car!”
Smart phone apps now number in the tens of thousands, some brilliant, some not so good and some awful! Several phone apps are now on the market for the motorist, and again, some good, some not. We’ve taken a long look at these and come up with some of the best, such as one app that parks your car for you! See if you agree.
PARKING APPS
1. ‘Park4U’
The most stunning of the lot is the ‘Park4U’ app. It lets you use your iPhone to park your car whilst you’re not even in it! It’s not a dream, it works and it’s here now-but there’s a catch.
Here’s a video of it in operation, so you can see for yourself it’s not dreamworld.
Now isn’t that brilliant? Particularly appropriate for tight spaces, eh? But the catch is that it only works with cars that have assisted parking as an option, cars like certain Audi and VW models, most of which are not yet available in Australia.
2. “When and Where’ and the BMW parking app.
‘Damn, overstayed and got a parking ticket!’. ‘Gee, can’t remember where I left the car!’
Has this happened to you? Well, it needn’t happen again if you download either of these apps. Both have a timer that you can set, and they shriek a reminder for you when time is almost up. They can also locate your car-even in a multi story car park, providing you have your GPS enabled on your phone. Check out these and others at your app store.
3. ‘Parkmate’
There are several apps on the market that locate local parking stations and even free spots roadside. One of the best is ‘Parkmate’. It’s free, does not seem to be aligned to any particular parking station owner, will browse for parking locations by operating hours, and gives details of local attractions or special rates. Its only obvious drawback is that it does not cover every town in Australia, but does cater for ‘major cities’.
4. ‘Park Patrol’
Park Patrol sends alerts to smart phone users when a parking officer is patrolling near their car-and local councils say there is nothing they can do about it!. It works by user support, but that can be a drawback. Each user sends in a report when they see a parking attendant. The server then cross checks and verifies the information and sends out the alert to all users who have registered as parking in that neighbourhood, and are located within 200m of the approaching parking officer. But that means it is totally dependent on user input, so, if there are few users on the system at any one time, alerts can be missed and you have suffered from a false sense of security.
MONEY SAVING APPS
5. ‘Gasbag’
There are numerous ‘fuel price apps’ available, but one of the best known is ‘Gasbag’ and that’s a double advantage, because they are all dependent on feedback from users, so the one that works best is the one with the biggest subscriber base that gives the most accurate feedback. Gasbag claims to identify the cheapest fuel in town at any one time. So you can decide whether you want to travel x kms to save y cents per litre.
Another popular fuel saver app is ‘Fill My Tank’, and is also dependent on user input. Sadly we couldn’t locate one that is provided by the fuel retailers!
6. NRMA Car Inspector.
This great little app can help you save money when you are choosing a new car, as well as comparing respective safety features. It’s free (you can download it from www.nrma.com.au) . There is extensive information about each vehicle you nominate and it can compare two vehicles at the same time for aspects such as fuel consumption, estimated annual fuel usage, safety and anti theft ratings and more.
SAFETY APPS
7. ‘Vlingo’
Android users will love ‘Vlingo’- similar to iPhone’s Siri. It’s a virtual assistant voice recognition that could mean that you will never be caught illegally using your phone in your car for texting, talking or checking out info. It’s not perfect, but it’s a vast improvement over getting caught using your phone in your car.
8. Driving Test Apps
Most state governments offer iPhone apps to help learners mug up on theory. There are also some private sellers, but be careful to check the reviews first, as some are not good (with little ‘random variance’ in the questions asked), but others claim to be much better than the official apps. Make sure the app is relevant to the state you live in, as some road rules vary from state to state.
FUN AND ENTERTAINMENT
9. ‘Australian Road Trip’
This is a great app for the traveller, offering a range of travel trips, accommodation, eateries, scenic routes and much more, covering all states. It claims to feature more than 350 entries and nearly 3000 photos. Available from your app store and well worth the $4.99 purchase price.
10. iBoost
Be part of the dream of being a supercar owner with this fun app. IBoost is the no.1 entertainment app in Japan apparently, and it innocuously transforms your little shopping runabout into a V8 supercar- at least as far as engine noise is concerned. Don’t worry about the noise police as it only transmits the sound effect inside your car! Great fun, particularly when shuffling along at snails pace in traffic.
So, that’s our top ten. There are probably hundreds more that deserve a mention, covering anything from car tuning through speed and camera alerts to points of interest and so much more. What are your favourite motoring apps? Have you tried any of the above? If so let us know below.
Postscript:- we introduced this article with a stunning parking app- in contrast have a look at ‘The ” here.
Nifty Ways to Use Your GPS System on Road Trips
It wasn’t too long ago that your family would take the traditional road trip and your dad would be attempting to drive while peering over a large map. He was lost, had too much pride to stop and ask for directions, and your holiday was hampered as a result.
Today, road trips have been forever changed by GPS navigation systems. These slick computer systems can get you from point A to point B, offering the quickest directions. Have a detour? No problem. Your GPS will automatically create a new route…and family road trips can be fun again.
While you’re probably familiar with punching in the address to where you want to go on your GPS, there are a bevy of new features that are being released on many of the new GPS systems today, allowing users to truly get the most out of their GPS navigation system.
Set Your Home
Most GPS systems have a “Take Me Home” feature, which allows the user to simply click home and receive directions back to their home address. The only problem is, most of the time this feature is hidden. You’re never asked for your home address right in the beginning.
Search your instruction manual and figure out how to input your home address. The next time you’re in an unfamiliar place and need to get home, you’re only one button away.
NOTE: If your car is ever stolen, you don’t want to give the car thief directions to your front door. Therefore, instead of programming your exact address as “home,” just program the address of a landmark in your neighborhood.
Need Gas? Food? A Hotel?
Before GPS systems became more sophisticated, you either called information for the closest gas station or asked around. Today, GPS systems are a one-stop shop.
Use the “Point of Interests” feature on your GPS to find the closest gas station, hotel or restaurant. Some of the better GPS systems will give you the actual name of the restaurant in their directory and include the phone number so you can call and make a reservation if need be…and there are even a couple of systems that will show you reviews so you can see which restaurants are worth going to and which aren’t.
And if you’re ever low on petrol, this feature will also point you to the closest service station.
Avoid Heavy Traffic
Did you know that most new GPS systems actually offer live traffic updates? There’s no more wondering how backed up the highway is or if the turnpike construction is completed.
Live traffic updates allow you to avoid those busy areas and save a significant amount of time. Of course, theres’s a catch: these systems are usually only available in major metropolitan areas, and many of them carry a monthly service fee.
Still, if the prospect of getting stuck in traffic gets your blood boiling, a monthly service fee is a small price to pay.
Author Taylor Ritchie feels lost without a good navigation system. Taylor relies on NRMA gps sat nav for directions and other nifty features such as avoiding heavy traffic.
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