A word to the wise comes from Direct Line with a reminder that any modifications made to a vehicle change the risk profile and therefore the insurance premium.
Lots of car owners are making changes to their vehicles now, personalising them with new wheels, sound systems and much more. Drivers are advised by Direct Line to get in touch with their car insurance provider to let them know about these modifications and enable them to recalculate the premium. If this is not done then the vehicle insurance could well be invalid should a claim be made.
A Direct Line spokesperson did say that modifications that improve the safety or security of a vehicle would not usually see premiums increased, though most mods are usually about enhancing the looks or performance of a vehicle and so would incur costs.
The RAC is advising UK drivers to make sure they check their tyres regularly to avoid problems.
Having asked drivers about tyres it seems that a number of them are unaware of legal requirements regarding tread and also the general condition of the tyre. The RAC survey found 45 percent of drivers did not know that the minimum tread depth of a tyre is 1.6 mm. For female drivers this went up to 60 percent being unaware of the figure.
Tyres can be forgotten about quite easily but they are very important for road safety, general performance and also fuel economy. The RAC would like drivers to check their tyre condition and pressures at least weekly to avoid having a problem on the road.
In a somewhat surprising comment Yes Insurance have asked for fire engines to be yellow rather than the traditional red.
The request comes following the insurers research in to vehicle colours and how safe they are, research that supplements other studies already carried out. Yes Insurance found that lime yellow is one of the safest colours on the road thanks to its high visibility both at night and day plus in poor weather, when it cuts through poor visibility better than any other.
A further reason Yes Insurance asked for the red paint to be swapped on fire engines for yellow was that red can often be perceived as black when it is dark, plus red is quite hard to see from drivers peripheral vision. These two issues are quite serious for an emergency vehicle that is often out when it is dark and also tries to get through traffic from all angles.
