I just read that its illegal to have wheel spacers on a vehicle in Utah I sure love this republican narrow minded state. So Im wondering are they unsafe?
They can be unsafe if they are poorly made. I know that Porsche used them on some cars right from the factory, and I'm sure those are safe!
It's probably less "nanny state" and more a reaction to poorly done installs. They are illegal in other more liberal places as well.
Many wheel spacers are not "hub-centric", in other words, they do not automatically center themselves. The "universal" spacers are guilty of this, can easily break when installed, and probably the cause of this law.
Exactly the point. All sorts of feel good laws, automotive and otherwise, passed all over the place to help legislators convince us they are earning their pay. No one enforces them so they have zero effect except to convince the seemingly few of us in possesion of common sense that politicians in general are a complete and total waste of tax dollars. Well, no one with any sense would give them a real job anyway.
It might possibly give an insurance company a convenient escape from paying a claim if you were involved in a serious crash.
Or you being sued into lifelong poverty. No question. And that is why I do not perform modifications on customer cars.
What about the possibility of someone putting on spacers and then using the same wheel bolts which would then be too short causing the wheel to come off at maybe 70mph?
This is a very silly argument. There is no insurance policy or company that activily looks for ways not to pay a claim. This would not be tolerated by either the regulatory or legal communities. Insurance companies are simply a repository for policy holders premiums to spread the risk, the individual employees are not there to try to not pay a claim. There life is actually a lot easier when they can assist rather then have to say no. For those that like to argue that insurance companies do not pay claims in order to retain more profits, well one fact that bears mentioning is that the insurance industry is one of if not the most heavily regulated industries. If a company has too much profit, then the regulators force them to lower rates, if they loose money they are allowed to raise rates. The bottom line is there is really no reason to try and deny claims. The profit margin is regulated.
I want to live in your world...cause mine doesn't have what you described above. Just from personal experience: Had an accident with a rental car, claim was refused because of a clerical error on a document in a foreign language. I had to fight for that one long and hard before they finally caved and paid us. Wife was put off of work by her doctor on her first pregnancy, claim was refused because the insurance company disagreed with the doctor??? I had to fight for that one long and hard before they finally caved and paid us. Friend of mine got his home burglarized in October. They asked for bills, receipts of all that was stolen. He sent it early November. Keeps calling them, they never return his calls, constantly avoiding him, he's still waiting to be paid....it's mid-january now... And this is just me....
Well, that would clearly be insanely negligent and I would agree they're asking for trouble. Most spacer vendors also supply bolts such as Hill Engineering.
Pollyanna, it's called subrogation. Insurance companies most certainly look for opportunities to shift the burden to someone else. They do it all the time when the loss is big enough. I suggest that if you were to lose control of your car and subsequently kill someone, during the investigation they will examine every relevant part and if something is defective or illegal that could have affected handling, the insurance carrier will file against the responsible party or parties.
Every insurance assessor that I have seen inspect a damaged car checks tire tread depths, mileage, looks through at the brakes and checks for visable modifications BEFORE looking at the damage. Hmmm...wonder why this could be?
Not to change the subject off of insurance claims and companies, but I have run spacers for years. If you need a shop that will "work" with you, let me know. Most tire shops here won't work on your car if you're running spacers in order to avoid the possible associated liability if a wheel were to fall off. It really is a silly law and from what I was told it was exactly that reason, that people weren't using the proper extended lug bolts/nuts that it was passed in Utah.
I rarely laugh out loud, aka "lol", but I did here. I would have to respectfully disagree based on 100% of my personal dealings with insurance claims.
Future Agent caught practicing ripping contract in front of very eyes of customers [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP4abiHdQpc[/ame]
You mean our GOVERNMENT's regulatory agencies? They could miss a freight train thundering down the tracks right at them, blowing its horn, lights on from 100 feet away on a clear day. Legal community...Sure, maybe. But there's been a lifelong "catch us if you can" attitude/approach going on there.
In a fantasy world maybe but in reality insurance carriers use subrogation against other carriers or other businesses, very seldom against individuals. the start of the thread was about carriers trying to deny claims not determine who was responsible. Different items completely.
Well this thread certainly shows me how negative press overrides positive 10 to 1. All of you that wrote about happy grass etc. do not look at reality. If insurance is so bad why have it? I know the easy answer would be because we have to but the reality is that you are protecting your assets and that is what it does. I bet most folks have had many positive experiences with a claim but you certainly do not hear about that or the ridicoulous amounts charged by the hospitals or body shops that without insurance few of us could afford. Instead its better to look for the hidden agenda. The truth is that claims are handled by people just as yourselves and trust me they do not take pleasure in having tough conversations. Why do insurance adjusters gauge tire depth, easy, to determine value, not try to deny a claim. Believe me or not but insurance overpays claims much more often than underpays, if an insurance company pays you a bit more more then it took to fix your car would you give it back, I think not but you sure would yell if you thought the settlement was low. We all know of people that take advantage of insurance, but do any of you actually know of an insurance adjuster that delibertly underpaid someone?
