Online car insurance news
21/12/2007

Bumpers could put end to cheap car insurance

The Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre (MIRRC) has revealed that some cars are being fitted with bumpers which could cost drivers their chances of cheap car insurance in the future.

Thatcham is better known for its EuroNCAP testing and safety ratings but also runs the MIRRC. As part of this role, it conducted some extensive research into the effectiveness of bumpers on the most popular vehicles in the UK.

The findings revealed that some cars were being fitted with bumpers which don't bump; that is, they provide very little protection for the vehicle and can disintegrate at very low speeds. In fact, the researchers discovered that some cars could even be written off in collisions at just 6mph.

Out of twenty bumper tests, just one bumper was rated as being 'good', whilst another bumper was found to be 'acceptable'. The remainder were either 'marginal' (seven) or 'poor' (eleven), results which a MIIRC spokesperson described as 'ridiculous'.

He commented: "If only motorists could see for themselves the limited protection that some bumper systems are giving their vehicles, they might not buy them in the first place. Some designs don't have a bumper beam at all - just a flimsy plastic covering that looks like a bumper!"

He went on to recommend that manufacturers make "bumpers that bump" so that motorists do not face their cars being written off, and a loss of cheap car insurance, at the slightest nudge.

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