Motorists are being urged to carry out regular safety checks on their vehicles to avoid accidents and unnecessary insurance claims.
The warning comes after Sainsbury's Bank research found that 21 per cent of drivers do not carry out safety checks on their car each month. One in three said they did not believe it was necessary. Even though it is a legal requirement, checking the tyre tread depth was found to be the safety check most neglected, with only 38 per cent checking this each month. By law, a tyre's tread depth must be at least 1.6mm.
Just 56 per cent of those surveyed said that they check their car's water coolant level regularly, leaving the remainder of survey respondents who do not check at risk of their car overheating. Half said they do not check their windscreen wipers or their brake lights.
An insurance expert at Think Money warned that failing to carry out basic checks could increase the risk of having to make a motor insurance claim. Ben Tyte, Head of Sainsbury's Car Insurance, said, "It's simple, straightforward and requires just a few minutes to carry out basic checks, and doing so will give you peace of mind that your car is in a good condition and safe to be on the road."
The warning comes after Sainsbury's Bank research found that 21 per cent of drivers do not carry out safety checks on their car each month. One in three said they did not believe it was necessary. Even though it is a legal requirement, checking the tyre tread depth was found to be the safety check most neglected, with only 38 per cent checking this each month. By law, a tyre's tread depth must be at least 1.6mm.
Just 56 per cent of those surveyed said that they check their car's water coolant level regularly, leaving the remainder of survey respondents who do not check at risk of their car overheating. Half said they do not check their windscreen wipers or their brake lights.
An insurance expert at Think Money warned that failing to carry out basic checks could increase the risk of having to make a motor insurance claim. Ben Tyte, Head of Sainsbury's Car Insurance, said, "It's simple, straightforward and requires just a few minutes to carry out basic checks, and doing so will give you peace of mind that your car is in a good condition and safe to be on the road."
