Happy New Year and Welcome to the January issue of Fleettorque, brought to you by Fleetcare!

Is your personality revealed by the car you drive?

Well, if you chose your car, the chances are that your personality influenced the make and model you plumped for. Many car dealers say that car purchasers fall into 'types' and they can spot the model they'll buy before they know themselves.

Drivers of convertibles are usually adventurous, they say, and perhaps it's not a great leap to agree with them. Since convertibles are considered to be some of the most exciting cars on the road, it's pretty likely that those who are attracted to them are not afraid of the odd bungee jump or skydive. Sports car drivers are similar animals - adventurous, spontaneous and keen to impress - but they may also be revealing a desire to make the most of their youth. Or relive it.

It's generally parents who opt for SUVs or minivans, but so do people who are looking forward to being parents one day. But these models are also the transport of choice for control freaks - the biggest cars on the road, they cope well in any situation.

Sedan-drivers are altogether more laid-back, apparently. Attractive, spacious and comfortable, these cars best suit well-balanced members of the driving public.

It's no surprise that people who drive eco-friendly cars, such as hybrids or models with low fuel consumption, care about the environment, but it's possible that some may have made this choice because they care about their wallets too. They may also worry about what others think of them and enjoy the approval economical cars tend to attract.

So what does your car say about you?

Flat tyres could be a thing of the past - manufacturers are working on innovative airless tyres that will never blow out and of course don't need regular trips to the air pump to keep them safe.

The original maker of the radial tyre 50 years ago, Michelin is in the forefront of this brand new tyre technology with the Tweel, a tyre and wheel combo that looks a bit like a futuristic bicycle wheel but needs no inflating.

Deceptively simple in appearance, the flexible polyurethane spokes of the Tweel are arranged in a pattern of wedges and fused with a shear band that makes the wheel edge. In use, the edge deforms to absorb shock and then immediately recovers its shape. Performance, ride comfort and the ability to deal with road hazards is equivalent to a pneumatic tyre.

But there are other difficulties to be overcome before the Tweel can be put into general use. One is the vibration caused when the Tweel travels at speeds of over 50 mph, which creates noise and heat that are currently not acceptable for road use. Another major problem is that, as the Tweel's manufacturing process is totally different to that of conventional tyres, tyre factories and repair shops dealing with tyre balancing and mounting would need to be totally re-equipped should the Tweel become adopted as standard.

Michelin is not planning to roll out the Tweel for consumer use in the near future, although airless tyres may soon be seen on slow-moving vehicles such as those used in the construction industry and for military applications. Other manufacturers are working on similar airless wheels. To watch the airless tyres in action go to http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2602309358284516882.

Thousands of pedestrians are risking death and injury every day by using mobile phones and MP3 players while crossing busy roads, according to research by NRMA Insurance.

Stepping into the path of oncoming traffic and crossing against the signal are becoming common occurences as more pedestrians plug themselves in to electronic devices while walking the streets.

Headphones represent a particular danger as they reduce or cut out all the sounds of the traffic, sirens and car horns. Texting while walking is particularly perilous - it's almost impossible to look at the screen as well as the pavement or road ahead.

The mobile phone industry is working hard to reduce the dangers though and new smart phone features to help both pedestrians and drivers to avoid collisions are in development.

The Safety Mobile Phone prototype, developed by Oki Electric Industry, connects the so-called DSRC inter-vehicle communication function with the GPS location positioning function on mobile phones. Basically, phones can talk to vehicles fitted with this communication system and, thanks to the GPS element, the system can send out an alert when a car and a pedestrian get too close to each other. Although still being tested, it looks as if this technology could help to save lives in the future.

Few of us can live without some sort of financial credit these days, so that means that nearly everyone has a personal credit file. This dossier includes information that determines our credit-worthiness and is used by financial institutions to decide how reliable we are as borrowers. But in these days of identity theft, it's very important that we all keep a close eye on what's on our own credit files, so that we can spot immediately if our names are being used to obtain credit fraudulently.

Credit files are kept on individuals and businesses that have been credit-active during the past seven years. They have information on when you applied for credit, whether it was a personal or joint application or you acted as a guarantor, to which body or institution you applied, the amount sought and the type and purpose of the credit sought.

Credit files also include information necessary to identify you as well as information of relevance for credit assessment purposes, such as your name, residential addresses, date of birth, drivers licence number and current or previous employer. It also has records of current credit accounts, details of any overdue accounts (defaults) that may have been listed against your name, as well as Bankruptcy Act Information, Court Judgements and Writs & Summons, and public record information such as Directorships and Proprietorships.

Credit providers are not allowed to access a consumer credit file without the permission of the individual, but it's worth checking your own file from time to time to make sure that the information contained in it is correct and that it is indeed you who have made the applications for credit listed.

Unfortunately, if someone steals your identity, applies for credit in your name and defaults, you may be left with a potential liability for the debt, a damaged credit reputation and the inconvenience of amending a corrupted credit file.

An easy way to check your credit file is to sign up to a service such as Veda Advantage, which records information on credit files under the strict regulations of the Federal Privacy Act 1988. Sign up to My Credit File Standard, a free service offered by Veda Advantage to receive a copy of your credit file. Of course, you can only apply to receive your own credit file.

For a monthly fee, Veda Advantage also offers My Veda Alert to help you monitor and keep track of any changes to your credit file on an on-going basis. This service detect any changes to your file as they occur, tracks whether your identity has been stolen and is being used fraudulently and helps you to efficiently manage and maintain a healthy credit file. For more information, go to Veda Advantage's website.