Monthly Archives - July 2018

The summer holidays are just around the corner now which means you’re about the have the kids in the car a lot more than usual. Whether you’re planning a UK holiday, plenty of day trips or just bringing the kids along for your daily errands, they’re likely to spend a fair portion of their time in the car over the next few weeks, so you’re going to want to keep things organised.

We’re going to be giving you a helping hand in keeping your car tidy by sharing with you some top organisation tips, including some of our new car organisers, that will help keep your car clean and tidy throughout the summer break.

Car Boot Organiser

If you’ve got kids then you’ll know that the boot of your car can easily become a bottomless pit for pretty much everything and anything. Toys, clothes, shoes, everything gets thrown in the boot and eventually, you’ve got no room for what you actually need to store in the boot.

Using a car boot organiser is the ideal way to keep things tidy, ensure you’ve got all the essentials you need in one place and thanks to the carefully thought out size and shape of the new HandiWorld car boot organiser, you can easily fit prams, scooters or bikes in the boot alongside it.

Split into sections to help keep things organised, you’ll be able to find everything you need in the car quickly and easily, stopping any potential dramas when you’re on the go!

Invest in a Car Bin

Whether you buy a specialist car bin, a cheap bin from the local shop or just make a DIY one with things you have at home, having a designated place for rubbish is one of our ultimate hacks for keeping the car clean and tidy.

You can’t be mad with your kids for leaving rubbish lying around the car if there’s nowhere else for it to be put but if you’ve got a car bin, you can help your kids learn the importance of tidying up after themselves and keeping things tidy!

Back Seat Organisers

Kids seem to want and need everything in the back of the car and then it’s you that has to try and keep all that stuff tidy but with the help of one of our new back seat organisers, you can have a place for everything in the car.

Designed to hang over the back of the front seats, our organisers have various sized compartments and pockets for things such as pens, books, small toys and snacks which will help you ensure you’ve got everything on board before you head off and keep things in one place when you’re out and about.

Organise Your Glove Box with Wash Bags

The glove box is another area of the car that seems to become a dumping ground for bits and bobs you want to keep in the car but don’t have a place for, oh and old parking tickets, sweet wrappers, etc.

The glove box gets easily disorganised but is actually a valuable storage space in the car for on the go essentials you want to keep on hand at all times, so keep it organised with the help of wash bags.

If you want to keep some medical supplies, personal hygiene essentials or even some snacks, you can split everything into wash bags to keep them together and easy to find in your glove box when you need them.

A Place for Parking Tickets

When you think of your car and what’s making it look a bit messy, the first thing we imagine will come to mind is all the parking tickets on the floor and in your door pockets, so having a designated place for these will help instantly keep your car tidy.

Some people need to keep their parking tickets for financial reasons, some of us just need to bin them but whether you keep or throw them, having a small sandwich bag in your driver’s door pocket can become a parking ticket bin.

Simply pop every parking ticket in the bag once you’re done with it and either take them in the house with you when you need them or when the bag gets full, bin the tickets and put the bag back in your car. If you’re heading on a UK holiday or lots of trips, there’ll be lots of parking tickets, so keeping these tidy is a good first step to keeping your car looking tidy and organised!

If you’re desperate to get the mess in your car under control or you’re dreading the state your car will become over the summer holidays, we hope these car organisation tips and hacks will help you out!

Have you got any car organisation tricks of your own? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook!

Staying safe on the roads is so important, no matter how far you’re travelling but it’s fair to say that the further you’re driving, the more safety issues you could incur.

Every driver knows the basic safety checks to do before leaving the house to ensure their car is in working order but not all of us bother and we’re certainly not all as clued up about what to do if we face a safety issue on the go.

The summer holidays are soon to commence if yours haven’t started already which means everyone is about to hit the road for some great summer adventures, so here are the car safety tips and tricks we think every driver needs to know!

The 20p Tyre Test

You should really check the depth of the tread on your tyres regularly anyway but especially before heading off on a long journey. A lot of people avoid testing the tread on their tyres because they think it’s time-consuming but with this handy hack, it’ll take seconds to check if your tyres are safe and road legal.

Tyre Safe have put together a whole article on how to use any 20p coin you’ve got lying around to check your tyre tread depth and it really is genius! In short, all you need to do is place a 20p into the main tread groove of the tyre and if the whole depth of the outer rim of the 20p is inside the groove, your tyres are legal but if any of this outer band of the coin can be seen, they’re not.

Don’t Forget Your Warning Triangle

Hands up if you don’t have a warning triangle in the back of your car? It’s not a legal requirement in the UK but it is highly recommended to keep an emergency warning triangle in your vehicle in case you break down and it could actually help you if you do find yourself stuck.

In terms of your own personal safety, having an emergency warning triangle will help you warn other drivers that you’ve broken down and your vehicle is not going to be moving, this means other road users can easily avoid your vehicle and give you plenty of space to stay safe while having to stand on/near the road.

Having your emergency warning triangle will also help make you visible to the recovery company or mechanic you’ve called, meaning you’ll get the help you need quicker.

Always Take Your Free Car Seat Demonstration

As a parent, you’re not just responsible for your own safety in the car but your child’s too and making sure they’ve got the right car seat and that it is fitted properly is a big part of this.

One of our top hacks for ensuring the best level of car safety for your child is to take the free demonstration many car seat retailers will offer you. Whether it’s showing you how to use the seat in-store or actually fitting it in your car for you, there are many UK car seat stores that offer free demos both before and after buying a car seat and this is a great way to ensure you’re using this car seat to the best of its ability.

Never Put Your Feet on the Dashboard

Anyone who has ever ridden in the car as a passenger is guilty of putting their feet up on the dashboard while grabbing a quick nap before you get to where you’re going but this can actually be really dangerous and one of our top car safety tips would be to avoid doing this at all costs!

An American woman’s story went viral in 2017 after she spoke out about the injuries she sustained after being in a car accident while her foot was on the dashboard and it is now more known than ever before why to not put your feet on the dash! If your car is in an impact, the airbags will go off, one of which is in the dashboard and if your body is in direct contact with this, it could lead to injuries, so be sure to keep your feet off the dashboard!

Choose Your In-Car Playlist Carefully

Most of us like a bit of in-car entertainment and many of us will opt for a bit of music but did you know that some songs are actually proven to be dangerous to listen to when driving?

From being too loud and intense to just downright distracting, Confused.com shared the top 10 songs that are known for being dangerous to listen to whilst driving and unfortunately for some, there’s Guns N’ Roses, The Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West and more of some favourite famous faces on the list!

The experiment conducted by Confused.com revealed that certain types of music led to more aggressive driving whilst others led to driving quickly and some drivers even found classical music led to more erratic driving!

For the safest drive possible, its recommended you choose music that mimics the rhythm of the human heartbeat which is 60-80 beats per minute.

Secure Belongings Down That Could Move Around

There’s nothing more dangerous than overfilling your car and then having your belongings rolling all over the car. If you have to brake suddenly in an emergency, you could see your possessions fly to the front of the car and if the impact was strong enough, through your windscreen.

It’s so easy to organise your car storage and keep everything secure, so that nothing could move and hurt someone, including moving your bulky luggage into a roof bag on the top of the car. We have a range of soft roof boxes in varying capacities, making it easy for you to find the one that can perfectly hold all your belongings.

Staying safe in the car doesn’t have to be difficult if you plan ahead, so follow our top car safety tips and you should be in for a smooth and successful journey.

Have you got any top tips for staying safe behind the wheel? Share them with us on Twitter or Facebook!

The UK’s motorways can get jampacked with traffic at the best of times, add a festival with thousands of visitors into the mix and you could find yourself sat in queues for hours.

If you want to avoid the traffic and get to your festival on time, you need to be prepared and plan your journey well in advance and that’s what we’re going to be helping you with today.

We’re going to be sharing our top travel tips for when you know the roads are going to be busy and some invaluable pieces of advice for avoiding the queues and being the first at the festival gates.

Do the Bulk of the Travelling the Day Before

Our number one piece of advice for avoiding the festival rush on the roads would simply be to do the majority of your travelling the day before and stay in a hotel overnight and make your way to the festival either by car or foot the day before.

It might cost you a little extra money for a hotel but you won’t have to get up as early as you’ll be close to the festival site and it’ll save you a lot of time and stress as you’ll only have a short journey to make.

Pay Extra for Early Access

A similar idea to travelling to the location the day before, some festivals offer early access passes for a premium price that allow you to enter the festival site before the event properly starts, usually 24 hours early.

Again, this may be an extra cost but you’ll get to set up camp exactly where you want as you’ll have first choice and you won’t have to battle hundreds of other cars to get to the festival, meaning you’ll be starting your weekend feeling far happier.

Check Out Public Transport Options

Driving yourself to a festival isn’t always the easiest option and relying on public transport could lead to a less stressful journey. Some festivals have coach services running from various locations to the site, so it may be worth looking into whether that sort of thing will work for you.

If you’re attending a festival that allows you to walk in by foot and you think you can transport everything you need on your back, getting the train could work if the site isn’t too far from a local station.

For example, Leeds station is around a 30-minute drive from Bramham Park where the 2018 Leeds festival is being hosted and shuttle buses are being run from the station to the site, so you’re unlikely to sit in much traffic at all.

Look into Scenic Routes

A lot of festivals will be easiest to access via main roads and motorways but sometimes there are alternative, more scenic routes that can get you to the same destination without half the traffic, so it’s worth planning ahead if you’re driving by looking into all the possible routes.

All roads heading towards festivals are likely to be busy, so even if you do find a hidden countryside route, you could still experience some delay but it could be less than sticking to the most common routes, so always do your research.

Book Shared Transport for You and Your Friends

If you’re heading to a festival with a big group of friends or family, you might want to consider hiring shared transport such as a minibus to take you to the festival. Not only does this take the stress off any of you having to drive, it’ll also help to reduce the number of cars on the road by a few.

It’s also great to arrive together, so you can get the party started from the moment you walk in!

As well as wanting to get there as quickly and easily as possible, you want to get there as safely as possible and we couldn’t agree more with Ingenie’s top tips for surviving travelling to a festival. They recommend checking the weather before you set off, listening to your body while driving to avoid dangerous driving when tired, taking control when you’re in the drivers’ seat and even give you some top tips on sharing the petrol costs!

We hope you’ve found this useful if you’re planning a trip to a festival soon. If you’ve got any top tips for getting to a festival quickly and easily, let us know on Twitter or Facebook!

We all have a go-to checklist of things to remember before going on a long drive in the winter months. There are things we all pack in the car and checks we do to our vehicle before heading on a drive in winter weather but we don’t seem to do the same for long drives during the summer but here at HandiWorld, we think you should.

We’re going to be sharing with you our guide to preparing yourself for a long summer drive, so carry on reading to find out our top tips for having the best road trip possible in the warm weather:

Keep Plenty of Drinking Water Onboard

When it comes to winter drives, we usually advise keeping flasks with warm drinks in your car in case you get stuck somewhere with no access to food or drink and the same situation could arise on a summer drive but when the weather is warm, you don’t want to be without drinking water.

You’d be surprised how quickly you can become dehydrated when the sun is beating down and the inside of your car can get even hotter than the outside, so whether you get stuck in heavy motorway traffic, breakdown in the middle of nowhere or just have a long journey before there’s anywhere to stop, you don’t want to be without drinking water, so make sure you have plenty on board.

Have Wet Wipes or Cold Flannels in the Car

Cars are notorious for being very warm places when the sun is out and it can feel impossible to get cool when you’re stuck inside one and the last thing you want when you’re driving is to overheat, so make sure you’ve got cold flannels or wet wipes within reach to keep yourself cool.

A top tip is to bring a cool box with ice packs and keep wet flannels or packs of baby wipes in there to keep them really cold, so when you need an instant refresh or a quick cool down, they’ll do the trick perfectly.

Give Your Windscreen a Really Good Clean Before Heading Off

We’ve all experienced the moment where the sun shines and you can’t see through the windscreen properly for marks and streaks, so make sure you give your windscreen a proper clean before heading off on your trip to avoid the glare of the sun on your dirty windscreen distorting your view of the road.

It is possible to top up keeping your windscreen clean as you go by spraying some washer fluid and using your wipers but this isn’t ideal when the sun is beating down, so make sure it’s free of streaks in advance.

Don’t Forget Your Sunglasses

Continuing with the theme of minimising the effects of the suns’ glare, you don’t want to forget your sunglasses on a summer road trip in the same way you don’t want to be without your hat and gloves on a snowy drive.

Trying to drive through dazzling sun without sunglasses is a real recipe for disaster. Not only is it near impossible during the height of summer, it can lead to you having to squint and therefore not having a full view of the road or can leave you with a headache in which case you may not be able to continue driving.

Be Sure to Take Care of Hay Fever Before You Set Off

You might have never thought that your hay fever could affect your driving but according to an article by the RAC, a survey found that 27% of UK drivers suffer from symptoms of hay fever and one in three of those people admit that it does distract them when driving.

Whether you get the itchy eyes, runny nose or sore head, be sure to get a grip on your hay fever before you leave the house to ensure nothing is taking your attention away from the road when you’re driving. There’s plenty of medication on the market to relieve the ailments of hay fever, just be sure to pick a non-drowsy option.

Check All the Levels Under the Bonnet

As you would before any long car journey, make sure you take a look under the bonnet to ensure all the fluids and oils are up to the level they should be, so this includes your window washer fluid, engine oil and radiator coolant.

You don’t want to run low on any of these things on any journey and when the sun is shining and the car is hot, it is likely that these fluids may disappear quicker than usual.

It’s also worth being aware that your engine is more prone to overheating in the warm weather, so keep an eye out for the signs that your engine is getting too hot. If your car is showing signs of overheating, Reader’s Digest recommends you pull over to a safe place as soon as possible and wait for at least half an hour before opening your bonnet and checking out what’s going on. You might need more engine coolant fluid or if there’s something more serious going on, it may be time to call in some professional help.

Don’t Overfill the Car

Body’s produce heat, so the more people in the car, the hotter it is likely to get, so you don’t want to cram lots of bags and suitcases into the car too as this will only reduce the airflow and make the vehicle hot and stuffy.

Move as much of your luggage as possible into an external storage space such as one of our soft roof boxes that have capacities of up to 400 litres to take as much of your luggage as you need it to.

By not overfilling the car, the air conditioning can flow freely and everyone can have more space to sit and keep themselves cool.

Our overall top tip for driving in warm weather would be to take it at your own pace and take regular breaks to allow yourself and the car to cool down.

We hope you’ve found this helpful if you’re planning a summer road trip and want to ensure it is a safe and successful one.

Have you got any top tips for driving in the summer? Share them with us on Twitter or Facebook!