JANUARY 2018 | 43
Motoring
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
BRITAIN’S BIGGEST
MOTORING BUGBEARS
Britain’s Top
Ten Motoring
Bugbears – in no
particular order
A study by motoring
giant LeaseCar.uk has found
the ten biggest peeves for
UK drivers, mostly centred
on others’ bad habits.
Despite years of aware-
ness raising and the fact
that it is illegal, middle lane
hoggers remain a major
sore spot for drivers who
prefer their motorways not
to be slow, congested and
hazardous.
Tailgating, not indicating
and lane weaving are also
among the irritants British
drivers must unwillingly en-
dure as the price for using
the road.
But it is not just poor
driving that get motorists
steamed up, as satnav failures
and cutesy windscreen signs
featured on the list as well.
1. Middle lane
hoggers
Tim Alcock of LeaseCar.
uk said: “Some of the things
on the list, like spray from
lorries, aren’t anyone’s fault
but they’re still massively
annoying when they hap-
pen.
“Driving can be very
stressful, and obviously it
doesn’t help if someone is
doing something stupid.
“The best thing you can
do is stay calm and focused
and not get into any road
wars or game playing – it
isn’t worth it.”
Honestly, what is their
excuse after so many years
of campaigns about this is-
sue? They cause congestion,
slow down traffic, make it
impossible to overtake and
should be banned from both
the motorway and civilised
society.
2. Lane weavers
Heaven forbid that they
should not be in the fastest
moving lane for every
second of their journey.
In, out, in, out…are they
driving or doing the Hokey
Cokey?
3. Not indicating
One has to assume
that someone waiting at
a T junction isn’t actual-
ly planning on driving
straight across the road
and ploughing into the
building on front of them,
so which direction are
they going in? And why
the heck won’t they tell
us?
4. Tailgating
Very annoying and stress-
ful. Just let them pass when
it’s safe to do so.
6. Satnavs that
refuse to admit
defeat
8. Spray from
long vehicles
Sometimes the road is not
passable for some reason,
yet the satnav insists on
telling you to do a U turn
and try again. How far on
do you have to drive before
it finally gives up and finds
an alternative route?
7. Baby on
Board signs
Oh ok, we’ll intentionally
ram someone else, then.
5. Parking across
two bays
Perhaps this is all right if
there’s still plenty of space
left in the car park…actually
no. This is always infuriat-
ing.
If there are large puddles
or the road has recently
been resurfaced, you can
guarantee you’ll be stuck
behind a huge haulage lorry
spraying water and grit into
your windscreen for the
next ten miles.
9. Waiting for
the ‘correct’
petrol pump
The pumps reach all the
way around on both sides,
so stop holding everyone up
and just get in.
10. Parking wardens
We know they’re just do-
ing their job, but everyone
hides when they see one.
LeaseCar.uk
FULLY-ONLINE VEHICLE TRACKING
Telematics specialist
Trakm8 is launching the
UK’s first fully-online ve-
hicle tracking solution.
Designed for trades
professionals and other
small businesses, Trakm8
Prime is the only vehicle
tracking available where the
customer can browse and buy
online, without having to deal
with a sales person. The tracker
unit can be self-installed, so there
are no installation or removal fees
- and vehicle down time is kept to
a minimum.
It combines GPS tracking with
innovative features designed to
help save time and money. These
include a driver coaching system
proven to cut fuel consumption by
up to 15 percent. It achieves these
savings by helping employees to
Scaffolders aim high with trucks
Fast-growing Mercer Scaf-
break bad habits such as heavy
acceleration, harsh braking, sharp
cornering, and engine idling.
Furthermore, Trakm8 Prime fea-
tures the company’s market-lead-
ing vehicle health alerts. The
tracker picks up on any vehicle
fault codes, acting as an early
warning system to prevent costly
breakdowns and non-starts.
https://buy.trakm8.com/prime.
folding has raised its fleet to the
next level by investing in its first
three Mercedes-Benz trucks.
Two are 26-tonne Arocs 2530
models with factory-fitted four-
man benches behind the two front
seats, which allow each to carry a
driver and a crew of five scaffold-
ers in safety and comfort. The
third is a 15-tonne Atego 1518.
Family-run Mercer Scaffolding
operates from headquarters in
Longfield, Kent, and undertakes
most of its projects in London
and the south east. The company
takes pride in offering its clients
competitively priced, ‘all-in-one’
scaffolding solutions.
The new trucks arrived via Spar-
shatts Truck & Van, Sittingbourne.
They are fitted with specialist drop-
side flat-bed bodies and used to
carry scaffolding equipment such
as tubes, boards and fittings.
www.mercerscaffolding.com