We can be as diligent as we like about getting the right type of van insurance for our business, spending hours shopping around on the Internet for the cheapest van insurance policy, but you just can’t factor in for forgetfulness, one of the major contributions to why there are so many crashes on UK roads every year because of the improper use of fog lamps.
If I were to ask you how many accidents there were in 2011 for this offence (and it is an offence which, although carries no license points, is an on the spot £30 fine), how many would you take a stab at? If not the annual total, per day? No? Over 820 crashes, per day (on average) in 2011 for ‘misuse of foglamps’.
Taking a look around the forums, to see if there was any justification to that figure given in a report by a specialist vehicle insurer recently, there seems no supporting evidence for the total figure of 300,000 per annum, yet the amount of animated responses does suggest that this is becoming a very real and ever-increasing problem.
Four out of ten of the drivers of the representative 1,600 who were interviewed ticked the ‘forgot to turn them off’ excuse as the reason behind why they picked up the charge and subsequent fine.
However, what will disgust many young van drivers just starting out in their career and ever on the lookout for cheap van insurance to help reduce their start-up costs is the fact that 22% of 18-34 yr old drivers who picked up the fine had left their fog lamps on for ‘vanity’ reasons, because they looked good. Again, referencing the forums, it seems to be the iridescence of the rear fog lights that young drivers think ‘look cool’ as they’re pulling away from the driver in front at high speed that’s the attraction.
Not only does this ire other drivers but, at a time when getting cheap van insurance is stacked against young drivers, they’d be hoping that their peers would do everything possible to help repair their tarnished reputation, not alienating themselves further from the majority of drivers on UK roads.
Other worrying reasons for van insurance companies, when it comes to the range of excuses given in the survey for having fog lamps on when unnecessary, is that three in ten drivers actually ‘put them on by mistake’ and another one in ten really couldn’t give a reason for why they had them on. At least two out of ten gave a reason that brokers can investigate if they want to cut down on the number of claims: namely that, in some conditions, their standard lights were just not bright enough.
For young drivers, here are some other tips for helping you secure cheaper van insurance, whilst anyone looking to get a better deal on their van insurance quote could save a packet in minutes using our online form.