Pushing the Odds
Posted: Mon 26 September, 2011 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Commuting, Driving, Work-related |4 Comments »Since starting the current contract at the end of May, I have now covered 12,000 miles just in commuting. In short, I know the relevant route enough I could almost sleep-drive the entire thing. Indeed, I have dreamed the commute on a couple of occasions – and believe me, that is no fun at all, because you wake up and have to do the entire damn thing again.
By the end of this contract (at the end of October) I’ll have covered 15,000 miles, just on the commute. And that’s just the driving section – although admittedly the driving part is by far the largest.
12,000 miles is – apparently – the annual mileage for the average driver in the UK, which goes some way to explaining the idiocy of my current commute.
Anyway, one thing that is coming more and more to mind is that I’m probably really pushing my luck when it comes to not having any form of accident involving another vehicle. (Which neatly avoids the time I spagged the car into a fence) I’ve seen the after-effects of plenty, and come damn close to seeing a few happen in front of me, but as yet – touch wood – nothing’s actually happened.
I hope that I can maintain that status through the next month…
I really hope you were touching (lots of) wood as you wrote that…
The year I did my Masters, with intrinsic fieldwork placements in various parts of the country, I covered 28,000 miles in a year, wrote ten long (6,000 word) essays and researched and wrote a 20,000 word dissertation. I was 26 at the time. I cannot imagine how I managed it, now. The roads were less crowded in the 80s.
Now, at 45p a mile, that’s 15,000 x 45p = £6,750), plus tube fares and parking that you can claim against your tax bill this year. You’re not going to be helping the country pay off Labour’s deficit by much are you? 😉
*way* ahead of you on the claiming, BW. I’m using an umbrella company, and do all that stuff on a monthly basis.
Oh, and it’s “only” 10,000 x 45p , then after that it’s 25p per mile. But yeah, it’s good – I’m regularly getting back more from the taxman than I should be paying.
Heh.
Ah, yes, ours never gets above 10,000, I’d forgotten the restriction.
It amuses me that the HMRC bicycle allowance is 20p per mile, not capped at 10,000… It costs 20p per mile to maintain a bicycle? I think not. Plenty of potential for petty tax avoidance there methinks 😉
I wonder if it’s still the average mileage? – it used to be the rule of thumb 30 years ago, but I suppose it was only an estimate then, but it’s about what I used to drive. Now, I’m down to half that.