Being a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists I have been using their "in-house" broker for both my car and motorcycle insurance, and my renewal for the car this year is quoted as just short of £220 which when I received it recently seemed fine and I thought then I'd probably go for it, but I'd be stupid to just do that without at least conducting a cursory search of online deals.
On UK television these days is a fairly irritating series of insurance adverts featuring puppet meerkats (it's a play on "compare the market / compare the meerkat") so I thought I'd use that particular comparison website to see what they come up with, bearing in mind any quote would have to be better than the sum of the £220 quote plus the £30 it costs me for continuing IAM membership, so £250 is the target although in fact it'd have to be a lot less than that, not just a couple of pounds, to make me want to go through all the hoops of providing proof of No Claims Discount to a new provider.
So entering all the details exactly as they are on my renewal notice what were the options available to me?
I was fairly unsurprised to see that renewing with my current insurer will be the best option, with the cheapest online quote being about £290, but the surprising thing was when out of interest I scrolled to the bottom of the list to see a quote for an eye watering £1900 offered by some shysters called Quinn Direct! How on earth do they expect to get any business when they are quoting someone with 8 years no claims, advanced driving & motorcycling qualifications and 30 years driving experience eight times what he's already paying! Who are their target customers, stupid rich people? It does seem to include breakdown coverage, but you can get that elsewhere for £50. Twats!
So at some point in the next few days I'll call IAM Surety in Belfast, and give them my business again.
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Monday, January 19, 2009
Another anniversary
It's a year today since I passed my Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) Advanced Driving test. Not a lot to say about it really, just thought I'd mention it!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Car v Car v Car
Had the chance to use my "stay where you are I'm a trained First-Aider and I'll help you in any way I can" routine on the way home from work this evening.
Didn't get the chance to change into the Superman costume unfortunately, but never mind!
I was on the M8 heading west from the general area of Glasgow Airport towards the Erskine Bridge (how boring must that be for those reading this who know nothing of the geography of Scotland, and only marginally less boring for those who do!) and I reached a sudden tailback with both lanes not really moving at all, for almost a mile as it turned out. Fortunately I was on the bike, not in the car, so took full advantage by using the special "courier lane" which is always denoted by the white line dividing the lanes the cars use! I also switched repeatedly from dipped to full beam, just to make my approach a bit more visible to anyone thinking about changing lanes or opening their doors suddenly (which can happen in such tailbacks).
As I made it towards the front of the queue I saw that in the fast lane there was a car stopped with its hazard lights flashing, and as I reached it I then saw that there were in fact two other cars stopped in front of it. Very close in front of it in fact, with contact made between the rear two of the three, and various bits of debris about the carriageway.
Now normally I don't get involved, and I had no intentions of doing so until, at the last minute as I passed the RTA (Road Traffic Accident, or in fact I believe they're now known as RTC - Road Traffic Crash to take cognisance of the opinion that there's no such thing as an accident, it's always someone's fault) I pulled into the fast lane in front of the front car.
Wearing very fluorescent safety gear, and being confident and aware of what's happening around me, I had no qualms about walking around on the carriageway, since the traffic was going very slowly indeed as it filtered down into a single lane to pass the obstruction.
I approached the front vehicle which was directly behind the bike, and inside which the female driver was sitting using her mobile phone, and made sure she wasn't injured and that someone had called the police. She confirmed that she was fine, and told me that one of the three people who were standing across on the hard shoulder and who had come from the other two cars had called the police.
I carefully crossed the carriageway to the hard shoulder, making sure that I had eye contact with the driver approaching and making sure he was in no doubt I was about to walk in front of him and I was in no doubt he was going to let me!
The three females standing on the grass verge looked a hell of a lot more upset than the first, older, lady to whom I had spoken, and all three of them were very teary-eyed, and although one said she had a bit of a sore chest where the airbag had deployed and another said she was 4 months pregnant, none of the three had any actual injuries. None that they mentioned when asked anyway.
The driver of the second car, although I hadn't ask what had happened, told me that she'd no idea why the front vehicle had suddenly executed an emergency stop right in front of her and leaving her no time to stop. I made no comment at the time, but the rule is, I believe, always that the car that runs into the back of another is always at fault. You should always be able to stop within the distance you can see to be clear. Oh well, that's for the police and insurance companies to sort out.
The three females on the verge also told me when asked that the lady who was still sitting in the front car had called the police, who should be on their way, and one of the three standing there had also called a breakdown/recovery company.
Hang on. Did they say that the driver of the front car had called the police? She told me that they had called them. Oh well, better to be safe than sorry, so I called them to make sure.
A few minutes later a traffic car appeared and blocked off the fast lane, and then a well practised routine swung into action. After ensuring that no one was injured, one of the officers collected the sets of keys for the cars and, while her colleague stopped all the traffic, all three were moved to the hard shoulder, and I moved my bike there too.
I helped a bit by lifting the biggest bits of plastic bodywork off the carriageway, and the traffic was allowed to move again.
The officer asked me if I had seen anything, and when I explained that I had only stopped to make sure no one was injured, she allowed me on my way, with a "thank you for stopping".
So there you go.
My initial first aid training was a number of years ago when, in a previous life, I worked for Strathclyde Police as a Turnkey, and I am told that the level of training Strathclyde provides is the equivalent of that which Paramedics receive apart from the administration of drugs and intubation (tube down the throat) which Strathclyde rightly doesn't teach.
As a Turnkey I used my first aid skills if not on a daily basis then certainly more than once a week, dealing with all sorts of things from cuts and bruises, epileptic fits (or clonic tonic seizures as I seem to remember they are called), unconsciousness, drug overdoses, drug withdrawals, Delirium Tremens caused by alcohol withdrawal, wounds caused by knives and broken glass (the guy had been thrown through a window during a fight), chest pain, anaphylactic shock (mild, fortunately), and pretty much anything you can think of. All life was there!
Not now being a Turnkey and no longer working for Strathclyde Police, these days I don't often have cause, thankfully, to put my training to use, but it's always nice to know that the skills should still be there, lurking under the surface and ready to present themselves if necessary. So I'm glad I stopped this evening, even though it turned out that no one had been injured.
Didn't get the chance to change into the Superman costume unfortunately, but never mind!
I was on the M8 heading west from the general area of Glasgow Airport towards the Erskine Bridge (how boring must that be for those reading this who know nothing of the geography of Scotland, and only marginally less boring for those who do!) and I reached a sudden tailback with both lanes not really moving at all, for almost a mile as it turned out. Fortunately I was on the bike, not in the car, so took full advantage by using the special "courier lane" which is always denoted by the white line dividing the lanes the cars use! I also switched repeatedly from dipped to full beam, just to make my approach a bit more visible to anyone thinking about changing lanes or opening their doors suddenly (which can happen in such tailbacks).
As I made it towards the front of the queue I saw that in the fast lane there was a car stopped with its hazard lights flashing, and as I reached it I then saw that there were in fact two other cars stopped in front of it. Very close in front of it in fact, with contact made between the rear two of the three, and various bits of debris about the carriageway.
Now normally I don't get involved, and I had no intentions of doing so until, at the last minute as I passed the RTA (Road Traffic Accident, or in fact I believe they're now known as RTC - Road Traffic Crash to take cognisance of the opinion that there's no such thing as an accident, it's always someone's fault) I pulled into the fast lane in front of the front car.
Wearing very fluorescent safety gear, and being confident and aware of what's happening around me, I had no qualms about walking around on the carriageway, since the traffic was going very slowly indeed as it filtered down into a single lane to pass the obstruction.
I approached the front vehicle which was directly behind the bike, and inside which the female driver was sitting using her mobile phone, and made sure she wasn't injured and that someone had called the police. She confirmed that she was fine, and told me that one of the three people who were standing across on the hard shoulder and who had come from the other two cars had called the police.
I carefully crossed the carriageway to the hard shoulder, making sure that I had eye contact with the driver approaching and making sure he was in no doubt I was about to walk in front of him and I was in no doubt he was going to let me!
The three females standing on the grass verge looked a hell of a lot more upset than the first, older, lady to whom I had spoken, and all three of them were very teary-eyed, and although one said she had a bit of a sore chest where the airbag had deployed and another said she was 4 months pregnant, none of the three had any actual injuries. None that they mentioned when asked anyway.
The driver of the second car, although I hadn't ask what had happened, told me that she'd no idea why the front vehicle had suddenly executed an emergency stop right in front of her and leaving her no time to stop. I made no comment at the time, but the rule is, I believe, always that the car that runs into the back of another is always at fault. You should always be able to stop within the distance you can see to be clear. Oh well, that's for the police and insurance companies to sort out.
The three females on the verge also told me when asked that the lady who was still sitting in the front car had called the police, who should be on their way, and one of the three standing there had also called a breakdown/recovery company.
Hang on. Did they say that the driver of the front car had called the police? She told me that they had called them. Oh well, better to be safe than sorry, so I called them to make sure.
A few minutes later a traffic car appeared and blocked off the fast lane, and then a well practised routine swung into action. After ensuring that no one was injured, one of the officers collected the sets of keys for the cars and, while her colleague stopped all the traffic, all three were moved to the hard shoulder, and I moved my bike there too.
I helped a bit by lifting the biggest bits of plastic bodywork off the carriageway, and the traffic was allowed to move again.
The officer asked me if I had seen anything, and when I explained that I had only stopped to make sure no one was injured, she allowed me on my way, with a "thank you for stopping".
So there you go.
My initial first aid training was a number of years ago when, in a previous life, I worked for Strathclyde Police as a Turnkey, and I am told that the level of training Strathclyde provides is the equivalent of that which Paramedics receive apart from the administration of drugs and intubation (tube down the throat) which Strathclyde rightly doesn't teach.
As a Turnkey I used my first aid skills if not on a daily basis then certainly more than once a week, dealing with all sorts of things from cuts and bruises, epileptic fits (or clonic tonic seizures as I seem to remember they are called), unconsciousness, drug overdoses, drug withdrawals, Delirium Tremens caused by alcohol withdrawal, wounds caused by knives and broken glass (the guy had been thrown through a window during a fight), chest pain, anaphylactic shock (mild, fortunately), and pretty much anything you can think of. All life was there!
Not now being a Turnkey and no longer working for Strathclyde Police, these days I don't often have cause, thankfully, to put my training to use, but it's always nice to know that the skills should still be there, lurking under the surface and ready to present themselves if necessary. So I'm glad I stopped this evening, even though it turned out that no one had been injured.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Insurance. The sequel.
Ah, the satisfaction in a Scotsman's heart when he knows he's saved himself some cash! It's a warm feeling, I can tell you. I may celebrate by having a small whisky later. Oh, OK, make it a large one!
Regular readers, if there are any, will remember that I had a bit of a runaround recently when trying to renew my car insurance because I had the temerity to have passed my Advanced Driving test, and I also wanted to add an extra driver to the policy. This culminated in me saving the thick end of £200 by choosing a new insurance company. I mentioned in that post that I had the same hoops to jump through when the motorcycle insurance came up for renewal later this year.
It's now later this year.
About a week or so ago I was bored, and went online to get some quotes for the bike. About £160 was the best quote, which compared pretty favourably with what I have been paying. I was only looking for an idea of what I might end up paying, but I made a fatal mistake. I filled in the box when they asked me for my mobile number. Since then I have had daily phone calls from an 0871 number (most of them missed, since I don't have access to my mobile while at work) which have been the insurance company trying to give me a better quote. And that's without me telling them whether their online quote was good bad or indifferent. So today's tip, children, is don't give them your mobile number. Give them someone else's if you must, but you will be plagued by unsolicited Spam calls (are any Spam calls solicited?)
Anyway, today the real renewal letter from my broker arrived on my doormat. To renew with the same insurance company was going to be £287, but the broker suggested an alternative quote of £168 which seemed more reasonable.
So I called IAM Surety, and this time selected the "motorcycle insurance" option rather than the car one. To cut a long story slightly shorter, they are quoting £145 including Class 1 Business use so I could use my motorcycle for work (those who know me will realise that I can't do this!) and would be covered while doing any IAM Observing. It also includes Protected No Claims Discount (which the existing broker didn't) and Legal Cover (which the existing broker also didn't) and allows me Third Party cover to ride any other motorcycle as long as that motorcycle is insured by someone else. On the face of it a damn good deal, which makes the IAM annual membership worth the £18 (plus optional £10 to belong to a local group).
I called my existing broker, because after all they have been fine to deal with for the past couple of years and when I first went to them they managed to secure me a big wodge of No Claims Discount even though I hadn't had a motorcycle for a few years so probably wasn't really entitled to it. They checked, and checked, and finally came up with a comparative quote, including business use, protected no claims, and legal cover, of £155. Still about £11 more than IAM.
Except.
The IAM membership fee is probably going to rise from £18 to £28 a year soon (although fortunately after I have renewed for this coming year at the old price) because of their (I believe self-confessed, but I could be wrong) mismanagement (there is apparently a HUGE shortfall in funds) which is being VERY much talked about on the IAM members forums. So including the optional membership of the local group, there is an extra £38 to add to any IAM Surety Insurance quote, because if you aren't a member you don't get the special price.
And let's not go down the route of pointing out that becoming an advanced driver/rider is plugged by the IAM (and rightly so) as a Skill for Life. It's even called the Skill for Life Package! So if you then stop being a paid up member of the IAM do you instantly lose that skill and become a less safe driver/rider who will be more prone to being involved in an accident and therefore more likely to make an insurance claim? No, don't be bloody stupid, of course you don't. So anyway, I am going to continue with IAM membership for the next year, because it's at the old price, but if at the next AGM the proposed increase gets the thumbs up, then they will get the two fingers up from me for the following year. maybe even the single finger too. So if I leave the IAM I won't get a good price from IAM Surety (if they even quote me at all) for subsequent years.
Coincidentally, after speaking to IAM, I received another call from the 0871 number, so allowed them to try to get my business. They went through all the guff I'd already provided online, failed miserably to extract from me my email address, landline number, car insurance renewal date, and house insurance renewal date, and came in with a quote of £197. At the end of the call, when I told her she was way off, I asked if the daily calls would now stop, and sounding rather crestfallen, she agreed that they would.
So I have pretty well decided that I'm going to stick with my current broker, Websters since you ask, and pay £11 more than the IAM Surety quote, but with the knowledge that I can stop my membership if I want without having to dick about changing insurers again.
So, in summary. To renew with the current company (Norwich Union) would be £287, but Websters recommended an alternative at £168, and managed to chop it down to £155 with lots of extras thrown in when they were presented with some opposition.
I've saved myself £132 on my bike insurance this year, making a total saving on vehicle insurance of £317, so really I've got one of them for free compared with last year!
Regular readers, if there are any, will remember that I had a bit of a runaround recently when trying to renew my car insurance because I had the temerity to have passed my Advanced Driving test, and I also wanted to add an extra driver to the policy. This culminated in me saving the thick end of £200 by choosing a new insurance company. I mentioned in that post that I had the same hoops to jump through when the motorcycle insurance came up for renewal later this year.
It's now later this year.
About a week or so ago I was bored, and went online to get some quotes for the bike. About £160 was the best quote, which compared pretty favourably with what I have been paying. I was only looking for an idea of what I might end up paying, but I made a fatal mistake. I filled in the box when they asked me for my mobile number. Since then I have had daily phone calls from an 0871 number (most of them missed, since I don't have access to my mobile while at work) which have been the insurance company trying to give me a better quote. And that's without me telling them whether their online quote was good bad or indifferent. So today's tip, children, is don't give them your mobile number. Give them someone else's if you must, but you will be plagued by unsolicited Spam calls (are any Spam calls solicited?)
Anyway, today the real renewal letter from my broker arrived on my doormat. To renew with the same insurance company was going to be £287, but the broker suggested an alternative quote of £168 which seemed more reasonable.
So I called IAM Surety, and this time selected the "motorcycle insurance" option rather than the car one. To cut a long story slightly shorter, they are quoting £145 including Class 1 Business use so I could use my motorcycle for work (those who know me will realise that I can't do this!) and would be covered while doing any IAM Observing. It also includes Protected No Claims Discount (which the existing broker didn't) and Legal Cover (which the existing broker also didn't) and allows me Third Party cover to ride any other motorcycle as long as that motorcycle is insured by someone else. On the face of it a damn good deal, which makes the IAM annual membership worth the £18 (plus optional £10 to belong to a local group).
I called my existing broker, because after all they have been fine to deal with for the past couple of years and when I first went to them they managed to secure me a big wodge of No Claims Discount even though I hadn't had a motorcycle for a few years so probably wasn't really entitled to it. They checked, and checked, and finally came up with a comparative quote, including business use, protected no claims, and legal cover, of £155. Still about £11 more than IAM.
Except.
The IAM membership fee is probably going to rise from £18 to £28 a year soon (although fortunately after I have renewed for this coming year at the old price) because of their (I believe self-confessed, but I could be wrong) mismanagement (there is apparently a HUGE shortfall in funds) which is being VERY much talked about on the IAM members forums. So including the optional membership of the local group, there is an extra £38 to add to any IAM Surety Insurance quote, because if you aren't a member you don't get the special price.
And let's not go down the route of pointing out that becoming an advanced driver/rider is plugged by the IAM (and rightly so) as a Skill for Life. It's even called the Skill for Life Package! So if you then stop being a paid up member of the IAM do you instantly lose that skill and become a less safe driver/rider who will be more prone to being involved in an accident and therefore more likely to make an insurance claim? No, don't be bloody stupid, of course you don't. So anyway, I am going to continue with IAM membership for the next year, because it's at the old price, but if at the next AGM the proposed increase gets the thumbs up, then they will get the two fingers up from me for the following year. maybe even the single finger too. So if I leave the IAM I won't get a good price from IAM Surety (if they even quote me at all) for subsequent years.
Coincidentally, after speaking to IAM, I received another call from the 0871 number, so allowed them to try to get my business. They went through all the guff I'd already provided online, failed miserably to extract from me my email address, landline number, car insurance renewal date, and house insurance renewal date, and came in with a quote of £197. At the end of the call, when I told her she was way off, I asked if the daily calls would now stop, and sounding rather crestfallen, she agreed that they would.
So I have pretty well decided that I'm going to stick with my current broker, Websters since you ask, and pay £11 more than the IAM Surety quote, but with the knowledge that I can stop my membership if I want without having to dick about changing insurers again.
So, in summary. To renew with the current company (Norwich Union) would be £287, but Websters recommended an alternative at £168, and managed to chop it down to £155 with lots of extras thrown in when they were presented with some opposition.
I've saved myself £132 on my bike insurance this year, making a total saving on vehicle insurance of £317, so really I've got one of them for free compared with last year!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Insurance
Insurance, don't you love that time of year when it needs renewed? Especially if there are changes to your circumstances or to the details of what you want covered.
I've been with my current car insurer/broker for a few years now. I went to them initially because my ex-wife was about to learn to drive and I'd been phoning around getting lots and lots of quotes, all of which were in the region of £1000 pa for the Rover 416 we had at the time (see photo, although that isn't the actual car).
To put that in context, the insurance for me on my own to drive that vehicle was in the region of £200, but put a learner driver on the policy and the insurers want to screw you!
I eventually phoned this broker, who were actually to do with the staff federation (sort of a union) of my employer, and when I gave them all the details they quoted about £200. I patiently repeated that my wife was a learner, to which they replied, yes sir, £200. I explained, in case they hadn't fully understood, that my wife hadn't even yet applied for her provisional licence, and they sighed, and repeated, yes sir, we understand that, the price is £200. So the gist of it is that as long as it was my spouse, and she lived at the same address, then there was no change to the cost of the premium. Needless to say I immediately became their customer and have been for the past several years. I even insure my house and contents through them now.
Now wind forward dear friend, and if you are a regular reader of this Blog then first of all God help you, have you nothing better to do, and secondly you may realise that I passed my Advanced Driving test in January of this year. Membership of the Institute of Advanced Motorists costs £18 per year plus £10 per year if you want to be a member of a local group (in my case the Glasgow North Group) although local membership is not obligatory. But there is the carrot of cheaper insurance for Advanced Drivers (and Advanced Motorcyclists too, but I've that to look forward to later this year). You see where this is going don't you?
My car insurance is due for renewal. The quote from my current insurer was £285 pa to renew with no changes. That's including 6 years (protected) no claims bonus.
I called IAM Surety, the people who provide motoring insurance for the IAM (via the broker Adelaide). Their first quote was £245, a saving of £40. The annual IAM membership fee looks to be worth it then!
But wait! I've decided to add an extra named driver to my policy. Better get alternative quotes from them both. And I should mention that bizarrely, but coincidentally, both brokers are quoting only for policies via Royal and Sun Alliance!
With the new driver's details added, current broker, £338, IAM Surety £313. IAM win again!
But to be honest, £20 isn't really enough of a difference to make me change. I can't be bothered with the hassle of providing proof of no claims bonus etc, so I decide to stick with the current broker.
So, a call to the current broker to take them up on their quote of £338, and I find I have to give them all the details of the extra named driver again. When I do so they regenerate the quote and it's £370 pa! Hang on here, it has been a matter of 4 days since I was told it'd be £338. Why the difference? Sadly, because I'm in the "renewal" period they couldn't save the quote from 4 days previously, and they didn't know why there was a difference this time. But wait! There is one person who could explain it, and maybe sort it. The person who manages the database. But sadly she's on holiday. Perhaps I might want them to ask her to have a look at it when she returns in a couple of weeks? No thanks, perhaps I'll just go elsewhere! So I have to send back the new insurance certificate they sent me for next year. Yes, no problem.
So, at £57 cheaper, IAM Surety wins after all!
So I call them to take out the policy, and find that this was for a single payment of £313. I had already, in my initial enquiry, told them I wanted to spread this out and pay by monthly Direct Debit, but they seem to have forgotten to add the surcharge for this. OK, what's the new quote then? There's a 10% surcharge plus a £10 fee, bringing the new correct total to about £351. Still only £20 cheaper than the current broker's newly inflated quote. Hmmm, what to do?
I am pissed off by this point. Not with the individuals to whom I'm speaking, but with the whole setup.
Thanking the very helpful chap from IAM Surety for all the calls between us, I regretfully tell him he's lost out. I've already told the current broker they've lost out.
I look online at Money Supermarket, and enter all my details. Let's see if there's anyone else in the ballpark then.
Holy Shit, what's that? Admiral are quoting £161 based on exactly the same details. That can't be right surely? I look more closely. Yes, under "protected no claims discount" it says "check with insurer" so that's clearly going to up the cost. Similarly for monthly payments. Oh well, nothing to lose, I'll call them.
The extra cost involved in having protected no claims discount will be £5. The new total cost for fully comprehensive insurance with an extra named driver, is £166. If I want to pay monthly it'd be a total of £195. Woohoo! At these prices I decide to pay it all at once.
So, to cut a long story short (is there anyone still reading this far?) my quote to renew with no change was £285, to add an extra driver and take advantage of IAM membership would have been £351, but I have actually paid only £166.
A few days of hassle, and to be frank if it hadn't been a hassle I would just have chosen one or other of my current broker or IAM Surety, and I have saved myself £185.
So, just the bike insurance to look forward to in a couple of months!
I've been with my current car insurer/broker for a few years now. I went to them initially because my ex-wife was about to learn to drive and I'd been phoning around getting lots and lots of quotes, all of which were in the region of £1000 pa for the Rover 416 we had at the time (see photo, although that isn't the actual car).
To put that in context, the insurance for me on my own to drive that vehicle was in the region of £200, but put a learner driver on the policy and the insurers want to screw you!
I eventually phoned this broker, who were actually to do with the staff federation (sort of a union) of my employer, and when I gave them all the details they quoted about £200. I patiently repeated that my wife was a learner, to which they replied, yes sir, £200. I explained, in case they hadn't fully understood, that my wife hadn't even yet applied for her provisional licence, and they sighed, and repeated, yes sir, we understand that, the price is £200. So the gist of it is that as long as it was my spouse, and she lived at the same address, then there was no change to the cost of the premium. Needless to say I immediately became their customer and have been for the past several years. I even insure my house and contents through them now.
Now wind forward dear friend, and if you are a regular reader of this Blog then first of all God help you, have you nothing better to do, and secondly you may realise that I passed my Advanced Driving test in January of this year. Membership of the Institute of Advanced Motorists costs £18 per year plus £10 per year if you want to be a member of a local group (in my case the Glasgow North Group) although local membership is not obligatory. But there is the carrot of cheaper insurance for Advanced Drivers (and Advanced Motorcyclists too, but I've that to look forward to later this year). You see where this is going don't you?
My car insurance is due for renewal. The quote from my current insurer was £285 pa to renew with no changes. That's including 6 years (protected) no claims bonus.
I called IAM Surety, the people who provide motoring insurance for the IAM (via the broker Adelaide). Their first quote was £245, a saving of £40. The annual IAM membership fee looks to be worth it then!
But wait! I've decided to add an extra named driver to my policy. Better get alternative quotes from them both. And I should mention that bizarrely, but coincidentally, both brokers are quoting only for policies via Royal and Sun Alliance!
With the new driver's details added, current broker, £338, IAM Surety £313. IAM win again!
But to be honest, £20 isn't really enough of a difference to make me change. I can't be bothered with the hassle of providing proof of no claims bonus etc, so I decide to stick with the current broker.
So, a call to the current broker to take them up on their quote of £338, and I find I have to give them all the details of the extra named driver again. When I do so they regenerate the quote and it's £370 pa! Hang on here, it has been a matter of 4 days since I was told it'd be £338. Why the difference? Sadly, because I'm in the "renewal" period they couldn't save the quote from 4 days previously, and they didn't know why there was a difference this time. But wait! There is one person who could explain it, and maybe sort it. The person who manages the database. But sadly she's on holiday. Perhaps I might want them to ask her to have a look at it when she returns in a couple of weeks? No thanks, perhaps I'll just go elsewhere! So I have to send back the new insurance certificate they sent me for next year. Yes, no problem.
So, at £57 cheaper, IAM Surety wins after all!
So I call them to take out the policy, and find that this was for a single payment of £313. I had already, in my initial enquiry, told them I wanted to spread this out and pay by monthly Direct Debit, but they seem to have forgotten to add the surcharge for this. OK, what's the new quote then? There's a 10% surcharge plus a £10 fee, bringing the new correct total to about £351. Still only £20 cheaper than the current broker's newly inflated quote. Hmmm, what to do?
I am pissed off by this point. Not with the individuals to whom I'm speaking, but with the whole setup.
Thanking the very helpful chap from IAM Surety for all the calls between us, I regretfully tell him he's lost out. I've already told the current broker they've lost out.
I look online at Money Supermarket, and enter all my details. Let's see if there's anyone else in the ballpark then.
Holy Shit, what's that? Admiral are quoting £161 based on exactly the same details. That can't be right surely? I look more closely. Yes, under "protected no claims discount" it says "check with insurer" so that's clearly going to up the cost. Similarly for monthly payments. Oh well, nothing to lose, I'll call them.
The extra cost involved in having protected no claims discount will be £5. The new total cost for fully comprehensive insurance with an extra named driver, is £166. If I want to pay monthly it'd be a total of £195. Woohoo! At these prices I decide to pay it all at once.
So, to cut a long story short (is there anyone still reading this far?) my quote to renew with no change was £285, to add an extra driver and take advantage of IAM membership would have been £351, but I have actually paid only £166.
A few days of hassle, and to be frank if it hadn't been a hassle I would just have chosen one or other of my current broker or IAM Surety, and I have saved myself £185.
So, just the bike insurance to look forward to in a couple of months!
Monday, April 07, 2008
Don't care in the community
Down to the Scottish borders in the car at the weekend, just for a bit of a drive with RE who hasn't toured the borders too much. It was very snowy, or at least lots of the fields were white, which means the roads were actually fine. Very picturesque run from Glasgow via Carluke, Peebles, Galashiels and Selkirk then down the A708 past the Grey Mare's Tail waterfall to Moffat and a quick'ish blast back up the M74 to Glasgow.
Peebles was an eye opener. Freezing wind and overcast when we parked the car, and less than an hour later wonderful clear blue skies and no wind at all! We had a bite to eat in a cafe in the main street, and I suspect a local mental hospital was closed for the afternoon, because several of the cafe customers (and one of the staff members) surely must reside there normally. I am quite easy going when it comes to being near subjects of care in the community, but usually there isn't such a concentration in one place! Or maybe that's normal for Peebles. Not scary, not offensive, just unusual.
The great find in Peebles was the large Presbyterian church at the end of the main street. We had a bit of a wander round it, and it's well worth a visit if you're there.
The Grey Mare's Tail is a 200 foot hanging valley waterfall, with a viewpoint at the bottom (which we missed until we came back down) and footpaths up either side of it. We walked up the smaller of the two paths (i.e. not the one which goes all the way to the top) and frankly it felt like it was killing me! I really should have an inhaler in my pocket, or at least in the car. D'oh! It was worth doing though, and despite maybe coming across to RE as though I hated it (for which I'm truly sorry!) I didn't really, and I must do more things like that in an effort to get fit and by so doing put back the date of my death a little bit!
Peebles was an eye opener. Freezing wind and overcast when we parked the car, and less than an hour later wonderful clear blue skies and no wind at all! We had a bite to eat in a cafe in the main street, and I suspect a local mental hospital was closed for the afternoon, because several of the cafe customers (and one of the staff members) surely must reside there normally. I am quite easy going when it comes to being near subjects of care in the community, but usually there isn't such a concentration in one place! Or maybe that's normal for Peebles. Not scary, not offensive, just unusual.
The great find in Peebles was the large Presbyterian church at the end of the main street. We had a bit of a wander round it, and it's well worth a visit if you're there.
The Grey Mare's Tail is a 200 foot hanging valley waterfall, with a viewpoint at the bottom (which we missed until we came back down) and footpaths up either side of it. We walked up the smaller of the two paths (i.e. not the one which goes all the way to the top) and frankly it felt like it was killing me! I really should have an inhaler in my pocket, or at least in the car. D'oh! It was worth doing though, and despite maybe coming across to RE as though I hated it (for which I'm truly sorry!) I didn't really, and I must do more things like that in an effort to get fit and by so doing put back the date of my death a little bit!
Monday, March 03, 2008
A fair weather friend
Woke this morning to hear the BBC Radio 4 weather forecaster telling me that there's going to be snow in Scotland. Looked at the BBC Website and the forecast there said it's going to be clear (albeit cold).
Decided to believe the Website (because t'InterWeb never lies dont'cha know) and take the bike to work this morning because I have a dental appointment first and by the time I reach work in the car I'll have a long walk from the remaining available parking spaces, whereas I can always park the bike within yards of the front door.
So there I was all leathered up and about to head out, when I noticed some funny little white things falling from the sky.
Bollocks.
I have officially become a fair weather biker! I remember the days when I had to dig the bike out of a snow drift just to get it to the main road to ride it 8+ hours a day as a motorcycle courier. But I was younger, hardier and indeed stupider in them days!
So I'm now de-leathered and wearing a thick pullover.
Now where's my woolly hat .....?
Decided to believe the Website (because t'InterWeb never lies dont'cha know) and take the bike to work this morning because I have a dental appointment first and by the time I reach work in the car I'll have a long walk from the remaining available parking spaces, whereas I can always park the bike within yards of the front door.
So there I was all leathered up and about to head out, when I noticed some funny little white things falling from the sky.
Bollocks.
I have officially become a fair weather biker! I remember the days when I had to dig the bike out of a snow drift just to get it to the main road to ride it 8+ hours a day as a motorcycle courier. But I was younger, hardier and indeed stupider in them days!
So I'm now de-leathered and wearing a thick pullover.
Now where's my woolly hat .....?
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Success (again)
I passed! The Advanced car driving test went really well, so well in fact that the examiner had no comments about how I might improve my driving, which pleased me.
Coincidentally my certificate relating to passing the Advanced motorcycle test, and my new membership card stating I am a Full member of the IAM not just an Associate member, arrived in the post this morning. An auspicious start to the day, I thought!
Life is busy just now, with amongst other things a close family member being quite ill, and other (nicer) stuff happening, so a longer post will have to wait for the moment.
Coincidentally my certificate relating to passing the Advanced motorcycle test, and my new membership card stating I am a Full member of the IAM not just an Associate member, arrived in the post this morning. An auspicious start to the day, I thought!
Life is busy just now, with amongst other things a close family member being quite ill, and other (nicer) stuff happening, so a longer post will have to wait for the moment.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The wonders of modern science
Now here's a handy thing I've never seen before.
I was in the new Silverburn shopping centre in Glasgow yesterday (don't bother, it's not that great), and when I returned to the multi storey carpark after wandering around the shops for 5 minutes before getting bored, I noticed that above each parking space there is a light. Said light is green if the space is empty, and red if it is occupied. Presumably there is a sensor in each light fitting to detect the presence of a vehicle.
It made no difference yesterday because the place was virtually empty, but when it's busy it must be a fantastically simple way to spot empty parking spaces as you drive around. Why has every multi storey not got them?
Choir starts back again tonight (Glasgow Chamber Choir, that is) after our Christmas break. OR is our guest conductor for the next concert (23rd February) and that'll be good because it's always a pleasure to sing for him.
After what for some reason seems like an extended holiday from it, I'm really looking forward to seeing the folks of GCC again, old friends and ones that are new since I returned to the choir last year after a break of a couple of years. I first sang with GCC when it was founded back in 1994, left in 1997, joined again in 2001, left again in 2005 and rejoined in September 2007. I might stick it out this time!
Speaking of old friends, and mindful of the image on the right, I had a good evening of mild debauchery the other night in the Three Judges pub at Partick Cross in Glasgow with RN, GS, JM, AD, RE and GS, and a very pleasant time was had setting the world to rights with a wide ranging list of topics covered. Very wide ranging! Nice to catch up with them all, and really there's no reason we couldn't do it more often. Debauchery is a good thing, in moderation and between consenting adults!
And as far as the image is concerned, no, the Three Judges does not serve tiny umbrellas in their drinks. It does sometimes sell lovely pork pies though, which are worth going in for on their own, never mind all the lovely Real Ale on offer!
I was in the new Silverburn shopping centre in Glasgow yesterday (don't bother, it's not that great), and when I returned to the multi storey carpark after wandering around the shops for 5 minutes before getting bored, I noticed that above each parking space there is a light. Said light is green if the space is empty, and red if it is occupied. Presumably there is a sensor in each light fitting to detect the presence of a vehicle.
It made no difference yesterday because the place was virtually empty, but when it's busy it must be a fantastically simple way to spot empty parking spaces as you drive around. Why has every multi storey not got them?
Choir starts back again tonight (Glasgow Chamber Choir, that is) after our Christmas break. OR is our guest conductor for the next concert (23rd February) and that'll be good because it's always a pleasure to sing for him.
After what for some reason seems like an extended holiday from it, I'm really looking forward to seeing the folks of GCC again, old friends and ones that are new since I returned to the choir last year after a break of a couple of years. I first sang with GCC when it was founded back in 1994, left in 1997, joined again in 2001, left again in 2005 and rejoined in September 2007. I might stick it out this time!
Speaking of old friends, and mindful of the image on the right, I had a good evening of mild debauchery the other night in the Three Judges pub at Partick Cross in Glasgow with RN, GS, JM, AD, RE and GS, and a very pleasant time was had setting the world to rights with a wide ranging list of topics covered. Very wide ranging! Nice to catch up with them all, and really there's no reason we couldn't do it more often. Debauchery is a good thing, in moderation and between consenting adults!
And as far as the image is concerned, no, the Three Judges does not serve tiny umbrellas in their drinks. It does sometimes sell lovely pork pies though, which are worth going in for on their own, never mind all the lovely Real Ale on offer!
Friday, January 04, 2008
Another goal
I now have a date to sit my Advanced Car driving test. It's in a couple of weeks, just at the end of my holiday which works out quite well since it means I can spend a few days beforehand doing nothing but talking to myself in the car, or practising commentating as it's properly known!
I had thought about going out on the bike today, before the snow comes again, but I think I'll go and play in the car instead, with the heater on.
I had thought about going out on the bike today, before the snow comes again, but I think I'll go and play in the car instead, with the heater on.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Review of 2007
I had every intention of continuing with regular postings here, but for various reasons real life has got in the way of virtual life somewhat, so there are gaps in this Blog. Time then for an update of what's been happening.The year started with me still in the rented flat in Dowanhill in Glasgow's west end, where I'd moved after leaving Johnstone, in Renfrewshire, when my wife and I separated and we sold our lovely house in summer 2006.
January 2007 saw me starting to look properly for my own place and I had decided I didn't want to waste money on chasing "offers over" properties, so was interested only in fixed price. Not only that, but with Ernie & Elmo, our two cats, living with me I was only prepared to consider ground floor or at a push first floor flats so they could get out. It also had to be in the west end of Glasgow. My choices were, to say the least, limited!
Taking advantage of all t'InterWeb has to offer, I was on various mailing lists, and eventually I was notified of a flat which ticked all of the boxes except that it wasn't in the west end but 5 miles further out, in Clydebank. Long story short, I bought it and have been happily living here since May. More recently I had a cat flap fitted in the back door, so Ernie & Elmo have now got used to 24/7 access to the great outdoors, which seems to suit them well!
In March I was playing badminton, for only the second time in a long number of years, when I ruptured my Achilles Tendon, putting me into a plaster cast for 2 months, and off work for 3 months. That was not a pleasant experience.
My enforced lay-off from singing in the choir of St Mary's Cathedral while unable to stand without crutches, led straight on to a period of time out from singing there for various reasons I don't intend blogging about. I am still not singing in the cathedral, and I have only been back in the building twice, once for a funeral and once to sing in a concert with another choir. I remain very disillusioned with organised religion, which is a shame.
I visited Belgium with my dad over a weekend back in about April to see my brother who was working there for a few weeks, and despite being on crutches which made things difficult, that was the high spot of the year, partly because I haven't done much travelling abroad in my life, and partly because it was great to spend time like that with dad and with my brother who I see so rarely because he lives in California.
In Manchester I attended the civil partnership of the brother of a friend. It isn't all that long since these were first allowed in the UK, and a straw poll conducted during the speeches at the reception confirmed that not one person attending had been at one before!
Later in the year I was in Kent, this time without crutches, at the wedding of friends of a friend, and that was good partly because they're nice people, but also it's a nice part of the country.
In September my divorce came through. As an observation, it's easier to get divorced than married, at least as far as the amount of paperwork which need completing is concerned! We remain on friendly terms, and I sincerely hope it remains that way. No reason for it not to.
Work is good again. I moved out of my comfort zone into a different department a bit over a year ago, and that caused me for a time to consider where my future lay, but thankfully I am now enjoying it again and have no intention of moving. Sticking with my personal policy of not blogging about work, that's all I intend saying about it.
In late summer I embarked on a quest to pass my Institute of Advanced Motorists bike and car tests. It has been the subject of extensive posts over the past month or so, so suffice to say that I have now passed my advanced bike test, and I'm awaiting a date for my advanced car test.
Missing singing, but not missing the cathedral, in September I rejoined Glasgow Chamber Choir. I was one of the original members when it was founded, and I've sung with them on and off since then. I'm enjoying it immensely and, because there are a fair number of people who have joined since 2002 which was the last time I sang with the choir, I have been enjoying making new friends, some of whom look like becoming very good friends indeed.
So, there you have it. The short version of Lay Clerk's 2007.
Put simply, I have come from a real low in summer 2006 to being just about back on track, and the future looks potentially bright for all sorts of reasons.
My New Year's resolution for 2008 is to start to really enjoy life again, and to try to do what's right and necessary for me even if it's not necessarily right for other people. I'm certainly not going to go out of my way to hurt or upset anyone, least of all my friends, but I need to get my priorities sorted, and my priority this forthcoming year is going to be me!
Can I take this opportunity to wish everyone reading this, particularly those (and I am told there are some) who for some obscure reason read this Blog regularly, a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Success!
Well, that's the bike one done and I have now been proposed as a full member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.Just the car one to concentrate on now.
Since embarking on the quest to pass my bike test, on the 18th July 2007, I have had two official observed runs, and a couple of unofficial ones, as well as a couple of longer Sunday runs which happened to be accompanied by observers although the objectives those days were not to assist me, but to have fun.
For various reasons I was unable to take part in many of the Wednesday night observed runs. The bike broke down in torrential rain shortly after my initial meeting on 18th July, and took ages (and a lot of money) to dry out and get started again, during which time the MOT expired, so because of that and my unavailability for other reasons it was a full six weeks later, 29th August, before I was able to attend my second Wednesday session. Unfortunately the following Wednesday was when the car training was due to start, so it looked like I was going to have to stop the bike training until next year until Eddie, my observer that evening, being of the opinion that I was already fairly close to test standard, made arrangements for me to go out with another observer, Stuart, on a different evening. As things turned out we managed only twice, 11th September and 30th September, and since these were unofficial ones my progress card wasn't completed so I have had four observed runs but my card only shows two. A breakdown of communications on my part meant that Stuart, realising I was ready, thought I had already applied for my test, but I was waiting for him to confirm to me that I was ready and to tell me to apply for it, so that held things up slightly. My fault though!
Thanks are due to various people whose paths have crossed mine on the way to today:
John O'Donnell who took me out on my initial observed run. Eddie Roney who took me out on my second observed run, and when he found out I was starting my car training so couldn't continue the bike stuff on a Wednesday until next year he kindly arranged another observer to accompany me on an alternative "unofficial" night. Eddie was also there on both of the Sunday runs, and offered praise and criticism as appropriate and deserved. Not only that but he managed to acquire for me a copy of the Strathclyde Police Bikesafe DVD, which is very interesting and useful. Stuart (apologies, I never did find out your surname!) who was the observer who agreed to accompany me at mutually acceptable times. With life being busy for both of us we only managed it twice, but it was a very useful twice. Nigel Bowers, who sent me a copy of his Ride to Survive 2007 DVD. Bob Young, the senior observer who conducted my mock test during a Sunday run. Sandra Neillis, the Glasgow North Group secretary, who processed my test application, and who previously took the time to call me and encourage me after I emailed my initial enquiry about joining the group. And last but not least, David Morrison, the examiner, a retired police officer and holder of a Class 1 Police Advanced Riding certificate (as indeed is Nigel). You cannot get a higher motorcycling qualification than that. Class 1 riders really are experts, in the truest sense of the word, and us mere mortals can only look on their skills with envy, and aspire to get as close to their standard as we can!
This is getting to be like an Oscars acceptance speech!
Basically the people named above have demonstrated again and again that motorcyclists are different from car drivers. We actually do tend to stick together and give of our time and experience to assist other motorcyclists in lots of ways. Everyone above has gone out of their way to help me pass my Advanced Motorcycling test. They didn't have to do it, but they did. And that counts for a lot in my book.
I don't know what the motorcycling future holds for me in respect of further training, but I am thinking about trying to qualify as an observer so that I can pay back some of the time and effort expended by others on me to get me where I am now. That'll be a project for next year though.
Thank you one and all. And apologies if I've missed anyone.
Now, I have my mock Advanced Car Driving test tonight. Let's see how that goes ..........
Update: I passed the mock car test too. Now the next thing is a drive with a senior observer and providing that goes OK I'll be applying for my test soon, I hope.
Further update: Just watching The Long Way Down on TV whereby Ewan McGregor's wife, Eve, has just joined them in Malawi and is riding a motorcycle. It has made me remember how completely sexy a woman dressed in motorcycle leathers is! Sorry if that sounds sexist, but sue me, I am only human!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Another anniversary
Twelve years ago today I passed my motorcycle test. Now I am looking forward to sitting my advanced motorcycle test as soon as possible (I'm just waiting for a phone call from the examiner to arrange a mutually agreeable date) and my advanced car driving test in due course once I've had a few more sessions with an observer.
Every day is a school day.
Every day is a school day.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
That's it then
The classroom sessions are finished and will hopefully fade from my memory. Tonight I had my assessed drive. It went well, considering that the rain was falling horizontally (eh?) and the wind was buffeting the car to a surprisingly alarming degree.So I now have yet another form, a bit like the one recording my progress on the motorcycle, completed by tonight's observer, which divides the driving skills into 8 neat departments.
The grades are as follow:
1 = Advanced Test Standard
2= Guidance (presumably means some guidance required)
3= Average
4= Needs development
The scores on the doors, and the comments, were:
3 - Starting Off Procedure (Polish off & sort out order - there's an A4 page detailing the starting procedure and although I covered everything I was a bit hesitant and had to think about each one, so I need to get a "script" into my head and say it every time I get in the car)
2 - Gear Selection & Use (Good work in town)
3 - Braking (Work on separation from gear change - you shouldn't brake and change gear at the same time. This is something of which I'm aware but I haven't yet started to try to put it into practice)
2 - Approach to Hazards (Spotted good & early, and position changed - this comes from being a biker!)
2 - Signalling (Thought about need for signal - I also explained in my commentary why I did or didn't signal each time. There isn't any point in signalling if it won't benefit other road users)
2 - Positioning (Allowed for hazards & cornering advantage - this also comes from being a biker)
x - Overtaking (In this weather, in the dark and on unfamiliar country roads? You must be joking, of course I didn't do any!)
2 - Making Progress (Good progress (town) - Considering the conditions tonight, this was good I thought)
The comments are pretty fair I think. I was hoping for at least one Grade 1, but that's probably unrealistic, particularly given the weather conditions. To put things in perspective, and you must remember that it's unlikely that anyone who didn't already consider themselves a reasonably good driver would put themselves forward for this course, one of the other associates on his assessed drive said afterwards that he didn't see a cow in the road (I didn't get the impression that he was joking) and his whole drive went really really badly.
I have now been allocated an observer, the same man who took two of us on the demonstration drive a couple of weeks ago, and we have pencilled in the first real observed drive for a week on Monday. I'm looking forward to it very much, and we are aiming to have me through my test before (well before, I hope) Christmas.
Watch this space.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Classroom v Proper Learning
After my first week in the classroom at the start of learning Advanced Driving I mentioned that I wasn't overly impressed. That was early days though and I had hopes that later weeks would be better. Tonight was the penultimate classroom session before we move onto one-to-one sessions with an allocated observer over however many weeks it takes to get to test standard. Next week, the last "group" session in the classroom, we are each taken on an assessment drive when we actually get to be behind the wheel of our own cars with an observer sitting next to us for a 15-20 minute assessment. Maybe this would be an opportune moment to re-assess how impressed I am with the classroom stuff over the past 4 weeks.
I'm still not too impressed.
I can't honestly say that I could really recommend it to any of my friends, although to be fair the classroom parts are only part of it and the next bit should redress the overall balance somewhat. But anyone capable of reading and understanding the words contained in Roadcraft, the Police Driver's manual, will learn just as much as they would from watching someone putting selected bullet points from the book onto a PowerPoint presentation and then just reading each slide aloud. And yes, I suppose there's the chance to ask for clarification on any points if necessary, but it's still not an ideal way to teach a subject. There have been one or two notable exceptions ("your Majesty is like a stream of Bat's Piss - you shine out like a shaft of gold when all around is darkness") like the DVD made by the Dumfries & Galloway IAM group which demonstrated the difficult art of driving commentary. OK, I can't really think of another highlight right now. Just the DVD then.
Tonight we had a nice woman reading some slides very quickly, then a nice man showing us a film of a motorway drive first on the M8 then the M80 from Greenock to Stepps which he made a few days ago. In real time apart from a small amount of fast forwarding in a traffic jam at the Kingston Bridge. With him stopping the film every so often to use his laser pointer and ask "can anyone tell me what that is?" to which someone would inevitably reply "it's an emergency telephone" or "it's a 300 yard marker board for an exit from the motorway" or some other such bleeding obvious answer (not the answerers' fault though). I very nearly slipped into a coma and I was certainly in screen saver mode for most of it. And he stayed in the middle lane all the way. At a maximum speed of 64mph which could be seen a few times when the cameraman/woman occasionally focussed on the speedometer reading (the limit on most of the motorway, for any overseas readers, is 70mph) while the presenter commented on "all the cars racing past" which were clearly exceeding his own speed by approximately 6mph.
Not to worry. The five weeks of classroom stuff is just the preamble to the one-to-one sessions which I am actually looking forward to. And my commentary is getting better.
I'm still not too impressed.
I can't honestly say that I could really recommend it to any of my friends, although to be fair the classroom parts are only part of it and the next bit should redress the overall balance somewhat. But anyone capable of reading and understanding the words contained in Roadcraft, the Police Driver's manual, will learn just as much as they would from watching someone putting selected bullet points from the book onto a PowerPoint presentation and then just reading each slide aloud. And yes, I suppose there's the chance to ask for clarification on any points if necessary, but it's still not an ideal way to teach a subject. There have been one or two notable exceptions ("your Majesty is like a stream of Bat's Piss - you shine out like a shaft of gold when all around is darkness") like the DVD made by the Dumfries & Galloway IAM group which demonstrated the difficult art of driving commentary. OK, I can't really think of another highlight right now. Just the DVD then.
Tonight we had a nice woman reading some slides very quickly, then a nice man showing us a film of a motorway drive first on the M8 then the M80 from Greenock to Stepps which he made a few days ago. In real time apart from a small amount of fast forwarding in a traffic jam at the Kingston Bridge. With him stopping the film every so often to use his laser pointer and ask "can anyone tell me what that is?" to which someone would inevitably reply "it's an emergency telephone" or "it's a 300 yard marker board for an exit from the motorway" or some other such bleeding obvious answer (not the answerers' fault though). I very nearly slipped into a coma and I was certainly in screen saver mode for most of it. And he stayed in the middle lane all the way. At a maximum speed of 64mph which could be seen a few times when the cameraman/woman occasionally focussed on the speedometer reading (the limit on most of the motorway, for any overseas readers, is 70mph) while the presenter commented on "all the cars racing past" which were clearly exceeding his own speed by approximately 6mph.
Not to worry. The five weeks of classroom stuff is just the preamble to the one-to-one sessions which I am actually looking forward to. And my commentary is getting better.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Frustration
I am very much in two minds.
I've just completed the first night of five sessions towards sitting my advanced driving test. Weeks 1, 2 and 4 are solely in the classroom. Week 3 is a demonstration drive by IAM observers in their car, and week 5 is a 15-20 minute assessment drive in my car.
Tonight seemed very proscriptive (is that the right word?). You will be in third gear if you are driving at 30mph. You will only make one gear change per hazard (e.g. if slowing down from, say, 70mph in 5th gear towards a queue of traffic where you will need to be in 2nd gear you will brake gently and in plenty of time but will stay in 5th gear until the speed of the car is right to change straight to 2nd without the engine over-revving). You will complete a 1 1/2 page (A4) starting drill every time you get in the car and a 1 page stopping drill every time you park (although apparently neither is part of the test, they're just "good practice").
And several of us have picked up bad habits over the years. This is undoubtedly true. But one of the "bad habits" mentioned was that of changing down through all the gears in turn (sequential changing) which is now not the done thing. I was taught to use sequential changing by my driving instructor 28 years ago. How can anyone claim I have picked that up as a bad habit when it's what I was taught as being the correct way to do it in 1979. Semantics and pedantry (are they the right words?) maybe.
And there seemed to be a committee meeting going on just behind us, judging by all the chatter, which was very distracting and, I'm afraid to say, bloody irritating and rude, not to mention disrespectful to the speaker.
I left the place very wound up.
So will I go back?
At the start of the evening I paid them £70 for associate membership of the car section (on top of the £85 I paid them last Wednesday for associate membership of the motorcycle section) so you're damn right I'll go back. Go back. Grit my teeth. Pass my test. And walk away.
I should stress that they were generally nice people, the set up is not ideal though and maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind tonight.
So maybe, hopefully, next week won't be so frustrating.
And to answer a question on a comment left by Colleen on my previous post, no the advanced training isn't compulsory, as the name suggests it's training to a more advanced level so that you can drive/ride better and more safely which will lead to making better progress (i.e. overall faster, which is different from being faster in short bursts in a straight line). And the basic licence in the UK involves more than a day of training, probably on average 10 or more 1 hour lessons, followed by a test lasting maybe an hour or thereabouts. The bike lessons and test and the car lessons and test last about the same time, but before you can ride a bike as a learner you must attend and pass a CBT (Compulsory Basic Test) which hopefully helps give you the basic skill to help you avoid falling off while you learn enough to pass the full test.
I've just completed the first night of five sessions towards sitting my advanced driving test. Weeks 1, 2 and 4 are solely in the classroom. Week 3 is a demonstration drive by IAM observers in their car, and week 5 is a 15-20 minute assessment drive in my car.
Tonight seemed very proscriptive (is that the right word?). You will be in third gear if you are driving at 30mph. You will only make one gear change per hazard (e.g. if slowing down from, say, 70mph in 5th gear towards a queue of traffic where you will need to be in 2nd gear you will brake gently and in plenty of time but will stay in 5th gear until the speed of the car is right to change straight to 2nd without the engine over-revving). You will complete a 1 1/2 page (A4) starting drill every time you get in the car and a 1 page stopping drill every time you park (although apparently neither is part of the test, they're just "good practice").
And several of us have picked up bad habits over the years. This is undoubtedly true. But one of the "bad habits" mentioned was that of changing down through all the gears in turn (sequential changing) which is now not the done thing. I was taught to use sequential changing by my driving instructor 28 years ago. How can anyone claim I have picked that up as a bad habit when it's what I was taught as being the correct way to do it in 1979. Semantics and pedantry (are they the right words?) maybe.
And there seemed to be a committee meeting going on just behind us, judging by all the chatter, which was very distracting and, I'm afraid to say, bloody irritating and rude, not to mention disrespectful to the speaker.
I left the place very wound up.
So will I go back?
At the start of the evening I paid them £70 for associate membership of the car section (on top of the £85 I paid them last Wednesday for associate membership of the motorcycle section) so you're damn right I'll go back. Go back. Grit my teeth. Pass my test. And walk away.
I should stress that they were generally nice people, the set up is not ideal though and maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind tonight.
So maybe, hopefully, next week won't be so frustrating.
And to answer a question on a comment left by Colleen on my previous post, no the advanced training isn't compulsory, as the name suggests it's training to a more advanced level so that you can drive/ride better and more safely which will lead to making better progress (i.e. overall faster, which is different from being faster in short bursts in a straight line). And the basic licence in the UK involves more than a day of training, probably on average 10 or more 1 hour lessons, followed by a test lasting maybe an hour or thereabouts. The bike lessons and test and the car lessons and test last about the same time, but before you can ride a bike as a learner you must attend and pass a CBT (Compulsory Basic Test) which hopefully helps give you the basic skill to help you avoid falling off while you learn enough to pass the full test.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Pride
It's been a week, and that's too long. I should Blog more regularly, like I used to do, but to be honest I mostly haven't found the time, and when I've found the time I haven't had the inclination!
So, what's been happening in the past week? Well, obviously the bike's running again, and I mentioned that last Saturday I went on a trip via Cumbria where I briefly investigated Farlam and Talkin where I have some
ancestry. The photos are of the church in Farlam where I have a fair few ancestors buried, and a viewpoint overlooking Talkin Tarn, which is apparently a glacial lake near Talkin and Farlam.
I had the pleasure on Wednesday of attending my second Institute of Advanced Motorists meeting where I had another observed ride, this time through the south side of Glasgow past Hampden football park and Castlemilk, out via East Kilbride to Strathaven, then down through Stonehouse and ending up at The Popinjay Hotel at Rosebank in Lanarkshire for coffee and sandwiches.
It was a different observer this time, and he didn't mark me on everything the first person did, concentrating only on what he noticed. Last time I was marked on 18 different skills, this time only on 6:
A - Slow manoeuvering (a slow U-turn in a car park)
A - Braking (speaks for itself)
A - Safety position (to the far right of the lane when approaching a left bend, and vice-versa)
A - Rear observations (he didn't give me directions, I had to work out where to turn by watching his indicators as he followed me)
A - Overtaking (completed safely, quickly and correctly)
B - Speed (marked down again simply because I kept creeping a bit above 30mph)
As I mentioned previously, the marking criteria are:
A = Test Standard
B = Good
C = Fair
D = Requires Improvement
He didn't mark me on any of the other skills, but did say that there was no problem with anything he saw. I will apparently be ready for my test in a couple of weeks, but when I told him that that night was unfortunately going to be my last time until next year (the biking season runs from April until October, but next week I am starting my advanced car training and it's also on a Wednesday so I will miss the last few weeks of biking) his response was to arrange for another observer to agree to go out on a couple of one-to-one sessions with me on another night rather than Wednesdays and to arrange for me to have a mock test with a senior observer soon, and so I can sit my test this year after all, which I really didn't expect. How good of them is that? Fantastic!
So that was Wednesday. Today I discovered that pride comes before a fall.
Literally.
I was checking a lock-up garage for which I have keys and which belongs to my brother who lives abroad (just making sure it was still standing with a roof on, and hadn't been broken into - if my brother's reading this, it's fine!) and I had parked the bike just outside the parking area surrounding the lock-ups. It's on a bit of a slope both along and across the road (if that makes sense) so the bike was on its side-stand facing down hill and the road also sloped down from right to left. Having checked the lock-up I walked back to the road, made a phone call, started the bike and made to move away. Unfortun
ately the road has a lot of loose gravel lying around, and as I was about to move away my left foot slipped on the gravel and the bike overbalanced.
In the first post where I mentioned the bike I pointed out that it weighs 282kg, or 621lb or over 44 stones.
In various other posts I have mentioned that I have an injured left leg for which I am still receiving physiotherapy and the calf of which is still noticeably smaller and therefore weaker than my right leg.
There is NO WAY I was ever going to stop the bike hitting the deck, so I bailed out and didn't really even try, just concentrating on my left leg not being under it when it hit the ground. It popped the wing mirror off (it clipped back in again without any apparent damage) and although I only noticed it when I got home, it cracked the left hand pannier. Now that's a potential problem. Clearly the panniers are only of use when touring if when you get to your destination the contents (i.e. your clothes) are dry. I need to find out if it's possible to somehow seal the crack on the inside so that it's waterproof and doesn't show from the outside. Failing that, I've just looked and replacements cost £290 a pair. Bollocks. I'll keep my eye on eBay anyway.
One good thing is that as all of this happened it was seen by someone who lives in the flats nearby and he came over and helped me lift the bike, which was exceptionally kind of him but goes to show that bikers stick together because it turns out he's got one too. It also turns out we've met before (I used to live in the same flats a number of years ago) and he knows my brother and his wife. He's a nice guy (I thought that even before he helped me pick the bike off the floor today) and we swapped mobile numbers when he suggested it so that I can put him in touch with my brother again.
So next week I embark on the training for advanced car driving. I think it's about 5 weeks in a classroom, then an assessed drive, then however many one-to-one sessions of instruction as are necessary to pass the test. I'm looking forward to it all.
All of this will lead to not only a certain smug satisfaction that I can drive a car and ride a motorcycle to a safe, high standard, but hopefully will lead to smaller insurance premiums!
So, what's been happening in the past week? Well, obviously the bike's running again, and I mentioned that last Saturday I went on a trip via Cumbria where I briefly investigated Farlam and Talkin where I have some
ancestry. The photos are of the church in Farlam where I have a fair few ancestors buried, and a viewpoint overlooking Talkin Tarn, which is apparently a glacial lake near Talkin and Farlam.I had the pleasure on Wednesday of attending my second Institute of Advanced Motorists meeting where I had another observed ride, this time through the south side of Glasgow past Hampden football park and Castlemilk, out via East Kilbride to Strathaven, then down through Stonehouse and ending up at The Popinjay Hotel at Rosebank in Lanarkshire for coffee and sandwiches.
It was a different observer this time, and he didn't mark me on everything the first person did, concentrating only on what he noticed. Last time I was marked on 18 different skills, this time only on 6:
A - Slow manoeuvering (a slow U-turn in a car park)
A - Braking (speaks for itself)
A - Safety position (to the far right of the lane when approaching a left bend, and vice-versa)
A - Rear observations (he didn't give me directions, I had to work out where to turn by watching his indicators as he followed me)
A - Overtaking (completed safely, quickly and correctly)
B - Speed (marked down again simply because I kept creeping a bit above 30mph)
As I mentioned previously, the marking criteria are:
A = Test Standard
B = Good
C = Fair
D = Requires Improvement
He didn't mark me on any of the other skills, but did say that there was no problem with anything he saw. I will apparently be ready for my test in a couple of weeks, but when I told him that that night was unfortunately going to be my last time until next year (the biking season runs from April until October, but next week I am starting my advanced car training and it's also on a Wednesday so I will miss the last few weeks of biking) his response was to arrange for another observer to agree to go out on a couple of one-to-one sessions with me on another night rather than Wednesdays and to arrange for me to have a mock test with a senior observer soon, and so I can sit my test this year after all, which I really didn't expect. How good of them is that? Fantastic!
So that was Wednesday. Today I discovered that pride comes before a fall.
Literally.
I was checking a lock-up garage for which I have keys and which belongs to my brother who lives abroad (just making sure it was still standing with a roof on, and hadn't been broken into - if my brother's reading this, it's fine!) and I had parked the bike just outside the parking area surrounding the lock-ups. It's on a bit of a slope both along and across the road (if that makes sense) so the bike was on its side-stand facing down hill and the road also sloped down from right to left. Having checked the lock-up I walked back to the road, made a phone call, started the bike and made to move away. Unfortun
ately the road has a lot of loose gravel lying around, and as I was about to move away my left foot slipped on the gravel and the bike overbalanced.In the first post where I mentioned the bike I pointed out that it weighs 282kg, or 621lb or over 44 stones.
In various other posts I have mentioned that I have an injured left leg for which I am still receiving physiotherapy and the calf of which is still noticeably smaller and therefore weaker than my right leg.
There is NO WAY I was ever going to stop the bike hitting the deck, so I bailed out and didn't really even try, just concentrating on my left leg not being under it when it hit the ground. It popped the wing mirror off (it clipped back in again without any apparent damage) and although I only noticed it when I got home, it cracked the left hand pannier. Now that's a potential problem. Clearly the panniers are only of use when touring if when you get to your destination the contents (i.e. your clothes) are dry. I need to find out if it's possible to somehow seal the crack on the inside so that it's waterproof and doesn't show from the outside. Failing that, I've just looked and replacements cost £290 a pair. Bollocks. I'll keep my eye on eBay anyway.
One good thing is that as all of this happened it was seen by someone who lives in the flats nearby and he came over and helped me lift the bike, which was exceptionally kind of him but goes to show that bikers stick together because it turns out he's got one too. It also turns out we've met before (I used to live in the same flats a number of years ago) and he knows my brother and his wife. He's a nice guy (I thought that even before he helped me pick the bike off the floor today) and we swapped mobile numbers when he suggested it so that I can put him in touch with my brother again.
So next week I embark on the training for advanced car driving. I think it's about 5 weeks in a classroom, then an assessed drive, then however many one-to-one sessions of instruction as are necessary to pass the test. I'm looking forward to it all.
All of this will lead to not only a certain smug satisfaction that I can drive a car and ride a motorcycle to a safe, high standard, but hopefully will lead to smaller insurance premiums!
Friday, August 24, 2007
I was wrong
I do apologise. I've inadvertently misled you. It wasn't £300. It was £450. Never mind, it's only money. Money that used to be mine. But at least the bike's working again and I have put 100+ miles on it since collecting it around 3pm this afternoon.
So, to recap. A previous recent £610 spent on tyres and servicing, plus £450 spent today getting it back running again and more importantly hopefully avoiding the bastard thing cutting out in torrential rain in the future. A grand total of £1060 spent in the past few weeks. And the car goes in for its annual service next week and there's a strange noise coming from the rear nearside which I rather suspect might be a bearing. Fuck!
So, to recap. A previous recent £610 spent on tyres and servicing, plus £450 spent today getting it back running again and more importantly hopefully avoiding the bastard thing cutting out in torrential rain in the future. A grand total of £1060 spent in the past few weeks. And the car goes in for its annual service next week and there's a strange noise coming from the rear nearside which I rather suspect might be a bearing. Fuck!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
The money pit
Wasn't so bad actually. The meeting at Stirling that is. A fine venue it has to be said, and lunch was excellent. As to the content of the meeting, well it wasn't as bad as I was expecting and I think I made one or two useful contributions.
So I got home this afternoon and as I pulled up outside the house I managed to fairly gently and at slow speed touch the offside front wheel against the kerb. I reversed back a bit and parked, but when I had switched off the SatNav and taken it from the windscreen, disconnected my Bluetooth headset and put my phone into my pocket, and got out the car, I noticed immediately that there was a slight bulge in the side of the tyre, just where the tread stops and the sidewall begins. Fuck. I took my stuff into the house, changed out of my suit (God how I hate wearing shirt and tie!) and got back into the car and drove along the road to the local Kwik Fit garage.
As I was idly looking at the tyre while waiting for the tyre fitter to come and have a look I noticed that the outer edge of the tread looked decidedly thin. I looked at the nearside tyre, and found it too looked similarly bare (well, not bare, but on the way to it) so I mentioned this to the fitter and suggested that I might need two front tyres anyway, even if the sidewall damage was repairable or liveable with. He had a look and immediately diagnosed that yes, the sidewall damage meant that the offside front tyre needed replacing, the lack of tread on that tyre meant that it would need replacing anyway even if it hadn't been damaged (it wasn't illegal, just on the limit - he measured it) and the lack of tread on the nearside meant that it should be replaced too (again, not illegal, just on the limit). Additionally he diagnosed the relative baldness of the outside edge of each tyre suggested that the wheel alignment was wrong but he could check that for free.
So, to the quote. Each tyre was £74 and although he could check the alignment for free, if it needed sorting it'd be another £25. Ouch. He did me a deal by giving me 15% off the price of the tyres since I was buying two, but the bill still came to about £150 once the balancing and cost of valves were added. Still, it needed done.
I got home and was adding the receipt into the paperwork file relating to the car, when I noticed that the MOT certificate from back in January had with it a "cautionary" paper advising that the tread on both front tyres was near the limit and the tyres would need replacing "soon". That was at about 41000 miles. I had forgotten that this had been mentioned in January, so I have managed to get an extra 3500 miles and six months of wear out of them! While looking in the car file I also noticed that it was almost a year since it was last serviced. I have only done about 7000 miles since 8th August 2006, which is exceptionally low for me but was caused partly by being unable to drive for 3 months while in a plaster cast (see previous posts) and partly by me having bought a motorcycle late last year and having ridden that everywhere in preference to using the car when I could. Anyway, tomorrow I'll need to phone the garage and book it for its annual service, so that'll be just over £100 (unless they find anything wrong in which case it'll be more).
So to recap my motoring expenditure recently/soon:
£120 for a bike rear tyre
£290 for parts for the bike service (unless other stuff needing fixed in which case it'll be more)
£unknown for labour for the bike service (this weekend coming)
£30 for the bike MOT
£150 for car tyres
£100+ for a car service
Currently getting on for £700 and rising! Never mind. It's the price one pays for personal freedom. Freedom to drive or ride where and when I want without having to rely on public transport all the time.
Unrelatedly, did I mention I got a new phone last week? I knew I was getting toward the end of my contract with Vodafone so I wandered into their Glasgow shop to ask about upgrades, fully expecting to be disappointed and again end up leaving them to go elsewhere as I have done for the past few years each time my contract has expired with whichever service provider I have been with at the time (you will find that you can usually get a better deal as a new customer than as an existing one and it's pretty easy to keep your number and port it out to a new network where you become a new customer, and you can return to t
he previous network the next year if they're doing the best deal) but no!
In the past year, for various reasons, my monthly mobile phone bill has been huge. So the salesman checked my account and told me I could have any phone in the shop for free apart from 3 for which I'd have to pay £50 (although they were 3 in which I wasn't interested).
So I now have a lovely, albeit slightly bulky compared with my previous Motorola SLVR, Palm Treo 750v Smartphone with full qwerty keyboard (see photo). It really is all-singing and all-dancing and has cut down versions of MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint and MS Outlook. I can (and do) synchronise my contacts, calendar, email, and documents with my PC.
Cost price £400, but to me on this occasion, free. Can't be bad.
So I got home this afternoon and as I pulled up outside the house I managed to fairly gently and at slow speed touch the offside front wheel against the kerb. I reversed back a bit and parked, but when I had switched off the SatNav and taken it from the windscreen, disconnected my Bluetooth headset and put my phone into my pocket, and got out the car, I noticed immediately that there was a slight bulge in the side of the tyre, just where the tread stops and the sidewall begins. Fuck. I took my stuff into the house, changed out of my suit (God how I hate wearing shirt and tie!) and got back into the car and drove along the road to the local Kwik Fit garage.
As I was idly looking at the tyre while waiting for the tyre fitter to come and have a look I noticed that the outer edge of the tread looked decidedly thin. I looked at the nearside tyre, and found it too looked similarly bare (well, not bare, but on the way to it) so I mentioned this to the fitter and suggested that I might need two front tyres anyway, even if the sidewall damage was repairable or liveable with. He had a look and immediately diagnosed that yes, the sidewall damage meant that the offside front tyre needed replacing, the lack of tread on that tyre meant that it would need replacing anyway even if it hadn't been damaged (it wasn't illegal, just on the limit - he measured it) and the lack of tread on the nearside meant that it should be replaced too (again, not illegal, just on the limit). Additionally he diagnosed the relative baldness of the outside edge of each tyre suggested that the wheel alignment was wrong but he could check that for free.
So, to the quote. Each tyre was £74 and although he could check the alignment for free, if it needed sorting it'd be another £25. Ouch. He did me a deal by giving me 15% off the price of the tyres since I was buying two, but the bill still came to about £150 once the balancing and cost of valves were added. Still, it needed done.
I got home and was adding the receipt into the paperwork file relating to the car, when I noticed that the MOT certificate from back in January had with it a "cautionary" paper advising that the tread on both front tyres was near the limit and the tyres would need replacing "soon". That was at about 41000 miles. I had forgotten that this had been mentioned in January, so I have managed to get an extra 3500 miles and six months of wear out of them! While looking in the car file I also noticed that it was almost a year since it was last serviced. I have only done about 7000 miles since 8th August 2006, which is exceptionally low for me but was caused partly by being unable to drive for 3 months while in a plaster cast (see previous posts) and partly by me having bought a motorcycle late last year and having ridden that everywhere in preference to using the car when I could. Anyway, tomorrow I'll need to phone the garage and book it for its annual service, so that'll be just over £100 (unless they find anything wrong in which case it'll be more).
So to recap my motoring expenditure recently/soon:
£120 for a bike rear tyre
£290 for parts for the bike service (unless other stuff needing fixed in which case it'll be more)
£unknown for labour for the bike service (this weekend coming)
£30 for the bike MOT
£150 for car tyres
£100+ for a car service
Currently getting on for £700 and rising! Never mind. It's the price one pays for personal freedom. Freedom to drive or ride where and when I want without having to rely on public transport all the time.
Unrelatedly, did I mention I got a new phone last week? I knew I was getting toward the end of my contract with Vodafone so I wandered into their Glasgow shop to ask about upgrades, fully expecting to be disappointed and again end up leaving them to go elsewhere as I have done for the past few years each time my contract has expired with whichever service provider I have been with at the time (you will find that you can usually get a better deal as a new customer than as an existing one and it's pretty easy to keep your number and port it out to a new network where you become a new customer, and you can return to t
he previous network the next year if they're doing the best deal) but no!In the past year, for various reasons, my monthly mobile phone bill has been huge. So the salesman checked my account and told me I could have any phone in the shop for free apart from 3 for which I'd have to pay £50 (although they were 3 in which I wasn't interested).
So I now have a lovely, albeit slightly bulky compared with my previous Motorola SLVR, Palm Treo 750v Smartphone with full qwerty keyboard (see photo). It really is all-singing and all-dancing and has cut down versions of MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint and MS Outlook. I can (and do) synchronise my contacts, calendar, email, and documents with my PC.
Cost price £400, but to me on this occasion, free. Can't be bad.
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