A Roadranger gearbox is a non-synchonised or ‘crash’ gearbox found on larger American and Asian trucks (although more and more of these trucks are coming with automated manual transmissions or AMT). The most common configuration is 18-speed, but you will…
Roof racks are useful to carry long items that won’t fit in your car, van or ute. They can be used for infrequently needed items such as sporting equipment, instead of buying a much larger vehicle. When we learn to…
Utes, also called pick-up trucks and utility vehicles, are the vehicle of choice for tradespeople and farmers, plus people who get out into the rugged wilderness as either part of their job or for their hobbies. From single-cab to double-cab,…
Spotters are used in the transport and construction industry when it’s difficult to manoeuvre a vehicle or an object. Examples include: What does a spotter do? A spotter uses a set of agreed-upon hand signals to tell the driver or…
Your family car probably weighs around 2000kg all up with you, a passenger and its fuel. It has four wheels in contact with the road – small rubber patches, no bigger than the size of a CD case (remember those?).…
Roadworks are areas of the road where either the road is being repaired, part of the road’s shoulder or road furniture is being repaired (e.g. barriers), or works are occurring on services such as water or power. They are usually…
Overtaking or passing means getting by a vehicle ahead of you that is either travelling slower or has stopped. The reasons for not overtaking are different for different types of road. Road markings often indicate to you when you definitely…
Before we can start to answer the question, we need to look at how tyre wear occurs. Tyre wear is the process by which rubber is worn from the tyre and it reduces the depth of the tyre’s tread. The…
There are six main categories of problems that cause your vehicle to accelerate more slowly than you’re used to: mechanical, aerodynamic, load, road, weather and driver. Some of them mean you should get your vehicle checked by a mechanic, while…
Drivers that are carrying hazardous chemicals where there is a risk of spilling should carry a spill kit in their vehicle. The purpose of a spill kit is to stop spilt chemicals entering stormwater drains or somewhere they’ll soak into…
The health and safety risks associated with driving can be broken down into six categories: Vehicle Health and wellbeing Compliance Cognitive ability and attitude Environmental Management Each of the risk categories have questions that should be asked to assess a…
A windscreen is a piece of laminated glass that protects the occupants from stones, insects, birds, animals and the weather. The laminate consists of a layer of glass, an interlayer of plastic and another layer of glass. This interlayer prevents…
A rollover accident is where a vehicle either tips on its side or completely rolls onto its roof (or further). To achieve this, the vehicle must become unstable enough and have a high enough centre of gravity. Heavy vehicle drivers…
Many drivers refer to trucks as a ‘class 2 truck’ or a ‘class 4 truck’. Trucks in New Zealand aren’t defined by class, they are defined by type (see below). However, the driver’s licence required to drive them, e.g. a…
Soundbars are popular these days mostly because of their portability and the sound quality they can provide. However, they are mostly used in a home theatre setup in the living room. Some soundbars even have subwoofers of their own, which…
There are good places to carry items in your car and bad places. The boot Other than a trailer, a boot is by far the safest place to carry items, although there are things to be aware of if you…
If you are visiting New Zealand from Australia (or any other country) a road trip is the best way to discover parts of the country you won’t find on the first page of Google! While the country is small, it…
Learning to drive is an exciting journey and the start of a process that leads to greater independence for a young driver. For the parents and other family members who get roped in to coach the new driver, the excitement…
Used cars come with a plethora of benefits, hence no wonder the second-hand market is growing worldwide. With tons of options at their fingertips, people are more focused on negotiating the best possible price and often overlook such an important…
If you want to save some money, you can do some basic car maintenance. Changing your oil is one of the easier tasks, but you’ll need to dispose of the used engine oil. Can you dispose of used oil for…
