Legality of mods in accidents

[Mr Messy]

I attended a fatal crash yesterday where a silver Golf IV hit an elderly pedestrian who later died in hospital.

Early word is that the driver was not at fault, as she was crossing a road at strange place, and simply emerged from bush moments before impact.

It was a stock base model (dunno what engine though), but it made me wonder if whether police would treat the matter differently had the car been fitted with coils/ spacers/ `poke' or whatever.

It certainly made me re-think whether I wanted lowered suspension, aftermarket wheels etc.

Thoughts?

[gtimk5]

Touchy one mate, I guess they would look at the age of the driver and whether the mods in any way contributed to the accident. If the authorities were doing the right thing they would go through any vehicle to see if it was roadworthy and legal.
I am sorry you had to attend to that sort of thing....

[WEDEL.1]

That is why you need to ensure all your mods are legal. If they CAN lay the blame on you or your car, they WILL.

Picture this;

You have made mods to your car which are found to be non compliant with ADR or Road Traffic Act.

Your Insurance provider then says "see you later".
You have to pay for your own repairs, and that of any other property/personal injury.
You may be charged and have to appear in court at your own cost.

Fortunately, I don't have any experience in this senerio, so I stand corrected if any of this is inncorrect.

Maris

[KWICKS]

Mods would only be an issue if they were illegal ie made the car unroadworthy. For your insurer they would also be an issue if you had not disclosed the mod to them, giving them an out on the policy.

So, do sensible mods, get them assessed and inspected if necessary, and disclose them to your insurer. Then if you are following the road rules mods are not an issue.

[Jarred]

more of an issue is insurance in this matter I think.

If your car isn't completely covered for all the mods, then they can turn thier back on your Like Maris said.

Unless your car is unroadworthy, [is bald tyres = shorter stopping distance in this case] you shouldn't have anything to worry about imo

[Russ59]

We had a similar thread a while back regarding modifications, insurance and legalities. There are a couple of factors which can or may have an effect, different laws for different states, different insurance companies and their policies on vehicle modifications. For anyone considering modifying their vehicles, if you're in doubt about whether or not any proposed mods may be either illegal or not covered by your insurance policy then make sure you contact the relevant parties before making any changes.

When I say relevant parties I mean the Roads Authorities in your state and your insurance companies. If possible try to get something in writing from them stating what you can and can't do (modifications), at least that way you are covering yourself against any future repercussion. Fortunately I personally have not been affected this way either but my advise (for what it's worth) is to to play it safe, because it could be a life changing mistake (both financially and emotionally) if you don't.


Russ

[The_Hawk]

I would like to think that common sense and reason would prevail, but thats not always the case.
Remember that cops are people too and most of them are reasonable people not just out to screw you over (although there are always exceptions).

You'd like to think that that questionably legal pod filter wouldn't make an accident like this the fault of the driver, even though the car would not be ADR compliant. Same goes for every other combination of mods you can think of.

It's a different story entirely if your illegal mods directly caused or contributed to the crash, ie spacer caused the wheel to fall off or something... (God help you if your a P plater since you will always be in the wrong, especially with a modified car).

Bald tyres raises an interesting question. Would an otherwise accident be ruled manslaughter if your tyres were bald?

Reality is lots of cars on our roads wouldn't pass ADR if checked properly, mostly for niggly little thing rather than real issues, but you only hear of the exceptions when someones insurance is cancelled or car has caused an accident. For example any outward light on a car has strict requirements on distance from the road, edge of the vehicle, colour of the light, rate it flashes at etc etc. This means those little blue lights people put on the washer nozzles are illegal, but are they the cause of an accident in an otherwise road worthy car?

Like I said, I'd like to think common sense comes into these things, but your always better off safe than sorry.

[KWICKS]

Remember that cops are people too

Yeah, but lawyers aren't....

[Golf Houso]

I actually work in litigation and insurance law, I can tell you on top of the government ombudsman who examines the accident the insurers will hire a 3rd party consultant who will examine the crash site and literally disassemble the vehicle in a work shop. I've read the reports and they are INCREDIBLY detailed even going to down the tiny increments of tire marks, steering column changes to even testing brake boosters. As long as you mods are well engineered and manufactured properly I can see no way you could be at fault in an accident if a part manufactured by a licensed workshop fails...

They'll just go after whoever made the faulty part for the compensation :

[Golf Houso]

Yeah, but lawyers aren't....

Haha... well most aren't, especially the ones from Keddies...

[Timbo]

In a case like this, it is not necessarily an issue for your car insurer, but for your third party (Green Slip) insurer. They will be guided by the police report -- particularly any indication that the vehicle may have been defective in a way that is relevant to the accident. That means, as Aaron says, that a modified part contributed to the accident. In the case of a death, there may be a coronial inquest, and the examination will be thorough. No police 'discretion'. If this is the case, then there's a whole range of that'll come down.

Wheels, tyres, brakes, suspension and steering are obvious areas that might be subject to scrutiny. All good reasons to avoid obvious (and potentially dangerous) mods such as stretched tyres, spacers, totally dumped suspension...