In praise of the DVLA and the Post Office

If you have one of the photocard-type driving licences you will have to renew it every ten years. Recently I had to update my photograph as I no longer resemble the fresh-faced fellow pictured. You can supply your own photograph and do it by post or you can go to a main Post Office and do it there.

I chose the second option and have to say that I was impressed by the helpful service from the staff at the main Warwick office. I was told to expect my licence back in fifteen days. Depending on how you interpret that it could mean two or three weeks (if you assume 15 working days). So imagine my surprise when, having been for my photo on the Monday, the new licence arrived in Friday’s post.

The DVLA attracts a lot of criticism for losing post, long delays and a general level of un-helpfulness. The Post Office is famed for queues and not being somewhere you want to go (to be fair there was a monster queue forming as I left the branch). It is nice, however, to be able to report positive experiences of both organisations.

Simple Pleasures

I had to collect a parcel from the main Post Office this morning. I wanted to beat the rush of Saturday morning shoppers so I was out of the house before 8:30; normal for Monday to Friday but unheard of at the weekend. What a difference it makes, the roads were almost deserted and I felt wonderfully free.

Whether or not it was the clear roads or some other reason I even took more pleasure than normal in the feel, action and response of the controls. It did make me yearn, at least a little, for something either more responsive or, conversely, something more basic and even more demanding of skill and, therefore, more rewarding to drive well.

Ouch, that’s not good

This morning, while walking from the car to the office, I slipped on some ice and fell. Somehow I managed to bang my left elbow quite badly. At first I didn’t think it was that bad but the growing pain and difficulty of movement quickly changed my mind. Luckily I work in a hospital so it was a short walk to Accident & Emergency. Now I’m bandaged up and full of pain-killers (which just take the edge off the pain).

Of course I can’t drive at the moment, which is incredibly annoying. Not only does it make the daily grind more difficult but I had some writing work planned which involved travelling and, of course, driving. At least I’ve got some ideas that don’t require me to get behind the wheel. All I need to do is improve my one-handed typing speed.

It is good to be back in the driving seat

At last my car is fixed. It is a salutary experience to go without the use of a car for an extended period. Nothing quite prepares you for the sheer inconvenience of depending on friends and on public transport. Only when I am without a car do I truly appreciate the freedom the car brings. When I am reunited with my car I remember why I find it so irritating to be told that the car is a bad thing. Maybe in a large city car-free life is possible but living in a village and working in a small town it is very difficult. Shopping posed the greatest difficulty, the local shop is limited in what it sells and while there is a good butcher and a greengrocer the queues on a Saturday morning are quite off-putting. You can’t go shopping before work because the bus leaves before anything is open and the shops close before the bus brings you back. And if you miss the bus it is an hour to wait for the next one.

Having the car seen to by a professional mechanic (and PGS in Warwick are very professional in the way they work) also highlighted a few things that I will need to attend to in due course. The exhaust system is showing its age here and there, as you would expect given a past history of short journeys; the battery might be on its last legs; the oil needs changing as will the cam belt. I would add to that list a desire to get the suspension geometry checked (there is evidence of uneven tyre wear), the wheels might need balancing and I need a new steering wheel as the one on the car is breaking up. At least with the tyre pressures set correctly the steering has lost some of its weight and the wobble is reduced.

It was tempting to go for a long drive but there will be plenty of opportunities for lengthy journeys in the next week.

We’re not giving up our cars – apparently

Despite ever increasing fuel costs people are not being put off driving, according to a survey commissioned by insurance company esure. As with all such surveys it is not without a touch of hyperbole claiming “a massive majority of motorists in the UK (55%) would never part with their cars in favour of public transport - regardless of cost”. Now if you ask me 55% is not a massive majority, surely it is just over half.

Other interesting “facts” revealed by the survey include one in three people not monitoring the prices in their area. Just over a third of people (37%) wouldn’t consider replacing their car with something more frugal. Rather worryingly (unless you work for the oil companies or are the Chancellor of the Exchequer) 79% haven’t changed their attitude to buying fuel despite the threat of huge price rises. But what will changing buying habits do? When so much of the price of fuel at the pumps is tax retailers don’t have much room to compete on price and since people have to buy fuel there is little incentive for retailers to employ that strategy.

Mike Pickard, Head of Risk and Underwriting at esure, said: "esure's poll shows that public transport may never overtake people's preference for their own cars, whatever the cost. Nowadays, cars are clearly seen as a necessity that people refuse to give up. For many people the absence of cheap public transport means a car is essential in their lives and virtually any price will be paid for petrol.”

He has a point, the inconvenience or absence of public transport makes driving about the only way a lot of us can get to work to earn a living.

"There are simple ways that motorists can prevent their cars from guzzling up their pennies. Driving steadily and carefully, with no excessive braking or speeding, will not only give you more miles for your money, it could also reduce the likelihood of making a claim on your car insurance."

It is easy to forget that high fuel costs actually hit people twice, both in terms of personal transport and transporting the things people buy. Strange as it may sound I don’t actually object to the high level of tax levied on fuel, it is surely the fairest way to tax motoring. What would be nice is a reduction in motoring’s other costs. Perhaps esure should issue a press release promising to reduce everyone’s insurance premiums.

Automatic Choice

Today was in many ways a perfect motoring day. The weather was cool but dry, the sky clear and visibility good. Even better, I was able to travel on single carriageway A and B-roads. While the roads were practically on my doorstep they were unfamiliar. Under those circumstances it is good to have automatic transmission. There are those who say that you can’t be serious about driving if you like automatics but they don’t know what they are talking about.

Automatic transmission encourages left braking without having to worry about any other pedals. A little practice with the right foot and the transmission selector lever means you will never be stuck in the wrong gear. The automatic transmission in the Citroën BX isn’t the best but the control lever allows you to get the best from it. Lots of transmissions allow the lever to be pushed from the drive position into neutral, something that could have disastrous results for the engine if done whilst driving quickly. In the Citroën the lever can’t be pushed into neutral without squeezing a button on the lever.

The same button must be held to lock out third and top gear but it is useful to hold second gear for roundabouts and tight corners. Between drive and 3rd there is nothing to inhibit free movement of the lever, which is great for overtaking or fast bends. Someone within Citroën clearly understood how to get the best out of automatic transmissions.

It was the automatic transmission that did so much to aid my enjoyment of today’s motoring. I also appreciated the Citroën’s suspension as the roads weren’t always as smooth as they could be. If only the steering was sharper, how much more fun I could have had.