New drink/drive limit in Scotland

[Guest Had Enough]

markh1 - 2014-12-03 10:30 PM

 

Is there anyone on here less than 60 years old? You'll always get a cheaper price for your insurance as you do less miles, as for the 911 turbo I'm a lot less than 60 years old and pay very little in insurance for my merc SLK amg because I don't drive many miles in it and those I do are mainly in Germany

 

The difference in most insurance policies for driving say 5000 miles a year or driving 10,000 miles a year is peanuts. The biggest factor in determining insurance is the vehicle and the driver and very importantly, the driver's history.

 

I've had two SL500s (not at once) and the insurance on them was vastly more than the insurance on a Nissan X-Trail which I also owned at the same time. Same driver, similar mileage but two totally different cars.

 

I increased the limit on my motorhome from 10,000 p.a to about 20,000 p.a. and the extra cost was minor.

 

I have a very low insurance premium on my current Jaguar XF ( a very quick model). The miles driven is of no significance. The reason it's so low is my age, my clean driving licence and my driving record. If my 28-year-old daughter was on the policy it would double.

 

 

[George Collings]

My thoughts on what is a safe limit for a driver’s blood alcohol level are based on

nine years in the 1970s and very early 80s when as a motor patrol constable, at a guess was involved in well over a hundred excess alcohol arrests. These were mainly as a result of suspecting alcohol in a driver body after observing his driving. A typical sequence for someone who later proved just over the limit was a few miles over the speed limit and tendency to wander perhaps putting a wheel over double lines or nudging the kerb. Almost invariably once stopped the familiar waft of booze could be detected.

As experience grew so did ones ability to estimate what the level would prove to be. It was after the still current limit that driving deteriorated.

 

Whilst not on bonus they were a nice little earner resulting in an hour or two of overtime if picked up around closing time on a 4 to midnight shift. Waiting for the police surgeon took the time.

 

At the other end of the scale with driver 2 or 3 times or more over the limit driving was so bad the only concern was to stop the vehicle immediately. Some heavy drinkers develop a remarkable tolerance to the affects of alcohol, retaining their abilities albeit with slower reactions long after an occasional drinker would have passed out. In one case the forensic lab asked if the sample had come from a deceased person as the levels were normally fatal. That driver could still walk and hold a sensible conversation with only slight slurring.

 

Based on driving and samples after road accidents I believe that a reduction in levels would give a marginal decrease in collisions and therefore casualties but the gain needs to be balanced against the public’s perception of being over governed.

 

Having had the grim task of breaking the awful news to a victim’s next of kin, dealing with fatal accidents, attending the PM and having to give evidence in court I need no lectures from the zero tolerance brigade and disagree with the concept.

 

 

[Guest Joe90]

Had Enough - 2014-12-03 8:06 PM

 

Joe90 - 2014-12-03 7:43 PM

 

 

I think if you do some research you'll find there are far fewer motorhomes than any other kind of vehicle. and considering those that do exist cover the fraction of the miles of most other vehicles, but specifically cars if your making direct comparisons, and further are not normally insured or used for commuting or the school run 5 or 6 days a week all the year round, or business use it doesn't come as a surprise at all. ;-) next........

 

So by your ludicrous logic if I buy a Porsche 911 Turbo and only do five thousand miles a year and don't use it for the school run or commuting I'll be considered a very low risk by insurance companies?

 

Fortunately for insurance companies they employ intelligent actuaries who analyse risk and calculate their findings according to statistics that take into account the number of vehicles in the calculation, the type of driving that they do and the history of accidents for that kind of vehicle.

 

The reason that motorhomes have lower insurance is because they have a smaller number of accidents. This is because the drivers are mainly mature and experienced and those same drivers pay a lot less insurance for their private cars as well, even if they are used for the school run and for commuting.

 

Next.

 

I think you'll find your Porsche 911 turbo will fall into car grouping 50, but you could try and convince them that you'll only do five thousand miles a year, never use it for the school run or commuting,have it parked up for months on end, offer never to do 0 to 60 in 3 seconds, in fact the same usage patterns as the average motorhome insurer, and I'm sure they will slash the premiums for you, but then of course they know that is not the average usage patterns of a Porsche 911 Turbo owner so I doubt you'll get lucky. ;-)

[Muswell]

markh1 - 2014-12-03 10:30 PM

 

Is there anyone on here less than 60 years old? You'll always get a cheaper price for your insurance as you do less miles, as for the 911 turbo I'm a lot less than 60 years old and pay very little in insurance for my merc SLK amg because I don't drive many miles in it and those I do are mainly in Germany

 

I thought that too but when I renewed the insurance on my wife's Golf I asked about this and found that with VW insurance the premium goes up for a low mileage, I think it was 5,000 rather than 10,000 that I asked about. The reason I wasgiven was that low mileage drivers had more claims, presumably because of less practice.