Category Archives: Personal Lessons

What to Do Before Taking a Car Road Trip

We all like to travel from city to city or from one state to another to check on friends and family. We also travel for work and to seal business deals. Whereas air travel is faster, the car remains the darling of many travelers. The main advantage of a car is that it is cheaper than most other modes of transport. Most importantly, a car allows us to have as many stopovers along the way. We can pop by the motel for a cup of coffee or pull over at a highway pub for a beer as long as we are within the legal limit.

Despite the immense joy of taking road trips by car, a lot of care is needed to ensure that the trip becomes successful. Be it a small business trip, or one for pleasure – a car is immensely useful when it comes to your travel. For example, if you are on a trip for your business, and would like to have reimbursement for it, you could simply look up the best site for a mileage tracker app which can calculate this for you! After all, if you are spending the money for your company, you should get compensated for it!

However, among the most important things we need to look out for is the need to have our machines in excellent condition. It is embarrassing to get stuck in the middle of nowhere because of a broken-down vehicle. We also need to ensure we have the correct car accessories for the journey. For example, you might want to find a bed cover for your pick up truck so that all of your belongings can be looked after safely for the duration of the road trip. In this article, I share some other of the most important aspects to organize before taking that road trip.

Car Insurance

The car insurance is the best aspect before getting behind the wheel. We all need to be covered just in case something unbecoming happens along the way. Ensure your car insurance is valid and up to date. If by looking at your documents you’ve discovered that your insurance plan is up for renewal, it may be time that you switch providers and look for cheap car insurance companies, who can offer you the right amount of coverage for your vehicle needs and at a much lower price, instead of sticking with your original plan. In the average person’s search for car insurance, they may spend about an hour, but does it take long to get insurance for your car? This can depend on how you approach the process. Depending on your circumstances, insurance rates and delivery time can increase, and if this has happened with your own policy, it may be time to look elsewhere. If you decide to do this though, make sure that you do it in plenty of time before your trip. Some insurance companies have certain conditions such as coverage within a state only or higher premium beyond a particular mileage. Go through your insurance policy to familiarize with the fine details of your insurance cover. If it suffices, well and good. If it falls short, contact your insurance broker for guidance.

Check your Driver’s License

Is your driver’s license up to date? Due to the busy work schedule and other responsibilities, we sometimes forget even the most obvious things such as renewing our drivers’ license. Before going on that road trip, check that the drivers’ license is valid. If you are traveling beyond the state’s jurisdiction, ensure you are familiar with the traffic laws and signs in the destination.

Take the Car for a Check-up

For a car that is mostly used for a city commute, going for a long road trip might be a tough ask. I advise that you take the car for a check-up to fix the lagging areas and identify defects that might derail that road trip. As an example, your vehicle may have been getting less mileage recently which means taking a long trip can be heavy on your pockets. In such a case, you should have your car mechanic check the purge valves of the vehicles. These valves are responsible for the flow regulation of fuel vapour to the engine and driving with bad purge valve can reduce the fuel efficiency and even cause difficulty in starting the vehicle. An automotive expert will conduct thorough diagnostics and if a problem like this is found, they can get the car back in top-notch condition by replacing worn-out parts with new ones. Some of the most important areas to look out for include;

The Tires

The tires are a critical part of the vehicle as they are the main contact point with the road. They are the most prone to defects such as punctures or worn-out threads. An automotive expert will check and advise on what to do depending on their condition. The tires can be changed if they have seen better days. Also, check the condition of the spare wheel just in case you lose any of the tires already installed.

The Braking System

Imagine driving down a rural road and a deer suddenly crosses your path. The first thing to do will be stepping on the brake pedal. If it’s working, you are lucky. Finding the brake system faulty is a driver’s worst nightmare. I advise that you should never leave the garage without checking the condition of the brake system. It is essential in averting accidents and keeping everyone safe. Ensure the brake pads are in good condition and that the level of the braking oil is sufficient. Also, ensure that the brake lights are working so no one knocks your tail when you suddenly stop.

Headlights

To avoid getting stranded when night falls, ensure you check the condition of the headlamps. Ascertain that the bulbs are working, and illuminating the road perfectly.

The Engine

A well-running engine is the reason you will make it to your destination and back in good time. Ensure that the engine oil is checked. If possible, pour in new oil as the engine is going to be overworked in the coming days.

Ready to Go

The car is now ready to leave for the trip ahead. Pack up well and kick off your road trip. Remember to have some important contact with you in case the unforeseen happens. Our cars can sometimes surprise us with faults out of the blue. Have the right people on call in case that happens.

How a Divorce Lawyer Can Help

Divorce lawyers like jennifer croker are skilled in helping couples through the legalities, financial considerations, and access requirements regarding children, which are associated with the ending of a marriage. They know how to achieve the most favourable outcomes for their clients when those around them are in turmoil or intent on feeling bad towards one another. Thus, consulting a divorce law firm could prove useful not only for the legal respite, but also to shed off some emotional burden as well.

The Regular Sights and Sounds from Within a Defence Lawyer’s office

Typical phrases uttered inside divorce lawyer Peter’s office include:

“He says that I won’t receive a single coin from him, if he has anything to do with it.”

“She’s trying to take my children away from me.”

“He locked me out of the house without so much as a pair of shoes on and then wouldn’t let me back in.”

“I committed adultery, it was my fault I’d drunk too much wine at the Christmas party, but I still want what is legally mine.”

“My wife has rich parents who know the law, please help me to get what is mine.”

“My children are crying themselves to sleep at night, the last thing I need is to have to think about legal documents and money.”

“Sorry, I’m all over the place at the moment, and that is not just because my other half has thrown me out.”

Answers

If you are going through a divorce and the above responses are all too familiar to you, then you will know just what divorce lawyer Peter faces every day. He does not just have to be a defence lawyer but often a marriage guidance counsellor, too. He has first to make his clients feel at ease with what they are going through, if that is at all possible, and then to advise them on how best to proceed to protect their interests. That might be in obtaining their fair share of the income earned during a marriage, the share of any properties lived in or owned, and possession concerning children born from the marriage. If you are going through such situations, you can contact Eatons Solicitors or similar law firms who can be trusted as dedicated legal advisors who can work for the client’s benefit.

Often divorces can be messy affairs where one or other party will be intent on not co-operating with the other partner or their legal team. This is where Peter comes into his own in knowing the law inside out and being able to act on his client’s behalf with both professionalism and expertise, from an acquired knowledge of past cases. In some instances, an injunction will be required to protect one of the parties from domestic abuse by the other. Where there is animosity, there is also usually a situation arising where one or both spouses are blaming each other and demanding a greater share of the assets than they are legally entitled to.

Working out what is due can become complicated when one or other party has spent money on property repairs and enhanced the value of the property that is to be halved. This can all be sorted out by hiring a divorce lawyer to apportion these amounts correctly and in accordance with the law. In addition, the courts are on your side to follow through on the case that the divorce lawyer presents, who will be intent on winning over the judge so that things work out in your favour. It will be important where children are concerned that they still have somewhere to live.

The above demonstrates the importance of hiring an experienced divorce lawyer to take care of things. Emotions are often running high in situations of divorce, which can impact on someone’s ability to think clearly and for themselves. The defence lawyer can do this thinking on behalf of clients, only needing to sensitively ask the relevant information that will factor in the outcome of a case. That is, from the point of view of how much money and property from joint assets an individual is entitled to receive by law, how responsible the adults wanting access to children are, and whether on their own a nominated individual can provide the same level of care and financial stability as was provided from within the marriage. All these might are uncomfortable, and also with the advent of pandemic, a family dispute is even more distressing. The remote access family court has been, on balance, a success (read this post from Peters And May); the need for an expert lawyer remains the same.
So, it would seem prudent to hire a divorce lawyer as a guide through all aspects of a divorce.