Happy Holidays from the Good Garage Scheme

The Good Garage Scheme wishes you all a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.

Travel safely and don't forget to download the Good Garage Scheme App for peace of mind
wherever you travel this Christmas. Locate a garage you can trust no matter where you travel in the UK. 

Christmas Surprise for BEN

On Tuesday, 17th December, staff from the Good Garage Scheme, including Mr. Miles Better, delivered a Christmas hamper to Arthur Wilson House in Coventry, one of BEN's day care centres. Manager, Lynn Walker, was grateful for the items which will be shared in a raffle for the patrons.

 
BEN is the UK’s dedicated charity for those who work, or have worked, in the automotive and related industries, as well as their dependants. Care centres like Arthur Wilson House do a fantastic job caring for those most in need.

If you would like to learn more about BEN and the work they do, please visit www.ben.org.uk.

THINK! before you Drink & Drive

According to THINK!, the campaign run by the Department for Transport, in the last 30 years road casualties caused by drink driving have fallen dramatically. In 2011, however, there were still 230 deaths due to drink driving – accounting for 12% of all road fatalities. By drinking and driving, you risk your life, those of your passengers and others on the road.

Any amount of alcohol affects your ability to drive. You risk a fine of up to £5,000, a minimum 12-month driving ban and a criminal record.

This year THINK! warns motorists of the dangers of driving the "morning after". Contrary to what a lot of people believe, sleep and coffee do not always sober you up after a night of drinking.

It takes a lot longer than most people think for alcohol to pass through the body.
On average it takes around one hour per unit of alcohol, though this can vary depending on weight, build, and gender.

Because of this, there is a real risk that people who would not dream of driving after drinking may still be unwittingly over the drink-drive limit the morning after.

This includes people going about everyday activities such as driving to work, doing the school run, popping to the shops or to see friends.


Here are a couple of facts about drink driving and the ‘morning after’:
• In 2012, 290 people were killed in drink-drive accidents in Great Britain (17% of all reported road fatalities), an increase of around a quarter compared with 2011 (DfT provisional figures).

• In 2011 more people failed breath tests between the hours of 6 am and 11 am than during the hour before or after midnight (ACPO).

We're not saying 'don't drink', but we are saying 'don't drink anything if you are driving' and 'don't drink heavily if you have to drive the following morning'.

Use our 'morning after calculator' to see how long it takes for alcohol to pass through the body.

The Good Garage Scheme would like to wish everyone a safe holiday season. Don't forget to charge your phone and download the Good Garage Scheme's free app before you travel in case you need to contact a garage.

Save Money On Your MOT

The MOT test was originally called the "Ministry Of Transport test", it is now simply called an MOT. All MOT Testing Stations are regulated by the newly named Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which replaces both the Driving Standards Agency and VOSA. According to the government-run DVSA, you must keep any vehicles driven on the road in a roadworthy condition and records are updated on a database. The MOT test checks that your vehicle meets road safety and environmental standards.  An MOT is required when a car is three years old (four years in Northern Ireland) and then annually after that.

As we all know the MOT test fee itself is not the most worrying cost but rather the repairs required  in order for your vehicle to pass the test.

A vehicle that does not have a valid MOT test certificate has its registration details automatically passed on to the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) of police vehicles. Certain static road-side cameras use ANPR too. An invalid MOT may also be an excuse for an insurance company to not honour a claim.

Here are some simple tips from the Good Garage Scheme to help keep the costs down:

Service your car regularly
An MOT test is NOT the same as having your vehicle serviced and does NOT check its general mechanical condition.The best way to avoid costly repair bills at MOT test time is to keep your vehicle in tip-top condition with regular checks and servicing.

Offers
Look for garages that offer discounts on servicing when MOTs are booked at the same time.

Check the lights
One in five vehicles fail MOTs due to an inoperative light bulb. Walk around to check your car's indicators and headlights, front and back. Ask for help from a friend or neighbour with checking your reversing light.

Be an early bird
Have an MOT test in the month before the current certificate ends. The new certificate will expire exactly a year from the existing one's end date (the earliest date you can do this is printed on your test certificate) so that you benefit. If you have the MOT test more than a month before the MOT's due date,  it will expire exactly a year later, meaning you lose out.

For more information about MOTs visit the Good Garage Scheme website.

Make the Road Safety Pledge

The Good Garage Scheme supported Road Safety Week last week by encouraging visitors to its website to "Make the Pledge". The Good Garage Scheme and Miles Better tweeted and sent messages of support via Facebook and Twitter and dedicated a page of its website to the charity's campaign.

Brake, the road safety charity, ran its Road Safety Week from 18th-24th November to help prevent appalling crashes caused by multitasking at the wheel. The "Tune in to Road Safety" campaign appealed to drivers to turn off their phones or put them in the boot and urges everyone to refuse to speak on the phone to someone who’s driving. It is launched a decade after hand-held mobiles were banned at the wheel and coincides with the week-long enforcement campaign.

Facts on driver distraction from BRAKE:

• Driving is the most dangerous thing most of us do on a regular basis: operating a potentially dangerous machine in an unpredictable, public environment requires full concentration at all times. 
• In the UK, Ofcom has warned of increasing levels of smartphone addiction by users who are unable to go without checking their phone for short periods or through the night. Statistics from The Communications Market 2011, Ofcom, 2011
• It is believed around one in five crashes could be caused, at least in part, by driver distraction and drivers who perform a secondary task at the wheel are two to three times as likely to crash.  Study data from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2006
• Some very complex tasks, like talking on a phone, whether hand-held or hands-free, increase this risk even more. From study by University of Western Australia, 2005
• The effect of talking on a phone on driving has been shown to be worse than drinking certain levels of alcohol. Driver reaction times are 30% slower while using a hands-free phone than driving with a blood alcohol level of 80mg alcohol per 100ml blood (the current UK limit) and nearly 50% slower than driving normally and soberly.
  Transport Research Laboratory, 2009
• Other forms of distraction not involving technology also cause risk. If you're eating or drinking at the wheel, you are less able to react; some studies have suggested the risk is as great as when talking on a phone. Brunel University, 2008
• Heightened emotions such as stress, anger or upset are cognitive distractions that significantly impede your ability to drive safely. The level of distraction depends on the level of distress. The Open University, 2011

According to Brake, drivers caught using a hand-held phone at the wheel to call or text face a (recently increased) fixed penalty notice of £100 and three points or may be offered a course instead of taking points. 

In 2012, more than 10,000 drivers caught using their phone at the wheel took a ‘What’s Driving Us’ course instead of opting for points. In some cases, drivers may go to court and face disqualification and a maximum fine of £1,000. 

Drivers who cause a crash and kill someone while using a phone could face up to 14 years in prison. Worst still they they will have to live with the knowledge that someone died because of their decision to use their phone at the wheel. 

If you haven't done so already, Make the Pledge to drive more responsibly.

Channel 4OD Hosts Good Garage Scheme Advert

From Monday, 18th November, the Good Garage Scheme's TV advert encouraging motorists to find a local garage they can trust on GoodGarageScheme.com will be appearing for the first time on Channel 4OD (4 on Demand online viewing platform).

With changes in consumer television viewing habits, the Good Garage Scheme is sending its message directly to viewers of Channel 4's most popular programmes with an opportunity for them to click directly to the Good Garage Scheme website and find their local garage or download the app.

The Good Garage Scheme has advertised on ITV Player, SKY and Dave already this year and hopes to extend brand awareness to an even wider audience.

Miles Better, the popular animated star of the television ads will appear once again alongside Good Garage Scheme member garage, Lawlor Motor Company in Tyne & Wear, where the advert was filmed.

Christchurch Motorist Wins Good Garage Scheme Competition

A valued customer of Good Garage Scheme workshop Twynham Motor Services in Christchurch has won back the cost of his car service. Christchurch motorist Mr Gardiner's feedback on his service was selected from customer feedback forms submitted by Good Garage Scheme member customers throughout the UK over a five month period. Good Garage Scheme customers are encouraged to send in their feedback after a service or repair at a member garage to help provide motorists visiting www.goodgaragescheme.com make an informed decision when selecting a local garage to service or repair their vehicle.



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 Mike Cheffings of Twynham Motor Services, presenting Good Garage Scheme competition winner Mr Gardiner of Christchurch  with a cheque for the cost of his car service.

Mr Gardiner gave Twynham Motor Services a five-star rating for their helpfulness, communication, standard of work undertaken on his car and his overall satisfaction. In his glowing feedback, Mr Gardiner stated:

“Twynham Motor Services are a lovely garage with friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff. The workshop is regularly used by myself, as well as my family and friends and I would recommend them to other drivers in our local area.”

The next Good Garage Scheme Feedback prize will be drawn on December 20th. Another lucky motorist will win back the cost of their service or repair in time for Christmas. Don't forget to enter your feedback via the website, post or app the next time you visit a Good Garage Scheme member garage.