Take additional precautions when driving in heavy rains: Momentum Insure

Johannesburg - The higher-than-normal rainfall experienced across South Africa due to factors such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) La Nina, is leading to increased incidents and consequently, more insurance claims.

This may be exacerbated by concerns for motorists around their insurance cover, should they be involved in an accident while driving with an expired or invalid driving licence card, because of the significant backlogs at the Department of Transport (DoT), as raised by local media reports recently. This backlog is the result of the breakdown of the DoT’s sole driving licence card printing machine in November last year.

“Momentum Insure believes a feeling of safety and peace of mind will give clients the confidence they require to achieve what they want from life, without being encumbered by worries of what might happen. In instances involving expired or invalid driving licences, each claim will be assessed based on its own merits and the materiality of driving with an expired licence, specifically where it was not within a client’s control to be able to renew it. If that were to be the case, it is something that should not affect your cover,” says Vickey Swanevelder, Executive Head of Claims and Client Experience at Momentum Insure. 

Swanevelder went on to say that: “It is important to distinguish between claims where a client never had a driving licence and where clients are driving with an expired licence for reasons out of their control. In cases where a client never had a licence and they are now driving without a valid driving licence, the circumstances will be different to that of a client who had a licence for many years and could just not renew his licence because of circumstances outside of his control. The latter does not speak to his driving ability. 

“When it comes to driving during wet weather conditions motorists should take additional precautions in heavy rain, because slippery roads and heavy rain may result in extra challenges for drivers, including flooded roads and diminished visibility.” The state of our roads as results of the continuous wet weather conditions have also deteriorated, and we are seeing more and more claims where damages to vehicles are caused by potholes. Please be cautious at all times” concludes Swanevelder.  

Consider the below safety tips when driving in heavy rain:

• Make sure to turn your headlights on to improve visibility and be seen by other road users.
• Reduce your speed while driving when it rains Should you be caught in a sudden thunderstorm, please make sure that you reduce your speed gradually.
• Also remember to increase the distance between your car and that of other cars on the road in front of you, as your vehicle will require more space to come to a stop on wet, slippery roads.
• You should also avoid instances of braking too heavily or suddenly, because doing so might result in your vehicle going into a skid or slide.
• Please take note and act on weather warning SMSes.