Student motoring tips and advice

It's freshers week for most universities across the country so Aviva, the UK's largest insurer, is anticipating large numbers of students taking to the roads for the long trek to their halls of residence.

Although many students will be relying on Mum and Dad to drop them off at University, there will be lots of students loading up their own car to make the journey back this September.

To help them on their way, Aviva have put together the following safety and money saving advice:

Don't overload your vehicle

Although entire CD collections and games consoles may be perceived as essential belongings for university life, it's important not to overload your car when leaving the family home to make the initial journey to your new halls of residence.  

Nigel Bartram, motoring strategist at Aviva said "Loading up a car is not like a game of tetris - all heavy objects should be secured, use your seat belts if they are not already being used by passengers, and there should always be a clear sight for mirrors and the drivers space should not in anyway be impaired".

Safeguard against theft

When stopping off for a coffee en-route to university, leaving all of your worldly possessions packed into your car represents an obvious risk of theft from your vehicle, so it is a good idea to keep a watchful eye over your vehicle if you can and not to leave it unattended.

Student cars are predominately older, less expensive cars, and these are attractive targets for thieves because they may not boast the security features of modern cars.  Aviva claims data (2009) shows that the majority of car theft claims are for vehicles worth under £5,000 and older vehicles (15 years +) are more than twice as likely to be stolen than newer vehicles.  Always make sure your car is left locked up and do not leave valuable items in the car as this may entice potential thieves to take more interest in your car.

Plan your route

Many universities are located within towns and cities and these are renowned for having tricky one way systems and buses only lanes so it's a good idea to have a route mapped out before you leave.  Chances are you won't be familiar with the local roads if you are a fresher, so plan ahead to avoid the stress of getting lost, not to mention the waste of money in using up more fuel than you need to.

Parking

Many inner city residential areas have schemes such as permit parking only, so it's important to make sure you have a parking spot before you arrive at University.  The last thing you need is to be late for your first lecture because your car has been clamped or towed away!

Students will probably be watching their purse strings quite closely, and appropriately prioritising their expenditure, so Aviva have compiled the follow tips and advice for students to save money on motoring, so they don't have to live on a diet solely consisting of beans on toast for the entire term:

Choose the car wisely

If you haven't bought a car yet, consider a vehicle with a smaller engine and with no modifications for lower premiums.

Lower milage

If you know you're not going to be using your car very much and it will spend most the time parked up, then let your insurer know that you will be doing low mileage as this can save you money on your insurance premium.

Consider security

Fitting alarms and immobilisers can drive down costs.

Rapid bonus schemes

Some insurance providers offer rapid bonus schemes that let young drivers earn a full year's no-claims discount in around six-nine months, so in the time it takes you to complete your degree, you could also get the maximum amount of no claims discount.

Buy online

It's worth buying insurance online as insurers often offer a discount when policies are purchased direct using this channel.