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.