Swinton Commercial, the UK’s largest high street insurance retailer, has sent out a warning to van drivers who may be prioritising festive fun over road safety concerns. The insurance retailer conducted a survey of 1,200 van drivers and found, quite alarmingly, that 17% of respondents thought they may have driven their vehicle the morning after imbibing a considerable amount of alcohol over the festive period.

With van drivers often forced to hit the road before the average commuter, it’s easy to see why some get caught out as being over the legal alcohol limit for driving a vehicle without any intent to break the law.

The dangers of drink driving have been hammered home to the British public via several high-profile advertising campaigns on TV and in the press over the past few years, but following a few simple tips that mostly rely upon some good old common sense should help you avoid becoming a danger on the roads. This is particularly relevant at a time of year during which alcohol and parties really are the name of the game.

If you are planning on hitting the pub for a Christmas do over the next couple of weeks and are concerned about being over the limit the next morning, make sure you remember that it takes an hour and a half for a unit of alcohol to leave your system. It’s also a bad idea to rely upon tricks for sobering up that your mates may have told you about, including taking a cold shower or drinking a large cup of black coffee, since there is no medical basis whatsoever to these procedures.

With the winter weather conditions settling in ridiculously early this year across the UK, there has arguably never been a better time to check that you’re doing all you can to battle against the perils posed by those who partake in a spot of winter car crime.

Swinton, the car insurance company, has warned motorists to be particularly vigilant at this time of year when it comes to car theft and other variations of car crime. Some of the advice from the insurance company comes down to common sense. For instance, it is entirely sensible to double check that you’ve locked your car before heading into your house as the long, dark winter nights set in. However, a few of the other tips issued by Swinton refer to unnecessary risks that the majority of us have probably at least been tempted to take over recent weeks.

With cars effectively turning into big blocks of ice since the cold snap started, how many of us have been tempted to pop outside to start the engine running in order to defrost the windscreen before heading back indoors to experience a few more minutes of precious warmth before the inevitable numb fingers set in? Leaving the engine running with the keys in the ignition is practically equivalent to handing a car thief your keys and opening the door to let him or her in whilst you’re at it, but such concerns are often pushed to the back of the mind when faced with the freezing conditions outside.

Ultimately, using your own common sense and always expecting the worst when it comes to being a target of car crime in the winter months should ensure that you’re well-protected, so don’t keep those new Christmas presents on the back seat, don’t keep your coats and jumpers on full view on the passenger seat, park in well-lit areas, and, most importantly of all, enjoy the festive period without being left out of pocket.

With the last couple of weeks bringing untold misery to motorists across the UK, the last thing car owners need after the easing of the effects of the cold snap is rising petrol prices and suspicions of less than fair play. These suspicions have arisen from accusations directed towards car insurance companies that seem to hint they may be profiting from the winter blues inflicted upon the majority of Brits. Unfortunately, precisely these two events have occurred, with petrol prices rising astronomically and a handful of car insurance providers criticised for increasing premiums for motorists who admit to putting winter tyres on their vehicles.

With the government doing everything they can each year to improve road safety during the festive period, which always threatens to bring an increase of road-related accidents to the already busy A&E departments up and down the country, it seems strange that car insurance companies are allowed effectively to punish motorists who make a move designed to improve safety on British roads.

Winter tyres have always been acknowledged as a means to improve safety on roads affected by snow and ice but winter-savvy motorists who have started to use them have seen their premiums increase by as much as 20%. Normal tyres tend to lose their ability to grip the road when the temperatures plummet and, with winter tyres now the law in some countries across the continent, it seems absurd to introduce punishments for those who do their bit to help road safety.

A spokesman for the AA, Ian Crowder, has revealed his hope that the premium charge increases may be errors on behalf of call centre staff, who are simply inputting data into their systems that suggest modifications have been made to the vehicles in question, but at a time when every move of big companies is being watched closely by suspicious recession-hit consumers, this latest news comes as a massive blow to the car insurance industry’s credibility.

It seems that British motorists are reminded on an almost daily basis about the record rises in car insurance premiums. Each month new data comes out informing us that we are now paying more than the previous month, and there seems to be no end in sight. Now the ABI (Association of British Insurers) has announced that drivers pay an average of £40 a year to cover the legal costs of claims following road accidents.

The ABI analysed 50,000 personal injury claims that were taken out following road accidents and discovered that the average payout was £2,430, with extra legal fees of £2,100. That means that 10% of all premiums are going to lawyers.

Now the ABI is calling for a better compensation process that will be more cost-effective and more efficient in order to reduce the amount that motorists have to pay on their premiums.

Nick Starling, the director of general insurance and health, said on Sky News that “a compensation system that can deliver £2,000 of compensation at a cost of as much as £5,000 is dysfunctional”. He added that people are getting harassed to make a claim and that the process takes far too long.

However, the APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) hit back at the claims, saying that the compensation system is being overhauled to make it more effective and that it “beggars belief” that the ABI had brought up the subject again.

Motorists will in all likelihood be surprised that so much of their premium goes to legal costs, and will be hoping as much as the ABI that a better system comes into place in the future to help reduce premium prices which are simply getting too high to pay for many.