Road Traffic Safety

Road traffic safety is a big deal in major cities around the world. There is an alarming increase in road mishaps that occur year after stemming from drunk driving, speeding, driving while experiencing fatigue or other traffic safety violations on the road. The biggest risk involved here is the chance of a road traffic collision. Much of these road accidents may be greatly prevented if drivers would just pay more attention to what they are doing. Common violations include texting while driving, being distracted by something on the road or falling asleep behind the wheel. It must be stressed that as a driver operating a potentially lethal machine, you have the duty to give the road and your traffic safety measures 100% of your attention.

An estimated 6,420,000 of car accidents happened in US alone in 2005. At least 230 billion dollars worth of damages were incurred by these damages. 2.9 million cases of injuries involving car mishaps and 42,636 deaths as a result of accidents on the road. Everyday, an average number of 115 persons die in motor vehicle related crashes in the United States. If you compute that carefully, that is 1 every 13 minutes. Statistics from the World Health Organization state that about 3000 people die in car crashes each day worldwide.

These are alarming figures and a lot of wasted lives lost on petty reasons like texting while driving or forgetting to put snap on the seatbelts. If only more time was spent on road traffic safety rules maybe the figures will decrease greatly. The road can be a dangerous place. If you are a driver of a vehicle do realize that you are responsible for the lives of your passengers and of those on the road as well. Now is not the time to be sending text messages or trying to eat a burger while steering the wheel. It doesn't matter if you've been driving for many years. Road accidents are accidents that stem from a moment of distraction or stupidity.

A little bit of your time checking your vehicle prior to use goes a long way. What is a few minutes of making sure your brakes work and that your tires are inflated properly? Apart from that, run you through your car's hose, spark plugs filters, fluids and belts and make sure that each part is working properly. An ill-running or out of condition tire can spell the difference between arriving at your destination early and becoming a statistic.

Little things like your overhead lights should be kept off. The glare coming from a light that is on can distract you from seeing an oncoming car. Road rage is never cool. No matter what you think, nobody is going to benefit from you gunning your gas and having a go at your driving prowess. It won't win you any fans and only invites danger. By the same token, always keep a cool head. Everybody is just trying to get to where they want to. Nobody needs a hotheaded driver honking at them.

Free Vehicle History Checks

Whatever the case may be, people would always go with free stuff. Free software, free games, and many more: everyone loves them, especially the readily available ones found on the internet. One interesting find is the free vehicle history check because with one click, a person hopes to quickly identify the status of the car he or she is willing to buy. But are free vehicle history checks good or bad and what can they actually tell the potential buyer? Can free vehicle history checks actually be real enough for those who want a car badly?

A vehicle history report is simply a record of all the information on a vehicle of interest, which include the insurance records on it and even violations and accidents it has incurred. It will then give a verdict whether the car is clean or if it has potential problems that would require further investigation. It usually costs a bit over $20 per inquiry, but in some cases, it can actually be provided for free.

To differentiate between a free vehicle history check and the paid one, one of the most obvious comparisons would be their contents. A free car history check would most likely contain: the VIN, or the vehicle identification number uniquely found on every car; the year, make, and model, which tells on what year the car was made, from what company brand, and of what model it is; the engine type, which gives the buyer information about its engine; the country where it was made, and; the number of other records that can be displayed. In certain cases, that may be enough to suspect that a car has certain problems. For example, when the free car history information does not coincide with what the dealer told you or the information in the vehicle's documents. The paid history, on the other hand, contains much more useful and detailed information: damage record, which would include how many times it was totaled in an accident, how many times it was salvaged, lemon histories, and if it incurred flood damage; police records, odometer rollbacks, lien history and also emission and inspection results; and lastly, if it was used for commercial use. One more important incentive is the buyback guarantee that it comes included with!

The free records serve as the first step in paying for the full record, as they are actually beneficial as baseline data. But it is not advisable to fully depend on free car history checks. To save thousands of dollars, one must take it further by paying for a vehicle history check.

A Brief History of Audi

In 1899 a gentleman named August Hoch founded a company called Horch & Co. In 1901 he invented his first vehicle with the help of 15 workers. By 1909 August left this company because of major problems on the commercial management side of things. Mr Hoch then founded a new company called Audi; the name was derived from the Latin translation of the word Hoch. August chose this name because he wanted to build cars under his own name. In 1910 the brand Audi Automobile were GmbH. Production of vehicles by Audi continued until the First World War.

During the war Audi was forced to help produce vehicles for the war effort, and then following the war there was a recession which almost saw the end of the brand itself. Horch left the management in 1920, leaving the management of the firm to battle through the hard times from 1927 through 1930. In 1931 the management decided that the only way to keep the company afloat would be to merge with other vehicle manufacturers. This saw the creation of what was called the Auto Union. This union between manufacturers had great success until the Second World War. During the war every factory in Germany was destroyed by American bombers. After the war, there were many military vehicles that required spare parts and maintenance; this was the main reason for the manufacturers to have a new start in Ingolstadt, Germany.

Daimler-Benz took an 87% holding into the Auto Union Company in 1958 which increased to 100% in 1959. They then decided to dispose of the Auto Union Company brand based on its lack of profitability in 1960. Coincidentally the closing of this company allowed the brand name of Audi to be rediscovered by opening the newly closed factory which had already drawn up a near production ready modern four stroke engine.

Volkswagen acquired a 50% holding in the new Audi firm in 1964, 18 months later it bought the rest of the controlling stock and by 1966 Volkswagen was using the Audi plant to assemble an extra sixty thousand beetles per year. By 1970 Volkswagen introduced the Audi brand in the US. At this time the Audi image was conservative. With models like the Audi 50, Audi 100 and the Audi 80. The 1986 Audi 80 was considered to have an image of someone's grandfather's vehicle. Then in 1987 Audi produced a new and elegant for its time, Audi 90. The Audi 90 had a set of standard features that surpassed anything Audi had released previously.

During the early 1990's Audi began to shift its selling demographic and target a younger consumer base. Body styles were reworked to be more aerodynamic and pleasing to the eye while new engines were developed to offer more performance on the road coupled with suspension modifications which made the vehicle more responsive and fun to drive.

From 2000 onwards Audi's sales have continued to grow. Audi now has six different manufacturing plants around the world in order to keep up with the demand for its vehicles. For a company that basically disappeared in its early years it has to be noted as one of the most successful recoveries of a brand in the history of the automotive business.

Driving Test

Many people fail their driving tests on their first try; some go repeatedly before they eventually pass. Many excuses are offered but usually the assessor bears the brunt of the blame. But hey guess what? They are not at fault, you are.

Although there can never be a 100% guarantee that you will pass the first time, [no matter what some driving schools may claim] if you follow the guidelines in this article your chances of 1st time success will sky rocket.

Why do so many fail?

They are quite simply, not fully prepared. It's certainly understandable that some students are impatient to get that license as quickly as possible and what tends to happen is this. They commence lessons and learn the basic skills. Sort of know the road rules, can sort of park, can sort of do the maneuvers required for the test, and so they go ahead and book their assessment. Although a few get lucky, most fail.

Make no mistake, driving tests are not designed to be too easy. The degree of difficulty for the driving assessment is planned in such a way to ensure that if you have successfully passed your examination, the assessors can then be reasonably confident that you may then venture out on to the roads without being a danger either to yourself or some other poor unsuspecting person.

How to prepare yourself for the test
Learn the road rules thoroughly, not just enough to pass your learners permit. When you have obtained your permit, learn them again.

Find yourself a teacher, preferably a driving instructor but if not a parent or friend. If you choose a parent make certain they understand all the rules as these change over time and they will almost certainly have been updated since they passed their test.

Once you have learnt the basics and can maintain control of your car when driving in traffic, turning corners, reversing, performing U turns, parking etc then get yourself a free book from any licensing centre on "how to pass your driving assessment".

This book is invaluable as it sets out very clearly, which skills are required, what the test is all about, what level of competency is expected, which maneuvers you will be asked to perform and also has lots of practice and test exercises included.

Practice, practice and practice!
Over time you will notice that your parent/friend is gradually evolving from a state of terror to nervousness to a condition of near calmness when you drive.

Because it is sometimes difficult for a student to judge their own competency they can often feel unjustifiably convinced they are ready.

So, once you have practiced enough and genuinely feel confident about all aspects of your driving and no longer require any prompting from your parent, then its time for the most important part.

If your parent is able to comfortably look away while you are driving and by this I mean, gaze around at people, talk on the phone, look down and read etc, then and only then are you truly ready to book your test.

Once you have decided on a licensing centre and booked your assessment it is imperative that you drive around to learn the area so there are no nasty surprises. This is an excellent time to enlist the aid of a professional driving instructor [presuming you haven't been using one] as most instructors intimately know the test routes and possible difficulties you may encounter.

Providing you follow these guidelines the chances of passing your test first time are extremely high.

History of the Audi A2

The German car manufacturer Audi first released the A2 model in 1999 as a compact style MPV as a five door four or five seat hatchback. The A2 was sold from 1999 through 2005 and was originally based on the Audi AI2 concept vehicle that was first shown at the Frankfurt motor show in 1997. The A2 was noteworthy as it was built from aluminium. Being built from aluminium, the A2 required a special production line which was purpose built in Audi's Neckarsulm plant.

Since the A2 was aluminium, the A2 was the first five door vehicle that was capable of an average fuel consumption of less than three litres per one hundred kilometres. These fuel figures only applied to the 3L version which was equipped with a diesel engine, automatic gearbox, less power and narrow tyres. Due to the aluminium construction the A2 has an average weight of about one thousand kilograms. The weight of the vehicle is astonishingly light considering the entire shell is light enough for two people to easily pick up if needed.

The Audi A2 still uses a typical anybody construction dubbed as an Audi space frame design. The outer panels have little or no structural function at all as the space frame bears all the forces working on the vehicle. The frame itself is a combination of cast parts and extruded elements laser welded together to compose a solid foundation to build on. Sadly the cost of producing a vehicle from aluminium means the A2 is basically overpriced for its sector in the automotive environment. Competing against similar models such as the Mercedes A class meant the A2 does not offer the highest return of investment and this is reflected in the sales figures as the Mercedes A class continually outsells the A2 at a rate of approximately four to one.

Since the A2 is a 5 door Hatch, the interior has been crafted to offer substantial room for comfort and storage options. Audi pioneered many interior ideas and worked them into the A2, included in this list would be the space floor storage system, this is basically a box that slots in the rear passenger foot well, a double false floor in the boot where items could be hidden out of the line of sight of thieves. The rear seats can be removed in a matter of seconds and the head rests do not have to be removed in order to fold them.

When Audi ceased production of the A2 there was no immediate direct replacement in their line-up. It was not until 2010 when Audi released the A1 that the company re entered the mini MPV sector again. There are rumours circulating now about the re release of the model A2 with a prediction of 2010 for the mainline production. Many of the rumours hint at the new version being released as an electric vehicle with a steel frame rather than the aluminium of the past. We will have to wait and see what becomes of the rumours in the future.

Get Your Car Ready For Winter Driving

I was teaching a class the other night on clearing the clutter in our homes and lives. We all spend a lot of time in our cars going to appointments, picking up dinner, taking the kids to their activities and doing a hundred other things. Since our car has become an extension of our home it is another place where we can clear clutter in minutes that will make a dramatic difference in our lives.

Back in the 70's we owned a Volkswagen Bus. We loved that blue beetle and I loved piling the kids in and taking off to do errands or running them to school and activities. It was a casual vehicle and it had been a reliable vehicle until the day it caught fire. One day as I was pulling into the gas station one of the kids yelled, "There is smoke mommy". It took me a second to realize that the smoke was coming from the back end of our "beetle" where the engine was. I yelled for all the kids to get out and at the same time someone came rushing over with a fire extinguisher and put the fire out. I was grateful we were all safe and sound and for the quick actions of the man with the fire extinguisher.

You would think I had learned my lesson and bought an extinguisher for my car but I didn't. Nine years later I was 15 miles from home on my way to work on the freeway when I saw smoke coming out from under my hood. I immediately pulled over and before I could even get out of my car a highway patrolman had stopped right behind me and behind him a man stopped and ran up to my car with a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. Sometimes "lightening" does strike twice to get our attention.

Making our cars inviting to be in, being prepared in case of emergencies and organizing clutter is just the basics of being prepared. Winter is coming-is your car prepared? This is a good time to organize the clutter. Here are ideas and tips on the essentials of getting your car ready for cold weather:

1. Keep supplies in the back of the vehicle that you may need in case of an emergency.

· A fire extinguisher

· Some kind of deicer such as salt or kitty litter in case you get stuck in the snow.

· A small folding shovel

· A window Scraper

· Water

· Snacks such as crackers, fruit snacks, or power bars.

2. Keep a spare pair of gloves in the jockey box. A student in my class laughed at me when I said this and asked where I was from. She said it is called a glove compartment. Another woman spoke up and said they called it "the box". No matter what you call it keeping an extra pair of gloves can save you on a cold day if you forget yours. Small chemical hand warmers can also come in handy.

3. Keep a thermal blanket or quilt in the trunk or in the back. You may never need it but it is wonderful to have if you do. I have always kept one in the trunk and when my daughter had to use it when she was out in 20 degree weather on bleachers watching the 2002 Olympics we found out it was not a warm quilt at all. I recommend making sure it doesn't just look warm, but that it is warm before you need to use it.

4. Before winter has us in its grasp get your vehicle serviced. Included in this is an oil change (every 3,000 miles) engine check, tire check (depending on the weather tire pressure may need to be adjusted), wind shield fluid, and coolant fill up. This will give you peace of mind knowing your car is likely to run better in cold weather.

5. If you have a cell phone keep a phone charger in your car so you will be able to call for help if you need it and not be stuck with a dead battery.

6. All of the things we need to keep in our cars can become clutter if we don't have a place for them. Then we spend more of our time later to clear the clutter. Have assigned places for everything in your car. In the trunk keep a container for all the items placed there. Keep the glove compartment free of clutter so the items that need to be there will have a place to live.

Organizing clutter is easy when everything has a home and it lives in its home when not being used-just like in your home. Happy driving and be safe!