Her Magazine is New Zealand’s only women’s business lifestyle magazine! Her Magazine highlights the achievements of successful and rising New Zealand businesswomen. Her Magazine encourages a healthy work/life balance.
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:state of mind highway It was during this lengthy road trip that something very interesting happened to me. Suddenly the drive was my total focus. I had to be in control of not only my driving but my timing, my rest periods, eating and comfort stops. My state of mind was set on alert. I wanted to drive quickly but safely. I wanted to use every chance to make good progress, but I wanted to keep calm and rested too. In this absolutely focused state of mind I found that my driving skills, awareness and road courtesy improved exponentially. Any wee frustration with traffic or road conditions was managed calmly. As the rain obscured my visibility for a great deal of the trip I waited patiently for passing lanes before over taking. Given the duration of the trip I concentrated on my speed to ensure maximum economy, and I followed my planned rest stops strictly to ensure I could drive through to Christchurch and arrive ready to work. Wow! How come I don't always set my state of mind like this? I must confess to still thinking about issues during the trip and road safety, and reducing deaths on our roads was one of my topics of thought. After 2,000 km and over 20 hours of driving I came to the conclusion that there are only two certain changes required to save lives on our roads. Road conditions in our country are very poor. The improvements that have been made certainly stand out against what really are poorly maintained and designed stretches of highways. There is very little you or I can do about This 'automated loo' moment really does high- light how the simplest of life's moments can be over complicated beyond belief, and just how much of our lives are 'evolving' beyond our own abilities, leaving us helpless to control many daily operations quickly and independently. these road conditions except to be prepared for them, especially on longer journeys. However, the second change we can all make is very achievable! It is absolutely under our control and each of us needs to react immediately. It is our 'State of Mind'. Two recent road crashes that resulted in multiple fatalities could have been avoided! As it happens both of these accidents involved international visitors to our shores, but this was not the only commonality of the accidents. Both involved moments where the 'State of Mind' of both drivers would have to be questioned. Was there an absolute focus on the job at hand? Did distractions lead to bad decisions being made? Had the drivers forgotten just how serious their responsibilities were as the drove others to their planned destination? On day two of my big drive I decided to drive up through Lewis Pass to Nelson – stupid idea with light fading, continuous drizzle, unfamiliar road, slips and flooding. Given I had already driven an hour and a half up State Highway 7 I was committed to completing the drive. I had time, I had awareness of the risks and I was focused. Boy, did I have to focus! But despite the worst conditions I have ever experienced while driving, at no time did I feel at risk. My state of mind was clear and alert. My toilet experience aside - and perhaps that was just my state of mind too - my trip really has reminded me of my responsibilities as a road user. What is your state of mind each time you hop into the driver's seat? Toni Marshall 74 | www.hermagazine.co.nz Used car buying tips Buying a used car can be trickier than buying new, especially if you're not a car expert. Follow these simple steps, and you'll emerge with your dream car and not a nightmare on wheels. 1. Know your subject. Research the type of car you want to purchase and make yourself aware of the basic facts, so that you know what your car should have, and also any 'special modifications' like a worked engine or big wheels will be immediately obvious. 2. Ask questions like: How long have you owned the car? How many owners has the car had? Why are you selling it? How many kilometres has it done? Do you have a full service history for the car (log book)? Has it ever been in a crash? 3. Vehicle checks. Make sure the vehicle has a current WOF and registration. Licensed dealers are obliged to guarantee that no money is owing on the car, that it has not been deregistered due to parking fines or previously declared a wreck. If a car turns out to be stolen, the purchase price must be refunded by the dealer. If buying privately, check with the Transport Authority. This will tell you if a car has been reported stolen, written off by an insurance company, if there is money owing on it or if the registration has been cancelled due to unpaid fines. 4. Decided to buy? Make sure you organise insurance before you drive the car away. Also, notify the appropriate authorities that you are the new owner of the vehicle. Check whether the car you are looking at has been recalled as part of a safety campaign, and if it has ensure the repairs have been made. Make sure the car doesn't have finance owing on it - any debts could quickly become yours. Source: www.drive.com.au Men are from Italy, Women are from Sweden A result of a study that will surprise no one, it turns out that women prefer small cars and crossovers while men like Ferraris. At least according to TrueCar's annual report on the subject, that is. Mini, Nissan, Kia and Honda models are purchased by women about 45 percent of the time. Men are overwhelmingly the buyers of vehicles, leading to the sub-50 percent number. Ferrari, Bentley, Maserati and Porsche vehicles are usually purchased by men. More than 92 percent of Ferrari buyers are men, 83.4 percent for Bentley, 82.8 percent for Maserati and 76.5 percent for Porsche. Source: Autoweek