With the rising gas prices and the anxiety about rapidly diminishing fuel reserves, it is a good idea to go ahead and do something about your car. The best thing to do is to get hold of some mileage saving means which will enable you to save some money. Saving gas has become a great challenge nowadays and you have to work out a way to ensure that you do your bit by using an environment friendly way to run your car.
One of the easiest ways to save fuel is to have tires with correct tire pressures. Although most of us are under the impression that our tires have the correct amount of pressure, the truth is quite the contrary. There are factors like wear and tear; seasonal temperature changes and weather which make the car lose about one to two pounds per square inch each month. Although this seems to be quite an insignificant number, you will be alarmed to know that 1 psi loss in four tires means that your miles per gallon will decrease by almost 0.04%.
This means that you need to be very careful about your tire pressure in order to ensure that you get a great mileage out of your car. Tire pressure variations can affect your mileage and the sooner you understand it the better for you.
Given below are some tips which you can look at in order to see if your tires have the right amount of pressure:
1. There should be a sign on the inside of the driver’s door of your car or in the glove box indicating the correct tire pressure for your car. In case you cannot find it, call your car company and get the accurate number from them immediately.
2. Though some stickers will not specify ‘cold tire pressure’, you need to ensure that the tires are cold, which means that they haven’t been used for the past few hours.
3. The psi number marked on the tires stand for the maximum pressure that the tires can undertake. You need not consider it to be the ideal pressure for your car tires.
4. In order to know the tire pressure, always use a digital gauge. It is the best way in which you can get the exact pressure and settle the pressure of the tires accordingly.
Always keep checking the inflation of your tires as well. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that as many as 30% of cars and trucks do not have the correct amount of inflation. Do not ever judge the inflation and tire pressure of your cars on the basis of their visual appearance because it can be extremely deceptive, to say the least. Go for regular checks which will enable you to understand the correct amount of pressure and air required for your car. In this manner, you will be able to save quite a substantial amount of fuel by getting better mileage out of your car.
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Minibuses are large, passenger carrying vehicles. Because of this extra responsibility the driving regulations regarding licensing, servicing and minibus insurance are a lot stricter than a normal car.
This article is a guide to the frequently asked questions about driving a minibus.
What is a minibus?
The classification for a minibus is a vehicle that has between 9 to 16 passenger seats. With more than16 passenger seats the vehicle is classed as a coach.
What is a Section 19 Minibus Permit?
If a minibus is being driven for hire or reward then a Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) licence is required. Certain organisations such as volunteer groups, whose activities are beneficial to a community, can apply for a Section 19 Permit. This allows a small charge to be made to cover the vehicles operating costs without the need of a PCV licence.
A driver of a Section 19 permit minibus can either be a volunteer or be paid. If the minibus is being used as a non-profit bus service a Section 22 permit can be applied for. However with this permit the driver must be a unpaid volunteer.
Minibuses used by schools and educational establishment that do not charge their pupils do not normally require a Section 19 permit.
Section 19 permits are only valid within the UK.
Do minibus passengers have to wear seatbelts?
Seatbelts requirements for minibuses vary according to the age of the vehicle, passenger carrying capacity, type of passengers (i.e children or wheelchair users) and type of seat fitted. A general rule is that if a minibus is fitted with seatbelts then they must be worn.
It is compulsory for a minibus driver to wear a seatbelt.
What are the Driving Licence requirements for a minibus?
Driving licences issued after the 1st January 1997 require a category D1 classification, which can be obtained by applying to the DVLA and passing a Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) test.
There are exemptions to this regulation that will allow a minibus to be driven with a full category B (car) licence, but the following conditions need to be met:
1. The minibus is used for a social purpose but not for hire and reward.
2. You must be over 21 and have held your Category B license for more than 2 years. If you are over 70 then you are required to meet the health standards for driving a D1 vehicle.
3. No payment can be accepted for driving the minibus.
4. The minibus cannot weigh more than 3.5 tonnes or 4.25 tonnes with special equipment for carrying disabled passengers.
5. Towing a trailer of any size is prohibited.
6. The minibus can only be driven in the UK. Driving in Europe will require a D1 licence.
What are the speed limits for driving a minibus?
Speed limits for a minibus on UK roads are:
30 mph in urban and residential areas
50 mph on A class (single-carriageway) roads
60 mph on dual-carriageway roads
70 mph on motorways
If the minibus is towing a trailer the speed limit on motorways is reduced to 60 mph and the fast lane cannot be used for overtaking.
Minibuses registered after 1st January 2005 must now be fitted for with a speed limiter, restricting their maximum speed to 62 mph.
What are the regulations for driving a minibus in Europe?
A ‘waybill’ or an ‘own account certificate’ must be carried regardless of whether the minibus is being used for hire or reward. The MinibusClub.co.uk has more information about these documents.
Other documents that need to accompany the vehicle include a minibus insurance certificate, European accident form and Vehicle Registration document. A specialist minibus insurance provider will be able to advise whether a Green Card is also needed.
When driving in Europe a GB sticker or EU style GB sticker must be prominently displayed on the minibus at all times.
More information about minibus driving regulations can be obtained from the Directgov website or the Minibus Club.
The Minibus Club is a specialist minibus insurance provider and has offered UK minibus insurance quotes since 1997. Visit their website to get a free quote or call their hotline on 0845 609 0323. See how much you could save on your minibus insurance!
I’ve written about lorry driver urban legends before, but they just keep cropping up all over the internet. I’m not sure quite why lorry drivers and their vehicles often seem to be at the centre of these kinds of stories – my theory is that it’s the lorry drivers themselves who spread them while running haulage jobs and return loads all over the world! Perhaps it is just that many urban legends take place on the road, and lorry drivers make for convenient and plausible participants. However they spread, these stories are here to stay, and they get wilder and more outlandish with every retelling. Here are five of the best (and one of them is even true!)
Don’t Mess With The Lorry Driver
According to this legend, three bikers arrive in a caf? and see a lorry driver sitting on his own. For some reason they decide it will be fun to pick on him. They drink his coffee, pour pepper over him, and eat most of his food. The lorry driver does nothing, simply eats what is left, pays the bill and leaves. Afterwards, one of the bikers says to the waiter, “He wasn’t much of a fighter, was he?” The waiter, who is looking outside, replies “He wasn’t much of a driver either; he just backed his lorry straight over three motorcycles parked outside!”
True or False? It wouldn’t surprise me if this was true, since lorry drivers are renowned for their non-nonsense nature, but there are no recorded instances of this actually happening. A scene similar to this has appeared several times on film (for example, in Smokey and the Bandit and Every Which Way But Loose) indicating that it probably belongs in the realms of fiction.
Loose Load = Decapitation
Here’s a story about a gruesome kind of “return load”! As a motorcyclist is driving behind a lorry, a loose sheet of metal slips from the back of the lorry and decapitates him. The now headless driver, propelled by the momentum of the bike, travels past the lorry driver, who sees the motorcyclist, has a heart attack, and crashes his lorry.
True or False? It was false, but it recently became true! The original story is an urban legend that has been around for decades and has dozens of variations, but gruesomely enough, similar events occurred in 2001. 43 year old Linda Riojas was decapitated by a sheet of metal that apparently fell from a lorry in front and went through her windshield before landing next a Bible in the back seat. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!
“Wait, is that a-”
A biker is on the road at night (what is it about lorry drivers and bikers in urban legends?) sees two bikers coming down the other side of the road. He decides to show off by riding in between them and turns into the oncoming lane. But at the very last moment, he sees that it isn’t two bikes on the road ahead of him, but the headlights of a lorry.
True or False? Definitely false – this one has been kicking around for a long time, told as either a joke or a spooky campfire story. A variation of it even appears in the 1921 film Hard Luck, where Buster Keaton attempts to commit suicide by standing in front of a car (seen only by its headlights) and is instead passed by two bemused motorcyclists.
The Al-Qaida Return Load
Shortly after September 11th, an email did the rounds warning that over thirty rental trucks and lorries had gone missing “taken by Arabic looking men”, presumably for a follow up attack.
True or False? Completely false. The three companies mentioned in the original email (Ryder, U-Haul and Verizon) said that none of their lorries had gone missing, and it seems to have been just another email hoax.
Deadly Shipment
A lorry filled with ten tonnes of cyanide is hijacked in Mexico for reasons unknown; terrorism is strongly suspected. The lorry is found days later, but is missing its lethal cargo.
True or False? True! Although it had nothing to do with terrorism (and it is likely that the hijackers weren’t even aware of what the lorry was carrying) in February 2002 a lorry was stopped and hijacked by three armed gunmen in Mexico. A few days later, the lorry was found, but with some of the cyanide missing. What happened to it, no one knows…
Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director for the Transport Exchange Group. Haulage Exchange, their freight exchange for the 7.5 tonne and above market, offers an independent environment for its members to exchange loads and manage their groupage.
