'Acutely unsafe': driver who ignored dashboard alert loses burst tyre dispute

A motorist who blamed a burst tyre on difficulty servicing his vehicle during covid lockdowns after ignoring low pressure warnings and “bad noises” as he drove home on a freeway has lost a claim dispute.

About halfway home between the airport and city, a dashboard warning came on showing the nearside front tyre had low pressure.

He stopped the vehicle on the side of the freeway and checked the boot but found no spare. Assuming this meant his tyres were a ‘run-flat’ style, he checked the car manual and read that the car could be driven at a lower speed.

After driving on at around 35kmh to a service station 15km away, he then tried to inflate the nearside front tyre but it remained flat. Despite this, he decided to continue driving slowly to a dealership near his home. On the way, the vehicle made “bad noises, a clicking sound”.

After continuing on at around 30kmh, he then noticed the vehicle making a lot of noise, stopped the car and noticed the tyre was very flat. He got back in and drove about 200 metres, when the front tyre burst.

The man lodged a claim under a policy held with QBE, which declined it on the basis the policy excluded use of the car when the driver should have known it was unsafe to use.

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) backed the insurer.

“The vehicle was in an acutely unsafe condition and he knew – or should have known – that was the case,” AFCA said.

“In the course of the complainant’s drive from the airport, he received several different indications, and was clearly put on notice, of the compromised state of the tyre.”

The vehicle had not been serviced when due at 30,000-40,000km, with the last service in October 2019. After the incident, the odometer read 42,944km.

“I acknowledge the complainant’s submissions that covid lockdowns made it difficult to have the car serviced when it was due … though had it been serviced when due, the problem with the tyre which led to the incident could have been avoided,” AFCA said.

QBE’s assessor said the vehicle had been driven for a significant distance with the front wheel alignment out of specification, and that had caused uneven wear to the front tyres, and then the eventual failure of the nearside front tyre.

“It is not clear the complainant knew or should have known … if the vehicle had been unsafe to drive for some time. However, I consider that all changed on the day of the incident,” the ombudsman said.

The vehicle manual referred to ‘run-flat tyres’ and how to recognise them, and provided clear guidance that if driving with run-flat tyres, to “stop driving in limp-home mode if you notice…banging noise…vehicle vibration”.

“I consider it arguable the complainant did recklessly court the danger. He continued driving even after the initial warnings, and then still after noting that the tyres were not functioning properly,” AFCA said.

“That shows … he knew or should reasonably have known that was the case. That is a policy exclusion.”

The ombudsman said QBE could decline the claim regardless of whether or not the driver also breached a “reasonable care” policy condition by “not caring whether the damage occurred or not” as he courted the danger.

“The outcome is the same,’ AFCA said. “The insurer has shown the exclusion applies.”

See the full ruling here.