You have probably already fallen victim to the notorious traffic associated with Christmas. With a combination of a sudden rush of people to the stores to get those last few bits and pieces for Christmas as well as a surge of people socialising this season, the roads are likely to be heaving with traffic.

Try to embrace the Christmas spirit this festive season, and don’t contribute to the heavy congestion on UK roads. If you are one of the lucky few to have broken up for your Christmas holidays early, try to use this great gift of time to your advantage, and go out to do your shopping on the quieter times of the day, when others will be at work and leave before the dreaded rush hour traffic starts. Every little helps.

If you are not lucky enough to have this time to get out and about for your gift-buying needs, then try to avoid the busy periods on the roads. Make the most of shops being open later this winter, and head out after the evening rush hour has died down, or wait to get most of your shopping done on relatively quiet Sundays instead of its significantly busier counterpart Saturday.

Also try to spread your schedule out – don’t try to get everything done in one day, as this unnecessary stress, compounded with the strain of Christmas traffic, will only cause you undue worry. Instead plan ahead, and choose the most convenient times for you to avoid the busy roads.

Safe driving this Christmas from Britannia!

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Nearly one in six drivers have admitted to ‘bump parking’, carrying on driving until they hit the adjacent car, with the figure being as high as 26% when considering drivers in London.

Bump parking is one of many bad parking habits, others include parking on double yellow lines (committed by 9% of drivers), parking in disabled bays without a blue badge (5%) and deliberately parking over two bays (6%).

Drivers are warned that though bump parking may seem an easy option at the time, they could end up paying a higher cost later especially if it results in damage to their own car.

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With the threat of snowy and icy conditions looming ever nearer at this time of year, it is good to ensure maximum safety for both yourself and your vehicle to minimise the risk of an accident or of breaking down and being rendered helpless in these harsh conditions.

Below are Britannia’s Top Tips for Driving in Ice:

– Give yourself time to prepare. Leave the house a substantial amount earlier to allow more time for your journey, as well as time to prepare your car if it needs de-icing or any other pre-journey maintenance.

– Ensure that all of your windows are fully clear. We’ve all seen the joker driving around with just a small gap in the ice on his windscreen, entirely oblivious to the majority of the traffic around him. Give yourself maximum visibility to reduce the risk of an accident.

– If your lock is frozen, never breathe on it, as the moisture is likely to condense and freeze in sub-zero temperatures, rendering your lock useless. Instead use a cigarette lighter to warm your key, this should do the trick.

– Plan your journey. If the route you would normally use is likely to be dangerous with heavy snow and ice, try to avoid this way and plan an alternative route, using more main roads that are much more likely to have been cleared of snow and gritted, even if this way takes longer, safety has to come first.

– Finally, carry a safety kit in the boot of your car. In the event of breaking down, you will be thoroughly glad you planned ahead this far. Keep an old phone with fully battery in this kit, as well as the necessary scraper and can of de-icer, torch, first-aid kit, change of clothing, blankets, jump leads, tow rope, bottle of water, and any other essentials that will come in handy in the event of an unexpected break-down far from help.

Using these tips should keep you much safer and disrupt your day-to-day schedule as little as possible this winter.

Safe driving from Britannia!

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A safety system which detects if a driver is struggling to stay awake is to be tested out on coaches for prevent catastrophic crashes. The system will track drivers’ eye movements with an infra-red camera, that also works in the dark or through glasses, and when it is detected that a driver is about to fall asleep an audio alert will sound and a vibration will be sent into the seat to wake the driver up.

The position of the head is also monitored to detect possible distraction. The system is first to be trialled in coaches owned by five different firms over nine months. If the trial is successful, the companies wound consider installing the devices in all of their coaches.

This will improve the safety of coach travel, and may even be used in cars if successful.

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With the Christmas season firmly in place, it is not uncommon for people across the country to be embracing the festive period and revelling in much merriment with a few celebratory beverages. Britannia Driving School often stresses the obvious importance of never driving after drinking… but what about driving the next day?

A recent study has suggested that driving the day after a boozing session can be just as dangerous as driving when fully intoxicated. The study, conducted by the University of the West of England, shows that reaction speeds are dramatically slowed down, and lapses in concentration are much more common when suffering from the effects of a hangover.

The simulation presented its users with the real-life situation of driving to work the morning after a night out, and monitored many different factors with the driving. Many subjects of the test were shown to still be impaired by the after-effects of a night out drinking, and were considerably more dangerous behind the wheel than a driver who had not been drinking the night before… even though subjects claimed to feel fully fit to drive at the start of the test.

So if you are going to be drinking this Christmas Day, and intend to make the Boxing Day sales bright and early, feel free to enjoy yourself, but do try to avoid over-indulging if you will be driving the next day, or otherwise leave the car at home while you hit the shops.

Safe driving from Britannia!

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Frosty weather is on its way, Britannia warns drivers not to leave their car unattended with the engines running as this is exactly what car thieves look out for on a frosty morning. Research has found that 40% of drivers let their car’s engine clear icy screens before they drive off but the danger here is that if they pop indoors even for a moment, they are at serious risk of having their car stolen.

Here are Britannia’s tips for defrosting your car this winter:

– Do not leave your car unattended. If you need to go indoor, switch off and lock the car.
– Switch on the heated rear screen and mirrors to warm the glass whilst using a scraper and de-icer on the exterior of your car.
– Use air conditioning to dry the air and keep cold glass mist-free
– Do not drive off until all of the glass is clear.
– Do not use just-boiled water to clear glass as it could crack the glass your wipers to the glass.
– Use a soft brush to clear all the snow off the car, ensure the front grille is clear and make sure all lights are clean and are working properly
– Use a lint-free absorbent cloth to wipe misted-up windows.

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Christmas time is finally upon us. This means lots of fun, laughter, and of course plenty of drinks in and around the festive period. But this also means that the amount of drink-drivers on UK roads is now higher than at any other point in the year.

Recent figures suggest that as many as one in eight deaths on Scottish roads can be attributed to motorists driving whilst over the legal limit.

If you are planning to drink and still drive this Christmas, remember that if caught you are liable to lose your licence as well as having a criminal record for up to twenty years of your life.

Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, forced the point home to many when discussing the issue of drink-driving over Christmas, reminding us all that “Having even one alcoholic drink, then driving, makes you three times more likely to die in a car crash.”

So this Christmas, by all means enjoy the Seasonal period, but don’t even consider driving, as many drivers over the limit are not even aware that they were over the limit at all, having had “just one” or “just a couple of small drink” before getting behind the wheel. The bottom line is, if you are drinking this Christmas, don’t drive at all.

Merry Christmas, and Safe Driving from Britannia!

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The government launched its Think! Drink Drive Christmas Campaign yesterday. It reveals the huge impact that a drink driving conviction can have on an individual’s current job and future employability.

According to the Department for Transport, 27% of people rely on their car to get to work, and would have to give up their job if they were caught drink driving and alternative jobs would require a criminal records check. A third of convicted drink drivers surveyed say they have been limited on the jobs they can do since their offence by not being able to drive.

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