Getting your other half to drive

[georgendah]

Has anyone else had some difficulty in persuading their other half to drive you van. We have a Chausson 628eb at 6.99m so not particularly long but my wife is very reticent to drive it. We have owned a motorhome for 9 years and never once has she been behind the wheel (she is 66 now)What are the best strategies to employ in persuading my other half that its not difficult and well within her capability levels?
Thank you in advance
Nev

 

[Brains]

Mention "what would happen if away from home and I was hurt and couldn't drive"........ Some insurance will expect the other driver to take the wheel?

'Some' insurance companies I think should real 'all', or at least 'most'.

If a second driver is named on the policy, even if they are not in the same country as the van at the time of the incident, the insurance companies expect you to pay to fly them out, pick up the van and drive it home.

For that very reason, my sister and I have removed each other off our respective motorhome policies.

However if either she, or me, needs a van driving home from the far edges of Europe, then we can simply get the name added on and get a flight out, but the insurance will pay for the additional driver, flights, hotels and maybe a day rate, fuel and ferry costs.

 

[mondo]

When my partner Dawn was alive she had a go in the van but only in UK..she would not drive on the other side of the road..I did mention if I fell ill broke a bone etc..she said we can cross that bridge when we come to it...result was I drove..she was the nav..and damn good at it she was too...mind you I taught her how..

 

[gus-lopez]

If a second driver is named on the policy, even if they are not in the same country as the van at the time of the incident, the insurance companies expect you to pay to fly them out, pick up the van and drive it home.

Absolutely ridiculous and I'd tell them the second word was off.
I can Imagine a Spanish company saying that because anyone is allowed to drive most vehicles they won't recover them when you can get a passer by to do it!

 

[Peterd82]

My other half is reluctant to drive as she struggles to get close enough to the pedals without hitting the shelf under the steering column. As others have said, the handbrake issue can be sorted but not the shelf.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[nicholsong]

'Some' insurance companies I think should real 'all', or at least 'most'.

If a second driver is named on the policy, even if they are not in the same country as the van at the time of the incident, the insurance companies expect you to pay to fly them out, pick up the van and drive it home.

For that very reason, my sister and I have removed each other off our respective motorhome policies.

However if either she, or me, needs a van driving home from the far edges of Europe, then we can simply get the name added on and get a flight out, but the insurance will pay for the additional driver, flights, hotels and maybe a day rate, fuel and ferry costs.

Have you got that last bit in writing from the Underwriters?

 

[dunnah01]

My partner says she could easily drive our 7.5m van - I say go and learn to drive a car and pass your driving test then

 

[brynric]

If she doesn't want to drive I suspect no amount of inducement will change her mind.
Be aware though, if she's named on your insurance and you are unable to drive for whatever reason, the insurance / recovery company will expect her to drive the vehicle to your home. This could be in UK or abroad.
Worth bearing in mind.

With this in mind I removed H from our insurance earlier this year.
She had done the CCC course and drove the old Chausson on occasions but she's never wanted or been confident enough to drive the A Class.

 

[Brains]

Have you got that last bit in writing from the Underwriters?

The policy is in the event of the sole driver being incapacitated, then the insurance company will arrange for the van to be repatriated.

My understanding is they then fly out a driver who drives it back home.
If you can arrange a specific driver who will do it for the one dollar less, then I believe the insurance company would be happy.

Personally I'd rather my sister drove my van back and slept in my bed and ate our food and drunk our beer rather than some hairy arsed trucker who simply wants to drive back in as few hours as possible and find out exactly what the maximum speed a motorhome will do on a German Autobahn.

Hence the reason we both have ourselves as the single named driver on our policies.
But we have verbally agreed in the event of an emergency we will pick up the others van and drive home.

 

[Pausim]

With this in mind I removed H from our insurance earlier this year.
She had done the CCC course and drove the old Chausson on occasions but she's never wanted or been confident enough to drive the A Class.

I find A Class far easier to drive than C Class. The narrow C Class cab is just a false illusion of smaller size and requires greater vigilance, driving an A Class is far more intuitive.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Shrimp]

If she really doesn’t want to drive take her off the insurance.
Otherwise find a nice big empty car park and let her ‘play’ but don’t keep on about ‘you should do this, that etc. you will put her off.
I have driven our van in the past, started off in a car park then a dual carriageway that I knew well and once in France, but ours is a lefty and hubby sitting beside me worrying about where I was in the road did not help!
I dropped my C1 and are no longer on the insurance!

 

[brynric]

I find A Class far easier to drive than C Class. The narrow C Class cab is just a false illusion of smaller size and requires greater vigilance, driving an A Class is far more intuitive.

I quite agree. It’s all a matter of perception and confidence.
I well remember the damage caused to the old C class van on a rock overhang on the Italian Lakes. The cab went through easily, the awning rail less so. I still have a vision of the Italian waving frantically to try and stop me. I just waved back.
Oops!

 

[yodeli]

When JJ and I have decided to go to Germany to find a motorhome for me, one point was obvious: I had to be able to drive it (as JJ had his own to drive when on tour where ever the country we were going to), on my French car licence, understand under 3,5t , to start with, but I also discovered that my insurance would not let him drive the motorhome in any case, as he only had an English licence. So I went on a "over 3,5t licence" course , to feel more confident. And it worked perfectly. So yes would also recommend this option. The +++ of this is also that YOU won't stress her by being over protecting

 

[cyberyacht]

I don't have any choice as OH, always a nervous car driver anyway, is no longer permitted to drive.

 

[Pablo19]

My OH drives her small car very competently but hates driving anywhere she doesn't know. She also lacks confidence driving anything larger than her small hatchback. Therfore I always have to drive wherever we go. I have tried to praise her driving and raise her confidence for 35 years to no avail!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[georgendah]

Dear Funsters,

Following on from your observations and recommendations Carol has booked onto a one day manoeuvring course so we are making headway. Many thanks to you all for making the time to advise us on how to move forward.

Nev

 

[hja]

Dear Funsters,

Following on from your observations and recommendations Carol has booked onto a one day manoeuvring course so we are making headway. Many thanks to you all for making the time to advise us on how to move forward.

Nev

Go Carol, GO!!

 

[PP Bear]

When JJ and I have decided to go to Germany to find a motorhome for me, one point was obvious: I had to be able to drive it (as JJ had his own to drive when on tour where ever the country we were going to), on my French car licence, understand under 3,5t , to start with, but I also discovered that my insurance would not let him drive the motorhome in any case, as he only had an English licence. So I went on a "over 3,5t licence" course , to feel more confident. And it worked perfectly. So yes would also recommend this option. The +++ of this is also that YOU won't stress her by being over protecting

I know it’s off topic, but I’m loving your Avatar

 

[VXman]

Sometimes I let my other half drive for a bit of peace and quiet. She is the worst 'back seat driver'. When I am not driving I just chill out/rest and ignore whats going on in the road. When she is a passenger she is on the ball all the time which can be very annoying!

She was a little reticent to drive initially due to the size and originally would only drive once on a main road but over time she has gradually gained confidence.

 

[PP Bear]

Having a partner on the insurance policy means that if you are incapacitated and can not drive, the insurance company will expect the other named driver to take over, it happed here…..

Trouble in France.

Can anyone provide sound advice, please? We are motorhoming on Ile de Re at the moment and I have had an accident - not in the vehicle - where I have broken my arm, which is now in plaster. The insurance company are refusing to repatriate the vehicle to the UK on the grounds that my wife is...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[yodeli]

I know it’s off topic, but I’m loving your Avatar

Thank you !

 

[Pappy]

Julie has always been happy to drive, especially if she thinks I'm tired. When we had a caravan she drove with it through Paris, in rush hour, as I was ill. It makes a huge difference if you can both drive, especially if travelling long distances.

 

[CraftyPete]

In our case the reluctance is mainly because she does not want to do the course and test on a 7.5t truck, because there are no 'grandfather' rights in Poland so she only has a 'B' licence.

The C1 training (up to 7500 kg) is not done in a 7500 kg truck - it's typically a larger Transit with twin wheels, around the 5000 kg mark. These are often smaller in length, width, and height than a motorhome.