That time of year is upon us when
the nights and mornings are dark and frosty and it is not unusual to get ice
and even snow. This can make for horrible driving conditions and although you
may not want to, there may be times when you have to. Although you can never
completely avoid the risk of an accident, there are things you can do to try
and ensure that you and your vehicle is as safe as can be.
Two of the main safety features of
a car is the brakes and the tyres. Both of these should be checked regularly by
inspecting them but with your brakes you should also test them when driving at
slower speeds. Your tyres need to have a minimum of 1.6mm of tread left on them
for them to be legal but most garages say that anything less than 3mm starts to
affect your braking distance. During the winter months especially, it is even more
important to check that not only is there plenty of tread left on your tyres
but that they also are inflated to the correct pressure and free from any
damage. This could be a puncture, bulging or cuts / cracks.
When dash cams first hit the market,
they were quite expensive and it was mostly business people such as rep who do
a lot of driving that had them. Over the last decade they have come down
massively in price and you can now pick one up from less than £30!
Unfortunately, many of us have encountered
people on the road who seem to be oblivious to how their driving affects
others. Overtaking on bends, tailgating, driving too fast or even driving too
slow can all play major roles in why people have accidents. Over the past few
years that has been a massive increase in the number of people doing “crash for
cash” scams where they slam their brakes on causing you to go into the back of
them then claim off your insurance company for personal injury plus the damage
to the vehicle. The blame is automatically put on to you if you run in to the
back of someone so you need to have a way to prove your innocence and sometimes
a dash cam is the only way to do this. A dash cam might be the best purchase
you make when it comes to accessories in your car.
If you notice that your vehicle
seems to have developed a fault or is playing up, you will need to take it to a
garage or have a mechanic come out and look at it. Depending on what the issue
is, you may not be able to drive it so have to get it revived or use a mobile
mechanic.
Unless you have a good mechanical
background, it can often be very hard to know exactly what the fault is and
therefore what fix is required. This is where you need to be able to find a
garage or mechanic that you can trust as you are going to have to go with their
recommendation as ti what needs ti be done.
If you have not lived in the area
long or only just owned a car you have probably not had the opportunity to find
out about the local garages. Asking on social media sites such as Facebook for
recommendations is a great way to get real feedback from the community as to
who is good to use. You could also ask around to friends and family as even if
you have to travel a little further afield it may be worth it to know you are
going to be looked after.
Over the last few days, people
have been seen queuing up at the petrol stations desperate to get fuel. Over
the last week or so there have been rumours that fuel supplies will run out at
the forecourt due to a shortage of HGV drivers.
The petrol and diesel cannot get
to the pumps to top up the supply and a handful of garages have already closed.
Often like anything with this, the most hype has been drummed up by the media
and cause a country wide panic. People have rush to the forecourts to top up
their ranks as much as possible.
Many are hoping that the
government step up and sort the issue out before someone ends up getting hurt.
If you need you vehicle for work
the you may find yourself in a sticky situation. You won’t want to add to the
chaos by going to fill your tank but on the same subject you don’t want to run
out of fuel and find that you can’t get any.
The shortage of drives has been an
issue for some time now and it is a real shame that they government have again
left it too late to try and sort it out properly.
So many people worry about taking
a car in to a garage to have an MOT, have repairs done or a service. Unless you
understand mechanics and know a lot about your specific make and model of
vehicle, you may be a little bit in the dark as to what work may need doing on
your vehicle and how much it is likely to cost.
If you have to take your vehicle
in for a problem that needs investigating, you may worry that you are going to
get ripped off and told you need more work doing to the vehicle than you
actually do.
The only way to do this is to try
and find a reputable garage. If you can find a garage that you can trust then
it is worth sticking with them and also recommending them to others. A garage
that values its customer’s opinions and is trustworthy will not want to
jeopardise their reputation to make a few extra quid.
If you have not found a good
garage yet then why not ask around your family and friends, also take advantage
of social media platforms such as Facebook and ask for recommendations on
there. You can often also read reviews on the social media sites about a garage
before you make the decision to use them.
You will often find taper roller bearings used in the wheels of cars and other vehicles, and they can cope with horizontal and vertical forces at the same time. They might also be found in gearboxes and engine motors, as well as being used in other industries.
Taper roller bearings will consist of inner and outer rings, with tapered rollers to allow the surface of the raceways, and the roller axles, to meet on the axis. The cones’ motion is coaxial and there is no sliding motion to worry about. Always use the right taper roller bearings for your application, and achieve perfect operation.