Cedric E. Stephens, Contributor
Question: I own three mini buses. They are properly licensed. I have all the permits to operate them. They are insured under a third party motor policy. My brokers told me that if I overload them I risk losing coverage. This seems most unfair. Isn't insurance compul-sory for vehicles? It is normal to carry excess passengers in this type of business. I pay thousands of dollars in premiums every year and have never had a claim. I don't see why carrying a few extra persons should affect my insurance. Do you agree?
R.G., Black River P.O.,
St. Elizabeth.
Answer: The carrying of excess passengers will certainly affect you. This is not due to any plot on the part of insurance companies. There are many reasons why they penalise those who overload vehicles. They are due to law, our regulations, and principles that govern the safe operation of vehicles.
Many persons are ignorant about these things. Others know about them but 'bend' the rules. These groups share one thing. Earning a few extra dollars is worth more than passenger safety. Car makers know more about their products than consumers.
My Japanese car manual like those from North America or Europe devotes several pages to tyre care and vehicle safety. Poor care, in the form of either too low or too high pressure, causes a variety of ills. Among them are: 'handling problems and blowouts.'
Pressures recommended by makers are affected by tyre size, vehicle speed, road conditions and load (including passengers). You seem to be concerned with only one of these factors.
Jamaicans do not have a monopoly on ignorance about tyre care. Surveys carried out in the USA, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis-tration suggest that many Americans know very little about the subject.
UNDER-INFLATED TYRES
The NHTSA says that "the sidewalls of under-inflated tyres flex more, air temperature inside increases, making them more prone to failure they lose lateral traction, making handling and stopping more difficult. They contribute to various types of crashes those resulting from blow outs or failure from an increase in stopping distance, skidding and/or a loss of control of or in a lane change manoeuvre or hydro-planing on a wet surface."
Poor tyre care and excessive loads definitely affect safety. Insurers do not operate in a vacuum. The Motor Vehicle Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Act spells out (in section 5 (1) the risks that motor policies should include. It also lists (section 8 (1) and (2)) the excluded risks.
Minimum coverage limits
are also set out in section 5 (2) and (3). Interestingly, insurers are prevented by section 8 (2) (c) and (d) from denying coverage "due to the number of persons that the vehicle carries; or the weight or physical characteristics of the goods that the vehicle carries."
IGNORANCE
This is another way of saying that our lawmakers agree that these conditions also contribute to accidents. They have, however, partially decided to turn a blind eye to the practice. This is in the interest of ensuring that innocent victims get compensation when they suffer injuries due to the negligence of the driver of the vehicle in which they were travelling. I suspect this, coupled with ignorance about the link between tyre care and safety may have contributed to the belief that carrying more persons in a vehicle than the permitted limit is normal.
What section 8 of the Act gives with one hand it takes away with another. Insurers are forced to settle passenger liability claims in cases of overloading. The law also allows them to recoup any such payments from the insured - when operators carry extra passengers.
As the owner of four mini buses, you would probably be a prime candidate for an insurance company to sue to recover any payments which the company was forced to make due to third party claims from an overloaded vehicle.
I am very sorry, but I cannot agree with you that overloading is OK. Drive safely.
Cedric E. Stephens provides independent information and advice about the management of risks and insurance. If you need free information or counsel to help you solve a problem write to The Financial Editor or contact Mr. Stephens directly at aegis@cwjamaica.com
