Driving In Europe

I was working in Belgium last week and, as usual, it struck me how different is the experience of driving in Europe compared to driving here in old Blighty. I'm not just talking about the obvious driving on the right situation, although as I'm sure we've all experienced at one time or another, extra care does need to be taken in order to end up on the correct side of the road when turning left at junctions for example.

It's always the difference in general manners, and in lane discipline in particular, that strikes me when I'm on the continent. It seems to me that it is rare when abroad to find the continental equivalent of the British centre/outside lane hog, a species that seems to be all too prevalent over here. I should acknowledge that I've had people say the exact opposite to me - that they've found it to be worse in Europe but that's really just plain wrong isn't it?

Last week I drove the round trip from sunny Norfolk, via the Channel Tunnel to Calais and then on to Belgium and back and the only time that I was held up by 'lane hogs' was on the UK legs of the trip. Why is that, I wonder? Are continental Europeans generally more skilled drivers, are they better disciplined, are they more considerate or they just plain better mannered? Suggestions welcome, I don't have the answer. For what it's worth, my opinion is that it's probably more to do with consideration/manners than out and out driving skill but, if I'm honest, I think I'm basing this on the reverse argument - that the reason British drivers hog the centre/outside lanes on main roads is down to plain old selfishness and rudeness.

None of which detracts from the great pleasure to be had from a driving holiday or from driving to a holiday destination, which is what many of us will be doing soon, no doubt.

Here, then, are a few tips to remember when driving abroad this summer:

1. Get your car thoroughly checked and, if it's due, serviced in plenty of time before you go. If you are going to have to spend money on the car, it may as well be here before you set off as at a tiny garage in the middle of nowhere with no English spoken. Check your tyres and remember that by the time you get home you might have done two thousand miles or so over the course of the holiday.
2. Plan your route before setting off. Look at a map and get a feel for where you will be going, major towns you'll pass by or through, place names to look out for on signs (remember they'll be in the local language). Don't just rely on a SatNav, as brilliant as they are you still need an overall idea of where you are aiming for.
3. Check your spare wheel, jack, locking wheel nut situation - make sure they are where they should be and that they work. You don't want to be standing beside a French motorway in the pouring rain (it will definitely rain if you get a puncture) waiting for help.
4. Prepare for the weather you may encounter - if you are hoping for warmer weather, prepare the car for it too and, importantly, carry extra water bottles in the boot. If you stumble across a queue on a motorway (it happens) you don't want you and your family flaking out with dehydration.
5. Carry an emergency kit; First Aid, Vehicle Bulbs, Warning Triangle, Reflective Vest etc. Remember that some of these items are legal requirements in some European countries.
6. Check your vehicle documents well in advance - V5, MOT and Insurance, as well as your driving licence. Make sure all are going to be in date and valid after you get back, and remember to take them with you.

The most important tip of all is 'Enjoy the Journey'. I'm a bit of a lost cause I know, but I love driving and, for me, the journey is as much part of the holiday as is the stuff that you do at the destination. Anyway, have a safe and enjoyable holiday, wherever you are going.

Looking into the future...

You know those birthday and Christmas cards you can get that play a tune when you open them? I learned the other day that there is, apparently, more processing power in just one of those than existed in the whole world 50 years ago. That's an impressive enough idea to grapple with on its own but it really makes the point that we can't possibly hope to know what will be available to us after the next 50 years.

From a motoring perspective the rate of advancement hasn't been quite so earth shattering in the last five decades. I accept that cars and other motor vehicles tend to go quicker, stop better and are more luxurious than their mid-20th Century ancestors but I would argue that it has been a development in components which has led to this - we are, after all, still largely reliant on the same fossil fuel driven internal combustion engine for propulsion.

True, motor manufacturers are working towards alternatives, whether they be electrically powered, hydrogen cell, hybrid or via biofuels but there is really no clear winner in the development race at the moment - we are still at a bit of a VHS v Betamax style fork in the road. The $64m question is, though, what will be the DVD or even Blu-Ray invention that will end up being the preferred technology in the future?

It is reasonable to think that by the time we pass the mid-way point of this century we could be enjoying an as yet unthought of propulsion system, maybe even the flying cars that were predicted to be commonplace in the year 2000 by the sci-fi writers of the 1950s and 60s.

In the meantime we need to make the most efficient use of what we've got, for environmental and financial reasons. We encourage all fleet drivers on our advanced driving courses to consider eco-driving issues in order to lessen their impact on the planet as well as on their company's fleet budget by conserving fuel and reducing wear and tear on their vehicles.

Often it can be as simple as getting the driver to think ahead and plan their driving rather than reacting late to road situations, while pointing out the sometimes minor habits within the car which can cause premature wear of the clutch, the gear selector or the brakes, amongst other things.

Perhaps if we, or our offspring, are teleporting around in 50 years time a clutch will be no more than a museum oddity - if so, maybe our driving courses will help a few more to survive to populate collections of motoring memorabilia in the future.