Brace yourself drivers, as the next coming months in the UK are going to be harsh, weather wise that is. We have been told to expect temperatures well into the minus, plus snow and icy winds. Now the best advice we can offer is: if you don’t need to go out in your car then don’t, but of course reality just doesn’t work that way. Here are some safety tips that can prepare you for the trip ahead:

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The snow season is always a fun one but for driving a vehicle in it, it can also be a dangerous one. Most people from the UK are used to some snow and have had some experience driving in it, but head over to Europe in the winter months and you could be in for a shock; the snowfall there is generally a lot heavier than in the UK and it lasts longer!

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Remember the days when your passport was top of you holiday check list, well these days it seems that the mobile phone has taken its place. The ‘apps’ you can add to your mobile phone will now pretty much do everything apart from pack your suitcase.

As with most people these days I interact more with my phone than with real people! Whilst visiting the App Store I discovered that I can book every part of my holiday on my phone, track the status of tickets, check in for my flight and find out any travel requirements of the country I am visiting!
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Goldtrail, the Greece and Turkey specialist holiday operator, went into administration on Friday leaving an estimated 16,000 customers overseas. A further 50,000 customers have booked and paid for holidays over the coming months.

Holidaymakers in Turkey are reporting that hotel owners are asking them to settle their bill before they leave as they too have only just heard the news of the company closure.

If you are abroad please call the Atol helpline as the Atol scheme protects you from having to pay for your accommodation again. The number to call is: 0044 203 441 0846.

If you have not yet travelled please contact your travel agent and they will advise you on how to claim a refund. You are also able to download a claim form from the CAA website, www.caa.co.uk. Their contact number is 0203 441 0846.

Are you a Goldtrail customer? Have you been affected? Have you been given any assistance? Please tell us your experience.

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BAA’s Airports are open and ready for business!

Firstly, in case you missed the amazing video we posted yesterday of the Icelandic Volcano erupting here it is again.

Now at last some good news! As of 2134 hours last night restrictions on flights into the UK have been lifted. Air traffic control services have resumed although there is still a small area over north west Scotland which is still affected. http://www.nats.co.uk/index.html

However, the backlog of flights is immense and it will take some time for everything at the airports to get back to normal. Whilst many of the flights on the BAA’s websites show their status as scheduled it is still advisable to contact your airline and check for further cancellations or delays.

With so many people needing to leave or return to the UK flights are going to be full for several weeks. But at least it is an end to the uncertainty for those who are stranded miles from home and those waiting for them.

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The Eyjafjallajökull Volcano that has been disrupting air travel for 5 days is finally calming down. Flights have taken off in Northern Europe from Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

In the UK, a few domestic flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow took off this morning. The first plane was from Glasgow headed to Stornoway at 7:15am.

Based on the latest Met Office information, Nats statement says: “The situation will continue to be variable. Part of Scottish airspace including Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh airports will continue to be available from 1300 to 1900, and also south to Newcastle Airport.
Restrictions will remain in place over the rest of UK airspace below 20,000ft.” (http://www.nats.co.uk/)

Schedules are constantly changing and travelers have been advised not to travel to airports until they have checked with their airline or tour operator.

Our CEO was in Iceland and captured some amazing images from an helicopter over the volcano. Have a look!

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A really interesting question and answer page I found in The Times by Dr Mark suggests a pillow that can ease your backache while driving.

The question posed to him was “I have always been prone to backache, but the problem has become noticeably worse since I changed my car. Can you suggest a cushion that might help to ease the discomfort on long journeys?“ and I think that is a really good question. Car seats are ergonomically designed to fit around us and make our journeys more comfortable and everybody adjusts their cars seat due to different shapes and sizes, but sometimes this just isn’t enough.

I, for one, sit quite far back in my car because my upper body is a bit longer than my legs. It almost looks like I am laying down while driving! While my partner has to sit quite far back because he is very tall, but has to keep the seat almost upright so he can reach the wheel! But would a cushion help ease the gap between the lower back and the seat? Not forgetting that our spines have a slight natural curve in them.

Dr Mark says that car makers spend a lot of money trying to make the perfect seat, but it is very difficult catering for all different shapes and sizes. I reckon, in a perfect world, we should have a car seat made to measure!

The suggestion Dr Mark makes is that before you go spending thousands of pounds on cushions like lumbar ones, try and adjust your seat again. You may be sitting too far away so your arms and legs have to stretch to reach the wheel and pedals, this can really put a strain on your back because it has to stay in one position the whole time. If this is the case without any support, then no wonder you’ll be getting back pain! I personally suggest that Yoga would be a really good way to increase back strength, as well as adjusting your seat so you aren’t over stretched.

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According to the Telegraph, the Equality and Human Rights commission has expressed it’s concerns to Lord Adonis, The Transport Secretary.

These scanners are already in place at Manchester and Heathrow airport but may be breaking discrimination laws as well as breaching passengers right to privacy. As shown by Mr Shahrukh Khan who spoke about his experience on Jonathan Ross, saying that girls had print outs of his naked body which he autographed.

In the letter the commission said they recognised the threat of terrorists, but their concerns are ”about the apparent absence of safeguards to ensure the body scanners are operated in a lawful, fair and non-discriminatory manner”.

Also added that they had “serious doubts that the decision to roll this (body scanning) out in all UK airports complies with the law”.

The commission’s chairman, Trevor Phillips has said “The right to life is the ultimate human right and we support the Government’s review of security polices. State action like border checks, stop-and-search and full body scanning are undertaken for good reasons. But, without proper care, such policies can end up being applied in ways which do discriminate against vulnerable groups or harm good community relations. National security policies are intended to protect our lives and our freedoms, but it would be the ultimate defeat if that protection destroyed our other liberties.”

See, I’m not sure about this security scan issue. On the one hand I think it is a fantastic piece of equipment that could really help crack down on the terror threat, but on the other hand there is no way I would ever want to go through one of them where someone can see my whole naked body. How do you feel about this? Would you want a whole body scan? Are you not bothered? Do you think it will help crack down on the terrorists? Let us know your thoughts.

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According to the Independent, Palm Oil is set to be put into Britain’s cars, which means chopping down a substantial amount of rainforests. This will be a threat to the environment as it will affect climate change.

The European Commission has a plan to increase the amount of palm oil that is used in cars and power stations which will reduce greenhouse gases. Bit of a catch 22 really don’t you think? Cut down the rainforest, or reduce our car emissions?

Britons use 50 billion litres of fuel for transport a year, with 2.7% coming from biofuels which includes palm oil. The Government have said that using environmentally damaging materials would not be the best idea but there is not enough data to suggest that 42% of transport biofuel is used in the UK. Last year, according to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), last year in Britain and other EU states “are required to source at least 10% of petrol and diesel in road transport from renewable sources.” The majority comes from sugar cane palm, rapeseed and soy.

The EC document protects wildlife by banning states from sourcing fuel from grasslands, wetlands and forests that reduce greenhouse gases. But exemption does not include habitats that were changed before January 2008, meaning that most of the palm oil made can be used, even though most of it comes from plants that have replaced rainforests in the last 15 years.

This policy is going to increase the demand for Palm Oil. This can only be grown in Malaysia, Indonesia , many other Asian countries, West Africa and the Amazon in Brazil which have tropical climates. These places are all very rich in rare wildlife such as Sumatran Tiger and Orangutans and most of the land is lost when converted into straight line plantations.

How do you feel about this issue? I think there could be many other ways to get better fuels. Why are people not looking into using water to power our vehicles or food waste such as potato peels? It’s a very difficult issue and as I said above, it seems like a catch 22 situation. Do let us know your thoughts.

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Can you find the CO2 emissions for the vehicle you are thinking of buying on the manufacturer’s website? Neither can a lot of others it seems. According to The Guardian, a report has been carried out by the Energy Saving Trust, Friends of the Earth Europe and We Are Futureproof that says car companies are confusing their consumers on their website.

An online survey that was carried out on members of the public found that only half (52%) were successful. Surprisingly less than 5% came across the widely used A – G energy efficiency label in their attempts to look up information on emissions.

It showed that Mini, Kia, Lexus and Honda had the best usable website for finding this information, while Alfa Romeo, Nissan, Smart and Mercedes Benz ranked amongst the worst. You can view the full league table on the Guardian website to see where all the manufacturer’s ranked.

Users who tested how long it took to find the emissions; had said that CO2 emissions were not ranked very important on some manufacturer’s websites.

Blake Ludwig, MD of We Are Futureproof has said “More and more people want to choose greener, more efficient cars, but our study shows that some car makers expect them to spend time hunting around confusing websites for information. Other car makers have got it right, putting the data upfront and easy to find, and we think all companies should have to follow this model.”

How easy have you found looking up the CO2 information on manufacturer’s websites? Do you think it is important to keep all the information clear where people can find it easily?

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