The AA has put together a motoring new year's resolution list to help get us through 2012 as safe and cost effectively as possible...

"With the tolls coming into effect this year and fuel prices soaring, we are all going to have to learn to be good, patient, fuel efficient drivers for both our pockets and safety sake," says Gary Ronald, Head of Public Affairs at the AA.

Ronald provides us with the following motoring tips for 2012:

• Get a hands free kit – you promise every year and this year is the year. Most crashes occur within three seconds of a distraction and according to research done by the AA this is attributed mainly to cellphone usage

• Now is the time to read through your insurance policy, including the fine print. If you are unsure about what anything on your policy means, talk to your insurer and make doubly-sure that you understand. "This is not only to avoid an unpleasant situation where consumers find they can't claim when they thought they could, but also to ensure that they get the most value out of their insurance policy. There are thousands of people forking out money from their own pockets to pay for unexpected expenses which could have been covered by their insurance," says Julie Retief-Marais, spokesperson for Insurance driven by the AA.

• Carpool when you can – carpooling or ride-sharing can save you up to half of all your petrol and maintenance costs and in some cases eliminate the need for the costly second family vehicle. This will also help if the tolls do come into play to reduce costs and it gives you a chance to catch up on the latest office gossip away from the water cooler.

• Go out and get yourself an emergency triangle for your car and the trailer you tow, if you don’t already have one – If you do not have an emergency triangle for each vehicle you can be fined up to R500!

• Always buckle up. According to the Child Accident Prevention Foundation (CAPFSA) national statistics indicate that 84% of children travel in cars without any car seat restraint or seat belt discipline. Child restraints reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers. By the way, rear seat occupants not wearing a seatbelt can cause more than 80% of front seat occupants' deaths by colliding into them – typically through base of skull injuries.

• Be careful when buying a car online.Buying a car from a reputable and professional seller protects the buyer from scams. A foolproof way of ensuring the condition of your car is to have it inspected by DEKRA in Association with the AA. The DEKRA Multi-Point Check will provide you with peace of mind in respect of what you are buying and once the Certificate of Roadworthy has been completed a DEKRA Security Seal sticker is affixed to the inside passenger door. This state-of-the-art Security seal sticker is tamper proof, cannot be duplicated in any way or removed without self-destructing. All stickers are individually numbered and especially assigned to specific vehicles, making them impossible to replicate. This is your assurance that the vehicle has passed a quality roadworthy inspection.

• Don't have that extra glass of wine at book club. Did you know that the legal limit allows you to only have one glass of wine and that if you are stopped driving over the limit the maximum punishment for drinking and driving is R120 000 and/or six years imprisonment, including the suspension of your driver's license.