What Women Want

There has been so much talk recently in the papers about certain things you can or more importantly cannot do behind the wheel whilst driving. However, do we really understand them or more to the point are we aware we could in fact be prosecuted for committing such offences? Eating an apple while driving could in fact drive you to break the law and incur penalty points resulting in some cases, a driving ban.

Tyres are easy to forget until you get a flat one or a puncture. Yet having the correct tyre pressure is vital to the safe handling of your car as well as saving valuable pennies at the pumps.

Many many years ago, I did a stint in the sales of second-hand cars. Part of my job specification was to compile a page of cars for sale to go into the weekly papers. I obviously had to learn the jargon too, as abbreviations were certainly the order of the day back then.

With the holiday season firmly underway, there has been plenty of advice for those travelling abroad. I am taking the children on a motorhome holiday across three European countries and during my research into what is allowed and what is not I came across these rather more obscure pieces of European motoring legislation. So, just in case…

Some of we ladies are not privy to a chauffeur, nor a partner for that matter. So in order to go about our daily chores we have no option but to drive alone.

With the ever-increasing incentives offered by the government to encourage women back to work the result is that more and more children are put into the hands of carers. This could be in various forms - nurseries, au pairs, nannies, and childminders or, for the lucky ones, extended families. They take over the extremely responsible role of looking after your children, including ferrying them not just to school and back but also the seemingly endless round trips to after school activities.

If you are driving abroad this summer, make sure you are legal to travel before leaving home. Something as simple as driving without a GB sticker can result in an immediate on-the-spot fine in most European countries. Some motorists believe the French police actually look forward to the upsurge of UK holiday traffic and view the Brits as an easy target.

As the cost of motoring continues to escalate, everyone is feeling the pinch. Consequently, we are battening down the hatches and asking ourselves some serious questions. Do we really need to make that journey? Is there an alternative to using the car? How can we cut back? Short journeys are the worse culprits. Can we walk instead?

Let us be totally honest here. How many of you sit down and read the small print on your motor insurance? Despite all the warnings telling us to do so, I can put my hand on my heart and say ‘no’. When my car insurance renewal quote comes through I go straight to the bottom line to see if the premiums have gone up. If there are no drastic increases, I simply renew, knowing my circumstances have not changed.

I really did not want to mention the outlandish rise in motoring costs though fear of losing the will to live – or drive. However, as a mother and the holder of the purse stings for the family, cutbacks are hot on the agenda. In a desperate quest to make ends meet, I have had to implement some drastic cost cutting measures much to the bemusement of the children.