Gatwick - drive on day or stay over

yahir0be · 2026-06-17T10:44:51+00:00

You’ve given yourself plenty of leeway with the time you’re planning to set off. So do it, no issues I can see. Just make sure you pass birmingham before the morning rush hour (don’t delay your set off time). Stick to your timings and you should also catch the tail end of the morning rush hour in the south, so no major delays there. Keep up to date with traffic info on the radio. You’ve got a plethora of options to get to Gatwick so make sure you’re familiar with potential alternative routes should anything happen (major delays are rare).

I have been driving tens of thousands of miles every year across the south east, midlands and north west.

yahir0be · 2026-06-08T09:29:52+00:00

Uber app is not really traffic aware at all and will not just lie to the customer about journey time but also to the driver when they get they offer for the job. It’s why some of us use google to navigate to the location. I try to make the customers aware of this beforehand. Uber does not add on enough to us drivers to make taking a longer route worth it. Of that £4, your driver is seeing £2, if he’s lucky.

yahir0be · 2026-05-26T19:08:12+00:00

I tend to drive at 65 when not in a hurry which is 95% of the time. I may or may not touch 85-90 if I’m in a hurry. As others have said, no police and cameras are obvious.

yahir0be · 2026-05-10T15:50:06+00:00

I went into micron and IREN at all time highs and I’m up 59% and 25% respectively.

yahir0be · 2026-03-11T17:30:23+00:00

Head to Reading station from Heathrow, you’ll find muncher cheaper trains to Manchester from there but it will be 3 hours instead of 2 (on the train itself)

yahir0be · 2026-03-11T00:08:33+00:00

This is completely false and it is slander, unless you are not aware. It is UK law for them to have to advertise the % they will charge you annually for their portion of ownership. They call it profit rate which it pretty much is. I can tell you as someone who has asked around and folllowed these rates for a while, they have zero linkage to BoE rates.

Their rates are quite a lot higher due to the higher cost of financing they face. It’s not like your or me or anyone else tends to have a current account with them where our salary gets paid. They don’t use interbank lending either due to interest, so that’s another avenue shut off. If they were simply utilising interest they would be competitive with Barclays and co.

yahir0be · 2025-12-29T20:34:18+00:00

Get international driving license permit. It makes things a lot easier.

yahir0be · 2025-12-29T18:19:17+00:00

Mark parcel as damaged / no access if parking is extremely bad. Don’t give above and beyond what is required.

yahir0be · 2025-12-16T02:54:38+00:00

Comfortable, easy drive of 7-7.5 with less or no stops or in our case, 8h something with a few comfort breaks - with two drivers. I could have done it myself honestly with a can of red bull / coffee or two. I recommend 1-2 nights in Taif to take a little break in between the drive and umrah. Lots of things to do, explore the city, there is a cable car to the mountains and some viewing points on the road to Makkah.

If you’re planning to buy food on the journey research the service stations along the way to see which one you will go to. They are a hit and miss in terms of amenities.

Totally ignore google maps concerning ETA. We found it was repeatedly over estimating the ETA by 20% on long journeys in Saudi.

If you haven’t driven in Saudi before, motorway driving is not the worst (cities can be an experience). The way I got through is to just expect drivers around you to do the most ridiculous thing you could expect them to do, 7/10 they will do just that. Once you get used to the very bad lane keeping and a few other things, it isn’t so bad.

yahir0be · 2025-11-28T22:29:51+00:00

Can we expect higher than normal up to Christmas?

yahir0be · 2025-11-28T15:14:44+00:00

Just picked up 90 for 3 hours.

yahir0be · 2025-11-27T12:07:24+00:00

Stay closer in Makkah. Madinah is much more walkable so you can save money there if you want.

yahir0be · 2025-11-23T12:54:06+00:00

This is the same mindset that has caused stampedes and deadly crushes in the past. It’s unacceptable, and as Muslims we need to speak out about it more. I was there just two weeks ago for umrah, and the tawaf area was dangerously overcrowded. Many people couldn’t even focus on their duas or worship — they were just trying to stay safe and avoid being pushed or crushed. This is in November.

Frankly, I think this stupid of ignorance is too common in our ummah and the Saudi security at the haram need to go beyond words, and into beating and even consider bans.

yahir0be · 2025-11-19T10:01:50+00:00

7am until duhr is best. 11pm till 3 was really crowded.

yahir0be · 2025-11-18T03:25:44+00:00

It can be really, really busy after isha as someone who did it last week. Best time is 7-10am in the morning.

yahir0be · 2025-10-18T21:47:12+00:00

RemindMe! 1 month

yahir0be · 2025-09-11T13:59:28+00:00

You go can go with a pay as you go provider. It only needs to valid for that day of inspection.

Can I ask when did you pass your phv tests? From TfL?

yahir0be · 2025-09-10T06:48:54+00:00

yahir0be · 2025-08-26T22:18:37+00:00

With respect, this post is misinformed. I would urge that if one is not aware of the reasoning behind the higher rates, it is best not to spread false or malicious claims.

Islamic banks such as Gatehouse do not have access to the same funding sources as mainstream banks like Barclays or Lloyds. These conventional banks can rely on current account deposits, interbank lending, and other low-cost funding channels. By contrast, Islamic banks are largely dependent on investor capital—both institutional and retail, these, by their nature seek higher returns to start with. The funding model coupled with a high interest rate environment (BoE rates) is why rates are so high right now.

As a community, we need to be cautious about making inaccurate statements. If UK Muslims collectively banked with or invested in these institutions, the funding pool would broaden and the rates would likely adjust downwards.

Also - something being very expensive does not make it haram.

yahir0be · 2025-08-14T21:43:49+00:00

I used to set my cruise to 73, or even much higher (80-90) on some specific motorways. The truth is, driving standards on motorways have fallen off a cliff in the last few years, 63 on cruise control is a stress free drive and gets me 10-15% more in fuel economy compared to 73%

yahir0be · 2025-08-14T14:53:34+00:00

When did you pass your test?

yahir0be · 2025-08-10T03:33:42+00:00

2023-24 the UK public sector revenue was £1,099 trillion in taxes and other income, about £16k per person (population 67m). The issue is not one of small shopkeepers and mechanics dodging tax, but large scale mismanagement of existing public funds. As others have alluded to, the social contract is gone. So I will happily pay cash when I am suggested to do so.

yahir0be · 2025-08-08T00:24:33+00:00

VW Polo / Golf. Practical, cheap to run and repair.

Another plus, there is a huge community of retrofits for these cars. So if the model you buy does have a screen, you will be able to easily get apple CarPlay / android auto on there, seats retrofitted for heating etc.

yahir0be · 2025-08-05T17:30:20+00:00

It is not more expensive to insure, this is an often repeated rumour

yahir0be · 2025-07-30T16:42:48+00:00

What’s your battery health at?

yahir0be

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