Motor cars

Having a well stocked first aid kit in your car is a handy item at all times, because you never know when you might need to administer immediate care for yourself or others on the road. However, a kit that doesn’t have the right essentials isn’t going to be much use, so it’s important to create yours carefully.

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When you’re out traveling, you never know what emergencies or unexpected events might occur. Even though it’s impossible to predict what could happen on any given day, being as prepared as you can will certainly go a long way towards your safety and that of other drivers as well.

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Having a car means you can travel far and wide, over terrain both familiar and unknown. However, when you’re out on the roads it’s important to remember that different conditions will often require extra special care in order to avoid accidents and negotiate hazards successfully.

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There are many factors that can result in a crash, from speed or driver fatigue to external disturbances on the road. However, some types of crashes seem to be more common than others.
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The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) is calling for a greater focus on infrastructure funding across the country, in the hope that it will support better roads in every state and territory.

“The current approach to road funding is clearly broken with crippling congestion in the cities and inadequate and unsafe highways in many rural areas,” AAA Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said in a March 25 statement.

“Reform of current approaches to funding for our roads and transport infrastructure is a national priority.”

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Though it’s compulsory to obtain a CTP green slip for your vehicle, fewer NSW drivers may end up claiming under the scheme with road maintenance funding at an all-time high in 2013 to 2014.

NSW Government, Minister for Roads and Ports Duncan Gay announced that funding for road maintenance and minor improvements to roads and bridges within NSW, including council-owned infrastructure, has hit record levels.

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Have you ever found yourself pleased with a bargain offer of eight, 16 or even 40 cents per litre off your next fuel bill from your supermarket docket?

According to the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), inflated supermarket docket offers are not actually as beneficial as you may think. In fact, in a media release, the AAA asserted that supermarket docket offers decrease competition in the fuel market and could actually end up costing consumers more in the long run.

Chief Executive of the AAA, Andrew McKellar, stated “the supermarkets have not been providing shopper docket offers as a form of charity but rather as a mechanism to distort the marketplace”.

Thus, an agreement labelled by the AAA and accepted by major supermarkets to stop providing these offers is “a step in the right direction”, and will increase competition in the fuel market.

Mr McKellar indicates that reduced competition due to supermarket docket offers could ultimately mean the consumer spends more elsewhere.

Customers are offered discounts in return for spending a certain amount on their groceries, with higher fuel vouchers offered for a more costly supermarket spend.

In addition, these fuel discounts can make it difficult for those in the petrol industry, as such offers could decrease competition between competitors until Australians are utilising only the select few fuel retailers that are involved in the shopper docket scheme.

However, Mr McKellar believes that motorists realise reduced competition could end up costing them more money in the end.

“Motorists are smarter than the supermarkets think”, he said.

This is backed up by a survey conducted by the AAA indicating that only 42 per cent of motorists who used supermarket dockets actually believed they were saving money.

Motorists looking to save money in the long run could be better off getting a green slip comparison than using such dockets. Getting 40 cents per litre of your fuel bill doesn’t compare to getting caught in a tricky situation without ctp insurance to cover you!

Prevention is the best measure when it comes to road safety. This is why it’s essential to check your car every season to ensure it’s in effective working condition – don’t wait until you take it to the mechanic!

Here are three checks you should do every season:

Check oil levels

Your vehicle’s oil level is essential to the efficient running of your engine. According to the National Roads and Motorist’s Association (NRMA), if you regularly use your car for trips shorter than 20 km, contaminants such as water vapour and gases can end up in the oil and cause it to lose its protective qualities.

Cars traveling more than 20 km per drive may be able to break down these contaminants due to heat. However, it’s still worth checking (and changing, if necessary) your oil. Automotive lubricant company Castrol Australia suggests changing your oil every six months or every 5,000 km. Check your car’s manual or handbook for guidelines and any specifications you need to know about.

Check your tyres

Tyre checks should be done on a regular basis, but it’s a great idea to do a thorough, overall check at the start of each season. Look for overall tyre quality with no uneven wear, check your tyre pressure, and consider booking in for a wheel alignment and wheel balance. It’s also a good idea to get your tyres rotated at the start of each season. Bridgestone Tyres recommends a rotation every 5,000 to 8,000 km of driving.

Renew your registration

Letting your registration run out can mean your vehicle also has no ctp insurance – not to mention it’s illegal! Take note of your vehicle’s registration expiry date and renew your registration before it expires.

To do this, you’ll first need a ctp green slip. Compare green slip prices and pick the best deal for you, get a vehicle safety check and then renew over the phone, by post or in person at a motor registry.

In 2013, 113,289 new motorbikes would have needed to do a CTP green slip comparison for their bike, as this was the total number of new motorcycles bought in Australia last year.

According to data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), this total is a slight decrease from motorbike sales in 2012, with 115,837 motorbikes purchased in 2012 – a decline of 2.2 per cent.

However, it seems that road bikes and scooters are still a popular mode of transport for Australians. Meanwhile, a significant number of off-road vehicles were purchased for leisure or sport purposes.

Road bikes remain the most popular mode of transport, totalling 39 per cent of sales in 2013. Closely following road bikes was the purchase of off-road motorcycles, which represented 34 per cent of total sales.

Of the remaining sales, 19 per cent was attributed to ATVs and 8 per cent to scooters.

FCAI Chief Executive, Tony Weber, said that Honda was the most popular brand of bike sold in 2013, with this manufacturer accounting for 22 per cent of the market.

In total, 25,432 motorbikes, ATVs and scooters sold in 2013 were made by Honda. The brand’s closest rival was Yamaha, which accounted for 18 per cent of total sales and 20,087 sales. Third most popular brand was Kawasaki, with 10 per cent of sales.

However, Yamaha was the most popular make for buyers of off-road motorcycles, accounting for 29 per cent of these sales. Honda accounted for 26 per cent.

If you’re considering buying a motorcycle to get around on or just to have some fun on the weekend, make sure you do a green slip comparison, it is one way you can save some money!