New plates for new drivers?

The government is currently considering issuing newly qualified drivers with probationary plates in an effort to improve road safety.

The measure, which is one of several under consideration, is aimed at making fellow motorists aware of drivers who have just passed their tests and improving their high accident ratio.

Currently an 18 year-old driver is three times more likely to be involved in an accident than a insurance policy holder 30 years older.

Full details of the probationary plate scheme are expected to be announced in the summer, when the Department for Transport launches a consultation document on the issue.

Recently compiled figures by the Association of British Insurers discovered that drivers under the age of 25 account for a third of accidents on the country's roads despite only representing one eighth of all drivers. Drivers aged between 17 and 19 years old were also involved in 12,000 crashes in 2011, with over half resulting in deaths.

Drivers in Northern Ireland currently have to display a 'R' plate for the first 12 months after their test and are limited to a 45 mph speed limit. 

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Fuel strike in the UK

Whether you use petrol or diesel, fuel is something many of us simply can’t do without, whether it means getting to work, taking children to school or more seriously it could impact on the emergency services. 

The general public seem to be getting conflicting information and there has been scare mongered which resulted in panic buying.  Petrol stations have seen long queues for fuel as a result of the news and some stations already running dry.  Hundreds of tanker drivers are now looking at going on strike because they want responsible minimum standards.  They say that a ‘turn and burn' culture is forcing drivers to deliver faster for less, raising fears about public safety.  

Ed Davey, the Energy Minister has recommended that motorists should fill up their tanks when they become half-empty in case of a possible strike by fuel tanker drivers, rather than filling up when a third full. 

Around 90% of petrol stations in the UK, including Shell and Esso garages and supermarket giants Tesco and Sainsbury’s are supplied by about 2,000 tanker drivers in the Unite Union.  It is important to note that no strike days have been given yet and the Union will have to give seven days notice before any strike can take place.   Acas are currently trying to set up talks between Unite, who are the UK’s biggest trade union and the parties involved in the dispute 

Ed Davey said "We don't think people need to change their behaviour very significantly at the moment, I think our major advice is that people just need to do the sensible thing if they're going into the petrol station, they should get a full tank of petrol, not a half-tank of petrol, and they should top up where necessary.”

“If we can make sure the nation's cars and vans and lorries ... are going around with tanks of petrol and diesel that are fuller than normal, that will be part of the resilience for our economy so, this completely wrong strike, we can make sure that we are ready for it and it doesn't bring the economy to a standstill."

The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) states that petrol sales went up by 45% and diesel up 20% amid all the talk of a strike. The government should have sought industry advice on how to avoid panic-buying and fuel shortages.

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More tips for spending less on your car insurance.

There are easy ways to save on car insurance, you just have to know where to find them. See what the car insurance experts at Desjardins General Insurance have to say about that. They just might help you to reduce your vehicle insurance rates.

Consider The Age Of Your Car: 

If you own a car that is more than 10 years old, you may want to remove collision and comprehensive coverage, especially if the total value of the car is low. It all depends on your situation. Can you afford to repair or replace the vehicle with something similar if you had an at-fault collision or if it was stolen? If not, it might make sense to maintain the coverage. 

Choose Your Vehicle: 

That great deal on a new car might look perfect on paper, but you may want to find out what your insurance premium will be before you sign the purchase agreement. For example, luxury cars can be more expensive to insure due the higher repair or replacement costs compared to a less expensive car. Likewise you will probably pay more to insure a high performance car as these are also expensive to fix or replace and are deemed more likely to be stolen, driven at high speeds and involved in high impact collisions. 

Where Are You Going? 

The distance you drive and the purpose of your driving is taken into account when calculating your premium. If you have to commute a great distance to the office, maybe think of taking public transit. You could save on gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, and on your insurance premium.

Driving With Safety First 

It sounds like a no-brainer, but having a clean driving record is one of the best ways of keeping your insurance costs down. Speeding and other traffic tickets can have a big impact on your insurance premiums. The same is true of at-fault accidents. 

Consider Combining Your Home And Auto Insurance: 

In some cases you may be eligible for a reduced rate by joining your car and house insurance, especially if you've been with your insurer for a while. Another simple way to increase your auto insurance savings and enjoy greater convenience is to consider insuring all of your personal vehicles with one provider. 

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When it comes to sharing your car

Allowing your car to a friend or family may seem like the nice thing to do, but it could end up landing both of you in court facing fines of up to £5,000 and up to 8 penalty points. That’s because many people assume that their friends and family are insured to drive their vehicle on the owner’s car insurance policy when, in fact, that is not always true.

The biggest misconception is that having your own car insurance will cover you for driving any other vehicle. However, this is not automatically the case, with many policies offering no cover whatsoever for vehicles other than the main vehicle insured. In some cases, your own car insurance will provide third party cover for another vehicle (if you have the owner’s permission), but even this is a huge risk. Although you are legally covered, if the car is involved in an accident that is your fault, then there will be no payout to compensate the owner of the vehicle you have borrowed.

Of course, many people don’t even worry whether the driver is insured or not when lending out their car, not realising that this is illegal for both the driver and the owner. If you knowingly allow your car to be driven without insurance, then you are as guilty as the actual driver in the eyes of the law. It is your car and therefore your responsibility to ensure that it is driven legally.
Even people who know the law and understand the dangers of driving without insurance, as well as the risks to their own licence and their vehicle itself, still lend to friends without cover. 

Students going to university have a lot of possessions and well-meaning parents, relatives or friends with a van have been lending their vehicle to students to move into halls or digs. The extra space is great, but driving without van insurance is bad news for the student driver, whose future car insurance premiums will be astronomically high, and for the van owner, who may find their livelihood at risk if they lose their licence and depend on their van for work

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Young drivers pay a high amount of their wages to cover their car insurance.

It is a well-known fact that younger drivers, who are seen as the biggest risk on the roads, have to pay considerably higher insurance premiums than more experienced drivers. However, in recent years this situation has become considerably worse and many young drivers are now having to spend up to a fifth of their wages on their car insurance.

Recent research has revealed some frightening figures. For a fully comprehensive insurance policy, for example, young drivers are being quoted an average of £2500 for a year’s cover. This gets even worse if you happen to be male because then the average goes up to almost £3500 a year.

If we take into account that the average wage for the 18-21 age group is around £14,000, then this means many are spending at least one fifth of their wages on car insurance alone. For some it can be as much as a quarter.

These figures are in stark contrast to the group that generally enjoys the lowest premiums, which is older drivers. Over 70s pay an average of just £450 a year for comprehensive cover, while the figure is just slightly higher for those in the 66-70-year-old bracket.

Unfortunately, it all comes down to statistics. The cost of the premium for each age group is calculated according to the statistics which are said to determine the exact risk each group is likely to pose.

While the premium may be affected by the value of the car, the level of experience the driver has in addition to their previous driving history are the most influential factors. Unfortunately, if a driver has no history of safe driving – even if this is because they have only just started to drive – then they are likely to be hit with the highest premium possible.

Fortunately, there is now an option available which could have a serious effect on younger drivers’ insurance premiums. This involves what is known as a ‘Black Box’. In simple terms, this is a device that is installed somewhere on the car (usually under the bonnet), which records various aspects of a driver’s performance such as the average speed, how hard they accelerate or brake and how they handle the car as a whole.

This information is then automatically sent to the insurers, where it is kept on the driver’s file. Every 90 days the data will be accessed and drivers will be rewarded with a premium discount if they are driving correctly. Of course, should the data show that the driver is driving badly then their premium is likely to increase.

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