The Automotive Blog

Gloucestershire Council released a statement on their website highlighting Safe Driving while at work.

There is a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to ensure as far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all employees while at work. Employers and employees also have a duty to ensure that others are not put at risk by work related driving activities.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work regulations 1999 also apply and require that risk assessment are undertaken for activities with significant risks, and that effective management controls are put in place and implemented.

When considering driving safety there are also a number of road traffic laws to take into account, including the Road Traffic Act.

This document details how managers should manage occupational driving and details staff (driver) responsibilities. It explains the processes to be followed in evaluating the risks associated with driving at work and the control measures that need to be in place to mitigate those risks, which include driver familiarisation and training, driver documentation checking etc.

X-Driven is an ideal tool to prove who is a Safe Driver, simply sitting on your dashboard or attaching to your windscreen the X-Driven is powered by the cigarette lighter or can be fully wired into the vehicle cab. The X-Driven will record and store data for any sudden ‘shock’ movements such as harsh braking, vehicle impacts or excessive acceleration. The X-Driven can also be dismounted and carried to record damage at the rear of the vehicle or general accident information such as loading or delivering damage.

aide automotive ltd promote safe driving through all its own fleet and UK companies.

Reports are increasing of thefts of fuel from vehicles across the UK. Recently the RAC have reported a major increase in fuel theft from cars and light commercial vans.

“There has been a 500% increase in call-outs to fuel thefts from cars throughout Greater London, and nearly every other region of England has seen a rise of more than 50% since January”, the RAC said.

aide automotive ltd has been involved with the fuel theft problem for many years, Matthew Burke founder of aide automotive ltd states ” back in 2001 a coach operator advised me that fuel was stolen weekly. Not having any product to offer the customer I looked at what I could invent to counteract this theft. After discussions with a local engineer, we came up with an anti siphoning device to suit buses. We then found that this fuel theft problem was a common occurrence and hauliers were also finding fuel theft was affecting their business.  Since then aide automotive ltd have introduced a variety of anti siphon devices for trucks, buses, coaches, vans and now cars!

With many commercial anti syphon devices sold in the UK, aide automotive ltd have also seen a requirement for anti siphon devices for cars and vans. With this we are proud to announce a new device for diesel cars and vans. Our latest device will help prevent fuel theft from a diesel car or van and also stop the major problem of misfuelling.

Mis fuelling is reported to take place once every 3 and a half minutes, and with the high cost and inconvenience of a diesel engine being filled with petrol, this device will cut out expensive repair costs and vehicle downtime.

Car fuel theft will increase as long as fuel prices increase, so for a small investment of around £50 reduces, loss and downtime inconvenience.  Protecting a car’s or van’s fuel is a wise move.

The BBC recently reported on a fine of £6,650 under the Health and Safety at Work Act following the death of a farm worker in a quad bike accident in the Scottish Borders. Grant Shannon, 34, died on Kelloe Mains Farm near Duns on 14 June 2007.

The Health and Safety Executive said Mr Shannon’s death could “easily have been prevented” and stressed the need to properly maintain such equipment. 

There were a number of health and safety issues but the most serious identified was incorrect tyre pressure.

The company admitted charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act for “failure to provide and maintain plant (ATV) that was, so far as reasonably practicable, safe”.

Inspector Gillian McLean said: “Mr Shannon’s death could easily have been prevented.” If it had been checked that the vehicle was in “good mechanical condition”.

aide automotive supplies two tyre pressure monitors that for a small investment can save lives and avoid the cost of being fined or even imprisoned for breaches in Health and Safety. PressurePro and Air Alert take the guesswork of determining the correct tyre pressure of your vehicles

Visit aide automotive.com for full details of all our products.

aide automotive are pleased to offer a special purchase price for our excellent brake tester BrakeCheck.

Sales of BrakeCheck have grown since 2002 to a massive 8000 plus testers sold, making BrakeCheck the number ONE decelerometer in the UK.

With many bus & coach companies from small to national operators purchasing BrakeCheck to complete an inspection sheet brake test, aide automotive are pleased to offer a special deal for a BrakeCheck when purchased with a printer.

So for June 09 only you can buy a BrakeCheck for just £274.00 (list price (£349.00) when purchased in conjuction with a printer at a list price of £145.00.

To take up on this great offer phone 0115 8456471 and quote promotional code 6BC09.

All prices exclude carriage & VAT.

With the number of vehicles on the road today it’s not surprising to know that it’s now common to find more people having the misfortune of misfuelling their diesel cars.

The misfuelling of Diesel cars is not only a misfortunate event but also a costly one, often not covered by your insurance company.

Misfuelling your Diesel car doesn’t just mean that you need to have your fuel tank emptied – it can be much worse than that.  In the worst case scenario you could find yourself replacing nearly the entire fuelling system of your vehicle as certain parts can end up getting damaged beyond repair.

Misfuelling now affects nearly 150,000 people a year – imagine how costly the repair of 150,000 car engines is!  You might wonder why so many people put the wrong fuel in their car.  The simple fact is that it’s an easy mistake to make, and can happen after only a single moment of a lapse In concentration.

Thankfully, Diesel car owners will now be pleased to know that there are now a number of products on the market to help prevent you putting petrol into your Diesel car.  The main reason behind misfuelling is that the petrol nozzle is much smaller than the diesel nozzle, and so fits easily into the neck of the fuel tank.

Some devices on the market just act as a visual or audible warning when the fuel cap is opened, where as others actual fit on top of the fuel neck and actually prevent the petrol fuel nozzle from being inserted into the vehicle.

If you own a diesel car and don’t yet have a misfuelling device then I would highly recommend it.  We all think that misfuelling is something that happens to someone else, but in reality it could happen to anyone – even you.

The RAC are stressing the need for organisations who’s employees drive on company business to ensure Duty of Care Legislation has been complied to! aide automotive’s Route Safe product  helps companies implement company health and safety policy. In the event of one of your employee’s being involved in an incident whilst out on company business RouteSafe enables the business to demonstrate

• That a health and safety policy is in place for company drivers
• That this policy has been communicated to all employees

Follow this link for the full article that the RAC published.

aide automotive have introduced a new website for the Diesel Key mis fuelling device.

Mis fuelling or using the wrong fuel has become more popular over the last fews years and is easily done. The nozzle of a petrol pump is smaller than a Diesel nozzle, and therefore fits into the fuel tank without resistance. All you need is for something to catch your attention and you have an expensive repair bill on your hands (and sometimes an insurance claim!)

Diesel Key is the only device to help stop car fuel theft, this device will stop siphoning from a diesel car.

Visit aide automotives main site and the mis fuelling site by clicking on the highlited names.

The Driver Eye is a fantastic new product that enables companies or individuals to monitor driving habits.  One particular use is for parents to monitor their teens driving habits.  Follow this Driver Eye link to read a recent article on the device or visit aideautomotive for full product details.

Keystone Distribution UK has fitted the Fresnel lens to its fleet of 14o trucks.

The Fresnel Lens is a clear, thin, flat plastic lens that is press fitted to a truck’s passenger door window to help drivers tackle the truck mirror “blind-spot” problem.

Keystone’s transport manager decided to fit the lens as it offers an extremely effective and economical safety aid to each truck and helps the driver cover all blind spot areas.

The Lens is a simple, effective product and can be used on virtually any type of vehicle that is susceptible to blind spots, whether left or right hand drive. Blind spots are big enough to hide a small family saloon. The Fresnel Lens is backed by VOSA, The Department of Transport, The Highways Agency and Border & Immigration Agency.

aide automotive are apporved suppliers of the Fresnel Lens.