Hazards for this time of year

Be careful when driving in bright sunlight at this time of  the year. You may suddenly find your vision of the road ahead very diminished. This can happen early in the morning or early evening when the Sun is low. Slow or stop if necessary and remember that if can't see where you are going then don't go: Stop. Before you start your journey make sure windows are clean inside and out. Check the water in  the windscreen washer container and top if necessary. Always have a cloth for cleaning the window on the inside, and use heater controls to keep the window from misting up.

Replacing Light bulbs

You know when one bulb blows a few more are going to go within a few weeks. Well this is the case with me anyway. Now I don't have a problem with this as their life span should be similar.
What really annoys me is the time it now takes to replace one of those bulbs. I am pretty sure that the so called engineer or designer that designed the lamps and their positioning has never had the pleasure of replacing a bulb once the units are on the car.
Now this is not a new problem, I owned a Fiat Punto and you needed the wheel brace to open a bolt when you wanted to replace a brake light bulb. I think it took about a half an hour to replace a brake light bulb on a Fiesta. This was a major problem when you had someone doing a driving test and the bulb blowing just before the test. It is a bigger problem now as the driving tester won't take someone out on a test if the two side brake lights are not working.
Anyway the reason for my gripe tonight is I am just after replacing a headlight bulb on a Peugeot 308 passenger side. It was cold and freezing and you would need to be double jointed to get at the bulb. No right view so you can't see what you are doing, and then trying to get the clips off. When it is finally removed you now have to figure out where the groove is for the bulb to sit back into. You might say why didn't you look at it as it was coming out, that would have been a good idea. The only problem with this; you can't look and contort yourself at the same time. Again about a half hour's work.
Ok so maybe I am getting too old for this or my hands are not as flexible as they used to be, but I am still of the opinion that the design is what the problem is.
Let me know if you agree or disagree, I will be interested in your opinion.
Declan Duignan
www.duignan.eu

Road Design on Boyle to Sligo Road At Castlebaldwin
Now I am not an engineer, but I am someone who uses the roads quite a lot. I have travelled on the Boyle to Sligo (N4)every week over the last few years. I was delighted when Sligo County council or the NRA started to work on the the section after Castlebaldwin on the Sligo side. It is definately a major improvement on the road that was already there. I think it is due to finish shortly as they are working on the sides and generally tidying up.
But here comes my gripe: When coing from Sligo there is a turn off to the right and on the main carraigeway there is an arrow for straight ahead and an arrow to turn off right. So far so good you might say, but there is no room for a car to move out to the right they are still on the main carraigeway. Now what really is annoying is that there is a massive amount of a hard shoulder on the left. So why could they not have made the road with a lane to turn right and use some of or all of the hard shoulder for traffic going straight on? Who is getting paid to do a design like this?
Some years back when the Curlew bypass was built a similiar problem existed. If you were coming from Carrick-on-Shannon towards Sligo and wanted to turn off for Ballyfarnon you had to move out to the overtaking lane and wait in it to turn right, if traffic was coming from Sligo. A lethal situation. It took a few years for them to change the layout of that juntion, all they needed to do was to change road markings.
Maybe the same designer is involved with this road design at Castebaldwin.
Declan
www.duignan.eu
Road design at Castlebaldwin

Be aware of the Silent Killer

A new silent killer is now on our roads, it is the new electric cars. When moving off from a parked position and especially in carparks there will be no noise from the electric cars. This can pose a major danger to pedestrians as the walk through the carpark. Just think of you pushing a trolley with wonky wheels and your children running around you, and suddenly a car starts moving out of a space; no warning of an engine starting. I know you could say that the driver should be looking out for me and mine but this is not always the case. Maybe by next year some standards should be in force so that all electric cars will have some form of audible sound before they stat to move.
International standards, which have already been drawn up by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, are expected to be turned into legally binding regulations by the end of next year.

The move comes as the popularity of fuel-efficient hybrid and electric cars grows, as motorists look to tackle soaring petrol and diesel costs.

According to the latest industry figures there are currently 2,353 electric and 128,165 hybrid cars – such as the best selling Toyota Prius – on Britain’s roads. I am not sure what the figure here is in Ireland at the moment. 

Research carried out last year by TRL, formerly the Government’s Transport Research Laboratory, found taking into account the number of vehicles on the road, pedestrians were more likely to be hit by an electric car than a conventional one.

It also found electric and hybrid cars were quieter than conventional vehicles in the first five metres after a standing start, such as at a pedestrian crossing.
Declan Duignan
www.duignan.eu

Car Design for Road Safety

For the last twelve months or more there is something that has been bothering me about new cars. It really came to me in a very real way yesterday morning as I travelled to Dublin. The problem is the position and colour of Indicator signals on modern cars.
It is possibly a style problem,or maybe a cost problem that manufacturers are placing their indicators in the same assembly as the headlights. This makes it impossible to see the indicators working when the lights are on. This also applies in the day time when the vehicle has dipped lights on.
This is now becoming a problem at the rear as well. Some cars have their indicators in the middle of the brake lights. All of this looks lovely of course, but not at all practical and definately not safe. Another gripe I have is the placing of the side indicators in the wing mirrors. I think that the people in charge of granting Type Approval to vehicles should take a closer look at how cosmetic changes are affecting road safety.
Maybe I am alone in my thinking but I would like to hear from anyone else who thinks the same. I intend to do a survey of cars that I feel are posing a safety risk.
www.duignan.eu

What to do in the event of a car Crash.

Get all the detailsThe most important action to take after an accident is to get all the relevant details of the parties involved. These include:

1. Name, Address, Telephone/Mobile No. of Third Party
2. Registration of the Vehicle/Vehicles involved
3. Insurance Details- Policy Number, Insurance Company, Expiry Date
4. The name and phone number of any witnesses.

What to do then.
It is common for the Gardai to refuse to attend the scene of an accident unless there are injuries involved or the collision is causing a major traffic disruption. Generally; the Gardai do not get involved in minor property disputes such as in a motor collision and will advise the drivers to sort the matter out by themselves. They will however take details of the accident, which can be presented to insurers at a later date.
Another misconception is that the cars must be not moved until the Gardai are called. Often this only serves to block traffic and cause major disruption on the road. Depending on the accident, the information obtained by insurers in the accident report form, and from witnesses, is generally sufficient to establish liability. Such an act will not invalidate your insurance cover.
Although in a perfect world insurers would like the Gardai to attend all accidents, and the accident scene to be preserved, they understand that is impractical and in the majority of cases the stated evidence is sufficient.
www.duignan.eu

RSA (Road Safety Authority) moving the goal posts again

The RSA has again moved the goalposts for EDT learners. From the end of february an EDT learner driver will not be able to get a driving test date until they have fully completed their EDT lessons. In other words they can not now leave lets say the last two lessons and take them just before their driving test.
So it is important to make sure that your EDT lessons are fully covered and the paper work completed before you start looking for a test date.
My understanding is that you can apply for your driving test, but will not now get a test date until your driving instructor has uploaded your lessons to the RSA computer. Make sure if you are looking for driving lessons that your ADI is registered with the Road Safety Authority.
Declan Duignan
www.duignan.eu