| by Rosemarie Spiers, Director of Aon Rental
Business Services |
Hiccups with tipsy vans |
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| It’s booze cruise time again,
and a rented van carries much more than the family car |
|
While you are enjoying the long hot balmy days of summer, spare
a thought for those dealing with the tourist trade, especially vehicle
rental operators and their insurers. For this is the time of year
when a whole new set of driving hazards are unearthed by a fearsome
group of hirers – holidaymakers! It’s every driver’s
duty to ensure that the vehicle they are using is safe and roadworthy
– and a professional rental company should provide just that.
As people set off for their hard-earned vacations they relax their
attitudes, but can sometimes become too carefree. Holidays should
be days to remember for all the right reasons and not for tragedies
that may be caused by carelessness. Here are some examples of how
rental vehicles should not be treated on holiday for the safety
of the hirer and others around them.
Hiccups with Tipsy Vans It’s booze cruise time again, and
a rented van carries much more than the family car. Some are so
overladen that on a steep hill the front wheels hardly touch the
ground. Others are just loaded so badly they tilt alarmingly, toppling
over when cornered sharply, with dire consequences to oncoming vehicles
or pedestrians as well as to their own passengers.
Picnic Ambush Four-wheel drive vehicles offer huge opportunities
for adventurous hirers to create havoc in the countryside. What
could be more idyllic that a secluded shady nook well off the beaten
track to try out this exciting machine? Until our hirer gatecrashes
a family party claiming he didn’t expect anyone to be there.
All at sea
The coastline is a continual crowd-puller and increasingly congested,
so some think it a good idea to get as close to the sea as possible.
We’ve lost count of the number of rental cars which have been
beached and abandoned when the tide rushed in. Unfortunately, it is
not only vehicles that can be engulfed in fast currents, but people
too. Shipwreck on the High Street
All at sea |
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| We’ve lost count of the number
of rental cars which have been beached and abandoned when
the tide rushed in |
|
Whilst we British may pride ourselves on taking on obscure challenges,
towing an enormous trailer with the smallest available rental car
is a predictable route to disaster. What are insurers supposed to
think when they read the claim form from some innocent motorist
who has been struck in the side by a swinging boat?
Beware of foreign customs
We may be part of a unified Europe, but driving on the continent
still means remembering to change our normal habits. Hirers may
learn by experience, but being wise after the event does not help
reduce accidents. It’s not enough to advise hirers going abroad
to remember to drive on the right; rules of the road in some countries
are quite different from those applied in Britain. For example,
the urban main road and roundabout priority rules can be quite different,
but we see many claims where the British driver fails to accept
that they have done anything wrong when colliding into a local who,
in their country, had the perfect right of way.
Aon Rental Business Services, provides insurance and risk management
solutions to vehicle rental companies throughout the UK. We process
several thousand accident claims each year, many of which could
be avoided with extra care. Therefore we have a great insight into
the risks related to renting vehicles and we like to share those
lessons with others in the hope of a safer journey for all. Aon
Rental Business Services is part of Aon Corporation, a global insurance
brokerage and consultancy firm. Contact us on 0118 929 5100, or
visit our website, www.aon.com
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