Driving skills honed

I have regularly driven a car since 2011, covered probably around 150,000 kilometres since then, have not caused a collision (may it stay so, I had one, but was not a culprit) nor an accident. With such track record I could claim to be a skilful driver, but I keep in mind complacency comes before the fall. I keep my smugness at bay and every time I sit behind the wheel I make myself realise I might have an accident before I reach my destination and do my best to avert it.

Given the precautions I take and humility I strive to foster, I was delighted to learn my company had paid for a defensive driving course to all company car drivers. On top, I took part in a corporate competition and won a participation in another training, on a racing track. The prize has been probably the most precious one won in my lifetime, saving me some PLN 1,000 I could have paid for such event.

The defensive driving course was obligatory to all active users of the corporate fleet, consisting of whopping 1,300 vehicles, which are involved in 20 accidents (defined as resulting in at least one casualty spending at least 7 days in a hospital) yearly. My employer aims to reduce the number of such accidents to zero by 2025 – a commendable initiative for which I keep fingers crossed, yet I believe doable only by means of decreasing the number of cars in use (which would truly help the planet).

The defensive driving training was split into two sessions – during the theoretical one we analysed case studies of actual accidents and complex situations in road traffic and refreshed our knowledge of recent (imprecise) changes in the highway code.

During the practice sessions we drove around town, instructed how to do it more smoothly, predictably and safely. Needless to say one of the goals was to decrease the fuel consumption and the company cars’ wear and tear.

The second training, on a racing track was far more exciting. During the theoretical part we had truly practical exercises in first aid (commendable) and improved our skills of controlling a car in extreme situations (a waterlogged track was as slippery as thick slush) – we slalomed past obstacles, passed them by to return to the original lane or slid along a curve, trying not to lose traction.

The exercises were meant not only to teach us how to control a vehicle in dire circumstances. Our instructors showed us repeatedly a difference in speed of mere five kilometres per hour might make a tremendous difference in terms of avoiding an accident. Speed kills, you must not forget it! We were also confronted with the fear of falling into a skid or losing control over the car, however outside the public road, where nobody’s life nor health was at peril.

I hope I never have to make use of what I learnt, but if the worst come to the worst, I suppose, I would be more likely to keep a cool head.

Greenwashing

Opening disclaimer: I write it as a driver and a car-owner.

The very term appearing in the title of the post has been coined more than a decade ago, yet I, shame to confess it, ran across it in early December 2019. Back then, while browsing LinkedIn I found a post by my employer’s fleet manager, in which he had boasted of handing over to staff another batch of hybrid Toyotas (to replace petrol-fuelled vehicles manufactured between 2015 and 2017).

Regardless of automobile’s industry’s efforts and despite countless marketing campaigns, there is no such thing an environment-friendly car. You will not circumvent laws of physics, hence the bigger a car, the more energy you need to set it in motion.

Don’t also think if you buy a hybrid or an electric car, you will save the planet. The graphic to the right from the European Parliament’s webpage (I trust if has not been bought off by a lobby of carmakers) dated March 2019 shows the total carbon dioxide emission during a vehicle’s lifetime (sadly, they do not define how the lifetime is calculated). The chart informs that in a country which fully relies on carbon in electricity generation (such as Poland), an electric car is all in all more harmful to the environment than a car with a traditional combustion engine.

If you believe a hybrid car is a remedy, I will let you down. Manufacturing and recycling (but not maintenance) of a car with batteries is more environment-detrimental than of a traditional vehicle. The energy to charge batteries is not delivered from outside, but is generated in a regular combustion engine, which apart from propelling the vehicle must work to charge batteries. This leads to efficiencies during in-town driving when the batteries support the traditional engine when a car accelerates, so a hybrid Corolla consumes between 5 and 6 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres in town. This is 30% less than my car would do, but the consumption figures are comparable to small city cars running on petrol only. The bigger problem is that you should use a car around town as little as possible. On a motorway, at the speed of 140 kmph, the hybrid Corolla consumes over 10 litres per 100 kilometres, some 25% more than my car. The car loses its edge where use of it is justifiable.

Plug-in hybrids and electric cars in Poland rely on electricity generated from coal (with PiS government doing little to accelerate switching into alternative energy sources). Abroad, with more environmental-friendly energy mix, the lifetime carbon footprint is lower than of a traditional vehicle, yet one needs to bear in mind the distribution of the footprint. At the exhaust pipes there are no fumes, but the batteries are produced and will be probably recycled (the problem will grow big in a decade of so when electric and hybrid cars produced today will begin to reach the end of their lives) in other countries where harm to the environment will be concentrated.

Modern traditional cars are not faultless. The automobile industry cares about its profits and passing more and more stringent emission tests. To comply with norms, it comes up with several tricks to declare possibly lowest carbon dioxide emission, the infamous Wieśwagen dieselgate scandal being the most glaring example. Particulate filters, found in every diesel engines manufactured over the last 2 decades, and in most petrol engines produced recently, do retain soot (then turning into ash) before it leaves an exhaust pipe, but as ash accumulates in a filter, it slowly clogs up. The process of self-cleaning the filter consists in burning out ash. A vehicle does it when its engine is warm, at revolutions above 2,000 rpm and at steady, rather high speed. Do you believe emission of harmful particles during the process of burning out ash remnants is low??? Do you believe the ash is burnt out during standardised WLTP measurements?

What can you do to reduce your carbon footprint? Drive less!

Start from reducing to those absolutely necessary around-town journeys, where you can rely on public transport and there because of traffic density, emission per kilometre is the highest and time savings are the lowest.

Cut down (unless absolutely justified by your health) on short-distance trips. Firstly, a cold engine during first seconds after being started up emits multiple time more fumes than after it warms up. Secondly, a vehicle’s wear-and-tear disproportionally accelerates on short distances. Thirdly, walking or cycling is healthier!

If you need to go somewhere by car, try doing this when traffic is sparse. Vehicles cause less air contamination when they are driven at steady speed, without frequent stops and accelerations. Many such trips can be taken over the working week after 8 p.m. or on Saturday mornings when traffic jams are not a plague.

Change the style of driving. Eco-driving is safer and reduces emission by approximately 20% vs. normal driving and by 40% or more in comparison to aggressive (but not making a journey faster) driving. Do it wisely, i.e. do not use the highest gear at too low revolutions and do not upshift too early – this might save fuel in short-time, but will decrease the life or engine and other components.

Look after your car! Production and recycling stand for 20-25% of a vehicle’s lifetime carbon dioxide emission, so keeping your car in good condition as long as possible will be better to environment than replacing it with a new one whose exhaust-located footprint is slightly lower (carmakers will try to persuade this assertion is untrue).

Take passengers or become another driver’s passenger. A passenger car carrying 4 persons emits only 5% more carbon dioxide per passenger than a train (in Poland running on electricity produced from coal).

Closing disclaimer: I have written it all with a sense of sadness. I draw pleasure from driving. Behind the wheel I get relaxed and because I need to focus on driving all worries and kept far away from my mind. Yet I need to see further than the end of my nose and mind the future of the planet more than my personal whims.

Hybrid Toyota - get it out of your head

The New Factory has recently adopted a new company car policy. Procurement experts and financial planners have been bending over backwards to improve the way car are used by an organisation I work at and have worked it out. This week I had a chance to try out a demo car, in an identical configuration as the vehicles due to replace our current fleet. I took a trip to a provincial town in Poland, some 150 kilometres from Warsaw with three passengers (and me) on board…

The New Factory wants to boast of the lowest carbon footprint on the market, therefore it has chosen to use hybrid cars only (they opted for Toyota only). Also for some reason employees of The New Factory tend to heavily press accelerator pedals in company cars and their employer has apparently resolved to crack down on it.

The revised policy has in my opinion two major flaws which disqualify it from being hailed as eco-friendly.

Firstly, the replacement periods – the cars will be leased for a period of 2 years or 60,000 kilometres, whatever comes first (and then replaced by brand-new ones). Durability and reliability of a properly-looked-after car should let it be used over 5 years or 150,000 kilometres. Someone who has negotiated the contract has presumably not learnt how much CO2 is produced during vehicle manufacturing – I have looked for several data, they are not fully consistent, but on average, CO2 emitted before a car leaves factory gates is the equivalent of driving 80,000 kilometres under current stringent norms for petrol-fuelled cars…

Secondly, engines. A 1.8-litre engine for a Corolla and a 2.5-litre engine for Camry in the era of far smaller engines (compact cars do well with engines below 1.5 litres, mid-class cars with engines below 2.0 litres) is a big misunderstanding since whatever is saved when an electric engine is in use will be wasted while a petrol-fuelled engine kicks in.

If you shape a fleet policy, you should ask yourself a question, what purpose the company cars should serve. I do believe employees ought to be encouraged not to use them for commuting to work nor to drive around town. They should travel longer distances where it is not practicable or cost-effective to use trains, planes or other forms of transports. My two trips last week (first behind the wheel of a hybrid Corolla, second in my private car), both to district towns in Poland where it would takes around two or even three times longer (door to door) to get otherwise than by car are the ideal examples when the fleet is necessary.

Coming to the point, i.e. to driving impressions – with silence at low speed and decent parameters of the electric engine, the hybrid car is ideal for around-town driving, an ideal car for a… taxi driver. While if I move about city, I use public transport or take a taxi, not a company car. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, a city car does not rank among desirable means of transport. Beyond town, on a dual carriageway, then on an expressway, driving was a misery… The CVT automatic gearbox does not let a driver feel control over how a car accelerates. Maybe I am overly accustomed to manual transmission, but I felt uncomfortable despite considering myself a rather seasoned driver. The very reaction of the car to pressing the accelerator pedal when one needs to change a lane quickly or to overtake has little to do with what I consider safe manoeuvre standards. I am used to pressing the accelerator pedal and making a car picking up speed rapidly (in 1.4 turbocharged engines of my private Megane, or company Passat). A hybrid Corolla at first does not react at all, then it chokes and just then accelerates reluctantly. I would fear overtaking a truck on a single carriageway… On top, the car is humming at higher speeds (above 130 kmph) and wobbles as if it signalled an imminent disintegration… I believe it was not the fault of the specific demo car (just above 4,000 kilometres on the clock) since many of my workmates have taken test drives with other vehicles and their impressions are similar. For the first time in my life I am happy not to be eligible for a company car.

A quick look at technical specs (especially the torque) of the hybrid engine is self-explaining. I wonder how they have measured the average fuel consumption, since on an expressway at around 140 kmph computer of the hybrid Corolla with 4 adults inside showed current consumption of 12 – 13 litres per 100 kilometres.

If I were a decision-maker of a car fleet policy, I would proscribe to:

- abandon a company car as a perk – the top-rank staff should just get paid enough to afford to buy a decent car,

- broaden the extent to which pool cars are used – an analysis of historical long-distance car journeys would be conducted and a sufficient number of cars per team or department would be allocated, individual cars would be granted to staff covering historically at least 20,000 kilometres in business (this would also reduce number of parking spaces rented),

- lengthen the replacement periods to at least 5 years or 150,000 kilometres, whatever comes first,

- impose penalties on employees who do not look after cars they use properly.

I actually considered switching to a hybrid car in some time, but having driven one, mindful of how little I drive around town and knowing how much carbon footprint the manufacturing process gives off, I am intent on keeping my current car going for as long as possible.

By car? Whose car?

Time for a follow-up to last week’s post in which I have promised to compare a total cost of owning a car to using someone else’s car. In my analysis I assume whenever possible I use a bike or public transport and stick to four-wheel motoring whenever most convenient. My calculations pertain to my driving habits only and do not factor in any psychological or emotional elements, these are just hard numbers.

1. My driving profile, which will serve a base for comparison.

I drive on average 10,000 kilometres per year, of which:

- 4,000 kilometres are long-distance travels around Poland and abroad, they break down into one fortnight-long trip and four weekend (3 days) trips,

- 3,000 kilometres are mid-distance journeys are Warsaw and in the vicinity, each on average 15 kilometres from home and back, around two times a week,

- 3,000 kilometres are business trips around Poland.

2. Total cost of car ownership

The basic component is depreciation. I could claim my 8-year-old car does not lose value much and thus distort the comparison but I won’t. I assume I buy a brand-new compact car for PLN 80,000, I look after it, the car has no accident and I can sell it after 15 years of good service with 150,000 kilometres on the clock for one-tenth of its original value (in 2016 I sold my Megane II after thirteen years and five months for 15% of my father’s Megane IV price). Since I do not intend to get rid of it after a few years, I don’t care about high market value loss in early years; therefore I make a simplifying assumption that the car depreciates linearly.

After I buy the car, I need to pay fees in local transport and motoring office. PLN 180.50 gets amortised into 15 years.

Over the first 7 years I insure the car against theft, self-caused accident and other damages. I believe the risk is not very high, so I choose an insurance plan with the highest deductibles, which gives me insurance premium of 2% of car’s market value which then gets allocated over 15 years. Depreciation schedule for calculation provided by a leasing company (percent of original value after X years):

- year 1: 77%,

- year 2: 65%,

- year 3: 56%,

- year 4: 48%,

- year 5: 41%,

- year 6: 35%.

Good to realise after six years your car is worth little more than 1/3 of which you have paid for it.

Third-party liability insurance, with my highest 60% discount for accident-free track record of driving. PLN 586 is the exact amount of T-P liability premium paid by me in November 2018.

Just in case in take out also ancillary insurance policies, with the latter being required by my employer. Also the actual prices paid by me 8 months ago.

Annual servicing involves a thorough inspection of the car’s condition, changing oil and filters as well as fixing up minor (cost below PLN 100) malfunctions. PLN 700 is very close to actual price paid by me in April 2019 at Renault Dyszkiewicz.

MOT, in Polish a technical inspection confirming a vehicle’s roadworthiness. Over 15 years it has to be done 12 times (after 3^rd, 5^th and each next year), therefore the expense of PLN 114 is averaged out over 15 years.

A brand-new car comes with one set of summer tyres. To drive 150,000 kilometres in Poland you need two sets of summer tyres and two sets of winter tyres. Three sets of tyres to purchase over a vehicle’s life, each setting you back PLN 800 (of reasonable quality, yet a bargain in low season hunted), allocated over 15 years.

The tyres need to be changed twice a year. I have no-frill tyres, but in vehicles with pressure sensors are change is more expensive. My father was charged PLN 118 in April 2019 for such service.

Odds and ends are insignificant expenses, such as car wash, light bulbs, liquid washer, wiper blades, air fresheners, cosmetics, etc. They add up to PLN 200 per year on average.

Planned (due to wear and tear) and unplanned (breakdowns) maintenance and repairs – the most debatable item. How have I arrived at the amount? I have summed up all my expenditures on my previous car (aged between 8 and 13 while I had it) and current car (aged between 5 and 8 while I have had it) and divided by 8 years of car ownership. I have arrived at PLN 1,860 per year and then I multiplied it by 11 and divided by 15 (I assume over first 4 years since driving out of factory the car does not require outlays due to wear and tear and defects are covered by manufacturer’s warranty).

Petrol – I here assume price of 1 litre of petrol is PLN 5.00 and the average petrol consumption is 7 litres per 100 kilometres (if I drive at reasonable speeds beyond town and very rarely get stuck in traffic jams, perfectly doable).

As mentioned at the beginning, I take business trips by private car, therefore I am eligible for mileage allowance of PLN 0.8358 per kilometre which is the money (free of income tax) my car earns for me.

I believe I have included all the costs. Have I forgotten about something?

3. What if I do not own a car, but still need to use a car in the same manner?

With business trips the private car is replaced with a company car borrowed from a workmate. No costs to bear, mileage allowance goes away!

For a longer holiday trip, I need to hire a compact car for a fortnight. I return it 15 days after picking it up and pay a charge of PLN 99 per day, nearly the cheapest rate for a car found via search-and-compare engine.

For the weekend trips, I hire a compact car to return it 3 days 4 times over year after picking it up and I am charged a higher rate of PLN 129 per day.

The rented cars need to filled up. However if I can safely assume my well-looked-after car with carefully run-in engine repays me with lower fuel consumption, a hire car’s engine’s condition would not be that good and it would consume one litre of petrol per 100 kilometres more.

Finally, travels around Warsaw. Long before setting out to write the post, I have made a calculation of how much my “average journey” would cost, had I used Innogy go. I assumed price per minute of driving at PLN 1.19 and price per minute of sitting at PLN 0.19. A journey composed of 25-minutes-drive, 2-hour parking (I cannot finish my journey beyond Warsaw), 25-minutes-drive would set me back over PLN 80, meaning over one year I would spend over PLN 8,000 on local travels. Seeing total lack of cost-effectiveness, I started asking Uber for quotations of 15-kilometre rides in the evenings or over weekends. The average quotations were between PLN 30 and PLN 35 per ride (Uber beats traditional taxis at night and beyond Taxi zone 1), so I assumed the cost of PLN 32 per ride, meaning there-and-back cost is PLN 64, this repeated 100 times a year, which squares with my pattern of local driving roughly twice a week.

Besides, I own a parking space in a garage beneath my flat, which I would own anyway, so I do not include the cost of it, but if I did not have a car, I could sublet it. As I have observed, people seldom appreciate merits of shielding their vehicles from elements of weather and the key factor shaping demand for parking lots in underground garages are problems finding an open-air free-for-all parking lot around. Sadly in my neighbourhood this is not a problem, besides in a nearby building a private investor has bought up several places in the underground garage and is still struggling to find tenants. I believe the maximum price I could get is PLN 140 per month (not a trouble to find a garage in Ursynów for PLN 150 at OLX or Gumtree) and the space would be rented for 11 out of 12 months, besides I pay a flat property rental income tax of 8.5%.

I leave the figures without comments, you should reach the conclusion yourself.

Unluck, fate, inattention, thoughtlessness or something else

Thursday, 13 December. Knocked off and left the office much earlier to make up for doing overtime and to foster not entirely private, not entirely business relationships, i.e. to hand Christmas keepsakes to some people whose helping hand come in useful. The last place I was about to visit was Renault garage in Konstancin. The car refuses to break down and pays back for taking care of it, but in case of unexpected defect a cordial garage manager might come with aid. Was a quarter past three or so, I drove down ul. Drewny towards Konstancin.

The sight of brake lights and then emergency lights ahead of me were a kind of alarming. A queue of cars came in a standstill before a pedestrian crossing. I walked out, to disgruntlement of other drivers, sitting in their cars, who deluded the road would get unclogged quickly and my vehicle would block the road. I expected to see a minor rear-ending rather than sight of a woman and two children run over by a passenger car, a scene I would wish nobody to witness.

It turned out among drivers who had stopped by there were two doctors and people better than me trained in first aid who looked after victims of the accident. After being assured the injured had been taken care of and the ambulance and the police had been called in, I made away from the terrific scene. I sincerely own up to feeling like passing out at the sight of blood or mangled human body and though the obligation rescue a fellow man is stronger than anything else, I prefer to leave handling such accidents to people who are better prepared to do it.

The scene laid bare a full array of patterns of human behaviours in such situations. Reassuringly, there always are ones who stop over and help, but several selfish traits come to the light even when badly injured accident victims are a few steps away. Firstly, sensation-chasing – I would not dare and find it inappropriate to take photos or shoot films in such situations. Secondly, impatience – standing face to face with an accident in which there could have been fatalities is a sufficient reason to get you out of rush, while several drivers’ biggest worry was how to pass the scene by and carry on with their rush.

The police are looking for eye witnesses of the accident – meaning drivers of cars whose brake light I saw had not even bothered to stay at the scene and talk to the police which is crucial to find out what circumstances of the accident were, especially whether the driver was speeding.

Sadly, the debate between commentators at TVN Warszawa’s forums turned into a squabble between defenders of the motorised and of pedestrians. I don’t know who is guilty of this accident, but as a pedestrian, as a cyclist and as a driver I realise all traffic participants exhibit too little attention, predict too little, fail to stick to the rule of limited trust to other traffic participants. As a driver, I realise pedestrians and cyclists are weaker, less predictable and less responsible road users, therefore I am to think on their behalf as well and predict when and where they might appear out of the blue on the road. As a cyclist, I prefer to use public roads as rarely as possible and use cycling paths, pavements and roadsides, even if bumpy and I realise despite much stride made, there is too little respect for cyclists and too much enmity towards them. As a pedestrian, I still feel inferior to vehicles, a stance I had been taught at home and at school and watch out twice before crossing a road, especially if I realise a driver might not see me. As a fan of eco-driving, I also prefer to wait until cars move by, as each braking and acceleration consumes fuel and causes fumes emission…

The very experience of missing being an eye witness of the dreadful accident by one cycle of traffic lights on a preceding intersection also reminded me we constantly live on the edge and a bit of luck, stroke of fate or some other factors might decide whether we live, die or our lives change forever, as the life of driver who ran over the pedestrians will never be the same, regardless of charges he faces. The frightful event has also reminded me to be grateful for basic things: being in good health, with clear conscience and not being stricken by a sternly distressing life event.

Megane III - review

A year passes since my parents signed over to me their 5-year-old Renault Megane III, after my father had given in to his whim to upgrade to Megane IV (I call it a whim, since if somebody drives less than 10,000 kilometres per year, changing a vehicle after five years is nothing but the whim).

This meant a farewell to Megane II (2003), my first car whose reliability on account of age could have been called into question. I had liked that car and it had met all my needs, but wondering what would pack up next had made no sense.

In terms of interior and its functionalities, I have not noticed much upgrade. The car had nearly everything the trim version old Megane II had, but since Megane III is more like no-frill version, some fancy fittings are missing. I still hanker after hands-free door opening system (you could only approach a car and have the card with you to open and start the vehicle), yet on the other hand air-conditioning is more efficient and audio system has AUX socket.

The upgrade is felt most intensely when it comes to dynamics the 1.4 litre turbocharged engine offers. The engine works like a dream above 2k revolutions per minute which comes in useful when overtaking or changing lanes when traffic moves at higher speed on the adjacent lane.

As with all turbocharged petrol-fuelled engines, fuel efficiency critically hinges upon how your right feet touches the accelerator pedal. If you drive aggressively in town, expect the engine to gobble up nearly 10 litres per 100 kilometres, but if you practice eco-driving like I do, 8 litres in town is utterly achievable. Beyond town, if you drive smoothly, 6 litres is within reach, while on motorways, while sticking to speed limits, the engine might consume around 8 litres per 100 kilometres. I believe these are all modest results though the very from average fuel consumption declared by carmakers.

The two drawbacks I find most irritating are slowly heating up engine and “too short” gears. As for the former, in winter, when the car is parked outside, it might take up to a 10-kilometre drive before the engine reaches its working temperature. As for the latter, though the car has six gears (excluding the rear one), the sixth gear, at which you can comfortably cruise at 70 kmph, is in fact the fifth gear and the car lacks the actual sixth gear for out-of-town and motorway driving (which would reduce appetite for petrol as well).

The car is definitely good for longer runs (I am not in favour of driving short distances and prefer to use public transport around Warsaw) therefore it perfectly serves its purpose in private and business trips around Poland (and beyond). I actually have not driven it that very much, since the car now has around 39,700 kilometres on the clock, while a year ago it had exactly 30,000. Over the past year and less than 10,000 kilometres the only breakdown was an airbag sensor defect, repaired in Renault garage for somewhat less than PLN 400 (but the breakdown hit just before setting off to Berlin in May and I drove over a thousand kilometres unsure whether airbags would go off in case of serious collision).

The car is now over six years old and I plan to keep to going as long as it is economically viable and fear of another breakdown does not begin to cause me discomfort. I do not need to swank about a fancy car, so the vision of being the owner of a car whose market value is equal to my monthly after-tax salary does not scare me. There are several better ways of spending money than replacing a quickly depreciating, yet not worn-out vehicle with another brand-new one.

Sadly, the prospects of getting a company car are negligibly low and though it is not entirely cost-free (the New Factory has recently introduced a reverse mileage allowances for private travels and punishes drivers whose style of driving results in well above-average fuel consumption), being a user of such vehicle is the most convenient and cost-effective option one can imagine.

Selling the car

As in early September my plans of relocating to another European capital went down the drain, it became clear I would still need a car in Poland and thus no longer on hold was my parents’ decision to upgrade to brand-new Megane IV and donate their current Megane III to me. Actually, it was not the desire to possess a new model which has just crossed factory gates that drove their decision. It was rather their concern about the condition of my over 13-year-old car and its imminent unreliability, cost and hassle related to it. I did not care I drove an old car and actually was reluctant to change it before buying and arranging a flat, so my parents, mindful of it, communicated they had ordered the car and expected me to take their current vehicle…

As the date of picking up the new car drew nearer (it is due before the next weekend), I had to post an advertisement in the Internet. I cleaned the car inside (one man-hour), washed the bodywork, rubbed dry and snapped the car (another man-hour) and put up a notice on the most popular automobile classifieds service in Poland, stating I wanted to sell a car:

- bought in a Polish dealership and serviced there ever after,

- garaged and having history of no accidents nor prangs,

- kept in one family since brand-new,

- with five-digit mileage (in kilometres) despite advanced age (and recent frequent longer trips).

The first call came (literally) from the other side of the fence. My neighbours, who were looking for a car, immediately spotted the ad less than two hours since I had published it and knowing everything written in the advertisement was true. My first thought was they were stalking me, but then I put faith in coincidence, but grew resistant to seeing my car changing hands to somebody I know (not a friend, yet somebody I know). I openly expressed my inhibitions to them, yet they insisted we met on Saturday. They did insist. First call was from brother-in-law of my neighbours’ daughter, the next from their daughter, who would use the car. On top, the neighbour came to my father to reserve the car.

The string of phone calls from other potential buyers was a travesty. The most quaint questions they asked were the following:

“Is everything you have written in the advertisement true?”

“Why are you selling the car?” (My response: “Because I finally want a brand-new”)

“How serious are the scratches on the bodywork?” (My response: “Just come and see and I will tell you the story of each of them”)

“Has it ever been smoked inside?” (My response: “Come and sniff”).

A few buyers were arranged to turn up yesterday in the afternoon, while I agreed to meet with the neighbours around 10 a.m. The conversation was quite frank. They told they realised a car of such age would require next repairs, I spoke out about my hang-ups and then confessed which parts of the car are most worn-out and most likely to break down in the coming future. I also took them for a ride to show the car runs like a clockwork. I thought I would deter them by claiming the interest from buyers does not convince me to get into haggling over the steep asking price (some 30 – 40% higher than average for a Megane II produced in 2003). It did not work. Just like other serious potential buyers they preferred to pay more than to buy a pig in a poke. Finally we agreed on handover of the car and the money on Tuesday evening, ahead of two days off which I take to handle (plenty of) formalities and to pick up the new car together with my father. I called off other buyers scheduled to show up in the afternoon.

As I write it I am not seriously convinced selling the car to somebody I know is a good step, yet in a situation in which they found the ad and got in touch with me, they could also take serious umbrage if I refused to sell them the car. I have chosen the lesser of two evils I was facing. I did not conceal anything from them, so I theoretically I should have no remorse. My main fear is that in the hands of someone who is learning to drive and who will almost certainly not look after the car as I did, the vehicle is more likely to pack up sooner than later…

A farewell to my first car, mine for over five years, marks an end of era of demonstrating being aesthetic (giving up a car has been out of question, not even because I find driving convenient, but because I find it pleasurable). In a financial industry, whose employees tend to show off their wealth, a guy who chooses to drive a car whose market value does not differ much from his monthly salary makes people wipe their eyes in astonishment. However more often they were amazed at the car’s condition which justified why I found it practical to possess it.

While staying indifferent to any sort of prestige associated with possessing a newer car, the upgrade brings two reasons to be cheerful: the new(er) car will be more friendly to my wallet and environment (fewer repairs in the coming years, lower petrol consumption and gas emission) and will give me more comfort, since probability of breakdown (and subsequent legwork and expenses) is also lower.

No more posts on this. I have driven this car several times, took in for three longer trips, know what the driving impressions will be. Megane IV is also a nice car, I had a test drive and I must say its only major drawback is that it could do with a larger engine that 1.2 litres 130 hp turbocharged engine, kind of too downsized for a compact car.

An intensive week ahead, take care!

Accidents will happen

I have held the driving licence for 10 years, I have used a car on a daily basis for five years on; the two last years were the period of more intense business travels, taken also by car, my own old Megane or company cars, meaning over the last two years I covered around 35,000 kilometres behind the wheel; on top of another 35,000 kilometres driven over previous eight years.

Driving instructors argue a typical driver has an accident during their first equator’s length (roughly 40,000 kilometres) of driving. Over that time I had one minor traffic collision, oddly enough not impacting my insurance track record, besides since October 2012 my track record behind the wheel has been impeccable, except for scratching right-rear wing in five weeks ago. I rubbed against a lamp post while parking parallel.

I varnished the eye-popping aftermaths of my haste and inattention, yet the scrape slightly dented my self-confidence, which after all should do more harm than good. Lesson learnt – I should be more cautious. Nevertheless, I did not change my mind and did not find driving on Polish roads dangerous, until last seven days, when I nearly had three serious accidents, none I would have been guilty of, yet they could have ended up with serious injuries.

Last Sunday on ul. Słowackiego (Warszawa Żoliborz), I changed lanes from right to middle and noticed an iffy driver in Honda City on left lane. I somehow foresaw he was an unpredictable motorist and braced for his manoeuvre of changing lanes from left to middle nearly ending in hitting the side of my car. Having cars on both sides, but no vehicle behind me, I pushed the brake to the floor and avoided the collision. Fortunately my passengers kept a cool head and did not scream (I still remember the attack of panic of my three female colleagues in November 2015, when somewhere between Płońsk and Sierpc our car was hit by an ice slab flying off the roof of a truck ahead of us (no damage to the vehicle to my surprise)).

On Wednesday as I drove up ul. Puławska, I nearly fell victim to kinked lanes and foolish driver on the intersection with Baletowa. He followed the swinging lanes before the intersection but behind it he drove straight ahead, cutting in on me, moving properly up the right lane. I swerved into the lane for buses marked out before intersection with ul. Pelikanów, thus avoiding bumping into meathead-driven Mazda 6.

The most scary narrow escape struck me the next day. I was on the slip road from Dolinka Służewiecka (westbound lanes) into ul. Puławska (southbound lanes). I spotted a ZTM bus running at the lane west of the viaduct carrying the traffic from ul. Puławska into Dolinka Służewiecka, but glimpsing to the left I failed to notice its driver was speeding (70 kmph) while I did at around 45 kmph. Where the slip road and the right-most lane of ul. Puławska met, he immediately began changing lanes into mine, not minding I was there and. to make it worse, not minding there was a cyclist (cyclists should be prohibited from riding such roads and she should have safety cycled down the pavement on the other side of ul. Puławska!) on the same (mine) lane. The presence of the cyclist (still wonder whether she realised what was going on, since she seemed to be totally unaware how dangerous the situation was) left me fewer room to move rightwards, while an idiot in BMW just behind my rear bumper left little room for abrupt braking. I slowed down gently, trying to keep minimum 20 centimetres from the bus side and the cyclist and managed. Only with hindsight I realised what near miss it was.

It occurred to me it would have been safer to travel by bus. The next day while driving towards Park and Ride Metro Ursynów I drove 75 kmph and kept a steady distance from a 331 bus. Indeed, both bus driver and I were speeding, however the difference in magnitude of our sins that I would stop my car (including time to reaction and stopping distance) within 50 metres and fastened belts would protect me, while the bus driver would probably stop after more than 100 metres and many passengers would be injured. In retrospect, I regret not having reported that incident to ZTM.

Speed and alcohol rank among the most frequent accident causes in Poland, yet the list should be supplemented with other sins of drivers, seldom mentioned…

Firstly, not looking around. Wing mirrors and rear view mirror help the driver control situation around them. If you know what is going on around, you immediately know whether you can swerve (this facilitates controlling the blind spot as well) or suddenly brake. Looking around involves also watching out for vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians or animals that might trespass onto the road.

Secondly, not foreseeing. As one gains experience behind the wheel, more situations become predictable and consequently, accidents avoided.

Thirdly, pushing one’s luck. Sounds ridiculously, but several drivers count they will make it (finish overtaking by forcing other drivers to brake or swerve, violating the right of way by assessing another driver will skim on their brakes to avoid a collision etc.). Even in 99% instances it works, the remaining 1% results in increased number or casualties and fatalities on Polish roads.

Fourthly, not keeping proper distance. The reasons why rear-endings are so common are not just speed or lapses of concentration. The dire effects of the above would not lead to so many incidences of bumping into rear of a car ahead, had the proper distance been kept.

Fifthly, tiredness. Fatigued, drowsy drivers can display similar reactions as intoxicated drivers. I should also tack on over-using mobile phones when behind the wheel as fumbling with them also worsen drivers’ concentration.

Sixthly, technical condition of vehicles on Polish roads. I do not want to gripe about the average age of vehicles on Polish roads, declining, yet still above eleven years. I have a 13-year-old car and I take care of it to ensure travelling by it is safe. Poles drive what they afford to but the owner or user is always to blame. Nearly brand-new (aged less than 3Y) vehicles from corporate fleets, if they are not looked after properly (believe me or not, 3Y post-lease cars are frequently rickety bangers), are in far worse technical condition that my car.

And #7, cyclists and pedestrians ignorant of perils in traffic or even traffic rules. Starry-eyed traffic participants not realising if they have right of way, for the sake of their own safety they should not exercise it at all cost and that fault of a car driver is not an excuse. What I hold most against cyclists is: (1) riding on fast-traffic roads (speed limits at or above 70 kmph), (2) choosing to take a road, where there is a decent cycling path running parallel to the road, (3) not sticking to the right thus hindering overtaking. What I hold most against pedestrians is that they (1) can stand (or hang around) next to a pedestrian crossing with no intention to cross a street, (2) cross streets where they are not allowed to without even looking whether a vehicle is going to smash them into pulp.

I have mulled over installing a dashboard camera in my next car, not for the purpose Russians put them up (to prove they are not guilty of an accident) but to keep record of on-going horror on the Polish roads. So far, I keep up with Polskie Drogi channel on YouTube and hold it dear. Watching the compilations of accidents helps me learn from others’ mistakes, adds to my experience and enhances my predictive skills. The scenes by Polskie Drogi often prove many accidents could have been averted, had somebody thought beforehand or foreseen other traffic participants’ crass stupidity.

Dangers on the road must not be shrugged off, yet this is the risk one should manage. Driving cautiously does not guarantee you will return safe and sound from every journey, yet minimises the chances of having an accident.