48
FEBRUARY 2016 PRO INSTALLER
PRO MOTORING
www.proinstaller.co.uk
BE PREPARED FOR ALL WEATHERS
Torrential rain and gale force winds have been bringing chaos to the UK, with widespread flooding, road
closures and power cuts to thousands of homes, particularly in Cumbria, north Yorkshire and Scotland.
Storm Henry very much
confirmed that winter is far
from over in February – and
despite some unseasonably
warm spells before Christmas, our notoriously unpredictable weather means we
should still be on guard for
anything from Arctic gales to
snowstorms.
AXA Business Insurance, one of
the largest insurers of SMEs in the
UK, warns small businesses to prepare for the problems that winter
weather brings. Estimates vary as
to the true cost of cold snaps, but
during the 2010 snowstorms it is
believed that close to a quarter of
small businesses had to close.
AXA says: “If you absolutely have
to be on the road for work, leave
extra time and drive with extra
care. The numbers of accidents in
poor weather are double that of
normal conditions.
“If you are out and about in your
vehicle, ensure you pack a shovel,
blanket, and something to eat and
drink in case the worst happens.
And ensure your windscreen wash
is topped up, your mobile is fully
charged and your tyres are fit for
winter weather.”
Slip and trip accidents also
increase in winter. Darrell Sansom, managing director of AXA
Business Insurance, said: “Winter
weather can mean real problems
for small businesses and while the
focus might be on simply keeping things going during the bad
weather, there are many other
potential hazards that business
owners should be prepared for.
We would urge people to spend
just a bit of time ensuring that
they protect themselves and their
business as best as possible.”
The RAC is also advising drivers to keep their vehicles well
maintained. A spokesman said:
“Worn tyres won’t hold the road
in wet conditions as well as those
with a good, deep tread. Make
sure all exterior lights are working
correctly and that windscreen wiper blades are in good condition.
Check the oil, coolant and washer
fluid levels. And, don’t leave home
on that long trip over lonely country roads without enough fuel.”
The RAC advises motorists to do
checks on their car battery. The
service attends more call-outs for
batteries than any other problem
and in February 2012 went to
more than 50,000 battery-related
call-outs.
On its website, the RAC has
‘Know-how’ videos on how to do
many vehicle checks thoroughly.
Checking screenwash might sound
obvious but not all screenwash is
the same. You should be looking
for protection down to -10 degrees
C and down to -20 degrees C if
you live in areas subject to the
greatest weather extremes.
Other tips from the RAC include using a little silicone-based
furniture polish on your vehicle’s
rubber door seals to prevent doors
getting stuck when it freezes.
For your van emergency kit, have
an ice scraper and de-icer, torch
and spare batteries, warm clothes
and blankets, boots, first aid kit,
jump start cables, food and a
warm drink in a thermos, shovel, reflective warning sign, road
atlas, sunglasses for snow glare
and mobile phone charger. These
products are in the RAC Winter
Driving Kit.
Before setting off, check your
route. Handy services are RAC
Traffic Information and Highways
Agency Traffic Information and for
weather, MetOffice. The RAC Traffic App is available from iTunes or
Android Market.
When driving in snow accelerate
gently, use low revs and change
up to a higher gear as quickly as
possible. You may need to move
off in second gear as this will help
reduce wheel slip, and leave as
much as ten times the normal recommended gap between you and
the car in front.
If you do encounter a skid, steer
gently into it - for example, if the
rear of the vehicle is sliding to the
right, steer to the right.
Be wary of driving in wheel
tracks as compressed snow is
likely to be icier than fresh snow.
Keep speed down and allow more
time to stop and steer.
Finally, don’t be tempted to pull
away if your windscreen is misted
over and not fully clear. It can be
dangerous and the Highway Code
states it is illegal to drive with
poor visibility.
Dash-cam boom sparked by savvy drivers
Sales of dash-cams are booming as savvy drivers purchase them to get a cut in insurance
and protect themselves against the alarming increase of ‘crash for cash’ scams.
A growing number of insurance companies are cutting
the cost by 10% or more for
those who have a dash cam
in their cars as some insurance firms have reported up
to 50% of their fraudulent
claims are due to deliberate crashes. Recently, the
number of dash-cams sold
at Argos has increased by
35% month-on-month.
The dashboard cameras have
become affordable with prices
starting from £39.99, which has
also boosted sales. The cameras
can film either the road in front
or both ahead and behind and
are wired into the car so they automatically turn on and start recording when the car is started.
Cameras can be powered by a
cable plugged into the cigarette
lighter. Dash-cams have built-in
memory and record on a continuous loop, so when the storage is
full it will record over the oldest
footage.
Argos sat nav buyer Hannah
Coy said: “There has been a
significant rise in sales of dashcams. Some insurance companies
are offering a cut of 10% or more
in insurance to those who have a
dash-cam. The huge increase in
the number of deliberate crashes
has also led to people wanting to
protect themselves against scams
and to be able to prove their
innocence.”
David Ross, Director of Communications at the Chartered
Insurance Institute said: “In the
absence of independent witnesses establishing responsibility
for a car accident, it can be a
challenge for insur ers. The use
of dash-cams provides useful
evidence in apportioning blame
and will generally avoid lengthy
and protracted negotiations
that can delay settlement of a
claim - and in many cases add to
the costs, both of which impact
customers.
“For this reason insurers are
increasingly encouraging drivers
to fit dash-cams, with a number
offering discounts to those customers that do so.”
Source: http://homeretailgroup.
pressarea.com/pressrelease/
details/73/News_1/5487#sthash.
RvoGpLfb.dpuf