Compulsory Tests Supported
Page 33
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COMPULSORY testing of vehicles, as envisaged in the new Road Traffic Bill, would be of great assistance to insurance companies, said Mr. H. M. Gane, a member of the Institute of Automobile Assessors, when he read a paper, "Some. Aspects of Vehicle Insurance and Accident Assessment," to the Midland Centre of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers last week.
Many vehicles on the road were in poor mechanical condition. Heavy goods vehicles, he added, were far less frequently involved in accidents than private cars, and he attributed this to better maintenance.
There had recently been a substantial increase in collisions between vehicles, probably the result of sudden braking at pedestrian crossings. Variations of road surface, and therefore of braking performance, were contributory causes.
A member said that most goodsvehicle drivers refused to start on a journey if a mechanical fault were suspected. Another suggested that the worst offenders with regard to maintenance were owners of light vans.
The present system of compulsory
inspection of old goods vehicles was bad, stated a third member, who said that certificates issued by local garages were often worthless. Mr. Gane agreed that compulsory testing would be difficult to apply and costly, but maintained that it was possible.
Dealing with cases of total loss, Mr. Gane drew attention to the clause in the majority of insurance policies that a vehicle was covered to the extent of the "insured or present market value." The market value was, in practice, often below the insured value, and the payment made by the company would be based on the lower figure. Operators should, he said, apply for reassessment of the insured value when it was appropriate to do so.
Operators obviously took more care to prevent frost damage before the insurance companies included this risk in their policies, which he described as " asking for a lot of trouble." For every claim with regard to new vehicles, there were at least 50 for frost damage to older vehicles, many of which needed an engine overhaul.