RAC New Travel Widget

The RAC has created a new widget to help businesses get people to their door more easily.

And here's what it would look like if Gordon Brown wanted you to come to dinner:




Breakdown cover or Car insurance

Switch Maps - Try Different Online Maps From One Place

I often get narked with when I try and create maps of chocolate plantations that some of the maps are inaccurate or incomplete. I'm glad I found Map Channels which lets me search a number of different maps at the same time and choose the one that looks the best. I'd appreciate your own thoughts.



Switch Maps by Map Channels

10 Tips For Driving In The Snow

Well we all thought we'd seen the last of the snow. But more has swept across the country overnight. But it still amazes me that some people don't adhere to some basic principles when driving out in the snow. Here are some:

1. Clear your car completely from ice and snow. Some people leave a little letter-box sized clear part to their windscreen - clear it all off. Also make sure that you clear the top of your car of snow so that it doesn't blow off into other cars as you drive. This snow also just adds more to the road.
   
   
2. Don't floor the accelerator as you try and drive off. If you get some grip you may hit another car or pedestrian.
   
   
3. Give people a lot more distance than you'd usually give. Slow down gradually to a stop, think about just lifting your foot off the accelerator and gradually slowing to a standstill. You'll have huge problems if you try an break too late.
   
   
4. Make sure you wear the right clothes. I've seen people in just t-shirts as they drive. You have no idea if you'll get a couple of feet of snow dropped on you in an hour. Make sure you've got a warm jacket, jumper, thick socks and gloves. Pack a scarf and woolly hat too.
   
   
5. Take a warm drink if you can. Cold ones will just freeze in minutes and its no fun drinking that when you're already cold.
   
   
6. Take something to eat. Sandwiches and pies will just freeze easily. Think about stuff like chocolate which is harder to freeze but easy to break and will melt in your mouth. Its also full of calories. There's loads of different types too and most people have some hanging around the house.
   
   
7. Take a spade - these things could be the difference between you getting home or not and beats trying to use your hands to dig yourself out.
   
   
8. Make sure you've got everything too hand. If you need something and its freezing out you won't want to get into the boot of your car to get anything.
   
   
9. Make sure your mobile phone is fully charged and if you've got a spare one, take that with you.
   
   
10. Tell people where you're going and your route. This is vital. If you don't turn up, at least people will know which route you took and could find you if needed.
    
    

Do Sat Nav And Route Planners Save Lives?

I was reading with horror about the man that killed his son by doing a u-turn on an A road in Scotland. The story tells how the man apparently took a wrong turning on a way to a party and tried to do a u-turn. He was hit by another car when he was just doing 10 miles an hour - the other car was doing 70.

The thing is, you can get some cheap sat nav devices from around £40 these days from places like Amazon, so I'd suggest that people should either buy one, or at least plan your journey before you get into the car.