David Cameron visits Exeter’s award winning lady garage owner….oooh that’s me!

Okay, so I receive this phone call on Tuesday. “Hi Jennifer, David Cameron’s coming down to the South-West this week and he’s like to visit your garage, is that okay?”

So I said “Oh, right, err, what day, I need to check my diary?”

Anyway, having managed to find a free slot and after several subsequent calls from his office, we made the necessary arrangements for his scheduled visit to be conducted Thursday morning. Then, just as I was about to hit the ‘send text’ button on my phone to offer up this exclusive piece of news to my media buddy, Nino Firetto (Exeter fm/Express & Echo columnist), David Cameron’s friendly Staff Officer, Sasha ended her final call that day with “Oh and obviously for security reasons this is an embargoed visit so please don’t tell anyone.”

“Oh crap!” I thought, quickly sliding my finger off my phone, but actually responding with “Oh yes Sasha, of course I understand.”

The following day I receive visits from David’s office. First photographs are taken of my offices and workshops, all entrances, exits, access roads, and other orifices that I shan’t go into. Then the lovely Sasha arrives with a colleague and they do another site recce, talk me through the visit protocol, explain about the likely amount of media coverage the visit will attract (because of the Budget it seems, not because of my lil ol’ award winning garage) and, just at the point when I’m at her mercy like a scared rabbit at the end of a double-barrelled shotgun, she slips into the conversation “Oh, I don’t know if you can help me but I’ve got this weird light that’s appeared on my dashboard?”

Now you need to imagine what’s happening in my garage at this point. First, despite the advice given by Sasha to “carry on as normal and don’t make a special effort”, there was no way a potential prime minister and half the nation’s press were setting foot anywhere near my garage without a quick shipshape clean up that I’d suddenly sprung on them - in addition to the full diary of cars they had to repair. After all, my mother had brought me properly where I’d inherited her “what will the neighbours think” attitude in ensuring that any visitor to my humble abode will be welcomed by ‘meadow spring’ and experience visible vacuum marks in the carpet! So without having given too much away to my boys - well apart from the “Quick, David Cameron’s visiting the garage tomorrow, get bloody cleaning….oh and keep it to yourselves!” - I then added even more pressure on the situation by asking one of ‘the Pauls’ to carry out a diagnostic test and any necessary repairs on Mr Cameron’s Staff Officer’s car!

That evening I had decided to work late (can’t think why!) and, having received the odd nudge and wink email from my media mates who had by this time received their embargoed press release on the next day’s events, I was by this point desperately trying to get hold of my friend and mentor Marc Astley, editor of the Express & Echo, in a last ditch attempt to gain some professional advice on how to handle the media frenzy that was about to descend on me. Thinking back, my last text message threatening to sing “I’m Henry the Eighth I am, I am” to him morning, noon and night was probably what swung his eventual return call to me, offering the best advice he could give his little petrified mentee: “Just be you Jenn, be yourself”.

So the next morning I got up extra early, wondering whether I should just wear jeans, a little black number, or something a little more seasonal like an Easter Bunny outfit! Thank goodness my third mug of coffee then kicked in, giving me the sense not to choose the latter, instead opting for smart jeans, designer jumper and a fluffy, also designer :-) cardy. I then set Sky+ to record both lunchtime and evening news so that I could settle down that evening with my partner Paul and watch….well, err….me!

David Cameron’s arrival was scheduled for 10.30am that morning. I’d opened up at 7.30am with Chris, my down-to-earth “I don’t care if it’s the Queen visiting, I’ve still got a full diary’s worth of work to sort out!” workshop manager, and I’d done my usual meeting and greeting of the days customers giving a lift to those that needed one. By 9.00am David’s office staff had arrived as well as a mass of TV crews and press photographers. By this time my fellow business neighbours knew what was happening and had all pulled together to ensure there was sufficient parking spaces available, their stools perched outside their business units, coffee flasks filled, and their camera batteries charged!

At 9.50am I overheard Sasha on the phone acknowledging that David “had landed” and was on his way. She explained to me that he was early and not all the media had arrived. “Really? She was kidding right?” I thought as I stared at the 20 or so media peeps posed and ready outside my garage. I suggested that his driver take him to a neighbouring coffee shop, Fresha Café, just around the corner, and in return for my quick thinking I demanded that she gave my mate at Exeter fm the exclusive advance announcement of David Cameron’s visit. Having heard about my rendition of “I’m Henry the Eighth” she gave way to my demand, so I quickly grabbed my mobile phone and…….Nino didn’t answer. I dialled again. Voicemail. I dialled the Exeter fm studio number. Voicemail. I looked at the clock – it was 10.00am and the news had just come on. Then my phone rang and it was Nino returning my call having just finished his show. I’m not quite sure to this day how he managed it - to decipher the rushed, garbled blurb that spilled out of my mouth and turn it into an intelligent news bulletin, but he did.

Steve Pearson, owner of Percolapps Coffee Barista, then arrived with his coffee van (by a previous top secret arrangement), thus negating my need to provide refreshments to anyone who needed them. Actually, I think he made a small killing from it! Hannah Foster, Exeter’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate also arrived and explained that we were to walk to the opposite side of the courtyard and wait at the top of the access road in order to meet David Cameron’s car. She would then introduce me to him and we would chat together, walking back towards my garage….and into the mouths of the hoards of hungry press and TV crews that awaited us. “Hah, no problem!” I thought…..not!

So, what happened? Well, David got out of his car and the first thing I thought was “Blimey, he’s tall!”. Okay, admittedly I’m 5’4” so most folk tower above me, but seriously, he is tall. Then I shook hands with him and congratulated him on the news of his expectant baby. As we walked and talked, I stopped periodically to introduce him to some of my neighbourhood not-so-camera-shy business owners.

David Cameron’s visit was supposed to last about half an hour. I welcomed him to Exeter’s only award winning lady owned garage, introduced him to each of my team, who he then chatted to and joked with for some time. Whilst touring my workshops (along with the media frenzy that shadowed us wherever we went) I also talked to him, predominantly about the issues surrounding small businesses, the impact the recession has had on us, and how support from the community - from other small businesses as well as from the local media such as the Express & Echo & Exeter fm - have been paramount to our survival through hard times. Up in the privacy of my office we talked about other matters such as when I was a civil servant, the small business support needed in order to be able to offer apprenticeships, the community events I run for charity - this year being for the Devon Air Amubulance Trust, and my forthcoming climb of Kilimanjaro for Sparks charity, the latter of which he took a particularly personal interest in.

Dave…..sorry, David Cameron to you, stayed with us for around 1 ½ hours and, despite my beliefs and disbeliefs in his party’s policies, or whether I will vote for him or not in the forthcoming general election, I will always remember that this prime ministerial hopeful at least took the time to come and visit us, he showed genuine interest in supporting small businesses, he stayed with us well over schedule, and most of all……he popped a couple of quid in my charity tins!

David Cameron visited MECA Services South-West on Thursday 25th March 2010 and his visit was covered by (among others) Exeter’s Express and Echo, the Western Morning News, Sunday Telegraph, Exeter 107.3 fm, Heart fm, and the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 news channels.

David Cameron visits Jennifer Riach of MECA Services - one of Exeter's best small businesses - thebestof Exeter blog

David Cameron visits Jennifer Riach of MECA Services - one of Exeter's best small businesses - thebestof Exeter blog

Clunk-Click every trip (Warning: 9pm reader-watershed applies)!

Have you ever noticed how often the words “unrestrained passenger” turn up on TV in those hospital soaps like Casualty or Holby City - just before something really messy rolls in the door?

Slowly passing by a road traffic accident (or ‘RTA’ as it more commonly referred), the way I tell the difference between those who were wearing their seatbelts and those who were not is that the ones who were wearing them are standing around saying “This really sucks!” whereas the ones who weren’t are kinda just, well, lying there.

This is not to say that all unrestrained traffic accidents are fatals, nor that seat-belted peeps are invulnerable. My father didn’t believe in wearing a seatbelt, having lost a good friend in an RTA where the seatbelt failed to release leaving him trapped in his car. Trying to explain to my dad that his friend would’ve most likely died in any case from the injuries he sustained was pointless. Ironically, at only 51 years young, my poor dad also died in an RTA, though I doubt his insistence on not wearing a seatbelt wouldn't have made much difference to the outcome of his head-on collision with an articulated lorry. But, if you’re playing the odds….

Last year, Sir Alex Furguson’s 10-year old grandson Charlie was seriously injured in a car crash. Surgeons reported that Charlie had an initial 5-hour operation to reduce brain swelling having sustained serious head injuries. Then the boy had to undergo further surgery to repair his spine after shattering a neck vertebra. Little Charlie's mother and younger sister sustained more minor injuries than this. Bet you’ll never guess which two were wearing their seatbelts?

So, having considered both personal and family experiences, as well as dabbling in my usual not so scientific Google research, let me try to explain what physically happens to us when involved in a collision. Be warned though, some of this will be gruesome, and I make no apology for this.

Did you know that on impact you have three or four sub-collisions all taking place in sequence? First, the vehicle hits some object. The vehicle abruptly slows, but unrestrained passengers (and other objects) inside it continue at the same speed, in the same direction. Then the unrestrained body hits the interior of the vehicle, and starts to slow. That’s the second collision. And that body’s internal organs are still moving at speed until they hit the inside of the chest (or get cheese-sliced by their supporting ligaments). The fourth collision is when your mate who’s riding in the back seat lands on your head, and because they aren’t wearing their seatbelt either they keep moving at the same speed in the same direction.

In a nutshell, in a crash at 30mph, if unrestrained you will be thrown forward with a force of between 30-60 times your own bodyweight. Where most vehicles these days have split folding rear seats, items carried in the boot of your car now have more chance of travelling forward upon impact. This is why my partner Paul - who carries more equipment in his boot than I have in my office - always ensures he buckles up the rear seatbelts in his car regardless of whether he has passengers or not.

Newtonian physics: Learn it, live it, love it! As a side issue, upon tracing my family history some years ago I discovered that Sir Isaac Newton was actually some great, great, great, great, second cousin removed of mine…or something like that. So I know what I’m talking about - family blood lines an’ all that!

Now, for those of you who aren't that squeamish and are thus still reading this, there are two major routes that unrestrained persons take in a front-ended RTA. Up-and-over or down-and-under (‘submarining’). With up-and-over, the upper body launches forward and up. The head strikes the windscreen. Your injuries here include concussion, scalp laceration, and various brain bleeds. You can also suspect fractured cervical vertebrae - and if you have a fracture with compromise to the spinal cord at C-4 or higher, you’ve lost the nerves that control chest expansion and the diaphragm.

Go a little further through the windscreen, and it isn’t unexpected to leave some or all of your face behind stuck in the broken glass. You’d be surprised by how easily faces come off the facial bones! You can also expect fractured wrists, arms, and shoulders, from folks trying to brace themselves.

A little further through the windscreen, all the way out of the vehicle, and in addition to whatever damage you took on the way through, you get the damage from hitting the ground, trees, and metal poles at however-many-miles-an-hour.

Sure, like my late father’s philosophy, you hear people talking about wanting to be “thrown clear” in the event of an accident. However, if you want to simulate being thrown clear, just go to the fifth floor of a building and jump out the window!

Being thrown clear apparently happens more often than you’d think. Unrestrained driver: side impact. Vehicle spins. Driver goes out the window. One of my customers in our local police force recently recalled one incident to me where the driver was half-way out his window when the vehicle rolled over on top of him. That was the second-most grotesque scene they said they’d ever been to. And no, I didn’t ask what the first one was.

My police friend also said “Any time you see an accident and the windows aren’t rolled all the way up and unbroken, look 200ft in all directions for the other patients. It’s quite unpleasant finding them three days later when someone wonders why all those birds are over there, or when someone at the hospital wakes up enough to ask where Joe is."

With ‘submarining’ injuries however, the driver or passenger goes forward and down, and under the dashboard. Here’s where you’re going to find fractured femurs, broken knees, and compression fractures to the lower spine. Now I know you’re all asking “Is it possible for a human femur to be pushed through the floor of the pelvis?” Well, the answer according to my good friend Google is “Yes.” As the legs collapse accordion-style, the patient’s chest hits the dashboard. This can give you rib fractures, a fractured sternum, cardiac bruising, or that ruptured aorta that many will know only too well.

On the plus side, there usually isn’t any brain damage (unless you got clonked on the knob by that bowling ball you’re carrying in the back, and seatbelts won’t help with that). On the other hand, femur fractures can be, and frequently are, fatal.

I think I’ll leave Traumatic Asphyxia, Hemo/Pneumothorax, and Flail Chest for another time…..let’s just say that they’re associated with having your chest hit the dashboard or steering wheel, and they’re really pants!

Seatbelts stop you from going up-and-over or down-and-under, or out the window. Sure, seatbelts can hurt you too, but hey, you’re in the presence of large amounts of free-floating energy, you decide.

With the UK’s seat belt law having been introduced in 1983 (and amended to include all passengers in 1991 and child seats in 2006), the police can stop and issue a fixed penalty fine to drivers and/or passenger solely for not wearing their seat belt.

The current fine is £60 (up to £500 + costs if it goes to court).

The penalty can be death.

Countdown to Spring.....and snakes!

This week my partner Paul became a granddad…or ‘Pops’ as he prefers. His daughter has had a little baby boy called Riley and mother and baby are doing fine, albeit in Western Australia….very frustrating for Paul and I. Not to be left out though, apparently I too have a new title - ‘Nana Jenn!’ (I defy even my closest friends to mention this too often!).

With Spring in the air and Paul becoming a grandfather, this then got me thinking about parenthood, becoming grandparents and….motorhomes, or coffin-dodgers as Paul fondly calls them when referring to his parent’s treasured holiday home on wheels. (Listen fellas, this is an insight into a woman’s mind at work, so next time you’re wondering “How on earth did you arrive at that from the conversation we were just having”, now you know!).

Like most businesses, we too have seasonal trends in the motor repair business. And it is at this time of year that I will start to see a sharp increase in the following:

Motorhomes - T’is the season to be……..holidaying. Yes, the sunshine brings out the holiday mood in us whether it’s a weekend down in Cornwall or a week away at Easter, those campervan and motorhome doors will be unlocked, the bedding aired, and the engines…err, not turned over. Now to be fair, most of our motorhome-owning customers are very good at getting them serviced quite regularly. But this always seems to happen at the same time, in the Spring, thus everyone wants them maintained at the same time. And the most common problem already happening this year seems to be dead batteries where, despite having turned the fridge off, it is still drawing off power from the main battery. Now there are not many garages these days like mine who can accommodate large vans for servicing and MOT work, so it’s the only time of year that I see my diary change from normal “MOT” slots to “MOT Motorhome!” slots; the exclamation mark (& usually additional yellow highlighter) indicating that it could be a long job…

Air conditioning - For some reason very few drivers realise that your air conditioning system can be just as effective during Winter months as the Summer, not least in demisting your windscreen at warp speed. So as the weather starts to get warmer many peeps decide to turn on their aircon for the first time in many months only to find out it isn’t working properly. This is often just down to the system needing to be re-gassed and, being one of only a few garages that offer this service….well legally any way…we will once again start to see aircon re-gas bookings appear in our diary more frequently than at any other time of the year.

Door windows - As with the air conditioning, many of us have not used our car door windows during the Winter months and normally what happens is this. The phone starts ringing with the same sorry tale, “I can’t close my window, the glass seems to have got stuck! Any chance I can come around for one of your guys to have a look at it…now?” And “now” often means either lunchtime or after work, between 4.30pm - 5.00pm, as these are the times when the window opening then closing attempts first start (as opposed to first thing in the morning when it’s cold). So as I’m a big softie when it comes to a customer in trouble, instead of saying “Look I’m really sorry but my boys are at lunch” or “…my boys are just about to go home”, what I actually say is “Yes, of course we can help, come right round, my boys will take a look and at the very least make sure the window glass is temporarily put back up until we can book it in properly”. And so it is this time of year when "my boys" throw their sandwich boxes in the air and give up on ever seeing their families again…..at least for a few weeks.

Now, back to the thinking (keeping up guys?). Having mulled over the forthcoming seasonal trends, this then got me thinking about what happened last year. Probably as a result of the recession we started to see more caravans on the road, many driven by those new to the towing experience. Each summer, and most Fridays, we’d hear on the local radio (a quick plug here for Exeter fm me thinks) “road closed….traffic queues….accident….. caravan overturned”. The boys always shout out “Yey, there’s another one!” and Chris (my workshop manager), who lives in the Dawlish area, starts threatening to chop a large tree down to block the main road, in an attempt to stop the holiday makers from ascending on his territory.

The scourge of the unlucky or, usually careless caravaners, 'snaking', occurs - when a caravan under two begins swinging from side to side, potentially resulting in a caravan swinging right around and hitting the side of the towing vehicle, causing car and caravan to spin and overturn.

Whilst even the most experienced caravaner can not avoid every type of snake induced accident, it is the careless caravaner who particularly irritates the hell out of my partner Paul. Having owned a few caravans in his time for his off-roading competition trips, he has on this occasion become my own personal search engine in my quest to save some of Devon’s roads on a Friday by listing the most basic, fundamental safety points that every caravan newbie should know:

1. A fully laden caravan should ideally not exceed 85% of the weight of the car. I knew that! And the optimum nose weight on the tow ball is around 7% of its laden weight. Okay, I didn’t know that one.

2. The tow bar is specific to your vehicle and it is professionally fitted.

3. Towing stability is dependent on how the caravan is loaded. Like learning to ride a bike, fitting a stabiliser will also help it seems - although it is no substitute for not loading your van correctly, so remember Paul’s rule: Heavy items over and in front of the caravan axle, not towards the rear or high up in lockers.

4. Check your tyres - all of them! Car tyre pressures may need to be inflated more for towing. And as caravan tyre tread rarely wears out (due to lower mileage), look out for signs of cracking and flat spots due to standing in one position.

5. It sounds obvious, but remember you’ll take longer to stop with a caravan in tow.

6. Speed restrictions are different with a caravan. In 70mph limits caravans are restricted to 60mph, and to 50mph in 60mph limits. Watch out for crosswinds and go slower downhill as this is when ‘snaking’ is most likely to occur, as is being overtaken by a large lorry for example. If the caravan begins to snake, Paul doesn’t accelerate or brake. I’ve watched him lift off the accelerator to allow engine braking, and he also loosens his grip on the steering wheel slightly until the snaking is brought under control. Then he gently accelerates back up to speed.

7. Finally, as with most vehicles, caravans should be serviced every year regardless of how few miles have been travelled. I definitely knew that one!

And so I end this rather long tale with an admission to you all that the last time I towed a caravan I was actually involved in an accident.

There I was minding my own business, leisurely setting off for the weekend when I turned into the bend on our extremely icy main road. Realising only too late a collision was imminent, I slammed on the brakes which obviously proved futile and all I could do was hang on for dear life as our trusty caravan slid out of control on the ice rink we call a street.

Suh-Mashhh!! Twisted metal and plastic flew up in the air. I just sat dumbfounded and began to shake.

“Bloody hell!” I yelled, having got out to survey the scene and prying out pieces wedged underneath my CR-V’s front end. Luckily, upon inspection my caravan hadn't incurred any damage. But I sure as heck had demolished the black late model that happened to be sitting in the middle of the street.

Who the hell puts a STEREO in the middle of the bloomin’ street??? Oh yeah, my idiot neighbours do…..two days after bin collection day! I was so annoyed that I threw what was left of it up on the pavement.

Good thing I didn’t have to tell the insurance company though. Can you imagine the conversation:

"Okay madam, what was the make and model of the one you hit?" They would ask.

"Ummm. A black Sony. Don't know the year, but it must have been an older make as it still had a tape deck."

"Did you say SONY?"

"Uh huh. Large model, a quad with quite the sound system, at least in its day."

"Errr madam, I don't believe Sony make vehicles."

"Oh I know that. I hit a home stereo unit in the middle of our street. Smashed it to bits too. It is now an Ex-Stereo…."

All Paul could say when I amused him with my incident was "Sony eh? Maybe the speakers were still good!"

Not any more babes. Not any more.

So who are the better drivers: men or women? Nino's drag race challenge!

You'll see from my January Blog that I wrote about the differences between male and female drivers, mostly covering safety and statistical information, and concluding that women are better and safer behind the wheel. You will also see that I did actually personally admit to the men I know in my life not only being being more confident a driver than I, but also parking and reversing better.

This is alas not good enough for one such friend, who has it seems got a little bee in his Easter bonnet! The Exeter fm Breakfast Show host, Nino Firetto - who's show I sponsor and who some of you will know is also a mate of mine -  has decided that winding up the Express and Echo Editor, Marc Astley, is no longer enough for his day-to-day amusement; so he has now started on me!

First of all it started with a gentle "Plant seed in Jenn's head" approach with a "Hey Jenn, I wonder what would happen if we got two drivers in the same cars, doing the same route, at the same time of day, with the same amount of fuel, to see how fuel efficient they could be?"

"Hmmm, an interesting topic for a future Blog" I thought....until he said "You and I could do it". Then the alarm bells starting ringing. I remained quiet to see where this was going and what trap he was leading me into.

 "I challenge you..." he finally exclaimed excitedly "...to a drag race of sorts". "Let's see who's the better driver, men or women - you and me in a race?"

"Ah, now we're getting to the bottom of it" I thought. It's that Venus-Mars mixed in with a bit of tetosterone thing that men suffer from. Correction, it's us girls that suffer! It's that "Let's have an arm wrestle to settle this" approach. And of course I bit!

"Right, you're on!!" I roared, before I realised what I was agreeing to. You see, anyone who knows Nino will know that effect he has on people....you just can't say no to the guy! It's almost impossible! And it's those cat from Shrek eyes he's got that does it!

Well okay Ni, here it is in writing - you are on my friend! Name your place and time.................loser!

Of course, anyone who knows me will also know to place their hard earned cash on me. My partner Paul will. I am very competitive. I do not do failure and I despise losing at anything.

See you all at the starting line.

Jenn (aka Monica from Friends)
http://www.exeter.fm/
http://www.ninoradio.blogspot.com/

When vanity meets safety....it's a girl thing!

We've all been there; stranded at the side of an unfamiliar road, hoping against hope that a passing motorist will render emergency assistance or provide transportation to the nearest service station. Sometimes the problem is a serious mechanical failure, but all too often the situation could have been resolved with a £3 bottle of motor oil or a 50p bottle of water. If only we had planned ahead, we would have had that one inexpensive item that would have spared us hours of inconvenience.

Although women are more concerned about breaking down or driving in poor weather conditions, I have often wondered whether we are as prepared for our journey as our male counterparts.

A mobile phone, the number of a breakdown company (& the breakdown cover to go with it of course!), warm blanket, first aid kit, torch, a bottle of water and motor oil, and a warning triangle are just a few essentials that all drivers should, in my opinion, be carrying in their car, especially in the event of an accident, breakdown, or when driving in adverse conditions such as on icy or flooded roads. Of course the latsest copy of Heat magazine could also be added to my list to keep one amused whilst you wait to be rescued. Oh come on guys, you know you read it too!

The findings in various UK studies completed over the past five or six years on driving behaviour shout out at me that, although women generally feel more concerned and vulnerable about driving in bad weather conditions, we are less likely to carry emergency safety items in our cars. Male drivers on the other hand will not only do so, but will often include additional items such as small tools, a jack or foot pump, a tow rope, and a high-vis jacket - although I suspect that the latter item probably comes as a result of their job.

Having recently asked many of my female customers and girlfriends what items of safety they always keep in their car, the three most popular items were a mobile phone, ice scraper/de-icer, and, most interestingly and rather surprisingly, sunglasses! Now whilst I do myself like to keep my Raybans very close to hand, I have not disallowed them as indeed they do have a purpose to serve aside from my own vanity. They actually could minimise the risk of our becoming temporarily sun-blind through the car windscreen, particularly during the spring and autumn months when the sun is low.

From the discussions I had with my fellow womankind, other safety concerns raised included ensuring they had their favourite high gloss lippy and perfume atomiser close by, parking in well-lit car parks or streets, and keeping their keys in their hand when walking to and from their car. Personally speaking, I am not that keen on applying whale blubber to my face (sorry girls, but fact!), but I do carry either my car keys (or a biro) firmly in my hand if I am out alone when it’s dark, not least to jab in the eye of any potential attacker that might be foolish enough to cross my path.

Rather more interestingly, out of the 40 or so people I spoke to, not one mentioned carrying a first aid kit. On realising this, I quickly rang round a few of my male friends until I was about to dial number eight on the list when the penny dropped; they’d all included a first aid kit within their “Quick, I’m doing some research for my blog - name 5 safety items you’d carry in your car?” list.

So from my admittedly less than scientific research I have concluded that, whilst men appear to be quite safety conscious, us girls are more concerned with minimising the fear and vulnerability that many of us may feel on the roads - okay, admittedly with the insistence of looking fabulous whilst being utterly terrified!

And in order to protect not just ourselves but the whole family we need to better plan our journeys to prevent a breakdown and/or accident which exposes us to other risks that we also need to better prepare for. With our unpredictable weather and with women still predominantly carrying children as passengers, us girls could really do with improving our safety by ensuring that practical items are kept in our car as a matter of course - right next to the killer heels and emergency makeup bag!