Rating the Service Providers

If you have a car you will call in periodically to the garage of your choice to attend to the many things that go wrong. Just as surely, you will develop an opinion about your service provider. I haven’t the foggiest idea of what the statistics say about how many of us are completely satisfied with the care given our rides, but I am willing to bet that it’s likely a single digit figure.

The stories one hears are the stuff that legends are made out of. Firstly, if you are British living in Spain you are one half of the problem. Trying to explain your car's problem to a British mechanic is difficult enough, especially when the sodden car will not replicate the fault at the garage. Here you are, standing in front of Jose Manuel who says, “Dime!”, so you try your best. If Jose Manuel understands anything at all you are making progress. There is hope. Perhaps he will take the car, drive it and discover for himself the problem.

Between my wife and myself, we have had, or have, an Italian Fiat, a Swedish Volvo, a Canadian Chrysler, and a German Audi. In the normal course of things it is usually possible to have something simple dealt with efficiently although, not necessarily quickly. Our first car was the second-hand Fiat. We bought all our cars second-hand because of the awfully high rate of car thefts. Not wanting to spend a lot of money on something we stand an unacceptably high risk of losing we opted to go this route. The downside is that when we buy second-hand, whether we know it or not we are partly buying the car for the same reason the seller is selling it. That may not be good news at all.

After owning the Fiat for about two years, during which it gave good service, it developed a hiccough. We took the car to every Fiat garage we saw, including the authorised representative in Valencia. No one could work out what was wrong with it. Finally, we gave up and bought the Audi. Meanwhile, we simply parked the Fiat, starting the engine occasionally. After about two months, just before its ITV ran out I decided to drive it to the breakers yard. The car ran perfectly. All it needed was a rest. We still have it.

There apparently was no consultation with the manufacturers. We were just given a shrug of the shoulders and told there was nothing more that the mechanics could do.

The Chrysler Voyager was a lovely car, although with seven mini computers on board it developed a fault with the motherboard that controlled all the others that gave us a headache for a while as the engine would mysteriously just cease running. It didn’t care where you were at the time. Through consultation between the local garage and ultimately, the manufacturers in Canada the problem was identified and fixed. Then the car was stolen and set on fire.

Chrysler service reps get full marks for at least kicking the problem up the line to find a solution.

After the Chrysler we bought the Volvo. Personally, I consider the Volvo the ultimate motoring machine. It has a certain mystique and cache about it. Of course, it has had to battle an image problem of being built like a tank, and being the car of choice of bankers, accountants and insurance professionals. In my former working life I was an insurance accountant/manager, so I was pre-destined to come to Volvo in the end.

I had owned the Volvo for only one month when the engine suddenly and mysteriously shut down. My wife said it had to be me. Since that time it has repeated the same thing, but never for the benefit of the Volvo mechanics. The garage finally gave me a shrug of the shoulders and sent me away, but they don’t know me very well. I am made of sterner stuff than that. I contacted Volvo, Sweden who were suitably appalled, and they put the Volvo top concessionaire in Madrid on the case.

Take the car back and our top technicians will confer with the garage in Valencia, they promised. It seems that most car brand names have an established protocol for dealing with hard-to-diagnose problems. The authorised representative should simply tap into that line of communication and help will be given. I think perhaps it doesn’t happen when it should due to the machismo thing. The local garage does not want to admit that they are incapable of repairing absolutely every problem presented to them. So, the customer is sent away supposedly to throw away his car and buy a new one.

Volvo Sweden say that Volvo is for Life, and that they are determined to be and to stay globally, number one for customer care. Well sure, does anyone deliberately want to be number two? Perhaps they have to work a little harder to get all of their authorised service centres on board.

If you are dealing with your car’s authorised dealer and the standard of service falls short, it need not end there. So far the Audi is performing like a trooper!

Please do not overtake on two-way road systems. Save your life for those who love you!

Copyright (c) 2007 Eugene Carmichael

Copyright (c) 2007 Eugene Carmichael

Recognizing the Road you're On

Dialling 112.

“Hello! I need to report a serious accident with at least three persons injured. The location is the AP-7, in the direction towards Valencia, between kilometre markers 616 and 615. There are three cars involved directly in this incident, and in my opinion all three cars will need to be towed away.”

With that basic and precise information this caller might have cut a full half-hour from the response time as the following will have occurred: While giving the information the operator will have typed the location into the computer. That will immediately alert the
team responsible in this case for dealing with north-bound traffic. The team will be scrambling while the operator is still talking with you.

An alternative scene could be one where the driver has no idea what road he is on, and has to walk back or forward to the nearest marker to ascertain those particulars. How long might that take? It’s difficult and time consuming trying to get the operator to figure out where you are by your description. Depending on where you are the operator might well be in Madrid. If you are within the Valencian Community the call centre is located in the very upmarket town of L´Eliana, twenty minutes outside downtown Valencia city.

If you were making your report in Spanish you might even get to speak to my friend Javi, but the centre also takes calls in English, French, and German. A 112 call made in Torrevieja will be answered by the call centre in L´Eliana, approximately 300 kilometers away.

Although this tale deals with driving in Spain, the same principle holds true regardless of what country you're in. If you really want emergency services to come to help, tell them precisely where you are.

Some reasons to know exactly where we are at any given time:
(a) In the event we have to call in the details of our own accident in which we have suffered injuries that would make walking to find the nearest marker difficult or impossible.
(b) In case of simple malfunction of the car. Especially in the case of women, the use of a mobile phone becomes very handy. Of course we need a battery with enough power remaining and sufficient credit to make the calls necessary. It is best if we do not need to leave the car except to put in place the warning triangles. At least one, placed 50 meters behind the car on a one-way road. On a two-way road, place one in front as well. (Don´t forget them when the grua arrives.)
(c) In the event of rainy weather the need and length of time to be out of the car should be limited.

How do we know the road identification? There will be road markers placed at one kilometre distances that give the road number, including the all-important alphabetical ID. When giving out this information be sure to include the letters and be certain that they are correct as Spain has a bewildering array of road systems. Some are designated Autonomous Network; others national roads, i.e. N-340 and N-332, roads that have gained a certain notoriety; and then there are the international roads, such as the A-7, also known on the European grid system as the E-15. That road enters Spain from France north of Girona, and carries on down to southern Spain. Along the toll stretches it is known as the AP-7, and when acting as a by-pass road around Valencia and Alicante, it becomes simply the A-7.

I refresh my memory as to the road information I need by noting each marker. It is now second nature to me and I have no need to think about it. Once or twice the information has come in handy when I have had to call on the grua, (tow truck) when the car refused to go the distance. I realize that it is not normal behaviour to be so aware. I am seeking to add another level of alertness to driving. If we ever really need this type of information we will need it immediately. While waiting for help to arrive the minutes tick by as though they were hours. Might as well help speed things up.

I don’t want to close this piece without paying tribute to the wonderful women and men who attend to the victims of carnage on these roads. I think that most of them would say that they love their jobs. There can really only be one aspect to that type of love, and that is when they arrive in time, and through their knowledge and experience take a broken human being and quickly transport that person to expert medical care. Later, if they receive a visit from a person at their station, and they hear with their own ears: “Thank you for saving my life!” That must be the equivalent of a King’s Medal.

You and I can be a part of such success stories if we take First-Aid and management of accident sites seriously. We can be instrumental in presenting to the para-medics a patient complete with detailed information observed while we cared for the person. They, the para-medics need to know whether the patient lost consciousness, and if so for how long. Preferably note down times and all pertinent information that will be useful in accurately treating the patient back in the emergency room.

It is the law that upon arriving at an accident site that is not adequately being cared for, we must stop and give assistance to the best of our abilities. I am prepared to do that in the hope that if I, or a member of my family are the ones needing assistance that we will receive it from someone equally dedicated. It is quite a responsibility, but when it is discharged well and to the best of one’s ability, simply knowing that we gave our best is enough.

Death on the roads? It doesn´t have to end that way!

Don´t overtake on two-way road systems. Save your life for those who love you.

Copyright (c) 2007 Eugene Carmichael

Anticipation

I was not even out of my urbanisation when a driver coming towards me rounded a bend on the wrong side. Clearly he was not thinking that someone else might actually be using the road at that moment.

That got me to thinking about just how many collisions might be avoided if all drivers used anticipation when behind the wheel. So, how would that work? For one thing, had I been driving at a much faster speed there would have been a smash up on that bend, and that would have completely messed up my day.

Any driving school worth its salt would teach the practise of anticipation, reasoning that if you can anticipate that something will happen, you can prepare for it.

What the other driver, in my example, should have done was to presume that there would be another vehicle approaching that bend from the opposite direction and then place his vehicle as close to the right hand side as possible. Then, provided that I did the same thing, and that both our speeds were appropriate for that stretch of road, there would not have even been a chance of a collision.

Notice that I am not using the word “accident” to describe the coming together of two vehicles under normal circumstances. In fact, I can only think of one genuine circumstance that fits the description of accident, and that involves the sudden appearance in the road of a wild animal. All other situations that come to my mind usually involve some fault on someone’s part. (The courts tend to agree.)

Here are some circumstances where anticipation can save the day:
- If you anticipate that you will have to drive or ride at some time during the day, avoid drinking alcohol;
- If you suffered a sleepless night, you can safely assume that embarking on a long, monotonous drive the next day will end badly;
- When driving along country roads with agriculture fields all around, you can anticipate the presence of slow-moving tractors on the road. It would be a particularly bad idea to speed with reckless abandon as a crash into the back of one of those tractors, with their sharp cutting tools might inflict some real pain;
- When driving through an area that is residential and consists of many cross streets, we can anticipate that there will be families living in the vicinity, and their children might be trying out their bikes. This is a time for an abundance of caution, unless you are unafraid of enraged parents.
- When driving at night, by realising that our vision is limited, if we anticipate that there may be people walking along the street wearing dark clothing, or an animal crossing the street ahead, by simply lowering our speed by at least 10 kilometres from our normal day speed, the collision can be avoided. The practise is called “driving within the scope of your lights.”

Stay Safe!

Copyright (c) 2007 Eugene Carmichael

The ITV, Annual examination of your Car

This wasn't my car, but I wish it were!

If you drive in Spain the ITV (Inspecció Técnica de vehiculos) needs no introduction. Those of you who might be newcomers,this is Spain’s equivalent to the M.O.T. that you know (and love) so well back in the U.K. Whatever its called in the country in which you live, these are sort of semi-government bodies that perform the task of ensuring that vehicles that use our roads are actually roadworthy. Some say that what they really do is give your car the shock of its life. It may even seem as though they are trying to break it. Mine always limps away after being put through its paces. (My last visit one of the hubcaps dropped off as I drove out the gate. I kid you not.)

I have decided that this shall not be a whingeing, complaining piece about the ITV, but rather just a narration of my experiences.

I drove a Chrysler made-in-Canada mini-van, which is really quite a comfortable car for long journeys. Hence the name “Voyager”. The car was imported into Spain about nine years ago and was ten years old when it was stolen. (That's another story.) That means it went through an inspection that certified it was legal to be driven on these roads, i.e it complied with all technical aspects. Since then it has been inspected by the same station twice. For its 2005 inspection it failed on the first attempt. Not because of the brakes, or suspension, or emissions, or something along the lines of maintenance. No, it failed because of the following things:

(a) The license plate in the front was situated on the left of front instead of in the centre.
(b) The hazard and turn lights to the rear used clear bulbs and clear covering instead of amber.

Well, the first was easy to fix and the second was a real nightmare. The light fixture is a sealed unit allowing only for a change of the bulbs. It is simply not possible to acquire a unit with the correct colour code, and neither is it possible to acquire amber coloured bulbs of the size needed. But they had said, words to the effect don’t come back until you have sorted this out. What was I to do? Scrap the car did cross my mind, but it was in excellent condition. My program of preventative maintenance had kept the car in proper running order, but there I was, faced with an impossible situation.

What on earth had suddenly changed to bring about such demands? Well, probably nothing had changed. I still think that this was one of those things where a case of different personnel made all the difference. The position of the license plate made me unique among traffic. Why was I not in conformity? And hazard lights in white, and white turn signals, how did anyone ever know what I was doing during the day? So sure, I could see their point, but how did this pass for so long. Don’t ask me, we have to ask the brilliant designers, whom I would like to meet someday.

To make this otherwise long story short I found the solution one very early morning when a still small voice said to me in my dreams, “ paint the bulb stupid!” “Eh!”, said I. And so, that is exactly what I did. Finding orange colour transparent paint for glass was amazingly easy. You look for it in the section under artist’s supplies. It goes on easy and dries very fast and Bob’s your uncle!

The process for submitting to the scheduled ITV examination is to go to the one nearest your residence, although probably you could go to any one you choose, and you determine which line you should be in and you place your car in that line, thus assuring your place in the queue. Then go to the office with your ITV booklet. There they will extract some money from you depending on certain criteria, such as whether your car has a catalytic converter or not. My cost was 42.27euros.

The examination is very thorough, starting with suspension, brakes, tires, lights, level of dipped and long-beam headlights, seatbelts, license plate position, horn, emissions, noise level, and a bunch of things they do by going under the car. Very disquieting that! During the course of the examination there are machines that severely test suspension and brakes beyond anything I normally encounter on the road. Should the car fail you are given a fail slip noting the things that must be corrected, and you have two months to complete the repairs. Meanwhile, ITV hold the car´s permit to circulate on the road, so you really are not permitted to carry on driving it to work for two months. You may only drive the car to a garage and back to the ITV after the repairs.

The personnel are usually a good bunch of guys just doing their jobs. I agreed with their findings, so I’m not complaining. Its just that as the car was beginning to show its age I was expected to make all these things right just before junking it. Life's funny that way!

Death on the roads! It doesn’t have to end like that!
Please don´t overtake on two-way road systems. Save your life for those who love you.

Copyright (c) 2007 Eugene Carmichael