Savvy tips for road trips from Kurnia Insurans

Deepavali, also known as the Festival of Lights, marks a long weekend in Singapore and Malaysia, when road trips come to the fore. Ensuring a safe, secure, and splendid trip is paramount, and this is when it’s imperative to remember that the journey is just as crucial as the destination itself, says Kurnia Insurans.

Some tips from Kurnia Insurans include:

The pre-trip vehicle check-up

● Ensure that your brakes and battery are not just functioning, but in good condition.

● Double-check the condition of your tyres and make sure all your lights are shining brightly.

● Before embarking on extensive journeys, a professional vehicle inspection can set the stage for a flawless trip.

Stay vigilant and take breaks

● Strategically plan ample rest stops, particularly for lengthy drives, to ward off drowsiness.

● Stock up on water and wholesome snacks, keeping energy levels high and attention focused.

● Engage with passengers, allowing them to play a role in navigation, or use audio to create a harmonious journey.

Mind the weather

● Get the latest weather updates, and be monsoon-ready in particular.

● In torrential downpours, reduce your speed, increase your following distance, and use your headlights for additional illumination.

● For those sunny spells, sunglasses are your best friend, protecting your eyes while ensuring clear and comfortable vision.

Safe driving practices

● Channel your attention to the road; resist the urge to attend to your mobile phone. If you do have to do so, check it at a safe stop.

● Be vigilant about traffic signs, signals, and road markings.

● Stick to your lane and be mindful of your speed, ensuring a smooth flow and reducing the risk of accidents.

Your emergency kit

● Ensure your emergency kit is complete with first aid essentials, a reliable flashlight, and indispensable tools.

● In an emergency, maintain your composure, prioritise your safety, and immediately reach out to your 24x7 insurance helpline.

● Familiarise yourself with the basic workings of your vehicle; knowing how to change a tyre and jumpstart your car.

By prioritising road vigilance and robust safety measures, you pave the way for a successful journey, Kurnia Insurans said. The company offers auto365 Comprehensive Plus, an economical car insurance option for Malaysian road explorers. The package includes comprehensive coverage, towing aid for accidents and breakdowns, a flood relief allowance, and special care for car keys and window snatch thefts. There is a three-year warranty on workmanship repairs.

Driving in Singapore more dangerous than you may think: ValueChampion

Although Singapore has among the lowest road mortality rates per capita in the world, ValueChampion says that it is actually more dangerous to drive in Singapore than many other well-developed countries. In a blog post updating research from 2017, Anastassia Evlanova, Senior Research Analyst at ValueChampion Singapore notes that there were 12.13 fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles in 2019, higher than the rate in Japan or Australia.

"(The) per capita basis for measuring road safety paints a misleading picture of how safe it actually is to travel by car in Singapore. Instead, driving Singaporeans should consider the number of car accidents and fatalities per vehicle to be a more accurate reflection of road safety," she said.

According to Evlanova, road mortality rates per capita are typically similar to fatilities per 100,000 motor vehicles in countries where car ownership is high, whereas fewer households in Singapore own a car. When the majority of Singapore residents rely on public transport, road mortality rates per capita cannot be used for apples-to-apples comparisons with the same statistic in other countries.

ValueChampion creates guides and tools that make it easy to pay off debt, choose the best financial products and services and tackle major life goals like buying a house and saving for retirement.

*ValueChampion's findings are based on statistics culled from publicly accessible and official reports and datasets published by the Singapore government, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Pew, the United Nations and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The company collected data on the number of car accidents, fatal accidents, human population, vehicle population and road mortality rates for countries around the world to analyse trends in the frequency of car accidents from 2010 to 2019.

TomTom GO 520 GPS navigator adds Wi-Fi, live updates

TomTom's new TomTom GO 520 GPS navigator uses Wi-Fi to ensure automatic updates. Other new features users can look forward to include real-time, traffic information and Lifetime TomTom Traffic, Lifetime Maps and Lifetime Speed Camera alerts.

The new TomTom GO 520 also supports voice recognition. It reads out text messages, allow handsfree calling, and is compatible with personal assistants like Apple's Siri, Google Now, or Microsoft's Cortana. Users can search using voice, have the TomTom GO read out messages when they arrive or make and take calls via voice control.

The TomTom GO 520 has artificial intelligence and is able to learn a driver's habits. That means it can predict a destination*. Navigation for a regular commute becomes automatic, including avoiding traffic. If there is a traffic jam or speed camera, the TomTom GO 520 will sound an alert in good time.

Chris Kearney, VP APAC, TomTom Consumer, said: "The new TomTom GO 520 GPS navigator represents our focus on making technology so easy to use that anybody can benefit from it. Wi-
Fi updates, smartphone integration, predicting your destination – even Lifetime services. Each element works towards removing the headaches associated with driving, and allows people everywhere to relax and enjoy the journey ahead."

The TomTom GO 520 features a 5" screen, a sleek finish and quad-core innards. It also supports a smartphone connection for live alerts on traffic and speed cameras.

Interested?

The new TomTom GO GPS will be available from late September at selected retailers in Singapore.

*Destination prediction learns the driver’s preferences, regular routes driven, etc., over time.

posted from Bloggeroid

TomTom unveils help for speed cameras, jams

Source: Android Play website.

TomTom is introducing TomTom Jam Ahead Warnings¹ which are now available on the free² TomTom Speed Cameras app for Android.

TomTom Jam Ahead Warnings visually and audibly alert drivers to rapidly slowing, or stationary, traffic on the highway ahead, giving the driver the opportunity to brake smoothly, and in time.

Corinne Vigreux, co-founder and MD, TomTom, said: “We’re constantly striving to make the driving experience safer and more relaxed. TomTom Jam Ahead Warnings is a powerful example of this approach.”

The TomTom Speed Cameras app is already available in 16 countries³, and today launches in a further 26⁴. Drivers around the world rely on the app to deliver highly accurate fixed and mobile camera alerts in real time, as well as average speed checks for average speed cameras.

The locations of fixed cameras are provided by TomTom’s database, and verified by a TomTom moderation team, while mobile speed cameras are reported and verified by a community of over 5 million drivers.

Interested?

The TomTom Speed Camera app for Android is available as a free download on the Google Play store. The full list of countries supported is listed in the app description.

1 The TomTom Jam Ahead Warnings feature is not available in selected European countries.

2 A mobile data connection is required

3 Existing countries in Asia Pacific available include Australia.

4 New countries and territories include: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

posted from Bloggeroid

Major LeEco launch covers phones, TVs, VR and a self driving concept car

Source: LeEco. Jia Yueting (left) and Ding Lei demonstrate the self-driving functions of the LeSEE concept car by using a Superphone to control the car remotely.

LeEco, formerly LeTV, has held a major cross-category product launch in Beijing, China during which the company introduced four new device families: Le 2 Superphones, a Super TV, the Le VR virtual reality set and the self-driving Super EV connected car. While traditionally placed in different categories, the four families share the same ecosystem, the company said.

Source: LeEco. The Le 2 (历2, literally Power 2) is the world's first flagship phone to support the LeEco-initiated Continual Digital Lossless Audio (CDLA) standard.

The Le 2 is the world's first flagship phone to support the LeEco-initiated Continual Digital Lossless Audio (CDLA) standard, which is accredited by the Chinese Musicians Association and takes the music industry into the continual digital lossless audio era.

The Le 2 series is available in three variants: the Le 2, Le 2Pro and Le Max2. While maintaining the first generation's popular features such as boltless exterior design, bezel-less display, Type-C USB support, and a metal unibody, the second-generation series is thinner and has a longer battery life. In particular, the 3.5mm earphone jack has been eliminated to provide users with a Type-C digital lossless audio experience.

The flagship Le 2Pro, treated with a three-level anodic oxidation process for the first time in the industry, gets a new refresh with new bezel-less ID 3.0 screen to provide an immersive visual experience. The three-level anodic oxidation process is the result of ten months of intensive R&D efforts with a total investment of more than RMB20 million, including personnel, material and equipment costs. The top-of-the-line Le Max2 continues Le Max's symmetrical design in the unique "dopamine red", created by applying insights from colour psychology to be emotionally appealing. Le Max2 is also among the world's first smartphones to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and the world's first commercially available metal-body phone to offer the ultrasonic fingerprint scanning feature.

The Le 2 Superphones are offered at "negative profit for hardware", basically priced so low that the company may have no profits from the sale, or may even lose money. The company is promoting the "hardware freebie model" to encourage a new ecosystem consumption pattern, LeEco said.

During the launch event, LeEco also unveiled its fourth-generation Super TV lineup. The Super 4 X50 Pro (RMB2,999), Super 4 X50 (RMB2,499) and Super 4 X50 CSL Edition (RMB2,699) are also offered at prices below their mass production cost, being subsidised by larger LeEco ecosystem.

The highlight of the launch was LeSEE's first self-driving concept car, which was put through its paces by Jia Yueting, LeEco founder and CEO of LeEco, and LeSEE co-founder and Global VP Ding Lei. The concept car's self-driving functions were demonstrated using a Superphone to control the car remotely. Positioned as an intelligent Internet car, it can drive and learn autonomously with capabilities such as face recognition, emotion recognition, environment recognition and road recognition. The car has received 804 patents worldwide, part of the 10,000 patents submitted worldwide to cover the products showcased at the launch. 

Source: LeEco. LeEco launches VR support.

At the event, LeEco's new VR product also made its debut, in addition to the latest EUI 5.8 operating system, which supports nine-camera live videostreaming, a step above the triple-camera live videostreaming support introduced last year. 

Source: LeEco. The new EUI 5.8 OS supports nine-camera live videostreaming.

The Ecosystem without Borders launch event set a number of records, LeEco added. The VR-enabled event was streamed live around the world on nearly 100 online video sites. The event was also the world's first product launch to be livestreamed on Facebook, a LeEco cloud-sharing distribution channel.

Mobile phone use affects road safety

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified a "marked increase" around the world in the use of mobile phones by drivers that is becoming a growing concern for road safety.

The distraction caused by mobile phones can impair driving performance, the WHO said, listing slower reaction times (notably braking reaction time, but also reaction to traffic signals), impaired ability to keep in the correct lane, and shorter following distances as some of the dangers.

Text messaging, popular with younger drivers, also results in "considerably reduced driving performance", the WHO said.

Drivers using a mobile phone are approximately four times more likely to be involved in a crash than when a driver does not use a phone. Worse, hands-free phones are not much safer than handheld phone sets.

While there is little concrete evidence on how to reduce mobile phone use while driving, the WHO recommends that governments be proactive. Actions that can be taken include:

Adopting legislative measures,
Launching public awareness campaigns, and
Regularly collecting data on distracted driving to better understand the nature of this problem.

posted from Bloggeroid