The following rules concern who can drive the minibus. These ensure that drivers may use a Section 19 permit because they meet the following requirements.

All permit drivers must be aged 21 or more.

If a driver passed the ‘car’ driving test (category B on a photocard licence) before the 1st January 1997, he or she will hold the automatic category D1 entitlement to drive a 9 to 16 seat minibus. This will allow such a vehicle to be driven under the permit for as long as the driver holds the D1 entitlement.
When the licence expires, the driver, having proved he or she meets the required health standards by passing a compulsory medical examination, may receive a renewal of D1 entitlement lasting 3 years.

If a driver passed the test on or after the 1st January 1997, automatic D1 entitlement won’t have been granted. The driver may drive a vehicle with up to eight passenger seats. However, he or she may drive a 9 to 16 seat minibus if

(a) He or she has held a category B licence for 2 years
(b) He or she receives nothing more than out-of-pocket expenses for driving the vehicle
(c) If aged 70 or more, he or she can pass the medical examination for category D1 entitlement
(d) The minibus’s gross weight is 3.5 tonnes or less, or 4.25 tonnes or less, including specialized equipment for disabled passengers

Now for the practicalities of acquiring a Section 19 permit for a minibus. The first of these is how to apply. A permit is normally granted to a specific group, a scout group, for example. However, it is possible for an individual named on behalf of such a body to be granted a permit. With this in mind, you need to know where to apply and there are several sources of application forms, including

Your area’s Traffic Commissioner

Your local authority

Umbrella originations, which are bodies that assist with or co-ordinate community groups’ activates in the area. Examples include The Scout Association and Age Concern and these umbrella organisations are permitted to issue Section 19 permits to groups that are associated with them.

A designated body. These are national voluntary organisations and in some cases, they can issue permits to other bodies with similar interests.

Schools and other bodies associated with education, provided they fulfil the authority’s duties under the Education Act 1944.

As you can see, tracking down an application form will require some web searches and/or phone calls but there are some aspects of Section 19 permits that are easy to convey. For example, the cost. Currently, a permit sourced via your area Traffic Commissioner seven pounds. Local authorities set their own charge, but the maximum appears to be around the twelve pound mark.

A section 19 permit for a minibus lasts indefinitely and each comes with a disc, to be displayed on the vehicle, in the same way as a tax disc. The rule is one permit, one vehicle at one time but permits can be swapped from minibus to minibus, provided each comes under the small bus parameters mentioned above. You can use your permit on a hired minibus but if another non-profit making organisation rents your minibus, it cannot use your permit(s). It must use its own. Finally, if you lose your permit and/or disc, you can request duplicates. However, if either turns up, you must return them immediately.

In the final analysis, a Section 9 permit is a licence to charge your passengers fairly and legally, without a PSV licence. Taking advantage of this exemption makes sense, just as meeting the regulations to do so is easy.

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The Home Office in the UK has admitted that it is possible for drivers to avoid getting caught in the “New Generation” speed cameras. This camera works by calculating the average speed of the car over a long distance. This simply means that you can easily avoid 3 points on your license as well as £60 fine. So how is this possible? The camera used in the UK roads is different from the standard Gatso camera. The Gatso camera will flash when a car passes by it but the new gen camera measures the speed of a car between two fixed points, which can possibly be miles apart. Now if the average speed between these two points is higher than the speed limit then the driver gets a speeding ticket.

This camera was designed especially for those motorists who slow down in front of the camera and then over speed the moment they have crossed the camera point. The Home Office has actually set aside a rule that states the prosecution of drivers is valid only if they are filmed in the same lane from the starting point to the finish point. This means that you will be fined only if you are found speeding in the same lane between the two points that the camera is measuring. Guess you have got the answer by now! Yes! If you keep changing lanes then you will end up avoiding speeding fines. So all you have to do is leave the speed camera lane using a different lane than the one that you came from originally.

This camera is being manufactured by Speed Check Services (SCS) and they have also confirmed that you can avoid speeding fines by lane hopping. There are 27 such sets of cameras installed all across the UK and the cost of installation ranges from £180,000 and £1.5 million per site. The SCS cameras function by measuring the time your vehicle will take to pass through two number plate reading cameras that have been set 6.2 miles apart. If you are driving in the same lane for the 6.2 miles then a computer will work out the time you will take to cover the distance and thus it will calculate the average speed of your car.

But Home Office ‘type approval’ rules states that each of the individual sets can’t be linked to any other set. So if you jump lanes then you will move into another set and your previous set will not remain valid. And you’ll successfully avoid any speeding fines!

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It’s the classic dilemma that faces every auto-consumer out there: Pay
cash upfront or forego the ownership and pay monthly settlements instead?
Buy or lease for a new set of wheels?

As is the case with every other common dilemma, there is no slam-dunk
answer. Each option has its own benefits and drawbacks, and it all depends on a set of financial and personal considerations.

First, your finances. Affordability is clearly key, and you need to ask the question of how stable is your job and how healthy is your general
financial situation. The short-term monthly-cost of leasing is significantly lower than the monthly payments when buying: you only pay for “the portion” of the vehicle’s cost that you use up during the time you drive it.

If you have a lot of cash upfront, then you can opt to pay the down
payment, sales taxes – in cash or rolled into a loan – and the interest
rate determined by your loan company. Buying effectively gives you
ownership of the car and that feeling of “free driving” that goes on
providing transportation.

If, say, you want to get into luxury models but can’t afford the upfront
cash of purchasing the vehicle than you’re a good candidate for leasing.
Unlike buying, it gives you the option of not having to fork out the down
payment upfront, leaving you to pay a lower money factor that is generally similar to the interest rate on a financing loan. However, these benefits
have a price: terminating a lease early or defaulting on your monthly lease payments will result in stiff financial penalties and can ruin your credit.
You need to make sure you carve out the monthly lease payment in your
budget for the foreseeable future, at least for the duration of the lease.

Besides the financial aspect, making a buy or lease decision depends on
your own particular lifestyle choices and preferences. Think about what the car means to you: are you the sort of person to bond with the car or would you rather have the excitement of something new? If you want to drive a car for more than fives years, negotiate carefully and buy the car you like. If, on the other hand, you don’t like the idea of ownership and prefer to drive a new car every two to three years then you should lease. Next, factor your transportation needs: How many miles do you drive a year?

How properly do you maintain your cars? If you answer is: “I drive 40,000
miles a year and I don’t really care much about my cars as I don’t mind
dealing with repair bills”, then you’re probably better off buying. Leasing is based on the assumption of limited-mileage, usually no more than 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year, and wear-and-tear considerations. Unless you can keep within the prescribed mileage limits and keep the car in a good condition at the end of your lease, you might incur hefty end-of-lease costs.

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One of the newest in the batch 2007 hybrid car line up is the 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid, the third in Toyota’s Hybrid vehicles. The Camry hybrid boasts of a performance of a top notch six-cylinder engine with the fuel economy of a four-cylinder engine. Although it is not as fuel efficient as the first Toyota hybrid, the Prius, the Camry hybrid is a whole lot better than the regular Camry.

Never to be left behind, giant Japanese car manufacture Honda, has also the Hybrid Accord and the Hybrid Civic. These two sedans offer what Hybrids are known for, less emission and less fuel consumption.

The 2007 Honda Accord Hybrid alone combines luxury and fuel efficiency that is truly environment friendly. Even with a V6 engine that generates 253 horsepower, you can be sure that you will get more miles to the gallon. It is a nice change knowing that you get the luxury and power that you want and still get the fuel economy that we all deserve.

Then there is the 2007 Civic Hybrid which continuously provides the true essence of hybrid technology. Its ingenious engineering has rightly earned it its Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle (AT-PZEV) rating. What this means is that you don’t only get from point A to point B in less gas usage, but also save the environment by not adding to the air pollutants already swarming over it.

Joining the Hybrid car race in 2007 is General Motors second Hybrid vehicle, the 2007 Aura Hybrid sedan. This will be competing with other high-end hybrid cars such as the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the Honda Accord Hybrid. Sporting a V6 engine as well, the Aura Green Line is dedicated to providing utmost engine power with minimal gas consumption. Its engineers claim that it will be able to generate 20 percent savings in fuel economy over its conventional model.

Nissan has also announced that a 2007 Altima Hybrid will be offered and has offered test drives and a glimpse of its development vehicle. In a deal inked with Toyota, Nissan will be dedicating five years into the project with the Hybrid Technology developed by Toyota.

Rumoured to be unveiling its first hybrid model, Volkswagen is said to be preparing a full-hybrid car for 2007 but it hasn’t disclosed yet which car model they will be infusing the technology. Latest rumours said that it would be on the Jetta for the upscale engine level or in the Passat for the four-cylinder class.

With more and more vehicle manufacturers realizing the potential of Hybrid vehicles, it won’t be long before every car produced will be infused with the Hybrid technology. And as oil prices continue to soar and concerns for the environment are ever growing, we can all be sure that these vehicles will be welcomed with open arms.

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Uses

Pickup truck haulers have a variety of uses, and in fact the phrase can mean a number of things. The hauler can be separate, like a trailer, or even an add-on at the back to hold motorbikes. Mostly, though, pickup truck haulers are elongated pickups, designed to carry much larger items and cope with a heavier workload. Apart from motorbikes, jet skis, powered parachutes, canoes, snowmobiles, rafts, and balloons can be transported to their destinations, and they are frequently used as mobile skips and organic waste disposal units. They are getting larger and more versatile by the year, and are so reaching broader markets and appealing to a wider range of users.

History

The humble pickup truck has been around since 1925, when Henry Ford introduced the “Ford Model T Runabout with Pickup Body”. Selling at $281, they quickly established a new market in motor vehicles, which was seized upon by the general public. Farmers found them particularly useful, but during the Great Depression banks would not lend money for luxuries such as cars, but they would for utilitarian vehicles such as pickups. This changed when a farmer sent a letter to Henry Ford asking, “Why don’t you build people like me a vehicle in which I can take my family to church on Sunday, and my pigs to town on Monday?”; and so the utility vehicle was born, and it has gone from strength to strength since. Nowadays they can be used to move far more than pigs or people, but with their increased size has come an increased consumption of fuel, with damaging consequences.

Fuel Consumption

The larger the vehicle, the more fuel it consumes, and the greater the effect on the environment. sport utility vehicles have received widespread criticism over the last few years from environmental pressure groups, and rising gas prices have shaken the market considerably. Polls in the summer of 2006 suggested that most people wanted to move away from utility vehicles and into the smaller car or hybrid sector. Nonetheless, the opposite appears to be happening, with sales of utility vehicles rising while car sales fall. Pickup truck haulers are definitely at the higher-consumption end of the market, but they fill a niche that cannot be otherwise filled by cars or smaller vehicles. If you need to move large items, then you need a large vehicle. Period.

The Future

Pickup truck haulers have a large role in the utilitarian market today, and will no doubt continue to do so in the future. The main criticism of sport utility vehicles is that they are are very often used by those who don’t actually need them, such as couples or small families. So the question to ask yourself is: do I really need a pickup truck hauler? I cover this topic and the different varieties of haulers in my webpage, so I won’t go into it here, but at the end of the day only you can answer that question, based on your career and lifestyle. One thing is for certain, though: pickup truck haulers are here to stay, and the time is right for them to overtake the competition and move into the fast lane.

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For first time California tourists, its best if you have a friend or relative who can actually show you around the place but if not, a reputable California car rental service is what’ll help you make your vacation be an unforgettable one. Arm your self with the proper materials and information when it comes to choosing which California car rental that you wish to avail the services of.

To help get your self started onwards your quest to finding the perfect California car rental agency that’ll best suit your needs, wants and most importantly, budget, it’s best to consult your travel agent on which California car rental agency that he/she would actually recommend to you. The number of available California car rental agencies may tend to overwhelm you at the start, making you unsure whether or not you’re getting the services of a reputable agency. Well do try to heed my advice and ask around, it really won’t hurt you if you do. Apart from knowing what California car rental agencies are actually out there, you even get broaden your knowledge about travel prerequisites such as this one.

Try to map out the places, beaches, amusement parks or wherever it is that you want to go to, way before you actually embark on your trip. It really is much wiser if you plan things carefully and thoroughly way ahead of schedule because this way you get to free yourself from possible headaches and hassles that can be usually caused by not planning ahead. Try to see if the services of a California car rental is really what you need, if it’s actually a cheaper way for you to get around the city as compared to taking mass transport. Evidently, opting to take the California care rental will make your vacation a lot convenient, think about it thoroughly and assess what actually are your priorities when it comes to taking this trip.

There is really a lot that you can do to make your vacations worthwhile and fun, just always remember to plan, plan, plan ahead. Weigh out all the options that you can find and try to be practical in picking out the best possible one. California car rental, to be honest isn’t really that bad, you’re bound to get a good deal somewhere, somehow. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look and having the patience to canvass and compare prices for California car rental services. In addition to asking your local travel agent on which California car rental agency that he/she would like to recommend, you can also try asking for you relatives’ and friends’ advice. Ask them if they’ve actually availed the services of a car rental agency, more so, a California car rental agency, ask them how it went and which particular California car rental service agency would they recommend to you. Lastly, go to your ever-reliable PC and look-up California car rental in the internet. You’re bound to get a long, long list of service companies who are more than willing to give you a good and fair deal.

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The second vehicle is an updated version of the Transit Connect X-PRESS, a high performance version of the Transit that was originally developed in 2004. The Ford of Europe team has updated the X-PRESS to reflect the van’s redesign, though the vehicle still retains the running gear from the 2004 Ford Focus RS, which includes a 212-hp, turbocharged 2.0-liter engine, five-speed stick and limited-slip differential. The X-PRESS can reach 60 mph in less than seven seconds and top out at 130 mph, which is not too bad for a commercial van.

Dunton, England – 3 January 2007. Ford of Europe’s Commercial Vehicle development team, based at the company’s Dunton Technical Centre in the UK, is celebrating the Ford Transit’s status as International Van of the Year 2007, by creating an unusual one-off special – the Transit XXL.
Transit XXL literally stretches the Transit Tourneo passenger vehicle to new lengths, and could well be the longest Ford Transit in the world!

Designed and built by the Transit team at Dunton as a special project, Transit XXL uses ‘off the shelf’ Ford Transit components throughout. It is based on two short wheel base Transit Tourneo models which have been meticulously joined together to deliver a bespoke limousine that carries the driver plus seven passengers in full ‘first class’ comfort.

Every passenger benefits from a leather-trimmed, seven-way fully adjustable Transit ‘Captain’s Seat’ complete with heating, lumbar adjustment and armrest. As you would expect, legroom and shoulder room are extensive!

This one-off vehicle has been designed to further demonstrate the Ford Transit’s flexibility and capabilities. It measures 7.4 metres in length and has a wheelbase of 5.9 metres. This compares to the standard Tourneo length of almost 4.9 metres and wheelbase of 2.9 metres.

Transit XXL also features four full sliding doors – two on each side – while the entire vehicle benefits from privacy glass allowing occupants to be transported in appropriate anonymity. The four opening side doors of the Transit XXL are complemented by the fact that it’s a right hand drive van. When used in left hand drive countries, the Transit XXL driver can stop at the kerbside and be ready quickly to help passengers get in to or out of the vehicle – something that drivers of long limousine vehicles understand and appreciate.

The interior also features a fully fitted carpet made from the standard Tourneo item, and a floor to roof carpeted bulkhead behind the rearmost pair of seats which creates a separate luggage compartment accessible only through the tailgate-style rear door.

Passenger comfort is maximised through the use of front and rear air conditioning, with the rear being controlled via the passenger compartment making this literally the coolest Transit to travel in.

The team isn’t finished yet, and has plans to install a full in-vehicle entertainment system, including DVD player and games consoles, with individual monitors.

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That is why, ensuring its safety should be our primary goal. And for this purpose, the car alarm systems come as a great boon to protect not only your investment but also to avoid the possible hassles that can be created if the car is stolen.

Gone are the times when the car security systems were affordable by the wealthy and elite due to the high cost of the systems then used. With the changing technologies, car alarm systems have become more affordable for millions of car drivers across the United States. This is why the car theft has gone down considerably, as no one dares to touch the protected vehicle.

With the increased affordability, the car alarm systems have become highly popular and hundreds of thousands of car owners across the United States have opted for this system for securing their investment.

Many manufacturers of these alarm systems have come up with some of the outstanding products that are suitable to the common budgets. With the increased options the vehicle alarm systems can be classified into various types and the most popular of them are:

Active Alarm Systems
These systems require the user to press the transmitter button that is a part of this system to arm and disarm the alarm system. There is a chance that if you set your alarm to arm passively you can probably get a discount on your insurance.

Passive Alarm Systems
More popular, these systems automatically enter an armed mode as soon as the ignition is turned off and the all the doors are closed.

While buying a car alarm system you should look for features that will guarantee the complete safety of your car. Some of the important car alarm features are listed below:

Feature#1
Active Re-arm: to prevent accidental disarming from the remote transmitter, if the alarm has been disarmed the system will automatically re-arm after a specified amount of time if a door is not opened.

Feature#2
Air Horns: are used to call more attention and cause panic to the intruder if he makes it inside the car.

Feature#3
Anti-Code Grabbing: a typical method employed to change the alarm code with every arm/disarm that ensures it to protect from the code grabber.

Feature#4
Carjack Protection: will cause the engine to turn off and the siren to blare, incase the vehicle is taken forcefully from the owner.

Feature#5
Emergency Disarm Switch: hidden and is used to disarm the alarm in case of an emergency.

Feature#6
Ignition Kill: will disconnect the ignition if the alarm is armed.

feature#7
Microwave Detectors: mostly popular with open vehicles these are proximity sensors that trigger when an object enters the sensors zone of protection.

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1. Get Quotes
2. Read and Understand Contracts
3. Check on Insurance
4: Inspections

Get Quotes:
Some of the questions most often asked are “What will the total cost be to ship my car??” and “How do I find the auto shipping company that best suits my needs?” The best and easiest way to obtain these answers is to submit a request for several auto shipping quotes, and then compare prices and car shipping companies to find the one that best suits your needs. In order to best customize your quotes, you should be prepared to provide the following information:

*Origination/Destination
*Approximate departure date
*Year/Make/Model of vehicle(s)
*Type of car transport service desired such as open or enclosed car transport.

After receiving your quotes, find out what payment method the carriers use, and what forms of payment are accepted (credit card, cashiers check etc). Some auto shipping companies don’t require any type of payment in advance; others will require a deposit of 10-25% of the total fee. Occasionally a carrier will require full payment in advance. Carriers can vary widely in their billing practices, so be sure to ask what they are.

Contracts:
Read your contract carefully, and get any questions that you may have answered in writing. Be sure that you are comfortable with the answers before signing anything. Do not rely on verbal promises. After signing your contract your auto shipping company will always refer you back to your contract for any questions or complaints that you may have.

Be sure to look for any clauses that may state that there are no guaranteed pickup or delivery dates. Although most vehicles are delivered within the predicted time frame, many transporters will not guarantee a delivery date.

For your protection, be sure to ask for a clause (in writing) that will waive any cancellation fees if the car isn’t picked up by the auto shipping company within an agreed upon number of days of the scheduled pickup date.(3-14 is standard) If you are promised an exact date, get it in writing, as well as the remedy if the transporter is unable to perform as promised. (Discounted rate, no cancellation fee, rental reimbursement etc)

Insurance:
Any licensed and bonded transporter will have insurance that would cover any damage or theft while in possession of the auto shipping company. Ask for a copy of transporters insurance coverage, and find out whether their insurance is primary or secondary to your own car insurance. It’s also a good idea to check with your own insurance company to verify coverage while in transit. Be aware that typically neither insurance company will cover possessions left inside the car during shipping. This is why most companies do not allow personal items to be shipped in your vehicle. Also keep in mind that extra weight in the car could damage the undercarriage during loading and unloading.

Inspections:
You will be asked do to a vehicle inspection at both drop off and delivery to ensure that no damage has been done. This is for the protection of all parties involved. It is a good idea to wash the car before hand so that documentation of the cars condition is easier. Be sure to note mileage and the underside of front and rear bumpers. Don’t pick your car if you can’t verify its condition. Problems don’t often occur, but if the vehicle is signed for and then damage is found you will have little or no recourse.

While most auto shipping experiences are problem and worry free, in the event that damage is found, document it with your driver, get his signature, and then contact the car shipping company. The transport company should work with you to reimburse you for any damage that was done.

If you take all of the above into consideration, and ask the suggested questions, you should have an easy, hassle free auto shipping experience. Happy Shipping!

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One of the biggest advantages in van leasing is that there is no large payment due at the beginning of the leasing period. There is a deposit due at the beginning of the lease period but this payment is generally quite small and totals only about one, two or three of the monthly payments in the lease period. The monthly payments involved in van leasing are also usually quite lower than those when purchasing a van. Not only does this save the individual or company leasing the van quite a bit of money but it can also make leasing a great opportunity for driving the van of the individual’s choice for the short-term.

Van leasing also allows for the individual to give up a van after it has been driven for a couple of years. At that time, the individual may consider the van to be outdated or they may simply not want to stay with a van that has been run down with regular use. Once the leasing period is up, the individual can simply return the van to the leasing company and enter into a new lease for a new van.

With all of these advantages to van leasing, it is important to note that there are some disadvantages. The biggest one of those is that one does not actually own the van at any time. Even during the period that the individual is driving the van it is not theirs. It always remains the property of the leasing company.

Another disadvantage to van leasing is that it can be difficult to calculate the annual mileage and other charges. A leased van has a set number of miles that can be accumulated on it. If the number of miles exceeds this number, the charges can be quite costly. To avoid this, it is important to accurately calculate the mileage that one does in a year. Miscalculating this can lead to heavy charges that the individual or company leasing the van was not expecting. Other charges that may be included in a lease is that the individual will have to pay for any damages to the vehicle. Although this would probably be the case should the person own the van outright, there may be some minor damages that the individual would not bother in fixing if the van were their own property?

Unlike a loan, it can still cost the person leasing the van quite a bit even if they want to settle the lease early. Unlike a vehicle loan, settling early with a van lease usually means that the individual still needs to pay the interest on the remaining months.

Van leasing usually has more advantages than disadvantages. However, one must do their research and make sure that this is the right option for them before entering into an agreement.

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