Correct Tyres?

[addo]

I am yet to hear of this actually happening, especially when there is not an aggravating factor like criminal driving behaviour or intoxication (both of which usually waive the policyholder's rights to any benefits themselves).

Have you any reliable tales of this happening, considering my pointed caveat of aggravation?

[Romahomepete]

I have no actual evidence - but - just read the terms of your policy and is it worth taking the risk for a few quid. Remember that insurance is all about risk, would you travel without insurance? No so why compromise?

Peter

[addo]

Yes, I am reasonably familiar with the SFOA type documents that usually compose policies, but also believe in applying knowledge ahead of blind fear. Darned near every "contract" we enter into through our adult lives, we breach in some way that could be exploited to void it entirely, and to our detriment.

I could put a rubbish tyre that was both legal and compliant on a car, drive casually and have an accident, knowing that my insurer would have a hard time backing away from a claim. Or, I could make a reasonable estimate of my vehicle's actual loadings, apply a corresponding factor of safety (pro-rated back from the max load/rating specs) and choose a quality tyre that allowed me to drive more "safely" by offering superior grip. To me, this is the more responsible option - yet the sticklers will say I should be uninsured because I've not followed a rigid dictum. I specifically mention grip because once you get to commercial tyres they're frequently hard as nails - just dandy on black ice or a wet corner.

Also, I have a car which I bought legally overtyred (ie; legally modified and insured accordingly) and it's terrifying. The extra inch of tread width per tyre makes for a frightening (ie; largely unpredictable) loss of grip even with sticky rubber. Soon as I've a spare 6-700 squid I'll be refurbing the original wheels and going back to them with some nice soft rubber.

As I said, it's (to me and others similarly inclined) about cognisance of actual risk and acting accordingly. Following a set of rules without interrogative thought is often called religion.

[evdama]

OOOH thats a fence to sit on - theres religeon as addo says but theres preparing for the unthinkable like pete defends.

(the unthinkable is happening in cyprus right now with their bank accounts....)

The local paper recently reported an RTA fatality and quoted the investigation that mentioned the lad had wide tyres that fouled the bodywork,but this did not contribute to the accdient.

But in a recession,and in a compensation culture its only a matter of time before the insurers start playing hardball.

[addo]

A bloke was apparently killed some years back when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his head. I reckon everyone should wear helmets in case a tortoise falls on them...

I feel a bit sorry for the Cypriots right now, at least financially.

[taxi]

A bloke was apparently killed some years back when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his head. I reckon everyone should wear helmets in case a tortoise falls on them...

I feel a bit sorry for the Cypriots right now, at least financially.

Did the Insurers shell out ?

[addo]

No, it was before tort law came into being.

[taxi]

Shame, bet his Family were shell- shocked.

[addo]

Yep, made a spectacle of him.

[brandescot]

Well to close this topic I spoke to my Insurers this morning (They look after my business/ public liability insurance too so are really happy to talk about my policies in depth) and they told me 'catorgorically' that if the incorrect load/ speed rated tyres were used my Insurance would be invalidated in the event of a claim, thats the best case scenario - worst case being if (god forbid) I was involved in an accident resulting in another parties fatality.......... I would be open to prosecution/ custodial sentence as it would be MY responsibility to ensure that the tyres fitted conformed to the manufacturers specifications (As detailed on the door sticker), "no excuses". What was also interesting was that in the event of a minor accident the van would only be given a cursory -possibly roadside- inspection by the traffic police, who by the insurers own admission would probably only look at tread depth across the tyre rather than the specs and then it would be down to an insurance assessor to flag up any incorrect tyres fitted BUT in a more serious accident involving injuries more than whiplash because it is a Van and therefore classed as a light commercial vehicle, VOSA would do the inspection and they would pick up on incorrect load & speed ratings and as we all know, there is no reasoning with those lads on why a softer compound car tyre actually grips more ......
With that in mind I decided that for the extra £100 it would be worth fitting the 90 load index tyres. In the end I went for eTyres & saved about £80 - £130 on high street tyre shop prices for the same brand (!!!!!!)

What I did find very interesting though is how the Insurance company who weren't trying to sell me tyres told me that I needed the correct load and speed rating yet the big name tyre shops were trying to push budget car tyres on lower load index (And in the case of one company, speed rating) just to get the sale rather than making sure I was legal to drive off there forecourt. Food for thought ?