Driving in Australia
New Year Resolutions For Driving: 2015 Edition
New Year Resolutions are a bit of a cliché, really. Most of them are made in a fit of hangover-induced repentance on January 1st itself or are far too optimistic. Most of them also get broken come the beginning of February, too. However, there’s something about that fresh-looking calendar or diary that simply begs for a new beginning and new goals. A chance to break bad habits and to acquire some good ones. And we can all do with that every so often. So here, for 2015, are a handful of resolutions for drivers. Join me in adopting as many of the following as you fancy.
- Drive more fuel-efficiently. Ideally, this should include purchasing a new vehicle that has stop/start function for waiting at traffic lights and possibly a hybrid motor into the bargain. However, as the family budget doesn’t permit this, I’d better drive my Volvo S70 as frugally as possibly. This will involve not being heavy footed, finding the best revs for the situation and not idling for ages.
- Keep up my clean driving record. I have never had a speeding ticket or been done for driving under the influence. I’ll admit that this actually means that I haven’t been caught, as that speedo needle seems to creep up above the limit when I’m keeping my eyes on the road ahead. However, as the cops seem to think that every car should have cruise control and exactly the right tyres inflated to exactly the right pressure (this affects what appears on your speedo – seriously!), I’d better tighten up. If you don’t have a clean driving record, then why not make 2015 your year for getting no speeding tickets?
- Keep my car clean from rubbish. I am not one of those ladies with filthy cars where you have to sweep half a dozen old magazines and a packet of chips off the passenger seat before you get in. However, all cars that get used as Mum’s Taxi (or Dad’s Taxi) have a tendency to accumulate food wrappers, stray bits of paper, odd socks (so that’s where they all get to!), books and other debris. I probably won’t go to the extremes of vacuuming and scenting the interior of the car on a weekly basis, but keeping it free from rubbish is pretty important. They say that you can get better fuel economy by not carrying too heavy a load in your car, and all those sports shoes and paperbacks do add up.
- Do more of my own car repairs and maintenance. This is going to involve beating my other half to the job, as he loves tinkering with cars and gives me the “I’ll do that for you, darling,” routine. However, there may come a day when I need to do something when he’s away on business and I’m going to have to do it myself. Oil, water, wiper fluid, oil and air filters… they’re not hard to do, after all! Passing these skills onto my teenage kids will be a sub-clause of this resolution. Basic car maintenance is one of those skills that nobody should leave home without, like cooking and being able to do your own laundry.
That should do it. There are no apologies for not coming up with a list of ten resolutions. Nobody should take on a list of ten resolutions in one year, for driving or anything else.
All the best for 2015 and happy driving,
Megan
And Another One's Gone, Another One's Gone, Another One Bites The Dust.
Yep, just like that, 2014 has bit the dust and 2015 is mere hours away (as I write). Hope you had a wonderful, safe and enjoyable Christmas and a car trouble free one. Regrettably, the car I was driving, one that is heavily spruiked on tv, had systemic electrical issues, precluding the intended usage and definitely taking the fun part out of a three day sojourn to the south coast region of NSW.
As expected, there was a police presence on the roads but not nearly as big as expected; when I say roads, these are the main roads between Sydney to Canberra to Cooma to beyond. As expected, there were numerous acts of low driving standards which contribute to the reasons why our roads aren’t as safe as they should be. From my driver’s seat, they’re habits which infer a laziness in driving and therefore, a lack of consideration for the driver committing them and for anyone else on the road.
Since December 1 of 2014, it’s fair to say that summer really hasn’t hit the coastal areas of NSW, with substantial cloud cover, the ensuing low light levels and rain. It’s fair to say that drivers either aren’t taught or, probably more correctly, don’t think, to use headlights. Or, perhaps, they drive wearing a blue suit and red cape…Cars have a little lever that’s attached to the steering column and, when moved, make a ticky tocky noise and magically make lights at each corner of the car flash.
It’s truly surprising how many drivers don’t know about that lever. It’s also surprising just how many drivers will suddenly realise that there is a car in front of them, almost as if they were asleep at the wheel, then violently move into the lane you’re in and just with a metre of clearance ahead of you THEN suddenly brake….with nothing in front of them. It’s Australia’s most common crash, the rear ender and, sadly, due to drivers that simply don’t care about you.
For 2015, here’s what I’d like to see. A return to the basics of driving. Use some courtesy and indicate and indicate with plenty of time up your sleeve, especially at roundabouts. Read the road ahead and look for the slower traffic. Use headlights when it’s dark, ESPECIALLY IF YOU DRIVE A DARK OR SILVER COLOURED CAR. 
If you’re out on a country drive, once outside the capital or large city metro area, headlights can be seen from quite a distance during the day. Traffic lights are a different matter. There’s too many that seem to be calibrated for the non main stream traffic, where the major road gets but a few brief seconds of green and the intersecting roads a lot longer. When it’s a “normal” intersection governed by lights, there’s more than enough time to slow and stop when the amber light comes on. All too often I see drivers go through, only to be caught by the red at the next set of lights, with those that do the right thing pulling up behind them just seconds later.
Bottom line is this; driving to the basics will contribute to a safer road environment and hopefully make a difference to our road toll. As one philosopher said, a drop of water on its own does little but together they form an ocean. Work together to be a better ocean of drivers so our 2015 can be more enjoyable and safe. For ALL drivers on the road.
See you next year.
It's Been A Long Road….
Getting from there to here…these were the opening words to the only song ever used on a Star Trek tv series, the largely unlamented Enterprise. They are, however, valid, for both the time of year and this blog. We’re getting close to the 600 articles published by our contributors; Megan, Lewis, David Lye, myself and others before us. It’s a pleasure to be part of the team and we hope you enjoy our musings, thoughts, brain rumbles and reviews.
Christmas time in Australia lies in the southern hemisphere’s summer, whilst in the north, it’s winter. Both times of year have their own weather challenges; in the UK, USA and northern Asian and European regions, there’s that funny white stuff called snow. Down here, in Australia, South Africa and America, New Zealand and various island states, summer comes with heat, torrential thunderstorms and something in between. It’s holiday time and the general process is to take the car, pack it with family and go for a drive.
Sadly, some simple things are overlooked and we see the tragic results on the nightly news. What can YOU do to potentially avoid being a statistic?
Step one: stay to a routine; if you’re an early riser naturally, you’re half way there. If you’re not, try to stay to your naturally awake time; artificially adjusting your waking zone has been shown to affect driving habits.
Stay hydrated; take water with you and take a few sips every half hour or so. Coffee and tea are fine, however you’ll need to bear in mind the natural diuretic effects of them. If you’re driving alone, take a break every 90 minutes to two hours; get out, walk around, stretch, look at something in the distance to give the eyes a different focusing point, rather than on the car in front.
In the age before cars became computers on wheels, we’d check oil, radiator fluids….nowadays they’re generally sealed systems so we can look at the windscreen; make sure that’s clean as dirty and grime refract light and can be distracting. Tyre pressures should always be checked and tyre tread depths are worth a look also.
When out on the road, keep an eye out for the road conditions and, importantly, the driving styles of those around you. Look at what’s happening ahead of you; if there’s a flow of brake lights then you’ll be forearmed to prepare to brake. If you’re a naturally slower driver or will be towing a load, be courteous and stay in the left lane. If you need to overtake, judge where you can do it safely; don’t do it on a blind crest or a curve where you can’t see what’s coming. Drive to the conditions; it might say 110 km/h but if it’s hammering down with rain or it’s foggy, drive smart and slow down. Use driving lights and, especially if you own a dark painted car, headlights.
Finally, enjoy the drive!
On behalf of Private Fleet, the team of staff that are always here to help you buy your new car and our contributors, have a safe journey and a wonderful Christmas.
Listening to the sounds…..of…….
Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel….
I’ve been drivin’ all night, my hand’s wet on the wheel. There’s a voice in my head, that drives my heel…..
Let there be light…Sound…Drums…Guitar…Let there be rock!
Driving songs. We’ve all got a few that we love to plug into the CD player or USB or MP3 connections; plenty of bass, for that gut kicking thump; the crystal clear highs and the crisp mid range for vocals. What’s that? Bass? Midrange? Treble? What are these words of magic I speak of?
All sounds we hear, be it from our tv or MP3 or car stereo, are made up of certain wavelengths, frequencies that vibrate the air around us at certain amounts of times per second. Much like looking at a rainbow and seeing the seven basic wavelengths of light a rainbow shows, what we hear can be broken down into three simple categories and from that, what a good speaker system allows you to hear.
To use a very brief science lesson, frequencies are measured in Hertz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertz) and the lower the number, the lower the frequency of sound our ears may pick up. Low end frequencies generate a bass (pronounced base) tone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_frequency) but also require the most power to generate. Bass sounds come from big drums, the kick in the gut from an explosion and, in home theatre speak, come from a sub woofer. cars, also, can be fitted to carry a sub woofer and work by utilising the air found within a car’s boot to create the sound.
Bass notes, in a physical sense, are of a very long wavelength and are, as a result, considered, omnidirectional (or, more specifically, the point at which the ability our ears have to localise sound’s source, ends), in that the source shouldn’t be able to be located. There caveat here, quite simply, is the frequencies that are considered to be sub bass and bass.
Moving up through the frequency ladder is mid range; this is generally accepted to be, in easy speak, the range of frequencies the human voice occupies. From the low but powerful tones of Barry White (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-range_speaker) through to the tenor notes of Robbie Williams to the octave stretching notes from Mariah Carey; from the kick drum or rhythm guitar that complements a singer, it’s this range of frequencies that can be either well balanced or overbearing, depending on the listening environment and your own ears.
At the top end, literally, is treble (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treble_%28sound%29). It’s the finish of a tap on a cymbal, the clink of a wine glass in a toast, the flick of a finger on an acoustic guitar….it’s the sound that is also easiest to identify which direction it comes from, as the wavelengths are so tight they make the frequencies more susceptible to being directionally identified.
When it comes to car audio systems, especially in modern vehicles, there’s been some subtle yet important changes. In days gone by, you could (and still can, to a point) choose to buy and install a radio head unit that slots into the spot your old and tired AM/FM radio previously occupied. Nowadays these things will have CD playback, a USB port (exactly the same as your computer) and a tiny 3.5 millimetre wide hole with Aux (Auxiliary) marked. Some will come with Bluetooth, the short range radio system so you can wirelessly send music from a smartphone. Some more expensive units will have a small LCD screen built in and a DVD player; the size and heights of these are measured in DIN (double DIN for the taller units) so most will be the standard DIN. 
When correctly installed, or from a factory fitted unit, they will then send sound through to the speakers. An aftermarket speaker of decent quality will have a broader speaker diaphragm (the physical speaker material) that will reproduce a range of bass notes and should have two smaller units in the centre. They will generate the mid range and treble notes. In today’s cars, the treble speakers are, generally, to be found in the pillars framing the windscreen, whilst the bass and midrange will be in the doors. Some cars will have the subwoofer unit, as mentioned previously, in the boot or cargo section.
When all is married up, balanced for left and right, front and back, you should be able to enjoy your preferred driving songs in full range, crystal clear sound, allowing you to sing along with the best of ’em.
Level 2, 9 Help Street