“My Family” bumper stickers – would you put them on your car?

Posted on by
28
My Family bumper sticker

Would you put "My Family" stickers on your car?

Whether you love them or hate them, the “My Family” rear window stickers are on the rise with more than 2 million being sold in the last two years.

The stick figure bumper stickers, designed by Gold Coast couple Monica Liebenow and Phil Barham, represent individual family members (including pets) with stickers ranging from golf playing Dads to pregnant Mums to superhero kids.

Many people see the stickers as a bit of fun and an opportunity to proudly show off their family to their fellow drivers. However, critics of the stickers see them as smug and an unrealistic representation of people’s families, with some comparing them (unfavourably) to the frangipani stickers that became popular a few years ago.

Do you have a “My Family” bumper sticker on your car? Do you love them, hate them or just don’t care? 

Do parents make good driving instructors?

Posted on by
2
Roadside assistance NRMA

Are you a good driving instructor?

Almost one-in-three learner drivers have been in a car with a speeding driver, according to a new NRMA Safer Driving School survey.

The survey of 300 learner drivers across NSW and the ACT found 32% have been exposed to speeding while their parents or other supervisors were driving.

The survey also found learner drivers were being exposed to their parents’ bad habits, with the worst offending habits being:

  • Not having both hands on the wheel (38%)
  • Speeding (32%)
  • Talking on a mobile phone without a hands-free device (19%)
  • Failing to indicate when turning (19%); and
  • Road rage (16%)

NRMA Motoring & Services Director Coral Taylor says young drivers will pick up on the driving habits of their supervisors – good and bad.

“All supervisors need to remember that when a learner is sitting next to them in the car they will copy the way they drive, so they need to be a model of good behaviour,” Ms Taylor said.

Are you a good driving instructor or do you think you need to brush up on your driving skills before supervising your kids?

Have DeLorean, will (time) travel

Posted on by
1
DeLorean

Back to the Future - 80's classic car the DeLorean DMC-12

Some people buy a car because they like the curve of its rear wheel arch. Some buy a car because it represents a slice of motoring history, or so they can do it up and make a motza from it. Some people even buy a car as a no-nonsense runabout and use it to pick up the kids from school.

But time travel? Not usually on people’s lists when they check their local vehicle classifieds.

Just as well one car was built with the express purpose of bending the space-time continuum. It’s the only set of wheels you need if ever you fancy checking out Hendrix during his heyday. That car is, of course, the DeLorean DMC-12.

Word of warning, though. The DeLorean’s era-hopping prowess has been known to malfunction. At least it did in Back to the Future, the high-grossing film franchise from the 1980s that made the DeLorean a household name.

Not that the car’s tendency towards temporal hiccups has ever deterred James Politino. For him, the car’s cultural cachet, downright zaniness and rarity on Australian streets were reason enough to import one from the United States. And soon after he did, he imported another…

Read the full story in the July Edition of Australian Classic Car.

If you could drive any car in the universe, what would you drive?

Road trips in South Africa

Posted on by
Reply

The most recent issue of Open Road has some great road trip experiences including:

  • Cairns to Karumba
  • The New Zealand South Island Zig-Zag
  • A Trek to the snowy Mountains

It got me thinking about my favourite road trips taken throughout my life. Having grown up in South Africa, most of my road trips as a youngster were from Johannesburg to Durban. This trip was done numerous times a year and included breathtaking vista such as:

The Drakensberg

The Drakensberg - South Africa

The Valley of a Thousand Hills
The Valley of a Thousand Hills

As I started to ease into my twenties, the location and scope of the road trips I took were quite different in their location and scope. From an epic 30 hour bus ride through the heart of Brazil to a leisurely 3 day trip from Sydney to Melbourne. The details of one of my favourite pastimes may have changed over the years, but my fondness for them has not.

How have your road trips changed over the years and what is your all-time favourite route? 

Lucy’s family road trip – part 3

Posted on by
1

We continue to follow NRMA Marketing Manager, Lucy and her young family on their 4,900km road trip from Sydney to Kangaroo Island via the Flinders Ranges.

Final destination – Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island

Finally arriving at Kangaroo Island

Arriving in Adelaide we set up camp at a city beach near Glenelg, which felt like New York City compared to the outback. It was the first week of January and the campground was fully booked so even though we had an allocated site, we had to peg one corner of our tent into the bark chips of the playground. At least one of us enjoyed this location, darting off his lilo at first light to stake his claim as king of the slippery dip!

City campers are a different breed to those we encountered in remote areas. The majority appeared to have set up shop for the entire Christmas holidays and had more gadgetry than I have at home. We were one of the few families that forgot the Christmas tree and flashing icicle lights.

Next we headed to the final and perhaps most anticipated destination of the holiday, Kangaroo Island. We stayed in a cute limestone beach house at Vivonne Bay, judged as “Australia’s best beach”, according to researchers at Sydney University. I don’t know how they decided. There are dozens of breathtaking beaches on the island that could have easily taken the title. For miles there’s nothing but pristine white sand and the glistening aquamarine of the cool Southern Ocean. Remarkably, despite being peak season, it was still possible to enjoy Australia’s best beach alone.

Some other highlights on the Island were the New Zealand Fur Seals that live and play at Admiral’s Arch, the stunning and precariously stacked Remarkable Rocks and the Flinders Chase coastline.

As we packed the family wagon and bade farewell to the stunning island I dug out the maps once again and planned our way home. Keen to get back to familiar surrounds, we chose the most direct route from Adelaide to Sydney via the Sturt Hwy (1400kms). It was a pleasant journey, much of which follows the Murray River (or what remained of it after a long hot summer). Sadly the Murray was so dry in spots it looked more like a salt plain than a river.

When I said the route was pleasant, I hadn’t accounted for stepping out of the car. On a January day with catastrophic bushfire warning it was not so pleasant. As incentive to keep quiet just a bit longer, Jasper had been promised an ice cream at the next town after Mildura. When the town finally appeared on the horizon he was champing at the bit. Never have I seen a chocolate Paddle Pop run down a chubby 3 year old’s arm faster than this! Meanwhile, as I stood under a gum tree by the Murrumbidgee, the heat on my legs felt like I was standing next to a campfire. Miraculously the region managed to avoid major bush fires during this extremely hot summer.

Eventually we arrived home – exhausted but satisfied. With the infinite optimism and selective memory of a three-year-old, Jasper announced that it was the best holiday ever and asked when we could do it again. Would I do it again? I’m sure my inner adventurer will conjure up plans to explore other remote locations in the future, but in the meantime we’ll probably stay close to home.  Central Coast anyone?

What tips do you have for surviving a long family road trip with your sanity intact?