Ever driven down the motorway on a Friday afternoon and seen all the cars heading out to the coast with their roof boxes fitted? Chances are you’ve probably caught yourself wondering: should I get one of those? For anyone who isn’t already sure that the answer should be “yes”, here’s a brief rundown on the importance and benefits of roof boxes – the reasons why buying one and having it fitted can save time, money and space.
The first thing any potential roof box owner needs to know is this: having a roof box can be a really cheap way of buying a new car. Given that most of us spend money on a new car because the old one isn’t capable of transporting all the people or things we need it to, fitting a box can be a seriously inexpensive way of getting that extra space without buying a whole new set of wheels. Got a new family on the way? Don’t shell out thousands on a new car: spend a couple of hundred pounds on a decent models and your existing vehicle will still do the job when you go on holiday. The importance and benefits of roof boxes, point one: just owning one could save you thousands of pounds against the cost of the new car you no longer need to buy.
What else? Well, the protective benefits of a decent roof box are second to none. The boot of a car, any car, is designed to hold as much as it can – but it’s still basically a cobbled together space, full of useless protrusions and hard to reach areas. Car designers do their best to give car owners a reasonable space for loading gear, luggage, shopping and so on – but when it comes to a holiday, for example, the limitations of the designed load space in one’s vehicle become painfully apparent. A roof box, which has no restrictions on its design because it is fitted to the top of a vehicle, is made to store things perfectly rather than in an ad hoc fashion. The importance and benefits of roof boxes, point two: all the stuff one puts in a box winds up safely and undamaged at its destination.
Space saving does more than just protect luggage. With the contents of the boot now safely stowed on the roof, the roof box owner has a clear view in his or her rear view mirror: something that can hardly be said for the unfortunate non box owner, barrelling up the motorway with half his or her worldly goods piled up across the back windscreen. The rear view mirror is one of the most important safety features on any vehicle – and, though it is actually illegal to drive without one, plenty of people seem to think it’s OK to drive with the view from the rear view mirror completely obscured by luggage. It isn’t. The rear view mirror is there to prevent serious accidents. So – the importance and benefits of roof boxes point three, is that they can actively prevent dangerous driving situations from occurring.
Be sensible, be safe, be smart. Get the car, the family and the luggage to your destination in the same shape they were in when you set off.
