Whilst soaking up to sun on Costa del Sol you’re a world away from stress and troubles of normal working life. No deadlines, no road rage and no commuter traffic making you late for work.However, if you decide to hire a car there’s more than just your driving license and car insurance to think about, you could be putting yourself in more danger than you would at home. In Spain there are twelve times as many fatal accidents as UK for number of vehicles on road. And figures aren’t much different in other holiday destinations such as Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Italy.
With these shocking statistics – you need to make sure you hire a safe and reliable car. Following a survey by ‘Holiday Which?’, two out of every five hire cars inspected in Costa del Sol were unsafe. Problems include:
•Under-inflated tyres – can seriously affect road handling •Bald tyres – can be lethal at any time •Cut or bulge on tyre – increases risk of a blow-out •Faulty airbag – which fail to operate in an emergency •No parcel shelves – a danger when luggage is in back of car
As a result of these dangers it’s vital that before signing car hire contract you check a number of things. duck2water Car Insurance (www.duck2watercarinsurance.co.uk), who specialise in car insurance for drivers with over 4 years no claim history, offer ten useful tips:
1.Car insurance Make sure you have adequate car insurance – does it include unlimited mileage? Does it have sufficient CDW (collision damage waiver)? What is excess? Is car covered whilst driving off-road (e.g. to get to a remote beach or picnic spot)?
2.Emergency number Ensure you have a contact number for hire company in case car breaks down or is involved in an accident.