When researching new cars on the Internet, you will find plenty of reviews from experts that will bombard you with a whole host of technical specifications. They’ll tell you about the torque, the brake horsepower, the fuel efficiency and even how many seconds it will take to get to 60mph from a standing start.

And while this information is all very well, and may even mean something to petrolheads, it doesn’t help me in any way. The truth is, the more technical the information I am given, the more confused I then become. I’m not remotely interested in whether my chosen vehicle will be able to outpace a Renault Megane, for example, in a race from here to that bus stop in the distance.

The things I really need to know are on the more practical side. For example, how easy will it be to change the channel on the radio whenever some annoying breakfast DJ starts to ramble on at the top of his voice every morning? When it gets dark outside and I turn the headlights on, will my dashboard be backlit in a pleasant colour? Can I control the temperature so the car’s interior isn’t like the surface of the sun? Or the Arctic tundra?

For the non-techy motorists, these are the questions that really need answering. Another important area is overall cost, of course, because there’s no point having a pleasantly warm vehicle with channel-changing steering wheel flippers and a soothing blue-lit dashboard if I can’t afford to run it. Will it be fuel-efficient? And will the NVC gap insurance be affordable?

Like many other road users, I like to make the interior of my vehicle as comfortable and practical as possible. There are several questions that I have in this area, and I can’t seem to find websites which offer the answers that I need: are there plenty of cup-holders? Do I have somewhere to dump all the spare change that I don’t need and will never use? And will my Nationwide Vehicle Contracts sat nav stick to the windscreen without tumbling to the floor every time I go over a speed bump?

So next time you’re considering the purchase or the leasing of a car, it’s worth bearing in mind that you’ll find it difficult to access the information that you REALLY need to know – unless you’re a petrolhead of course!

Police are hunting for the driver of a souped-up car who followed a teenage boy to and from school in western Sydney.

A 13-year-old boy was walking to school at Penrith shortly before 9am yesterday when he noticed a car following him, police said.

When the driver got out and walked towards him, the boy ran into his school, police said.

Later that day at 3pm, as the boy was walking home from school, he noticed the same car following him, police said.

He ran home and reported the matter to his mother.

The car has been described as a silver Toyota Supra with lowered suspension and a wing on the back.

The driver appeared Middle Eastern or Mediterranean, about 170-175cm tall, with a large muscular build, olive complexion, short dark brown hair, spiky on top with blond tips.

He had a small goatee beard and was wearing Nike shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

AAP

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children 3 to 14 years old.

Each year more than 5-thousand children under the age of 21 die in car crashes.

Experts say that number could be cut drastically if everyone would put children in car safety and booster seats.

Between 1975, and 2008, more than 9-thousand young lives were saved because of child restraints.

It is important to remember that infants should be placed in a rear facing car seat until age two.

Toddlers should stay in a car seat until they out grow the safety harnesses and then graduate to a booster seat.

Some parents have confusion over what age they should allow their children to ride in the back seat with just a seatbelt, but there are guidelines for that as well.

According to ETSU Public Safety Detective Jennifer Mayberry, “Its better for the child if you keep them until you reach both, if they’re nine years old, and they are four foot five …The seatbelt’s not going to go across their shoulder right. So if you wait until they’re are four foot nine, its going to keep them where they need to be until they get to that height.”

Even if they are nine years old and tall enough, all children younger than 13 should ride in the back seat.

A driver with over three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system was caught by Saanich police, thanks to a liquor-store clerk who refused him service and phoned authorities after she saw him get into a car and drive away.

“He appeared to her to be in an intoxicated state,” said Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen. “She kept an eye on him as he left the store, and he was straight into a car and departed the parking lot.”

The call was received about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, with the clerk providing a good description of the vehicle, Jantzen said.

“It was quite distinct. It was a 1985 Pontiac Fiero, white in colour.”

A patrol unit spotted the car almost immediately and pulled it over near the corner of Tillicum Road and Maddock Avenue.

The driver was taken to the police station and produced two breathalyzer samples that were “well in excess” of three times the limit of .08, Jantzen said. On top of that, the Fiero turned out to be uninsured and the driver already had a 90-day driving prohibition from an earlier roadside stop.

A 44-year-old Saanich resident was given a violation ticket of about $600 for having no insurance and will also be attending court in the near future.

Jantzen said the clerk acted just as she is allowed to under terms of the Liquor Control and Licensing Act.

“It’s an obligation for employees of liquor outlets that if they think you are in any way intoxicated — where they’re right or they’re wrong — if they believe that, they have the right and obligation to refuse selling any more liquor to you.”

He said the clerk also deserves credit for following up with police.

jwbell@tc.canwest.com

James Hinchcliffe will wear his Canadian roots proudly when he races in the Honda Indy this weekend.

The 24-year-old from Oakville will sport a specially designed maple leaf-themed helmet when he takes to streets of Toronto in a race that began the year he was born.

“I came to my first one when I was 18 months old, and I’ve been to every single one since,” Hinchcliffe said. “Now I actually get to be in the main show on Sunday afternoon, and I think it’s going to be pretty cool.”

His helmet boasts a chrome Toronto skyline above his visor. As a local kid, Hinchcliffe knows how to navigate the streets and highways around that scene.

Late for work? In a jam? Running out of gas? Here’s some Hinchcliffe wisdom for the rest of us.

On gridlock: “The key about traffic is you’ve got to look really far ahead. If you look at the car in front of you or the car next to you, you’re already too late. You’ve missed it. You’ve got to see what’s going on like 10 cars down the road, and set up the pass — just like on the racetrack, you’ve got to set up the pass miles ahead.

“If the line’s moving, you’ve already missed it. You can’t wait for the line to move and then try to jump in. You’ve got to predict it.

“Stay close to the guy in front — draft. Don’t let anybody else sneak in there, because that’s not good either.”

On getting cut off: “You can’t get mad. If you get mad, you start making bad decisions. You’ve got to stay calm — it’s nothing personal to you. It’s not like that guy knew it was you in the car, and decided to cut you off. That guy’s in a rush too. So you’ve just got to stay calm and find that opening somewhere else.”

On fender benders: “Then you can get a little mad. I don’t know if I’d fight, but you can get a little mad.”

On an open road: “First of all, you shouldn’t be speeding. But if, for whatever reason, you decide to do that — which is not something I would do — one of the important things I find about keeping track of cops is a lot of people only look forwards for cops sitting on the side of the road.

“Always check your rear view mirror, because you never know when you accidentally drove by one, or one merged on a ramp behind you. Sometimes they’re behind you and they’re looking already. Don’t just look forward. Cops come from all over.”

On mileage: “Cars, whether they’re hybrids or you buy cars for big fuel mileage or whatever, it’s actually more about how you drive the car than the car you drive. Any car can get good fuel mileage if you’re driving it right. If you’re driving it fast, you’re going to get bad fuel mileage. But even an M3 can get really good mileage if you’re driving it the right way.

“It’s slow acceleration. It’s looking forwards . . . if you see the lights turning red way in front, don’t stay on the gas to get there. Just coast there. Don’t brake too much, because as soon as you break, you’re losing speed and you’ve got to use gas to accelerate again. It’s all these little things, but over a tank of fuel they really add up.”

On running on empty: “Get up to a speed, do a little bit of a lift — whenever you’re completely off-throttle and the car’s just coasting, your fuel mileage goes sky high. If you’re on the highway and there’s a big transport, get in behind the 18-wheeler, because you’ll save fuel on the draft. If you’ve got a manual car and there’s a little but of a hill, throw it in neutral and coast down the hill, until you get to the bottom — then pick your gear and go.

“Those will help you get to the gas station. I’ve used those before too. If it starts coughing, wiggle the car a little bit. It sloshes the fuel around in the bottom of the tank, and sometimes the pick up will get a bit more if you do a little wiggle.”