There are many activities to be indulged in to avoid the boredom that comes from driving but few of them are legal and most require that you remove at least one hand from the wheel with the possible implications of being stopped for careless driving. If you have to travel but are easily bored, try using chauffeur car hire to get around and then indulge yourself in all sorts of fun.
Dancing is one possibility. Many a time, my daughter and I have made up our own version of the hand jive whilst driving along. This is great fun and people look at you like your crazy but after one nasty experience where I got my sleeve caught on the gear stick, I decided this was dangerous. Now employ the use of chauffeur car hire and you can dance to your heart's content in the back seat. People will still look at you like you're crazy but trust me, it's them, not you.
People-watching is so much more fun when you don't have to drive. Using chauffeur car hire makes this past time so much easier. It's amazing that other drivers are under the impression they have blacked out windows or an invisibility cloak over their cars when they're stuck in traffic. Nose pickers are the worst. Their little rituals over what to do with their nasal secretion varies little and often culminates in rolling and flicking.
Of course, there is always eating. This is difficult to do when you're driving and often results in burger sauce all over your steering wheel but get your chauffeur to drive and all manner of silverware is at your disposal.
Waving at people, contrary to popular belief, does not stop being fun once you're out of primary school. Challenge your companion to get the most poker faced nearby driver to raise a faint smile and you may be surprised. If you use chauffeur car hire, direct your driver into inner city traffic and the waving business will keep you amused for hours. Lorry drivers are a pretty sure bet, particularly if you're young and blonde, or young and dark, or middle aged and female. In fact, if you have a pulse, you'll get a wave returned by a lorry driver.
A major past time to be carried out in a car is, of course, sex. In fact, at the age of eighteen, this is a veritable right and part of completing the puberty process. Get to forty and it's not so easy. Joints are stiffer and less flexible and, unless you're newly single, mustering up the energy is virtually impossible. Again, chauffeur car hire comes into its own. Slide up that privacy partition and slide into position with the ease and grace that usually befits someone of a more recent generation.
If you're using chauffeur car hire instead of driving, you have the luxury of being able to consume alcohol. This will lead to a plethora of things that seem fun to do at the time. Believing you can sing is one of the drawbacks and will see you screeching out ballads at the top of your voice. Writing 'HELP' on the rear window in lipstick will be fun until you get pulled over by the police and will make you look stupid if you don't take into account that you have to write it backwards to be read from the outside.
Of course, on really long journeys all these games will become tedious after a while. There is only one thing left to do and that is to see just how many orange cones you can get in the back of your car. Orange cones are the source of endless amounts of fun unless you end up in casualty with one stuck on your head, in which case you will just feel like a prat.
The car hire industry has long been viewed as somewhat of a dinosaur in terms of technological development and implementation. Many will remember booking a hire car for their holiday only to find a spluttering little 'box on wheels' that is just as likely to break down than get you from A to B. Things are changing however, the industry has recognised the importance of providing quality car hire options for travellers.
A major influence on the car hire industry has been the increasing concerns over global warming and the effect we are having upon the planet. Through more efficient technologies the industry has been striving to produce rental options that will appeal to customers with an environmental conscience. This is not all car hire firms; many have not taken environmental concerns on board, but there are a number of companies who are actively changing the way they operate to meet the demands of the ever-growing environmentally friendly market.
Most obviously car hire companies can adopt an eco-friendly strategy that involves the introduction of hybrid cars in rental fleets. Whilst these cars are definitely the right way to go, many commentators have criticised this as a half measure and questioned the viability of hybrid cars as a long term solution to the problem of emissions. There are also the effects that hybrid cars using bio-fuels are having on wheat production and the cost of wheat worldwide. With a limit on good arable land it is unsurprising that many have questioned the logic of using foodstuffs as a major fuel, surely at some point a Malthusian standpoint must be taken and the resources at our disposal must be measured efficiently.
Other technologies introduced by some forward thinking car hire companies are a changing in the way rates are applied. For instance some companies have started to charge on an hourly rather than daily basis. This means that a customer who only has to drive a short distance, for instance to pick up their own car, only needs to hire the car for an hour. While the company may well lose some profits, it is possible to reduce the time any car spends on the road with this method and hence reduce both congestion and emissions.
Car hire companies are also rapidly introducing black box recorders to their fleets. This is a technology that through GPS tracking can ascertain where a car is at any one moment. This is a strategy that hopes to limit the amount of cars lost to theft whilst also picking up on customers who break speeding regulations whilst hiring a car. This is essentially a protective measure to ensure that car hire fleets remain in good condition and are not damaged by excessive driving. It does however raise a privacy argument as nobody really appreciates having a company know of their whereabouts at all times.
Another protective measure introduced by car hire companies has been the recording of biometric data from customers. In collaboration with local police forces, procedures are now in place at many desks to record a thumbprint of a customer ensuring an electronic record is taken of their details. This has predominantly been a response to high numbers of thefts by organised crime syndicates who use false documents to hire cars. The recording of thumbprints means that if a theft does occur it is possible to hand over the information to the police and speed up any tracing procedures.
The introduction of technology in the car hire industry can be seen as a twofold approach. Firstly the industry is trying to move away from the gas guzzling image for a more eco-friendly perspective. The second approach is utilising new technologies to safeguard fleets. With firms increasingly being targeted by organised criminals this is an unsurprising development to protect their investments. New technology will hopefully lead to an industry that is both secure for the firms and also friendly to the environment.
Both Catherine Harvey & Thomas Pretty are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Catherine Harvey has sinced written about articles on various topics from Culture and Society, Home and Wedding Gowns. Entertainments expert Catherine Harvey looks at the advantages of over personal driving.. Catherine Harvey's top article generates over 1500000 views. to your Favourites.
Thomas Pretty has sinced written about articles on various topics from Formula One, Debts Loans and Interior Design. Industry expert Thomas Pretty looks into ways in which the industry is using new technologies to tackle the problems it faces.. Thomas Pretty's top article generates over 1500000 views. to your Favourites.