Driver Without A Car

The End

2008-05-09T01:01:00.000-07:00

I have been running this blog now for nearly 2 weeks but now it is time to end. I have learnt a lot from this challenge experience.

Going without a car was hard but not unbearable. I do think this experience has changed me and my views.

I do think I will now drive less, for example walking to work I think I will keep up, weather permitting though. I now understand more about the little changes that can be done that saves you money and helps the environment. I think that their is a lot that needs to be done to help our country with car related issues such as congestion. But I do think if enough is done it can be fixed. People do just need to try though.

No change...again.

2008-05-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today I got the bus again. I only had a £5 note, I figured at this was half the size of my last issues on the bus with notes it would be fine. Surely the bus would have change for £5! But no.

I got on the bus, asked for my ticket, again £1.70 and gave the driver my money. I was met with the same response, sorry but they had no change. Again I was told to just get on the bus and pay when I got off.

Got to my stop, so I went to the driver which he replied ' Oh yeah love, don't worry about that.' So off i got, still a fiver better off.

Bike Pooling

2008-05-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

With more than 100,000 active cycling commuters a day, bikes are fast becoming a great alternative to London’s travel problems. So could bike pooling be a healthy and eco friendly way to sort out our roads? People are starting to cycle to work, whether to avoid the hell or commuting or to keep fit.

The previous Mayor of London Ken Livingstone was really positive on the idea of bike pooling. He wanted companies to start up bike pools rather than company cars. Idea is make people healthier and cut down on carbon emissions.

In the past such bike sharing / rental schemes in UK cities have flopped. One scheme for free bike share in Cambridge, for example, foundered when all the bikes were gradually stolen before being repainted and sold.

I think if the government is serious about getting people out of cars and onto bikes they need to improve things for it to be safer for cyclists. For example improving cycle lanes, many roads don't have them, and to drivers cyclists become just a nuisance.

Petrol Panic

2008-05-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

It all started around April 18th, unions warned they planned a strike action at the Grangemouth plant over rows over pensions. As news of this got out people were warned not to panic buy. Although plant bosses insisted there wouldn't be a fuel shortage, as long as people stopped panic buying. Yet people still did.

In September 2005 people all over the country starting panic buying petrol, when protesters threatened to blockage oil refineries. People queued for hours and some petrol stations in the West Country and Midlands ran out of petrol. Grangemouth was one of the plants that was included in the plans to barricade. Have you ever panic brought? I never have, but if I was seriously worried I think I would. If I honestly believed that there may be a shortage, of course I would fill my tank up.

People panic on how they will cope without there cars. If one petrol station reports shortages, this then encourages more people to panic buy petrol.

On April 28th, the second day of the Grangemouth strike The Scottish Government revealed that by midday on Saturday, five of the country's 956 filling stations had ran out of fuel, with 70 partly out of fuel. From this you can see just how crazy people get. Why? Would it really kill people if they had couldn't fill there tank up for a few days and had to get the bus?

For My Girlfriend

2008-05-07T03:54:00.000-07:00

FMG is an established young driver campaign that runs annually on and particularly around Valentine's Day. It is designed to remind young people of the potentially terrible consequences when things go wrong - by confronting a young male driver with the appalling prospect of killing his girlfriend in a crash while he is driving.

The use of a Valentine Card to convey a road safety message to young people has, at times, proved controversial - but also highly effective. Earlier this year, around Valentine's Day they distributed cards as part of their campaign. The Valentine cards were distributed in schools and colleges, pubs and clubs and other places where young people are found in numbers. The card looks authentic on the outside, but inside it carries the campaign's hard-hitting message.

They also run with posters; one shows a photo of a girl in a body bag with the headline: 'The worst way for a relationship to end?' The other shows a team of fire fighters and paramedics attempting to free a girl from a crashed car with the headline: 'If you don't want to see this many blokes around your girl...take responsibility when driving'.

I love this advertising. Yes it is a bit controversial, but it works. It makes you feel uncomfortable, it makes you think. Advertising like this does work. Last year at my old college, FMG came in and showed as two different advertisements. One was a For My Girlfriend style one, the other way just a plain, slow down one. When asked, everyone thought that the For My Girlfriend one made the biggest impact on them.

Lets hope that advertising like this continues and will make an impact on the number of accidents young people have.

Conjestion Charges

2008-05-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

As of October this year the new congestion prices will come in to play. All vehicles emitting more than 225 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g/k), as well as those registered before March 2001, which have engines larger than 3,000cc, will be forced to pay £25 to enter central London between 7am and 6pm Monday to Friday, this included drivers of 4x4's. 30,000 cars drive every day into London, including high-powered sports and some saloons, joining four-wheel drives in the top bracket of charging.

Most cars will continue to pay the current £8 fee, but cars with the lowest carbon dioxide emissions will be able to drive across the capital for free.

The CO2 charge will encourage people to switch to cleaner vehicles or public transport and ensure that those who choose to carry on driving the most polluting vehicles help pay for the environmental damage they cause.

Former Major Ken Livingstone said he hoped the changes would make an impact across the world and encourage other cities to follow suit. These new costs will generate between £30 million to £50 million a year. They say most of this money will be spent on new cycling and walking initiatives.

I understand that £25 is a bit steep, but I do think it is good using the money on cycling and walking initiatives. Maybe something like this needs to be done to force change on us. The only wonder is, how much is 'most' of the money?

Time Is Money

2008-05-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

I went to Ashford today, from home this usually takes around 15 - 20 minutes in a car. I got a lift up, which was allowed, with all the pros of car pooling.

Yet my journey home was a nightmare. I got the train home and had to buy a ticket before I was even allowed in the station. My one way ticket, two stops away, cost £5.20! Then my train was delayed for about 45 minutes. Which meant I was sitting outside, getting cold for ages, knowing that if I was in my car I would have been home ages ago.

When the train finally turned up I got it to the central station, then had to wait for a bus. More waiting out in the cold. The bus then cost me a further £1.70.

By the time I had got in, it had taken my just over an hour an half. A journey in a car takes no more than 20 minutes. It also cost me a total of £6.90. I think this is crazy as it would have even cost this much in petrol.

I do think that public transport needs to be improved otherwise people we keep driving, congestion will get worst and we will never get anywhere.

London Trip

2008-05-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today I went on a day trip to London. Being at uni in Surrey, London is a great place to meet in the middle, with my sister and friends. It also provides us with the opportunity to go shopping, which we will never pass up.

I have driven into London a few times in the past and always found it bearable. It’s more the parking issue which is the problem. But today, I'm obviously travelling by public transport, so using the train.

I got to the train station with minutes to go before my train left; the queue at the ticket office was crazily long so I decided to use the ticket machine. It was surprisingly easy and cost me £17.00 for a return, which I think is a bargin price when you consider how much you would have spent if you drove, including petrol and parking costs. I remember one time in London paying £11.00 an hour for parking!

Had loads of fun in London and then settled back on the train for my return journey which was rather pleasant. The train was practically empty, so I had plenty of room to spread all my stuff out and relax. I had chance to read through the papers I had collected outside the train station and read my magazine, work out exactly how much money I had spent and send a few texts. Although when I get back to the station I still had to walk back I quite enjoyed it.

After today I can see loads more pros than cons for using public transport for this kind of trip. I saved loads of money by getting the train and it was so much less stressful than driving. I had time to read the paper and stuff which I just couldn't have done if I was driving obviously. Although there was a little delay on the train, it made no difference to me but I could understand people on the train getting upset if they were now late for work or an interview.

Driving to the gym

2008-05-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

Gym memberships are at an all time high, so why are more of us obese than ever? We are going the wrong way about it, driving to the gym to just sit on an exercise bike or treadmill.

The best impact you can make is changing the way you get about. Don't drive if you can cycle; don't cycle if you can walk; don't walk if you can run; don't use the lift if there's a staircase. Making roads safer would have a far bigger impact on our collective health than building more gyms.

One in four car journeys are under two miles, contributing to congestion and pollution. These distances can easily be walked in around 30 minutes. Since starting my car ban challenge I have learnt that it's doable. I guess if you have to drive to the gym, you should car pool.

Day 7

2008-05-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

I had work again today. Didn't leave as early but the walk was ok. The weather was nice and I felt better knowing that I was actually doing some exercise.

I usually drive to work, just to save time. But now the weather is getting nicer I might even keep up walking to work. It saves me that bit of money on petrol and keeps me fit.

So if you find it hard to get down the gym and like me are sick of rising petrol prices, take my advice walk to walk. I have tried and tested the idea and it's not all bad.

Day 6

2008-05-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today I had work. I work at a supermarket about 10 minutes drive away and was informed it would take about 40 minutes to walk there. So I decided to leave an hour before just to be sure.

This meant I had to get up an extra hour earlier, although I don't start work until half one, I have become quite accustomed to my lovely morning lay in.

The walk was pleasant enough, yet because I was so worried I was going to be late I walked pretty fast, meaning I got to work around 20 minutes early. Which is bad, as I prefer to spend as little time as I can at work. But at least this gave me time to have a drink and a sit down before I started my shift.

Work can get pretty hectic, as I work on the customers services it can get pretty tiring having customers moan and bitch at you all day. So when I finished the last thing I wanted was walk all the way home, yet I think the walk did give me some good. As I wasn't in a rush it was a nice walk home, and I actually felt a bit de-stressed by the time I got in.

Car Pooling

2008-05-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

We all know that it would be better for us and the environment if we drove less and walked more. But most of us know this isn't really possible. Sometimes because of the distance or lack of a bus or train, makes a car the only option. So could car pooling be a good way to eco travel.

Car pooling or sharing is basically the use of a car by the driver and one or more passengers. The most popular form of car pooling is with work colleagues, who all commute to the same place. With the idea being it saves everyone making a sometimes long and repetitive journey. Saving on fuel costs, cutting traffic congestion as well as helping the environment. I also think it could be more fun than driving on your own, and could reduce the stress of driving.

Nowadays some companies are introducing facilities to help encourage car pooling. For example, carshare.com is a unique database of UK car sharing schemes that operates at a shopping centre near me. Lakeside Shopping Centre has over 300 shops, so you can just imagine how many people travel daily to the same place for work.

Now there is even a National Liftshare day, on June the 9th. Its aim is to raise the profile of car sharing and encourage people to try it.

With petrol and driving costs now becoming so expensive, I think car sharing is a great idea, if it’s a situation that makes it worth while. As long as you know who your travelling with, obviously and can trust them to pick you up in time, for work or uni, I think car pooling is an idea that needs to be encouraged here in the UK. It’s good for the environment and cost effective. I do think though car pooling needs to become a lot more popular before it really makes enough of a difference to congestion. Some places in America have really great car pooling schemes and I think this shows how good the idea could be.

Black Box Recorder

2008-05-02T05:47:00.000-07:00

The black box recorders are a new device being fitted into young drivers cars in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents. It works using motion sensors to record when the driver takes corners to fast, swerves or breaks late. The data can then by accessed by the drivers parents via a website.

Last month this new idea was piloted in Staffordshire, this is an area where accidents involving young drivers is high. Under 25's are involved in 40% of accidents in the area.

The box itself is no bigger than a matchbox and fits on your dashboard. For the driver behind the wheel and it flashes up either red, orange or green to let them know when to slow down or takes things a bit easier. With the idea being more red lights you have, the more likely you are at a risk to have an accident.

Yet the box has received a lot of criticism for being nothing more than an excuse for parents to spy on their children. Some say it gives them a chance to be back seat drivers without actually leaving home. Although you may not like the idea of your parents spying on your driving, it may end up lowing your insurance costs. Insurance companies are beginning to take interest and your high priced premiums could be cut if you prove you are careful driver.

I'm not sure if I would like to have a black box fitted into my car, not that I'm a crazy driver I just don't really like the idea of my parents knowing if I did become one. I think that as a young driver you build up a new level of trust with your parents and by using the black box recorder you won't gain this.

The box also claims to show drivers where they are going wrong. Staffordshire road safety manager Adrian Hide, said: "Most new drivers think they are good. This graphically illustrates where they go wrong." But in my opinion I think young drivers do know what exactly they are doing 'wrong'. They understand that they are driving to fast or took a corner to quickly. Yet the black box may kerb this behaviour.

Day 4

2008-05-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Today I went into town, so walked up to the bus stop. The weather was nice and I didn’t have to wait to long. Yet when the bus pulled up I got on and asked for my ticket. I was £1.30, so I handed over my money, a £10 note.

‘Oh sorry’ said the driver, ‘but I don’t have any change.’ My response was something along the lines of well what do you want me to do; this is the only money I have. The bus driver then became rude, telling me how this happens a lot in the morning and what he will do is take my money and then hope enough people get on and give him change before we get to my stop.

So I sit down, a few people get on. Too be honest I was feeling a bit worried that this man had just taken a tenner of me. So we get to my stop, I ring the bell and then walk to the driver. He then huffs and puffs and counts out my change. I mean change, I had £8.70 in a mixture of coins. The biggest coin I had was a 20p. I seriously couldn’t fit all the money into my purse. Overall not the best experience of public transport.

Insurance Prices

2008-05-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

One of the most common complaints from young drivers is the cost of their insurance. Young drivers are a group that is hit hard by insurance prices. Young drivers are considered a high risk not just because of the driver’s age, but because they are new to driving and have little on-the-road experience. But some insurances companies do use this as an excuse to charge ridiculously high premiums. Yet not all young drivers are actually a high risk.

Many young drivers will find this unfair, but the thing is insurance companies work on hard facts and statistics. And the fact is young male drivers have more accidents than any other group. The records show that teenagers have more crashes than any other, this can be partly explained by lack of experience but possibly peer pressure has a bigger role to play.

The driving age is set to rise

2008-04-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

The driving age could be potential be raised to 18 as part of a major overall, if the way driving licenses are granted. Since last year there has been a lot of talks about the raising the age to 18. The plan is that provisional licences will still be issued from the age of 17, but it will take a year to pass a much tougher practical test. This means that it would means the minimum age that a new driver could realistically drive on the roads without supervision would be 18.

The idea behind doing this is to cut the number of deaths caused on Britain’s roads by novice drivers. As a young driver at first I diasgreed with the idea, thinking why punish all young drivers just because of a few young stupid drivers. But then when I looked into the subject more I found that research by the Department for Transport (DfT) suggests that a 12-month learning period would save up to 1,000 deaths and serious injuries and up to 7,000 casualties a year.

1,000 deaths a year is a rediculous amount of young people dying and I don’t think by just rasing the age to 18 will make that much of an impact on young drivers. This isn’t such a small majority as we may first believe.

I also think that elderly drivers need to be taking into consideration though. Some older drivers didn’t even have to take a driving test, 50 years ago or more there were a lot less cars on the road. Older drivers are hazards on the roads they have a lot slower reaction speeds and failing eye sights and hearing, which worrys me more than young drivers.

Shopping Day

2008-04-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

At uni I tend to wait until I have literally nothing to eat until I go food shopping. And today was that day, but without the luxury of my car.

The walk to Sainsbury’s was pleasant enough. Shopping was bearable. Yet the walk back wasn’t. When shopping I forgot that I would have to carry it back, so I brought the usual, as well as food, heavy items such a bottle of coke, wine etc. Also my packaging wasn’t very thought out. In one carrier bag was the wine and coke. So after a few minutes of walking the bags were starting to get pretty heavy and I was seriously worried that the handles of the carrier filled with my wine was going to break.

Ok so I made it back in one piece but my hands were starting to hurt and the stress I went through of hoping my bag wouldn’t break was not fun.

The Hard Shoulder Scheme - the most stupid idea in the world.

2008-04-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Recently The Hard Shoulder Scheme has been tested to help with congestion and cut journey times. The scheme basically is letting drivers drive in the hard shoulder. The hard shoulder scheme has been adopted as a quick and cheap alternative to road widening because the Highways Agency’s road building programme is appernetly more than £3 billion over budget.

Yet as a driver who regualary uses heavy conjested motorways I think this is the most stupid idea in the world. I think it is an idea that will cost lives, they claim our safety will not be compromised, but how can it not be?

If you break down you need the hard shoulder. If one car breaks down while the shoulder is being used as relief then you're worse off than you were before, as traffic tries to filter into the normal left lane. And we all know how shitty drivers are about you 'pushing in' even on designated filter lanes. And what about accidents.

Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: “Our reservations about using the hard shoulder are that in a major incident it may take emergency services longer to reach the scene as well as the practicalities of where drivers are able to stop their vehicles if they break down."

If all lanes are opened, including the hard shoulder, and a bad accident happens, the traffic stops completely so please could someone explain how emergency vehicles would reach the accident scene. With all lanes being used, cars would have literally no where to go. And if somebody was in a critical condition, surely the quicker the emergency services are there the better.

Overall I think it’s a stupid quick fix and hope that the scheme never actually is brought in.

The Driver

2008-04-29T02:30:00.000-07:00

At my flat I am the driver. I’m not the only one who has a car at uni but the only one who can actually drive, so this makes me the driver. Any where we go, I drive obviously. When I told my flatmates about my plan they didn’t seem best pleased. “Really? Why would you want to that?” was one response.

Last night we planned to go into Guildford for a meal, a few drinks then on to a club. Then I reminded everyone I wasn’t driving. So the train it is. The train station is about 20 minutes walk, everybody knows this, but we can never be ready in time. So with 15 minutes till our train left I half walked, half stumbled, (no I wasn’t drunk, just in heels) and even did a bit of running to the train station,.

We made the train but it wasn’t a fun journey. Sitting on the train I was feeling hot and sweaty and my feet hurt, not a good feeling to have at the very beginning of the night. Oh well at least not driving I could drink, or so I thought.

The meal was great, but by the time we had walked to the restaurant, got a table ordered it and eaten it was getting late and we had the last train to get back. One quick drink and back off to catch the train. Sitting on the train it occurred to me, I only had one drink, I could have driven!! Then to top it off, we got off at Farnham and it’s raining, you couldn’t make this up. So we decided a taxi back to the Student Union bar it is, seeing as we couldn’t go to a club that would have to do for a dance.

The SU looked pretty busy which was good, but on our way in the door man stops us and refuses us entry, apparently they close at 1 but stop letting people in at 12, it was 12.04! So back to the flat we go, sore feet, sober, overall not the best night. I miss driving already.

Goodbye Car

2008-04-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my blog. For my online assessment I have set myself a challenge to give up my car. Yes, completely give up my car for two weeks, or as long as I last. This may seem like a pretty easy challenge to some of you, but trust me, for me it’s not. I love driving and am one of those people who drives everywhere, yes literally everywhere.

I started learning to drive when I was 17 and passed 2nd time, all the best drivers pass 2nd time. Since passing my test over 3 years ago, I have only been without my car once and I still remember how hard that was.

It was August last year; a few weeks before moving to University when I was involved in four car pile up on the M20. The accident wasn’t my fault and was unavoidable; fortunately nobody was seriously injured, except my car. When the Police and Highway guys turned up at the scene I was told they would be towing my car away and to collect my belongings out of it as I would never see it again! This was a very traumatic time for me. Yes the accident was horrible, but worst was seeing all the money I had saved and spent on that car gone in minutes and I now had no car and the prospect off travelling to University, back and forth on public transport.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not against public transport, I feel why use if you can drive. My insurance covered the accident, but I was faced with around a 2 week wait until my cheque for the write off arrived. They say having a car gives you freedom and yes they are right. I forgot what it was like running to the bus stop, paying out taxi fares and begging my parents for a lift.

So why do it again? The news has been filled with car related stories lately such as the strikes in Scotland and petrol shortages as well as the black box recorders, so I thought I would give up my car and see it goes using this blog, as well as some of my opinions on other driving related issues.

Now I’ve got walking shoes on and bus change in hand and I’m set to go.