So, is everyone clear about whether or not we have motor insurance cover in the event that we have an accident after drinking but remaining within legal limits?

Or, if the cover remains in place following an accident when you are taking certain prescription drugs?

BBC Radio 4′s Money Box has highlighted how the ham-fisted wording in some insurers’ policies is about as clear as the taxable status of Greggs’ pasties.
Zurich led the field, with a new exclusion written into its policy that anyone under the influence of alcohol, or any other substance that would adversely affect a person’s ability to drive, would not be covered in the event of an accident. Read Full Article »

Following hot on the wheels of news that our car insurance premiums rose by more than 15% in the 12 months to January 2012 is the news that er…our premiums are rising again, this time for first time convictions.

According to interviews with various insurers many already increase premiums after a first conviction.

In the past, a first speeding offence in which you attracted three penalty points was overlooked by an insurance company with nothing more than a ruffle of your hair and a shaking of their head at your motoring exuberance, but not anymore. Read Full Article »

In 2009 and 2010 VOSA and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ran campaigns in which enforcement officers focused their attention on how loads were secured in lorries.

The results raised serious concerns that significant numbers of vehicles did not have sufficiently restrained cargo.

The (Road Vehicles) Construction & Use Regulations 1986 indicate that loads must be secured, if necessary by physical restraint other than their own weight, so they don’t present a danger or nuisance.

Research shows unsafe loads cost businesses millions of pounds in damaged goods each year. Read Full Article »

VOSA’s Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) system is undergoing some significant changes and operators should check out how they will be affected.

The enforcement agency has carried out a review of its rating system and it has agreed to remove the predictive scoring element of calculating a company’s score. Read Full Article »

New laws given enabling the DVLA to clamp, seize and destroy uninsured vehicles seem to be having an effect.

The Telegraph reports that continuous insurance enforcement (CIE) has “largely” been responsible for a reduction in uninsured drivers and resulted in 10,000 fewer seized and crushed cars in 2011.

The Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) says that over the last 17 years 750,000 uninsured vehicles have been removed from the roadside by the police and that CIE should help ramp up the figures.

It reckons that out of the 34 million vehicles now on our roads 4%, or almost 1.4 million, are uninsured. Read Full Article »

Some interesting figures relating to drink driving arrests and contained within a Freedom of Information response have emerged from over half of the country’s constabularies.

During 2011 13% of arrests made for drink driving offences – roughly one in every eight – took place between 5am and 12 noon. Read Full Article »