The horn allows you to warn other road users of your presence. A brief toot should be sufficient to alert a driver or pedestrian about to embark on a collision course because they haven’t noticed you are there. A long horn note should be used when approaching a blind spot like the crest of a hill, a sharp bend in a country lane, or a hump-backed bridge.
Remember that using the horn does not give you the right of way. For a start, there’s no guarantee that it will be heard. Pedestrians who are hard of hearing or drivers of noisy heavy goods vehicles may not hear your horn. If a pedestrian doesn’t look round at the sound of the horn, assume they haven’t heard you. Use your headlights to signal to other drivers where noise may drown out the horn. When approaching a blind bend or other hazard, slow down and be prepared to stop if necessary. NEVER use the horn to rebuke other road users — that’s a recipe for road rage.
There are also laws governing when a horn can be sounded in built-up areas (usually defined as areas where the street lights are less than 200 yards/metres apart). The time span varies from country to country, but as a general rule you should never use the horn at night unless it’s an emergency.
An increasing number of new cars, especially high-specification models, are now fitted with an anti-lock brake system (ABS). This sophisticated form of braking can be extremely useful in an emergency as it helps to maintain traction under severe braking by preventing the wheels from locking and skidding.
A sensor control attached to each wheel detects when the wheel is about to lock and responds by automatically releasing the brake and then re-applying it several times a second. You can feel this happening through the brake pedal, which pulsates up and down. There’s no need for you to pump the brakes — in fact, pumping the brake pedal will interfere with the ABS’s operation. And, whereas with ordinary brakes you have to take great care when braking in slippery conditions for fear of causing a skid, ABS allows you to brake as hard as you can on wet and slippery surfaces without losing control of the steering.
However, ABS has its limitations. If you try dangerous stunts like taking a corner too fast or braking at the very last minute, it can’t prevent accidents occurring. And on loose gravel or snow, where all four wheels may lose traction, anti-lock brakes may actually take longer to stop the car than a conventional braking system.
Cars fitted with ABS have a light on the dashboard which tells you when there’s a fault in the system. Don’t try to investigate yourself — see an expert. Should a malfunction with the ABS occur, the ordinary brakes will take over.
Vehicles which are low to the ground with a wheel close to each corner offer greater stability than those designed for off-road use, which tend to be taller, with a high centre of gravity. When using off-road vehicles on normal roads, take care — especially when turning corners or changing direction — as the handling is not the same as for a front-wheel drive. Special courses are available — see advertisements in specialist motoring magazines, or consult your dealer for advice.
In slippery conditions or on rough terrain, 4WD improves the grip that the tyres have on the road. It is now available in some conventional cars, as well as models designed specifically for off-road use. Ideal if you need a vehicle that can work in all weather and cope with difficult surfaces, but bear in mind that conventional-style cars with low ground clearance cannot cope with soft mud or sandy surfaces in the way that true off-road vehicles can.
The real test of a car’s crashworthiness is whether it can succeed in making severe accidents survivable. And if there’s a single factor which gives car occupants a better chance of walking away from a crash than any other it’s the integrity of the car’s structure. A passenger compartment which suffers major distortion on impact (doors crumpling inward in a side-on collision; pillars that collapse and instruments that intrude in a head-on collision) will offer little protection to those inside.
Crash tests are the best means of measuring how well a car will withstand impact. Dummies packed with sensors occupy the driver’s and passengers’ seats, and the car is rammed into a concrete block. By analysing the wreck and the readings from the dummies, scientists can calculate the risk of injury to different parts of the body. Some of the results of these tests are published in consumer magazines, and if you’re buying a car it’s worth finding out how well that model performed in crash tests relative to other cars in the same class. You may find that the much-hyped new car of your dreams, fully equipped with state-of-the-art airbags, power steering and ABS, fares less well than a frumpy, no-frills rival.
Safest of all, structurally, are big, heavy cars. In a collision between a large car and a supermini, the bigger car’s size and weight advantage will tell in its favour, and the supermini will come off worse every time. On the other hand, big cars cost more to buy, insure and run — so safety is not the only consideration to take into account. It is, however, an important factor, so once you decide which type of car will best suit your needs, check out the safety options on offer within that class.
When a car travelling at 30 mph collides with a solid object, any occupants not wearing a seatbelt will be thrown forward at about the speed the car was travelling. When their bodies hit the windscreen or dashboard (or, in the case of back seat passengers, when they hit the seats or the people in front of them) the force of the impact will be three and a half tons — roughly the weight of an elephant. It goes without saying that the human body cannot withstand that sort of impact. Death or serious injury is the inevitable outcome.
All new cars are fitted with front and rear seat belts and in most countries it is now law that everyone in the vehicle must wear a belt where one is available. There are still many older cars which do not have rear seat belts, but most cars built since 1981 have mounting points located under the seat cushion and in the rear pillar so that it is easy to have rear belts fitted.
REMEMBER
Belting up has been proved to reduce injuries and save lives, so where there is a belt fitted, use it. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Passengers who don’t wear belts are not just risking their own lives — the effect of a back-seat passenger hitting the person in front at 30 mph is the equivalent of their jumping off a 30-foot building and landing on someone. Bear that in mind next time you have a passenger, who doesn’t want to wear a seatbelt.
It’s also worth noting that insurance companies do not look kindly on people who don’t wear seat belts. If you are injured in an accident as a result of failing to wear a seatbelt, that will count against you when your claim for compensation is assessed.
Types of seatbelt
Inertia reels
Most cars are fitted with inertia-reel belts on their front seats. These adjust easily and allow you some leeway for movement until the vehicle brakes suddenly or crashes, at which point inertia causes the reels to lock. To test the belt, give it a sharp tug; it should lock. Make sure the belt is adjusted so that it fits snugly. In an accident a slack belt will give little protection, because by the time the slack is taken up your head will have made contact with