Driving with masks on - invalidates insurance?

od244051

I have seen many people driving with face masks on in their private cars. From what some people are saying that some masks impair vision as cover bottom part of vision.

if a driver wearing a mask has an accident, would many insurers pay out? I’m guessing not if it proves that driver’s vision was impaired by the mask.

TELLIT01

The mask is supposed to cover nose and mouth, not the eyes.  Anybody incapable of working out how to do that probably shouldn't be driving.

Sandtree

Are you considering driving with a partial blindfold or more concerned if one of these run into you?

Car insurance is often made up of two components - first party (the policyholder/their driver) and third party (anyone other than the driver). It is possible that some actions, such as drink driving, can invalidate the first party cover however the insurance company would still have an obligation under the Road Traffic Act to deal with the third party's losses. In extreme cases the insurance company may have a right of recovery from their policyholder however they still have to cover the third party losses first and then deal with the recover after (most commonly is when they willing allow a driver who isnt covered by the policy or any other policy to drive the car)

mr_stripey

od244051 said:

I have seen many people driving with face masks on in their private cars. From what some people are saying that some masks impair vision as cover bottom part of vision.

if a driver wearing a mask has an accident, would many insurers pay out? I’m guessing not if it proves that driver’s vision was impaired by the mask.

who is saying that? If someone is suggesting that wearing a mask over your nose and mouth stops you being able to see?
If there is any slight impairment of vision it is only by "looking down". Seeing as driving a car requires you to look forward and not down, then I doubt it is a problem.
If this guy can fly a fighter jet wearing a mask, then I reckon you should be ok to drive to Tesco in basic face mask.

Aretnap

Presumably "some people" are the same idiots who think that wearing a mask for half an hour in Tesco will cause their blood oxygen to plummet and leave them unconscious on the floor, despite the fact that surgeons etc manage to wear them for hours at a time with no ill effects.

In any event it is actually quite difficult to invalidate your car insurance. If your policy has a clause that says you must not wear a mask while driving and the insurer could prove that wearing a mask somehow caused the accident then potentially they could refuse to pay out. I've never seen a policy with a clause like that though, have you?

Contrary to popular belief insurers can't simply decide which claims they don't feel like covering without reference to the terms of your policy. If they could then driving too fast, talking to your passanger, looking at the pretty woman on the pavement instead of the road ahead etc would all invalidate your insurance as well, and your insurer would never have to pay any claims at all. But of course they can't - if they want to exclude certain types of claims they have to write the policy so as to exclude them. 

ceh209

Whilst I don't know about the insurance position, I do know I won't be driving with a mask on because I *do* find that it impairs my vision. I have yet to find a mask that is big enough to cover my nose and mouth, without also coming up so close to the bottom of my eyes that I feel I can't see properly. The best one I've got so far just about covers me, but I can't talk whilst wearing it as it moves and then isn't covering both my nose and mouth (I need to play around with the elastic a bit more to see if I can improve this)

Decent masks will be individually fitted (I expect the fighter pilot's one probably is) but the majority of people's won't be. And if you're in your own private car alone, what is the benefit of wearing a mask anyway?

davidmcn

It's not going to affect third party claims anyway - obviously the main point of insurance is that your policy will pay out for the results of you doing careless/dangerous things while behind the wheel.

You may however have more difficulty claiming for the value of your car if you blindfolded yourself and drove into a wall.

csgohan4

has April come already?

silvercar

Twisting the ear loops into an X shape before putting the mask on helps stop the mask riding upwards.

mr_stripey

csgohan4 said:

has April come already?

who said that? I couldn't hear because I have my mask over my eyes!

Sandtree

csgohan4 said:

has April come already?

On some forums, it never ends