Government proposals for new 20 mph zones are receiving mixed responses from officials says car insurance provider Swiftcover.
There has been talk of a new generation of speed cameras supporting these new zones, though a safety campaigner from Exeter was unsure as to whether the cameras were the best way forward. A 20 mph zone would be in area where there are going to be children it would be thought, so the placing of speed cameras would actually take drivers eyes away from the road and onto their speedometers, thus negating the point of the zone in the first place.
An alternative view was put forward by a county councillor who felt speed cameras would be better than traffic calming measures, feeling they would be more effective.
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.
Drivers who omit to mention previous drink driving convictions could well find their car insurance is invalid should a claim be made say Norwich Union.
A Norwich Union representative understood that a conviction for drink driving would increase a drivers car insurance premium considerably but by choosing not to declare it at all would cost much more when the cover was deemed invalid. Such a conviction would certainly come to light when a claim was made so it is in the drivers interests to declare it upon buying the insurance cover.
Should a person be found not to have declared something such as this and then had their cover terminated this information would be held on a central car insurance database explained Norwich Union, which would increase the premium still further.