We don’t believe quality smash repairs are a matter of opinion, which is why we make sure our team are always keeping up with the highest internationally-recognised standards of training. So we are very proud to congratulate Greg, our second technician to achieve accreditation as an I-CAR® Platinum Individual™!

Greg’s achievement reflects a huge amount of work and dedication, and the certification is recognition of his skill as an outstanding repairer. I-CAR® give the best description of what the award means:

Being recognised as an I-CAR® Platinum Individual™ in your role means that you’ve achieved one of the highest training levels recognised in the collision repair inter-industry.

The I-CAR® qualification involves ongoing skills training to keep technicians at the forefront of the industry – which is exactly where we want to be! We believe that part of great service is constant improvement and being responsive to change, especially in an industry like ours that revolves around new developments in technology. We are constantly reviewing the skills of our team and we make sure that when technology advances, we are moving alongside it.

So when you’re considering the best insurance repairer for your vehicle, you should always make sure you’re actually getting the best, and an I-CAR® Platinum qualification is a great place to start. Como Panel & Paint are now the first repairer in WA with two Platinum-certified technicians – it’s a testament to how hard our team works to maintain the very best standards and practices in smash repairs and we couldn’t be prouder!

For more information, or to see what else we’re up to, please follow us on Twitter or check our Facebook page.

Car accidents happen more frequently at night – this will not be a surprise to anybody who drives a car or watches the news. We deal with a lot of accident damage and handle a lot of insurance claims so we thought we’d share some of the reasons for why this might be, and what you can do to stay safe on the road at night.

1: It’s dark.

This may seem obvious, but it’s one of the major contributing factors to accidents at night! Our eyes are clearly not designed for great night vision, so darkness adds an extra layer of difficulty to everything we do. Little things that you compensate for (e.g a dirty windshield) or neglect to do (e.g. checking your blind spot when changing lanes) during the daytime are a lot more risky at night, because there’s a significant impairment on the sense you normally use to assess your surroundings – your sight. The best way to stay safe in the dark is to make sure that your car is always in good condition and that you’re that little bit extra alert and courteous to other drivers.

2: Bright lights.

If you’ve ever been blinded by someone else’s high beams you’ll understand how disorienting and dangerous it can be. Consideration for other drivers in this regard is an important part of staying safe – ideally you should have your lights on low-beam if there are vehicles ahead of you within 200m. It’s important not to look directly into the other car’s headlights if you do get dazzled, as you run the risk of your car following your line of vision.

Other sources of bright light can be equally distracting and dangerous, for example if you’re driving towards the sun at dawn or sunset. Looking quickly from darkness to brightness and vice versa pushes the ability of your eyes to adjust, and can leave you temporarily unable to see much at all. In conjunction with the darkness, bright lights can actually hamper your ability to see properly. This includes having bright lights inside your car, like the LED screens on a lot of handheld devices.

If you’re driving in an area without a lot of streetlights, anything outside the light of your headlights may be all but invisible for the same reason. You may not see people or animals approaching the road until they’re right in front of you, so it’s always a good idea to reduce your speed to give yourself time to react to anything unexpected.

3: Hitting the town.

Human behaviour is another big factor in night-time accidents. People driving at night are usually not driving to work or dropping the kids off at school; they’re heading out for recreational or social reasons. Friday and Saturday nights see a lot of accidents for this reason, particularly among young and inexperienced drivers. Alcohol consumption, distractions inside the vehicle (like passengers, music and phones) and a more relaxed, less vigilant approach to driving are all much more likely to occur at night – and any of these can increase your risk of an accident.

Always stay alert when driving at night, even on empty roads, and if you’re planning to drink at your destination, make other arrangements for the return trip.

4: Night owls.

A lot of night driving occurs at times when we would normally be sleeping. This means increased levels of fatigue, slower reaction times and, by extension, greater risk of having an accident. If you’re yawning, feeling drowsy or restless, or if you find yourself veering out of your lane or making larger, slower steering adjustments, you’re already too tired to drive and should pull over as soon as you can.

For more information, or to see what else we’re up to, please follow us on Twitter or check our Facebook page.

The winter months can be busy at the workshop. The wet weather brings perfect traffic conditions for all sorts of accidents and we spend a lot of our time smoothing out dented panels and patching up paintwork.

A lot of these accidents can be avoided with a little understanding of wet weather conditions and how to handle them when you’re driving. We’ve put together the biggest risk factors for wet-weather driving and the best ways to reduce your risk.

Risk factor: More traffic

It seems obvious, but it’s worth being prepared for more traffic when it’s raining. Fewer people are willing to walk, cycle or catch public transport on their daily commute in the rain and it doesn’t take long for busy roads to turn into a congestion nightmare. Impatience and ‘road rage’ causes a lot of accidents in these conditions.

You can: be prepared and be patient. Allow for a longer driving time, heavier traffic (even on side streets) and longer waiting times at services that cater for motorists, like petrol stations and roadside cafes. Trying to rush can lead to taking more risks, which in wet weather can be disastrous. Take care and allow for longer response times, not just for yourself but for other cars as well – remember everyone is in the same situation!

Risk factor: Slippery roads

It’s not just water on the road that makes for slippery driving. All the oil and grime that builds up during the drier months rises to the surface when the road gets wet, especially at the start of winter.

You can: slow down and be aware of your braking. Anything that reduces traction on the road will make a difference to your stopping time. It’s important to leave more room between you and the car in front (ideally double what you would normally leave), and to avoid sudden or forceful braking. Either of these can cause you – or the car behind you – to skid and lose control on a slippery road, which has been the cause of many a prang on our freeways.

Risk factor: Aquaplaning/hydroplaning

Aquaplaning or hydroplaning is the name for the loss of control that happens when your tyres hit standing water and lose contact with the road surface. From a driver’s perspective, this has been described as a ‘lurch’, when vehicle controls suddenly go soft and the car ‘sleds’ in the direction of current momentum rather than where you’re trying to steer.

You can: check your tyres, reduce your speed and take care when turning. Avoiding standing water (e.g. puddles in ruts on the road) altogether would be the best prevention, but it isn’t always possible. So it’s best to be prepared and modulate your driving behaviour instead. Aquaplaning is the result of a build-up of water in front of the tyre at high speed, the pressure of which lifts the wheels so that they’re no longer touching the road. While the dynamics will change according the size, weight and type of vehicle you have, reducing your speed will help to keep you under the critical point at which the water pressure overcomes the weight of the car. Slowing down is especially important when handling corners and bends in wet weather. Properly inflated tyres with a safe amount of tyre tread will be a big help, too.

Risk factor: Reduced Visibility

Wet weather doesn’t do much for driving visibility: it’s darker than normal, the rain reduces how far and how clearly you can see, and your windows will often mist up.

You can: Make sure you’re always able to see properly, and that other drivers are able to see you. Turn your headlights on and make sure that your windscreen wipers are working correctly. Keep your mirrors and windows clean inside and out, and turn on your demister. Wet, reflective roads can make it hard to judge distances and lanes properly, especially at night, and looking at them through a fogged-up, smeary windscreen will make it even harder. Make sure you indicate well in advance when turning and brake slowly to give other cars plenty of time to see exactly what you’re doing.

As always, we recommend a well-maintained vehicle and careful, courteous driving as the best ways of reducing your risk of being in an accident. But always remember that if severe weather is making it too hard for you to drive safely, find a safe place to pull over and wait it out. Better to arrive at your destination late and safe!

For more information, or to see what else we’re up to, please follow us on Twitter or check our Facebook page.

As smash repairers who deal with a lot of rural and regional clients, we see a noticeable difference between ‘city’ repairs and ‘country’ repairs. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the worst vehicle damage we see comes from accidents on country roads.

Government safety campaigns, coupled with the fact that most of us head out of the city at least a few times a year, have created a level of awareness around this already. Most people know in general terms that country driving is more dangerous, but not many are clear on why, or what they can do to reduce their risk of an accident. Safety is a big concern for us, so we’ve put together some of the most common causes of accidents, along with some ways to avoid them.

Driver fatigue

Driving tired is dangerous anywhere, but it’s a particularly significant contributor to the number of fatalities on country roads. The long distances and uninterrupted roads in the country make it easy for fatigue to creep up and people often don’t realise that their ability to drive is impaired until it’s too late. It’s time to take a rest break when:

• Your body is showing signs of fatigue. If you’re yawning, feeling restless or drowsy, or if your eyes are watery or sore, you should find somewhere to stop and rest as soon as possible.
• Your regular driving behaviour changes. If you find yourself getting bored, missing road signs, veering outside the lane or making larger steering corrections, you’re probably suffering from mental fatigue. It becomes second nature to most people, but driving requires a lot of concentration, and you can only keep it up for so long before your brain needs some down time.

Hitting an animal

We see a lot of cars that have hit animals (especially kangaroos) while driving in the country, and the damage to the vehicle can be extensive.

But it’s not as bad as the damage and personal injury which can be caused by swerving to avoid an animal and hitting a tree or rolling your car. If you think you’re going to hit an animal, there are a few things you can do:

– DO try to scare it away. Flash your lights and sound your horn. If you’re driving at night, remember that a lot of animals will be confused by the bright, steady light of your headlights and may even run towards them. Flashing your lights can interrupt this effect.

– DO try to slow down by taking your foot of the accelerator.

– DON’T slam on the brakes or swerve. This can cause you to skid and lose control or worse, to roll your car, particularly on roads that are unsealed or have soft edges. A loss of control for even a couple of seconds at high speed is enough to endanger your life.

We know that even the best advice and the most careful driving will not protect you in every case, and you must always to remember to prioritise your own safety over concern for the animal or damage to your car.

If you are unable to safely avoid it in time and you do end up hitting an animal, you should:

– Turn around when it’s safe to do so and drive back to the site of the accident.

– Approach the animal with care as wounded animals, even kangaroos, can be dangerous.

– If the animal is dead, make sure it is not in a position where it will be a hazard to other drivers.

– If the animal is alive, get in touch with the local Shire or Ranger as soon as you can. Call 1223 for directory assistance (in Western Australia) if you’re not sure how to reach them.

High-speed driving

Driving on the open road can be exhilarating. There are fewer stops and higher speed limits, but as is often the case in life, the things that make it more fun also make it more dangerous.

For most people, country roads are unfamiliar roads. Moving at high speed through unfamiliar territory increases the risk of being surprised by changes in driving conditions – and there’s a big difference between hitting a pothole at 60km/h and 100km/h. Steering adjustments and braking also need to be handled more delicately at these speeds. Drivers need to stay alert at all times and allow for the greater margin for error that comes with driving at high speeds.

Different road surfaces and soft edges

Unsealed roads are common in the country. Apart from the dents and chips caused by flying debris, we see a lot of damage caused when drivers lose control and have an accident when driving on dirt or gravel. Cars are less responsive and take longer to stop on a loose surface, and any sudden swerving or braking has the potential to send your vehicle out of control.

Soft edges are also a feature of many country roads. Some have audible strips to let you know when you’re too close to the outside of the lane, but in many cases you won’t realise until you’ve veered into the gravel. Again it’s important not to jerk the steering wheel or hit the brakes. Instead, gently correct your steering, ease off the accelerator and guide the wheels back onto the road.

The best policy is to drive carefully and pay attention to any changes in the road. Again, a reduction in speed is a good way to reduce your risk.

Visibility

Always make sure you reduce your speed and have your headlights on when your ability to see is reduced in any way. This includes driving at night, sunrise and sunset, or in weather conditions like fog and rain. This is not just to help you see where you’re going – it also lets other drivers know you’re there!

For more information, or to see what else we’re up to, please follow us on Twitter or check our Facebook page.