Acclaim Driving Blog
News from Brake
Published: January 19th 2010
Drivers scarily complacent about dangerous vehicles, says Brake and Direct Line
Drivers often have their head in the sand when it comes to the safety of their brakes and other critical components, resulting in death and injury, says research out today from Brake and Direct Line.
When surveyed by the road safety campaigner and motor insurer, more than two in 5 (42%) of car and van drivers admitted to driving with one or more dangerous defects within the past year – including driving with defective tyres (with worn tread, wrong pressure, cracks or bulges), driving in the dark with broken lights and indicators, driving with poor brakes, and having dirty mirrors and windows and wrong oil or water levels.
The biggest concern revealed by the survey is drivers’ lack of knowledge about their braking systems, the most critical safety component on a vehicle.
The ability of a car or van to stop relies on brake pads (the friction material that stops the wheels when the brakes are applied) not being worn out and other braking components not being damaged. Yet when surveyed by Brake and Direct Line, more than 4 out of 5 (84%) car and van drivers said they didn’t know the percentage of wear on their brake pads at the time of their vehicle’s last check up.
Almost as many drivers (nearly 3 out of 4 – 73%) only had their brakes
checked during their vehicle’s annual service or MOT, leaving lots of time for their brakes to become dangerously ineffective if they were only just acceptable at the previous check.
Mary Williams OBE, chief executive of Brake says: “This research shows a
shockingly low level of knowledge and concern among drivers when it comes to the safety of their vehicle, particularly ‘out of sight, out of mind’ components such as brakes which are so safety critical. Drivers seem to be placing far too much reliance on their annual MOT and passively relying on their garage to tell them when to replace components, rather than asking questions about level of wear and deciding to take action now rather than too late. Drivers cannot abdicate responsibility for safety to their garage. If your vehicle causes a crash due to a mechanical defect, it will be you in the dock.
She adds: “Drivers should also learn how to do effective daily walk round checks of their vehicle to check windscreens, mirrors, lights and tyres. If you are unsure how to check your vehicle, don’t be embarrassed - ask your mechanic and read your vehicle’s manual.”
Andy Goldby, Director of Motor Underwriting at Direct Line says: “Drivers seem to be willing to drive their vehicles when they are not safe, endangering the lives of themselves and others. Many may find if they were to have an accident that is attributed to the fault, they could invalidate their insurance and end up with a criminal conviction. Drivers need to take responsibility and undertake regular inspections of their vehicle, rather than believing that a once a year check, such as a service or MOT, is a guarantee of safety for the next twelve months.”
Despite most drivers showing a shocking lack of awareness of the wear on their
brake pads, an overwhelming majority of drivers surveyed – nearly 9 out of 10
(86%) - said that they were confident their brakes would be found to be in good
working order if checked today, suggesting that many more drivers unwittingly are driving defective vehicles than admit to it.
Drivers surveyed displayed a similar lack of knowledge when it came to their tyres’ safety. Only just more than 1 in 4 car and van drivers (27%) were able to
correctly state the minimum tyre tread depth for their vehicle.
Facts about brake and tyre safety:
To pass a car or van MOT, brakes must be at least 50% efficient. The Institute of the Motor Industry recommends that drivers check their car manual for information on their specific brake pads and how to tell if they are worn away.
The minimum amount of tread on a car tyre is 1.6mm but TyreSafe (a non-profit
organisation dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of defective and worn tyres) states that tyre wet grip deteriorates more rapidly in the second half of its tread life, meaning wet stopping distances can dramatically lengthen. The organization therefore recommends that tyres are replaced well before they reach the legal minimum tread.
Top tips on keeping your vehicle in tip top condition:
1. Just because brakes or other safety components feel OK when you are
driving, it doesn’t mean they are. Find out the facts.
2. Ask your garage questions about level of wear or damage on safety critical
components such as brakes and tyres, and replace borderline components
now rather than wait.
3. Have an annual service as well as MOT – this can increase the resale value
of your vehicle.
4. Use a garage that has the skills to work on your vehicle; vehicles are
becoming more complex.
5. Check your mechanic is qualified as well as experienced. By law, they don’t
have to be, so they might not be. It’s your right to ask – your life is in their
hands.
6. Do a walk round check of your vehicle before you set off to spot damage to
tyres, lights, indicators, windscreen or mirrors.
7. Regularly check your oil and water.
8. Never drive if you have a problem with your vehicle or suspect a problem –
get it fixed, now. Your safety and the safety of other road users is infinitely
more important than the convenience of using your vehicle or keeping
money in your pocket that you might need to spend on repairs.
9. Use your vehicle much less. Less use means less wear and lower
maintenance costs. More importantly, it means less damage to the planet
from carbon dioxide emissions.
10. Protect your vehicle from the weather when you aren’t using it; in a garage
or covered with a tarpaulin.
Other findings from the research:
Slightly fewer drivers admit driving dangerous vehicles in this survey
compared with a previous survey by Brake in 2004. 41% of drivers admit to
driving a dangerous vehicle compared with 44% in 2004. (However, it should
be noted that Brake believes that many more drivers do drive dangerous
vehicles without knowing it or wanting to admit it.)
The consequences
Department for Transport statistics show 23 people are killed or seriously injured by defective vehicles every week in Britain. In 2008, 134 people were killed and 1,101 seriously injured in crashes on British roads where one or more vehicle defects were reported as contributory factors in causing the crash.
Selena Muscroft, 20, died in a crash in Rotherham on 30 December 2007. Selena and her two-year-old daughter, Leila, accepted a lift from their lodger, who was driving a car with bald tyres. Selena died from a broken neck and internal bleeding. Leila spent six days in hospital recovering from her injuries and now faces growing up without her mother. The driver was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and was sent to jail for two and a half years.
Evidence of extensive vehicle defects from enforcement checks and annual tests:
36.3% of cars and light vans failed their annual MOT in Britain in
2008-09. Failure reasons included defective lights (18.9% of tests),
brakes (17.1% of tests) and tyres (8.1% of tests).
In roadside spot checks by British enforcement agencies in 2008-
09, 69.0% of cars and motorcycles; and 52.3% of vans checked were
ordered to be repaired or deemed unroadworthy and taken off the road.
Problems included defective tyres (21.6% of cars and 20.4% of vans
examined), defective brakes (2.5% of cars and 5.8% of vans examined)
and defective wheels and hubs (2.4% of cars and 2.8% of vans
examined).
