Taking Rover in the Rover

Once upon a time, dogs trotted alongside whatever form of transport we humans used quite happily, as dogs and horses had similar levels of stamina. A few lucky dogs got to ride inside the cart or coach, while other dogs (e.g. Rottweilers) got to pull the cart personally.  Dogs also famously provided the grunt for the sleds that conquered the South Pole.  Some dogs still do act as the motive power of transport – just ask all the people who drive dog sleds in the Iditarod race in Alaska.

Fast forward to today. We still like to have our four-footed family members coming with us on outings. Some people need to take dogs with them for work purposes (cops and farmers).  But is it just a case of simply popping Rover in the Rover? Or is it more complex than that?

Doing it wrong.

We all know that it’s important to wear our seatbelts (don’t we???) and that the whole point of seat belts is to stop you flying forward and exiting via the windscreen in the case of a sudden stop.  The laws of physics apply to our canine friends as well, of course.  Dogs can indeed go flying forward in an emergency stop, the same as humans will. So the logic says that a dog ought to wear a seat belt.

The trouble is that the canine anatomy is not suited to seats or to seat belts. What’s more, dogs come in a much larger range of sizes than humans do.  This means that the standard seat belt provided in the typical car won’t do the job. It might not fit your St Bernard (or Chihuahua) and putting on the Labrador might throw your dog’s limbs out.

You can buy doggy seat belts to solve this problem. These consist of a sort of chest harness thing to go around the dog while the seat belt clips into this.  These work pretty well and will secure your dog. They’re not the only option, so if you’d rather not have your dog sitting on the leather seats of your car (their nails will scratch the leather) or if your dog is too darn big to sit comfortably on the seat in a position that allows the seat belt to be used, then you don’t have to use this method of restraint.

But you still have to make sure that your dog is safe in the case of a crash.  In fact, the law in many states says you have to.  It does vary from state to state, but in Western Australia and New South Wales, it’s illegal to have an unrestrained dog in the car, especially if said dog is on your lap or interferes with your ability to drive safely.

Doing it right.

If your dog is small enough to fit there and your state permits it, you can encourage him or her to sit in the footwell behind the driver or front passenger seat. The other alternative is to pop the dog into the boot area of a hatchback or stationwagon – and to install a safety net that stops things flying forward.  Again, the boot is probably best for a massive dog, while the footwell suits smaller dogs of about bull terrier size downwards.  The third option is the carrying cage.  A lot of people who own dogs and 4x4s have a carrying cage in the back of the 4×4 specially for the dog that allows the dog to see out of the back while keeping it safe.  Not a bad option, really.

Doing it right again.

I know your dog loves to stick his/her head out of the window while you’re travelling. This may have to stop, however, unless the doggy seatbelt permits this.

Utes are a different story again. The law also has something to say about what you can and can’t do with a dog in the tray of a ute or similar vehicle. The dog has to be restrained so that it can’t jump or fall off. This means either a cage or box, or a short leash. Notice the word “short” in that sentence.  A dog shouldn’t be on a leash that’s long enough to allow it to get off the sides of the ute. Oddly enough, the law (in South Australia, anyway) says that if a farm dog can be loose on a ute deck if it’s just about to, in the middle of or just finished moving livestock along the road.

The other thing that has to be said about dogs in cars is what you should and shouldn’t do when the vehicle has stopped and you have to get out of the car. Sometimes, you can’t take the dog with you where you’re going (e.g. the shops or into church).  Now, the RSPCA gets very angry (and rightly so) about dogs being left in hot cars. This really is animal cruelty. Dogs have a naturally higher body temperature than humans (some scientists suggest that this is how certain breeds of lapdog came about – they were bred to be living hot water bottles). They also can’t sweat to cool off and rely on panting instead. This means that the surrounding air temperature has to be cooler than the dog. Now, we know about how hot can get inside a car and that you can melt cheese and chocolate on the dashboard. If you leave your dog inside a car with all the windows closed up, you will slowly cook your dog alive. Shocking but true.

Doing it right on the back of a ute.

If you can’t take your dog with you, you’ll have to ensure that your dog stays safely cool. This may involve removing the dog from the car and tethering him/her somewhere safe outside the car. The other alternative is to park in the shade and leave the windows down a little to allow fresh cool air into the car. Obviously, you shouldn’t leave the windows down far enough to allow the dog to wriggle or jump out.  This will compromise your car security, but a thief is less likely to try breaking into a vehicle that has a yappy terrier kicking up a fuss inside it… Double that if the dog is a bull terrier or Alsatian. Better still, plan your trip so that you don’t have to leave your dog in the car!

In all cases, it’s always wise to make sure that your dog and your vehicle suit each other. This means that if you have your heart set on a Great Dane, it might be time to say goodbye to your little Fiat 500 and look for a larger vehicle.

Safe and happy driving, with or without your dog,

Megan http://credit-n.ru/zaymyi-v-ukraine.html

Zen and the Art of Safety.

What’s the first thing on your mind when you get into your car? Kids? Problems with the spouse? The long drive to work because of traffic? It’s fair to say that no thought is given to having a safe drive, because we just expect that we’ll get where ever we’re going without a problem, because we know we have a safe car. What’s in our cars that relates to safety? Let’s check out some of the terms we get thrown at us by the good folk that are tasked with helping you buy your new car.

ABS. Anti lock Braking System. Possibly the most common and certainly one that’s been with us for some time. In this case, the name pretty much describes what they do. Hit the brake pedal, hard, you’ll feel a mild pulsation through the pedal, that’s the system grabbing and releasing the brakes, possibly up to 15 times per second. Let’s consider, for argument’s sake, a 1985 Corolla; you’d flatten the brake pedal, the brake pads would bite the brake discs and the wheels would lock, stopping rotation and control of the car. ABS allows a driver to steer out of a situation as the wheels haven’t locked up and possibly avoiding major contact. The caveat here is that ABS works just fine on tarmac, dry tarmac preferably. If you were to take an ABS equipped car off road and into gravel, for example, then you’d more than likely find the car would take longer to stop, however manufacturers would calibrate off road vehicles for this.

ESC. Electronic Stability Control. In essence, ESC is an evolution of ABS, in that sensors measure brake pressure, the angle of the car (forward and sideways) then applies brake pressure to the wheels the system has determined needs more and decreases when not required. It’s sometimes felt when a car is going into a turn too hard and the car is “forced” to slow and straighten up, with the system possibly programmed to reduce engine power to reduce traction further. ESC is also known as ESP (Electronic Stability Program) or DSC (Dynamic Stability Control). Part of these systems is Traction Control, where, for example, a driver could accelerate hard from a standing start, with the system sensing that too much power and torque is being applied, causing the tyres to spin and will then shut down the level of power in order to stop that spinning.

SRS Airbags. Supplementary Restraint System Airbags. The key word here is “Supplementary”; the onus is and should always be on the driver to be in control of their driving style. A SRS Airbag setup complements the seats belts that a driver, passengers, should be wearing, however, should their be an impact, a sensor reads that and fires a small explosive charge that inflates, very quickly, a bag made of fabric. Initially, airbags were fitted to the steering wheel and in a pocket in front of the passenger. Now we have seat airbags, located in the lining of the front seats; curtain airbags, mounted along the curve of the roof inside the lining and above the passengers, which then floods down to the window line. There’s even knee and thorax airbags with one company discussing seat belt airbags. Airbags are designed to help reduce the impact of the human body on the inside of the car; in some countries where seat belts are not as rigidly enforced for usage, the ‘bags fire quicker to compensate.

EBA. Emergency Brake Assist. Some drivers may be too timid or physically unable to push the brake pedal as hard as needed in an emergency situation. Sensors will measure the brake pedal input against other readings and make apply a higher force of braking than the driver has applied. EBD (Emergency Brake Distribution) then may be called upon; this redistributes, as required, braking force to each wheel by apportioning pressure to the wheel most in need of extra braking pressure in order to help stabilise the car.

EuroNCAP. Euro New Car Assessment program. This is nothing more than a series of tests, mainly involving crash testing, to determine the structural strength of a car and how it combines with crumple zones, the airbags and more, in order to determine the safety rating of the vehicle in question. In Australia, the aim is to have a vehicle reach a star rating of five, the highest possible under current guidelines.

ISOFix. Most cars sourced from overseas have a new (to Australia) method of mounting a child seat. Where a system of strapping via seatbelts would be used, ISOFix is a latching system where metal rods will lock on to clips mounted in the creaseline of the rear seats. They’re designed to hold up to 30 kilos of total weight, ensuring the highest possible safety factor for your child.

HUD. Head Up Display. Possible more familiar for those that follow military technology but the concept is exactly the same; a screen is built into the dash in front of the driver and reflected into the windscreen. Information such as speed, fuel level, G forces, fuel range can be displayed at the touch of a button, with some companies including speed zones and alerts. It’s surprisingly useful and is designed to be non distracting to the driver.

ICC. Intelligent Cruise Control. Also known as Adaptive Cruise Control. This is becoming more and more visible, trickling down from the luxury vehicles to more mainstream cars. Normal cruise control simply locks in a preset speed and keeps the car at that, regardless of road conditions and traffic. Intelligent cruise control uses a radar system, mounted either in the front grille or in a housing where the rear vision mirror mounts to the inside of the windscreen. By measuring the distance between your car and the one in front, it will then keep your car not only at the predetermined speed but at a predetermined distance (either by time or by metres) from the vehicle ahead. All will slow the vehicle should that car ahead slow and most will bring your car to a complete stop as well, with some requiring human input to recommence forward motion.

All of these systems should be considered supplementary, as you, the driver, should be aware of your car’s condition, the road conditions, other drivers, at all times. Extra driver training courses are available and will cover levels from a new driver to more experienced drivers that wish to be refreshed on their own capabilities.

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I’m Getting A Ticket For What???

I’m sure that the powers that be for traffic control have a quota system going. There can’t be any other explanation for it. Why else would they hand out tickets for tiny little things seemingly at random? Why else would the people who do the roadworthiness tests fail vehicles for teeny little things? Why else would the drivers’ licence testing people fail people for very, very minor issues – which may have nothing to do with the driving? You know perfectly well that on other days, there would be no problem at all.

Blame Key Performance Indicators and all that management hooey.  Traffic cops, inspectors and testers have to be Seen To Be Doing Their Job, which means that they have to find something to fail or ticket to justify their jobs. I kind of understand this, as when I’m not having fun writing driving-related blogs, I work as a proofreader; picking out a missing full stop or a typo the spell-checker missed shows the client that I actually did do some work. The difference, however, is that my clients want error-free reports and research papers, so are happy to get barely noticeable typos picked up, whereas nobody wants to be ticketed or failed.

I’m sure these picky little fails and tickets have happened to you.  They certainly have happened to people I know.  Here’s a selection:

• The cop who ticketed an elderly woman for “driving without her seatbelt” because she had turned the engine on before putting her seatbelt on (to warm up the engine of her little old hatchback on a cold winter’s day, naturally).
• A teenager sitting their provisional licence test who failed because he didn’t stop for “long enough” at a stop sign, even though the road was quiet.
• Another teenager who turned up to the licence test in a farm vehicle that smelt of dogs and substances on the bottom of gumboots even after having a good clean out (said teenager had come into town from rural area, as this was the only place to sit the test). Squeamish townie tester decided the car wasn’t in adequate condition for the test = fail.
• The cop who gave my other half a ticket for driving too slowly while towing a heavily loaded trailer.  This happened not too far away from a road packed with those billboards warning people about excess speed.
• My friend’s car failed a roadworthiness test because of a bit of stick-on window tint that was deemed to be “too dark” and obscuring the driver’s vision… although it was on a rear window more or less in the driver’s blind spot and had been applied to keep my friend’s red-haired, pale-skinned little kids out of the strong summer sunlight.
• The cop who we saw coming the other direction but, after we had gone past, decided to turn around and follow us for the next 20 or so kilometres until the other half’s attention went off the speedo for a few seconds and the Volvo crept over the speed limit. Actual quote from said cop:  “You weren’t going much over the limit when I clocked you but I could tell that you were going to go faster.”  What – do they fit cop cars out with crystal balls as well as speed cameras these days?

So here’s your chance to have a bit of a rant.  What teeny little things did you get pulled up and fined for or failed for?  Tell us about them (but please keep names and easily identified places out of it or we might be looking at lawsuits and we’d rather not have the hassle).

Safe and happy driving (hopefully without tickets),

Megan http://credit-n.ru/offers-zaim/bistrodengi-zaymi-online-nalichnymi.html

Rapturous Relief and Dominant Drives at Snetterton

Photo Credit: BTCC.net

After what seemed like a lifetime, the BTCC returned with a meteoric bang as the series took on the famous Snetterton circuit. After a blasting into a dominant orbit in qualifying, Turkington and Team BMR translated their Saturday sucesss into a succulent Sunday points haul with two impressive wins. The other big story of the weekend had to be the elation for Goff, who scored his first BTCC win in the final race of the day. While all this was happening, in a truly shocking turn of events Honda were racking up an impressive selection of DNFs…

Race day could not have gotten off to a better start for the BMR boys, who mirrored their impressive qualifying effort into another 1-2-3 in the first race. Like a true champion, Turkington shot into a lead he would never lose. And while chaos reigned in the second race (more on that momentarily) and even with full success ballast on the car, Colin once more blew the field away with a supreme drive from lights to flag. Even in the famously unpredictable reverse grid final race, Turkington brought the BMR VW home in a respectable 7th place. There was no doubt that Colin Turkington was happy with his weekend:

“I needed a performance like that as I was beginning to feel a little left out! There’s been a lot of rivalry between me and Jason [Plato] since day one, and he’s had a little bit of an advantage until now, but I’ve pretty much cracked it.”

The move from RWD to FWD was never going to be an easy one, but as the man himself says, he appears to have cracked it. In a similar fashion to last year, Turkington has made his title intentions clear once again. It is very rare that a driver can have a faultless weekend, but Colin may have just managed it. Even Jason Plato, who has now taken to a cooling bathe in a paddling pool after each race had a pretty solid weekend, with a 3rd, 4th and 2nd, putting him atop the drivers standings heading into the next race at Knockhill:

“It’s been a great weekend – we were ten points behind coming into the weekend and now we’re leaving 16 ahead. An engineer would say that’s a delta of 26 – which means it’s been a very good weekend! I can’t remember a time when a team has scored a 1-2-3 in qualifying and then backed it up with a 1-2-3 in the race too”

BMR reigned supreme throughout the weekend. Photo credit: BTCC.net

The final race of the day also saw that elusive first win for the ever-plucky Jack Goff in the MG. Having secured the reverse grid pole, Goff got the dream start which propelled him into a lead he would never lose. That is not to say that Jason Plato let him have it easily. The final few laps saw Goff’s lead reduce from 2 seconds to only 0.3 seconds. A gallant effort by Plato, albeit not enough to topple the MG. Ever since his epic battle with Gordon Shedden at the final race at Brands Hatch a few years ago, Goff had been tipped as the next big thing. However, some of his performances seem to lack that ‘go hard or go home’ attitude needed to win a BTCC race. Until his win, Goff had only achieved a single podium at the first race weekend of the year. With his first win under his belt, chances are some primal urge has been unleashed and we will be seeing a great many more victory celebrations from Goff. After his highly popular win, the future should be bright for Jack! He seems to agree anyway:

“I made my best start of the year, and what a time to do it! That’s the strongest the car has felt all season, and it was a great race. I could see Jason [Plato] in my mirrors and was thinking ‘of all the people to have behind me, it would be him!’ Hopefully, the results will come in like London buses now!”

An impressive weekend for both Morgan and Priaulx at Snetterton! Photo Credit: BTCC.net

Two drivers that solidly impressed throughout the weekend were Mercedes driver Adam Morgan and WSR man Priaulx. Race two saw a wonderful battle between Priaulx and Morgan. Priaulx may indeed have had the faster car, but Morgan’s defensive drive was truly astonishing, holding on for an eventual 2nd place. Morgan has worked hard to get to where he is, and within the next year or two he will be topping the timing sheets and even the title table. A dark ginger horse he really is! A truly talented driver with the skills for greatness!

In fact, 2nd through 5th places were separated by less than half a second on the line. With two third places and a fifth, Priaulx has set his sights on more than just race wins:

“It’s been a brilliant weekend – to score two podiums at a track that we know isn’t one of our best is really positive. Let’s keep this momentum going now and start focusing on that championship.”

Upon his return to the championship, many (even Andy) thought it would take him a while to readjust to the unique demands of the BTCC. But from his results so far this season, Priaulx has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt exactly why he is a world champion of touring cars. There is even talk of him taking part in the Rockingham, which was he was originally meant to miss due to other racing commitments. This new information is proof that Priaulx has his eye on more than just a return this year; this is a man that wants a BTCC title. With some BMW friendly tracks on the horizon too, he may well be fighting for the championship!

A weekend to be forgotten for Honda Yuasa Racing… Photo Credit: BTCC.net

The weekend held successes for many, but for many race day was less than satisfactory. One of the biggest losers was Collard who was taken out by his own team mate Tordoff (awkward) in race one, before spinning out in race two. As great as his comeback was in race three, Collard did attract some criticism after spinning Hunter Abbott out the way. A great driver he may be, but in the last few years Collard has developed too many dirty tactics and much respect for him has been lost!

But none lost out more than Honda, who suffered one of their worst race weekends in recent history. Following a disastrous qualifying for Shedden after ‘power steering issues’, Flash went on finish the first race 14th and get taken out of the second race (by his own team mate none the less). In Neal’s defence, when you go 4-wide into a corner, who you end up knocking into is often out of your control. Shedden’s luck went from bad to worse in the final race where it looked like his car had not recovered from the race two incident. His only shred of comfort came when he was let back out the pit towards the end of the race and set the fastest lap. All clouds have a silver lining, or something like that I guess!

“I don’t really know what to say. I don’t think I’ve ever had a weekend where I’ve had so much bad luck. It is what it is, we’ve got to move on and make the best of the next one now”

The returning Fords at first made no impact on the top end of the field, until Jackson reminded us all why he is a touring car driver. After a stonking drive through the grid, Jackson brought the Ford home to an eventual 6th in the final race of the day. Moving forward to Knockhill, the drivers standings are getting ever more interesting:

The top 6 all have a fighting chance at the top spot the way it currently stands. Most of all, I am impressed with Tordoff who has kept his head down and out the spotlight yet still managed to keep himself firmly in contention. It may be an outside chance, but we could see Tordoff topping the table if the BMWs come good once again. But at the end of the day, there is no taking it away from Plato and Turkington, who with the help of BMR have taken a firm stranglehold on the series. If anything their rivalry spurs them on more than ever, which may well make them uncatchable.

How will Knockhill change proceedings? Will Aron Smith finally make his mark on the championship or will his bad luck continue? Can Palmer capitalise on his first ever points finish for Support Our Paras? Can Power Maxed have a repeat of their Donington performance or was it just a one off? Can anyone toppled the mighty Team BMR team?

Let me know your thoughts!

Twitter: @lewisglynn69

Keep Driving People!

Peace and Love!

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