Give consumers wider choices in octane ratings of gasoline
The Consumer Council is urging oil companies to provide Hong Kong consumers with wider choices in gasoline octane ratings.
The call followed a recent Council's survey which clearly shows that about 75% of car models in Hong Kong need only use petrol of 95 octane rating.
Results of the survey were released today (July17) in the July issue of CHOICE for the reference of motorists.
At present, oil companies supply only unleadedpetrol of 98 octane rating of different formulations. This decision of the oilcompanies means that consumers are deprived of their opportunity to choose lowerpriced and lower octane rating fuel.
The survey, covering virtually all models of cars available in Hong Kong, shows beyond doubt that about 75% (239 out of 316models) are recommended by their car makers to use petrol of an octane number of95.
Octane number is an index of the ability of gasoline to resist knocking (sharp, metallic sounding noise resulted fromuncontrolled combustion). Excessive and prolonged knocking is damaging to thecar engine.
The octane number requirement for each car is determined by the design of the engine. Only cars with a higher compression ratio require the 98 octane number gasoline to avoid knocking.
The survey has highlighted the concern that the majority of Hong Kong motorists are paying extra for a petrol which, under normal driving conditions and contrary to common perception, does not enhance the performance of their cars. So it's costing these consumers more for literally nothing.
Oil companies have attributed as one of the factors the higher prices of petrol in Hong Kong, to the use of higher octanerating gasoline, which oil companies claim is the consumer preference here.
This might have been the case in 1991 when Hong Kong switched to the use of unleaded petrol. At that time, motorists complained that the new petrol introduced which was of octane number 95, did not give their car engines the same performance as the unleaded.
But as nowadays engines have been re-tuned andmost new engines are designed to use gasoline of octane number 95, the situationmay have been changed radically.
In consequence and in view of the survey findings, there is now a strong case for oil companies to provide, so that consumers will have wider choices, gasoline of a lower octane rating of 95.
Petrol filling stations should face no great difficulty to provide this additional choice by utilizing the spare capacity brought about through tanks previously used for storing leaded petrol. These tanks are now being used to market new formulation gasoline instead.
As many car owners may not be familiar with the octane rating of gasoline, they are advised to consult the owner's manual forthe recommended gasoline type and octane number.
Expert opinions have pointed out that there commended octane number is sufficient for normal driving conditions. Using ahigher octane number in excess of the recommended octane number will notincrease the performance of the car.
Drivers should first consult a qualified car mechanic to check the settings of the engine, if power drop is experienced in cases such as driving uphill or a heavy load. Only if the problem persists should you consider switching to a higher than recommended octane number.
Car owners are also advised to have their car sunder regular check-up and engine clean-up to avoid increasing the octane number requirement of petrol.
Upsurge in textbook prices despite continuing deflation
School textbook prices have risen significantly this year, according to the Consumer Council's annual survey.
Despite continuing deflation, the upsurge in the prices of primary and secondary school textbooks was found to average 4% and3.4% respectively.
Measured against an annual (June 1999 - May 2000) average change of -4.9% in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the real extent of the price increase is significantly higher than it appears.
The preceding year, also a period of deflation with an average CPI change of -0.3%, saw textbook prices risen by an average of 2.5% for both the primary and secondary sectors.
Textbook prices have consistently been on the rise ever since the Consumer Council first undertook the annual survey some two decades ago.
An analysis of the accumulated increases in textbook prices since 1993 has shown that the prices have doubled in 9 years -by 108% in the primary and 95% in the secondary sectors.
For the corresponding period (1993-2000), the accumulated increase for the CPI was only 49%.
Publishers have laid the blame for this year's price increase to paper cost reported to have been raised by 7 to 40%. It was difficult for the Consumer Council to comment on it as the Council is not in possession of detailed cost components in textbook publishing.
Some publishers have pointed out another factor that contributed to textbook price increases - the free supply to schools of teaching aids such as CD-ROMs, teacher's editions, overhead transparencies, etc.
The Consumer Council considers it unfair that the costs of these teaching aids which would eventually be passed on to the prices of textbooks, should be borne and paid for by students and parents.
In a separate opinion survey conducted this year, based on 30 primary and secondary schools, it was generally agreed that teaching aids were useful and essential. But it was found that publishers freely sent large quantity of teaching aids to schools to promote the use of theirtextbooks. Many of these teaching aids were subsequently left unutilized when the textbooks were not selected by the schools.
The Council therefore proposes that teaching aids should be treated as separate items from textbooks and be priced accordingly for the purchase of schools in need.
The Education Department is also urged to consider providing extra subsidies to schools for the purchase of these items due to their necessity and high costs.
The risks - and consequences - involved in entrusting your car to restaurant parking service
Valet parking is undoubtedly a much welcome service to many a car owner. The advantage is great convenience but the risk could be equally considerable.
A recent court ruling has shown that consumers who engage parking service of restaurants may expose themselves to the risk of being liable for the negligence of the attendants who are entrusted with the duty of parking.
The judgement was made in a case in which a motorist who allowed his car to be parked by an employee of a restaurant where he dined, was held liable by the Court of First Instance for the injuries to a pedestrian hit by the vehicle while being driven by the parking attendant. It was held that :-
- The motorist who drove the car to the restaurant and entrusted it to the attendant of the restaurant to park was regarded as in the same position of the owner of the car as far as liability is concerned.
- He was vicariously liable for the negligence of the attendant because he authorised the act or requested it or the attendant was carrying out a task or duty delegated by him as an agent.
- The restaurant was also found liable as the customer had delegated the task of parking the car to and it was carried out through its employee - the attendant.
Consumers are therefore advised to carefully balance the advantage against the risks involved before entrusting their cars to restaurant parking service.
To protect themselves against such risks, consumers may consider taking an insurance cover. But it seems that even insurance may not necessarily provide the protection under certain circumstances.
A standard condition of a car insurance policy is that only the use for social, domestic and pleasure purposes and for the policyholder's business or profession shall be covered. Two different cases were cited to illustrate the conflicting authorities on whether the parking attendants drove the motor vehicles for the business of restaurants or for the purposes insured by the policies.
Furthermore, another standard requirement of such a policy is that "the person driving holds a licence to drive the motor vehicle or has held and is not disqualified from holding or obtaining such alicence". So the risk is a consumer may unwittingly entrust his car to be driven by a parking attendant without a valid driving licence and therefore would not be covered by the insurance policy.
Energy saving and safe, CFLs are a good choice for domestic lighting
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are not only energy saving (and so environmentally friendly) but safe.
In a safety test on 22 models of compact fluorescent lamps, all but one was found satisfactory in all the 7 test items.
The one exception was found to be substandard in moisture resistance.
Consumers, however, should inspect these light tubes paying particular attention to the condition of the plastic lamp base. This is because some samples were, upon inspection, found to be detached from their base even before use.
Compact fluorescent lamps are considered a good choice for domestic lighting purpose. Though more expensive than ordinary light bulbs, this initial higher cost will be recovered after a period of time because of their low electricity consumption and long life.
The test models have rated power of 6W to 25W and claim to give equivalent brightness as ordinary light bulbs of 35W to 120W.
In the test report were contained some usefulsafety tips:
- Use at places where there is good ventilation.
- As they are larger and heavier than the ordinary bulbs, make sure that the lamp fittings can hold securely the weight of these lamps.
- They must not be used together with a dimmer otherwise it may result in overheating.
Wide price variations in dial-up internet services
Dial-up internet services vary widely in the fees and services provided by different Internet Services Providers (ISPs).
This was borne out in a price survey conducted by the Consumer Council on 51 plans from 18 ISPs. The survey focused on the various charging methods adopted:
- Fixed monthly fees with unlimited free accessing time. The monthly fees ranged from $68 to $138, excluding PNETS charge.
- Fixed monthly fees with limited free accessing time. PNETS charge might be included or excluded. Customers would be charged for extra usage.
- Fixed monthly fees with unlimited free accessing time during office hours. Customers would be charged for the usage in the non-office hours.
- Fixed monthly fees plus additional charge for extra usage.
- No fixed monthly fees (or pay an annual fee/one-off fee). Customers would be charged based on their usage. Alternatively, when the usage exceeds certain amount, only PNETS would be charged (or with a charge ceiling, excluding PNETS).
- Apart from these charging methods, there were some other special plans, such as 'charging PNETS only', and 'free Internetaccess with PNETS waived'. However, certain restrictions are imposed in theseplans.
In choosing a suitable plan, consumers areadvised to consider:
- Their own pattern and amount of usage.
- Quality of the ISP, such as the speed, successful rate in dial-up (consult your friends for their experience).
- The supportive services provided, such as telephone technical support, free Internet training course, etc.
- Whether the size of free mail storage is sufficient or not.
- For those special plans, the terms and conditions which they should read carefully.