July « 2010 « VanQuoteDirect – Van Insurance Blog

Archive for July, 2010

Festival puts home deliveries on hold

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

It appears that being a van driver for Sainsbury’s in Edinburgh could well be a very relaxing job next month. It will also be very unlikely that claims on commercial vehicle insurance will hit new heights, Why? Because vans that usually deliver to certain areas in the city will have nowhere to go.

Sainsbury’s have announced their grocery home delivery vans will not be operating in the Murrayfield, Giorgie and Broomhouse areas of Edinburgh between August 13^th and September 5^th because they are concerned the vans will get caught up in traffic jams created by crowds attending the Edinburgh festival.

Not surprisingly Edinburgh’s citizens are hopping mad, with one councillor telling locals to ditch Sainsbury’s altogether and shop at other supermarkets, who, it must be said, are continuing with their normal service.

It does make one wonder how citizens elsewhere are affected by big events. I live in Cornwall, right by the sea and near Newquay, whose population goes from 20,000 to 220,000 in the six weeks of the school holidays in summer. The roads are not what one can call good to say the least A white line down the middle of the road to a Cornishman, meaning there is room for vehicles to actually pass each other comfortably, is tantamount to a motorway.

Imagine then the trouble van drivers have here, imagine also the amount of trade any supermarket is turning down by cancelling home deliveries because their vans may be held up in traffic. And what about Londoners, should they not expect home deliveries if there is an event at Wembley, Wimbledon or Twickenham. Do the good people of Cheltenham have to do without take away deliveries when the Cheltenham Festival is on? What about the van drivers of Liverpool, do they all twiddle their thumbs and watch the Grand National on television until the traffic has died down, the mind boggles!

A spokesman for the Edinburgh store said the decision to curtail their delivery service was a last resort. It remains to be seen how many former customers start using the service once again on September 6^th.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, festival, home deliveries
Posted in Events, Van Insurance | No Comments »

When in Rome

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

An increasing number of van drivers are finding their jobs take them abroad, especially onto the continent trading with our EU partners. Any newcomers to this business need to be aware that it is not a simple case of getting a European driving licence and making sure that their commercial vehicle insurance covers them for travelling abroad.

It is now a common sight to see lorries and vans from far flung corners of the world pulled onto the hard shoulder of our motorways being interviewed by our traffic police, as they check to make sure the vehicle conforms to the standards required on UK roads. The same applies in Europe, and drivers from the UK are well advised to check on the rules of the road in foreign countries because some are far from straightforward!

Portugal is a good place to start because one unusual law there may well favour the driver from the UK. If two vehicles are equidistant from a narrow passing place then the biggest vehicle has right of way, note this states vehicle and not driver! Staying in Portugal, traffic police have a nifty addition to their tools for the trade which is not carried by the traffic police in the UK, a card reader. Yes in Portugal one can pay an on the spot fine with a MasterCard or Visa and also be charged a 2.75% levy by the card company as well. The wonders of modern technology!

Staying in Europe but nipping over the border to Spain, any UK van driver hoping to drop off a delivery should be aware that one way streets in some cities require vehicles to be parked on the side of the road where houses bear uneven numbers on uneven days of the month, and on the side of even numbers on even days; what could be more simple…

Estonia is a country enjoying increasing trade with the UK, the capital Tallinn being one of the places to be at the moment, a real tourist hotspot. It is not the place to leave your van illegally parked however, the average fee to reclaim a towed-away vehicle is 6,000 Estonian Kroon about £320.

Wherever van drivers take their vehicle, it will pay to spend a little time researching the highway code of the nation concerned, if possible speak to colleagues who have experience of driving in the country and above all at the very least carry a language phrase book.

Tags: Advice, commercial vehicle insurance, Van Insurance
Posted in Advice, Guides, Safety, Van Insurance | No Comments »

Speed cameras in focus

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

It is now a year ago that councillors in Swindon decided to shut down all fixed speed cameras. Local van drivers who welcomed the move, along with other motorists, have had their suspicions confirmed as the local council have reported that accidents in the 12 month period have not increased at all.

The council took the decision after listening to local pressure groups who were concerned that the cameras were just being used as a “cash cow” for central government. Instead money was spent on educating the public on road safety, placing more road signs and building speed humps. The area was not without speed traps, as mobile cameras were still deployed in certain areas and with great success according to the council report.

It now seems that van drivers across the country will feel the benefit as the government have slashed the budget for road safety funding across the country from £77million to just £56 with no funding whatsoever for new speed cameras. The result being that many more councils are now looking at turning off their own cameras because they will not have the financial resources to manage the upkeep of them. Less staff due to redundancies will mean the manpower to change and monitor the cameras will not be available.

It’s not everyone who is pleased with the news, however, road safety police officers in Devon emphasise that cameras play an integral part in making motorists behave sensibly and claim that since their introduction in the 1970’s, accidents have fallen by over 60%. Road safety pressure groups such as BRAKE will be dismayed at the news as they believe cameras on the road and in mobile vehicles play a big part in identifying dangerous motorists.

Statistics for fatalities and serious injury are certainly horrifying. The last year, for which figures are available 2007, show that over 50 people die in road accidents every week in the UK with over 500 suffering serious injury. Amazingly you are 10,000 times more likely to die in a car crash than in a plane. No wonder then that commercial vehicle insurance along with ordinary motor insurance is so expensive.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, speed cameras, Van Insurance
Posted in Advice, Guides, Van Insurance | No Comments »

A trip down memory lane

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Van Drivers young and old will have an affinity with one type of van and the history that goes with it. Surprisingly enough there is no particular manufacturer associated with the vehicle. It was a van that was nearly always heard before it was seen and one that in my case anyway often had me turning to my grandparents rather than mum and dad.

These tunes should ring a bell so to speak, with more than one generation; Popeye the Sailor man, Greensleeves, Do ye ken John Peel, O Soleil Mio and the Westminster Chimes. Yes you’ve got it, the ice cream van.

The mere mention of the songs takes one back to a childhood when Sunday afternoons were special treat days and the treat was usually an ice cream after Sunday school. The mere thought of it makes the taste buds jingle whereas today the mere taste of it reminds me of my next dental appointment.

Anyone fancying a trip down memory lane could do worse than visit the Transport Museum in Coventry situated in the town centre in Millennium Place. The museum has put together an ice cream van exhibition that will run through to September.

The exhibition traces the history of ice cream and the vehicles it was sold from through the 20^th century up to modern day, displaying the implements the ice cream was served from, including the giant tubs and steel scoops and the glasses they were served in before ice cream cones were introduced. Pride of place though goes to the ice cream vans and their forerunners.

The tricycles and hand carts that the vendors originally used are on display, as is a 1928 Morris Cowley which was converted into one of the earliest ice cream vans, complete with trap door which the vendor would open and stand on the road beneath to serve his customers.; what modern day insurers would make of that when giving a commercial vehicle insurance quote is hard to imagine. Also featured is a local van from bygone days, produced by the famous D Di Mascio family who ploughed their trade in the streets of the east midlands. Modern day vans are represented by a Bedford HA which is covered in the livery of Batman and Robin.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, Exhibitions, Ice cream, Ice cream vans, Museums, Van Insurance, Van Show
Posted in Events, Exhibitions, Van Insurance | No Comments »

Ford and Chrysler in Van recalls

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

It seems that the trend of motor manufacturers having to recall models due to faults in production is set to carry on.

Earlier this month, Toyota announced plans to recall 27,000 Lexus cars worldwide. The company have discovered there is a fault in the engine that can cause the motor to stall. The models involved were; GS, IS and LS models powered by 3.5 V6 engines and 4,6-5.0 V8 engines produced between 2006-2008. This comes on the heels of its massive problems in 2009 when over 8 million cars were recalled and Toyota ended up with a world record fine of over $16 million in the USA.

Honda also had recall problems and had to contact over 170,000 owners of the Jazz (2002-2008) year model in the UK, to check the master power window switch as there were fears of a malfunction in the system when exposed to heavy rain. Although there were no reports of a fire being caused there was a concern of the possibility.

It now seems that van drivers will be the next set of drivers to be taking their vehicles back to the garage. In the USA, three major models are involved in recall notices. The Ford Transit Connect, The Chrysler Dodge Ram and their Jeep Wrangler.

Ford is about to recall 30,000 plus Connects as there is a problem with the push pins in the van lining above the drivers head. Apparently the pins do not meet American standards for head protection. Tests showed that head injury criteria exceeded the strict standards set in the USA.

Chrysler has brake problems with both their vans and jeeps. Over 20,000 utility and vans are affected and will have to recall fixing a problem in the brake tubes which could potentially cause a loss of brake fluid. Van drivers will be asked to take their vehicles back to their local Chrysler dealer sometime in August.

It is unlikely that the driver’s commercial vehicle insurance will be compromised by the recalls.

Posted in Van Insurance | No Comments »

Van sales still improving month by month

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Although the newspapers and TV news programmes are bombarding us day after day with a different angle on where and on whom the government cuts will strike next, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) report that the motor industry seems to be bucking the trend. The month of June saw car sales improve by 20% on the May figure, with vans too showing great month by month increases, the only disappointment being the continuing struggle truck sales are experiencing.

The breakdown on light commercial vehicles makes interesting reading with not one common denominator available for pundits to safely forecast what the future holds for the industry, although the overall signs are good.

Take the sales on the rolling year for example. The report splits the vans into four classes, light commercial vehicles (up to 3.5t), 4×4 utility vehicles, light vans and finally pickup trucks. Pickups were down over 12%, light vans 7.8% and light commercial vehicles 5.4%. In the same period 4×4 utility vehicles saw an increase of almost 14%.

Moving on to month by month figures we see a different story; light commercial vehicles show a very healthy increase of 17.4 %, 4×4 Ute’s up by 6%, and light vans up by a massive 44%. By contrast the pickups were down by just under 7%.

The year to date figures were no nearer any consistency either; once again pickups show a decrease, 12.5% down which translates to almost 10,000 less vehicles sold, so far this year. Light commercial vehicles were up by 15.8%, 4×4 Ute’s still doing well, up by 13.4% and light vans once more the stars of the show, having a year to date increase of 28.9% a representation of over 24.000 new vehicles.

Paul Everitt, the chairman of SMMT observed that the main factor coming from the figures is that transport companies desperately need to see not only the economic recovery continuing, but ways and means for transport businesses to have easier access to collateral with which to purchase new vehicles.

It seems as though van drivers will still be getting quotes for commercial vehicle insurance this year but the majority will be for vans as opposed to trucks.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, van sales
Posted in Van Insurance | No Comments »

Climate control a niche market

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

With the impending government cuts threatening to make jobs all the more scarce, many small businesses will be worrying about what exactly, the future holds for them. Van drivers in particular may well be vulnerable, not only could the cuts threaten their livelihood if, for instance, they are delivery drivers and business drops off due to the public buying less, but also there will be a fair number of newly unemployed people who may well think that buying a van and starting up in say the removal business is an easy way to make a living. All of a sudden the regular work may well be under threat from newcomers willing to undercut established businesses in an attempt to steal their business

At times like this having a niche market is worth its weight in gold and one possibility for the regular van driver could be turning to climate controlled transportation.

Climate controlled transport vehicles are a necessity for many specialised industries, hospitals for instance need climate controlled vans for the transportation of blood, human organs awaiting transplant surgery as well as patients. Extremely valuable artefacts moving from one art house to another are often required to be kept at an optimum temperature to prevent them degrading en route. Scientific instruments can require a dust free environment and many chemicals need specialised climatic conditions during periods of movement. Zoos and animal sanctuaries often require specialised climatic conditions for the transportation of their specimens as well.

To vie for business in these industries, it may well require the purchase of high spec vehicles which may well be daunting and beyond the finances of some small businesses, however, one option could be to have specialised compartments in a regular van. This would enable the business to still take on the more mundane jobs such as house removals or home deliveries but to have the capacity to offer a specialised service when required, without a massive financial outlay.

Of course any van driver looking to move into this market could well find his commercial vehicle insurance will have to be radically changed and more than likely quite a bit more expensive. It is, however, an option that could well appeal to some van drivers as they look to secure the future of their business in what seems to be an uncertain world.

Tags: Van Insurance
Posted in Van Insurance | No Comments »

Archive for July, 2010

Festival puts home deliveries on hold

When in Rome

Speed cameras in focus

A trip down memory lane

Ford and Chrysler in Van recalls

Van sales still improving month by month

Climate control a niche market

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

Blogroll