user
Create a My Moto account
This is a danger alert—check it out!
Your fullname
Your email address for registration.
Your password for registration.
Confirm your password for registration.
Register Close
Skip to content
Find a services Search site My Moto Menu
google social login facebook social login windows social login
Sign in

Not yet registered? Sign up now | Forgot password

Overlay menu Close Close menu
  • Home
  • Services
  • Journey planner
  • My Moto
  • Brands
  • At Moto
  • Help and support
  • About us
  • Motorway services near you
  • Map of motorway services
  • View all motorway services
  • Business
  • Coach
  • HGV
  • Leisure
  • BP
  • Burger King
  • Chow
  • Costa
  • Greggs
  • KFC
  • Krispy Kreme
  • M&S Food
  • Pret
  • Tesla Superchargers
  • West Cornwall Pasty
  • WHSmith
  • Accommodation
  • Covid-19
  • EV
  • Changing places
  • Fuel
  • Gaming
  • Parking
  • Wifi
  • FAQs
  • Contact us
  • Feedback
  • About Moto
  • ESG
  • Careers
  • News
  • Moto Foundation
  • Home
  • Services
    • Motorway services near you
    • Map of motorway services
    • View all motorway services
  • Journey planner
  • My Moto
    • Business
    • Coach
    • HGV
    • Leisure
  • Brands
    • BP
    • Burger King
    • Chow
    • Costa
    • Greggs
    • KFC
    • Krispy Kreme
    • M&S Food
    • Pret
    • Tesla Superchargers
    • West Cornwall Pasty
    • WHSmith
  • At Moto
    • Accommodation
    • Covid-19
    • EV
    • Changing places
    • Fuel
    • Gaming
    • Parking
    • Wifi
  • Help and support
    • FAQs
    • Contact us
    • Feedback
  • About us
    • About Moto
    • ESG
    • Careers
    • News
    • Moto Foundation

Everywhere you go, take a smile with you moto smile

moto waves
HomeNews Driving Myths Busted
wave

Driving Myths Busted

There are many different driving myths out there and some of them could get you into trouble. However, below you will find some of the most common driving myths and whether they are true or false.

“Driving examiners have a pass or fail quota”
Many learner drivers are put off from taking their driving tests as they believe an examiner has a quota to fill. Allegedly, the examiner has a daily, weekly or monthly quota, however, this is not the case at all. You’ll pass or fail based on how you drive during the test, no matter how many other people have passed or failed that day, week or month!

“I need to heat my car up before I start driving it”
There is a myth that states you need to heat up a cold car’s engine before you drive off. However, this is no longer true as newer cars are manufactured a little differently. Drivers no longer need to wait up to 1 minute before the oil reaches the top of the car’s engine.

“If my petrol light comes on, I still have loads in the tank”
Many people assume that when your petrol light comes on there is still a lot of fuel in the tank. However, there is likely to be just 40 to 50 miles of petrol left (but this can depend on the kind of car you’re driving).

Did you know that if you frequently drive while your fuel is low you can damage your car? This is because debris is picked up as you drive along and it can damage your pump and your fuel filter.

“I can cool down my car using the heaters and fans”
There’s a common misconception that surrounds your car overheating. It’s thought that if your car was to get too hot you could use the heaters to cool it down. The truth is that this method will work temporarily but it will not solve the issue. While it will take heat from the engine, the best thing you can do is to turn your engine off.

Give your car at least 30 minutes to cool down and check the level of your coolant. Top it up with some water if required.

“It’s illegal to drive in flip flops”
It’s not actually against the law to drive in your flip flops. In actual fact, it’s not even illegal to drive barefoot. However, it is important that you wear shoes that help you gain proper control over the pedals. This is because bare feet, flip flops and large boots don’t allow you to have much control.

You could be putting yourself and other passengers at risk if you don’t wear proper footwear. In addition to this, any insurance claim you make could be denied because you weren’t wearing the right type of footwear.

“Hot roads will melt my tyres”
While hot roads cannot melt your tyres they can cause them to become damaged. When it’s a hot day make sure you check your tyres for wear and tear and cracks. When it’s hot out there the air in your tyres will heat up. This could cause your tyre to expand. If there are any weak spots you tyre could blow out.

“Air con will use all my fuel!”
Have you heard the myth that keeping your air conditioning on uses more fuel? This is one of the very few driving myths that is sort-of true. It all depends on how far you’re travelling and the type of journey you’re on.

Your car’s air conditioning system is powered by your engine. The engine will inevitably have to work harder if you have your air-con on. What this means is you won’t get as many miles per gallon.

So on shorter journeys, this will result in your car burning even more fuel. Journeys that last longer work out more economical as it’s easier for the car to maintain the cooler temperature.

We’ve previously debunked some motorway myths – check them out here, and then let us know which mistruths you’ve heard (or believed!)

wave

Share this story

  • twitter
  • facebook
  • linekdin
Use of your location

Can we use your location to list services near to you?

moto waves
Moto logo

Our purpose is to brighten people's journeys through life

Motorway services
  • Motorway services near you
  • Map of motorway services
  • View all motorway services
Journey planner
  • Plan your journey
Help and support
  • FAQs
  • Contact us
  • Feedback and chat service
Brands
  • BP
  • Burger King
  • Chow
  • Costa
  • Greggs
  • KFC
  • Krispy Kreme
  • M&S Food
  • Pret
  • Tesla Superchargers
  • West Cornwall Pasty
  • WHSmith
At Moto
  • Accommodation
  • Changing places
  • EV
  • Fuel
  • Gaming
  • Parking
  • Wifi
  • BookAPod
My Moto
  • Business
  • Coach
  • HGV
  • Leisure
About Moto
  • ESG
  • News
  • Careers
  • Moto Foundation

Copyright 2022 © Moto Hospitality Ltd

  • Legal - Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Modern Slavery Statement
  • Gender Pay Gap
  • instagram
  • twitter
  • facebook
moto logo

Our purpose is to brighten people’s journeys through life

moto waves
  • Motorway services
    • Motorway services near you
    • Map of motorway services
    • View all motorway services
  • Journey planner
    • Plan your journey
  • Help and support
    • FAQs
    • Contact us
    • Feedback and chat service
  • Brands
    • BP
    • Burger King
    • Chow
    • Costa
    • Greggs
    • KFC
    • Krispy Kreme
    • M&S Food
    • Pret
    • Tesla Superchargers
    • West Cornwall Pasty
    • WHSmith
  • At Moto
    • Accommodation
    • Changing places
    • EV
    • Fuel
    • Gaming
    • Parking
    • Wifi
    • BookAPod
  • My Moto
    • Business
    • Coach
    • HGV
    • Leisure
  • About Moto
    • ESG
    • News
    • Careers
    • Moto Foundation

Copyright 2022 © Moto Hospitality Ltd

  • Legal - Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Modern Slavery Statement
  • Gender Pay Gap
  • instagram
  • twitter
  • facebook

CONGRATULATIONS!

You've found the Galaxy bar hiding on our website.

Complete the form below for your chance to win a Galaxy hamper.


"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Consent*
Read them here
Consent

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Privacy overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly necessary cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie are enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

These essential cookies do things like:

  • remember the notifications you've seen so we do not show them to you again
  • remember your progress through a form

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

Insight and analytic cookies

This website uses insight and analytics cookies, such as Google Analytics, to collect anonymous information about site usage.

Keeping these cookies enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

Marketing cookies

We use marketing cookies to help us improve the relevancy of communication and marketing campaigns you receive.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

Cookie policy

More information about our cookie policy

How was your visit?