Avis urges students to travel safely

In early October over 400,000 students will be travelling to university to start the autumn term.

Many will be attempting a ‘Guinness Book of Records’ style feat for the most duvets, kettles, cheese plants, toasters and guitars crammed into a “will it or won’t it make it?” old banger and poor parents will be loading up their car and tailgating their offspring on a 300 mile round trip to deliver them to their digs.

There is often an increase of overloaded vehicles around the beginning of autumn term. Overloaded cars that pose a safety risk are in fact illegal, so renting an alternative vehicle that is more suitable to the task, yet still comfortable on a long journey, is a much safer option.

Katie Shephard, spokesperson for Road Safety Charity BRAKE, says, “An unsecured or incorrectly secured object in your vehicle is a potentially deadly risk. If you crash or suddenly brake, these objects could smash into you or your passengers with devastating consequences. Students and parents need to think about this and pack their car correctly, before making the journey back to university this autumn.”

Avis’ Autumn sale is now underway so students’ parents can bag a bargain with the rental of safe, road-worthy vehicles from just £14 per day.

“Our number one priority is safety,” says Josi Kytle, Head of Marketing and Direct Sales, Avis UK.

“Our vehicles go through a rigorous safety check prior to every rental. For parents who often have to travel hundreds of miles to their child’s university towns and cities, renting a larger vehicle is a sensible alternative to loading up their car and following their child!”

The Dangers of Overloaded cars:

- Overloading can make a vehicle less stable, difficult to steer and take longer to stop
- Can cause tyres to overheat and wear rapidly – increasing the danger of blowouts
- Invalidate insurance if an overloaded vehicle is involved in a crash
- Increase fuel consumption

When carrying a heavier than usual load ensure that it is distributed evenly to avoid overloaded axles and adjust tyre pressure accordingly before setting off.

In addition, vehicle recovery services are regularly called out to overloaded cars and you could end up spending serious money on repairs to a damaged suspension, burnt out clutch, punctures or uneven wear on tyres.

Remember, that not only is an overloaded car a safety risk, it also constitutes a legal offence. The police can identify offenders simply from a car’s rear being close to the ground or the tyres looking strained or flat. If in doubt check the weight restriction in the vehicle handbook.